Chapter 146 How Very Strange
After Madeline had steadied herself and found her footing, she realized that she was in Sebastian’s arms. Upon seeing how closely pressed together they were, she quickly shoved him aside, only to find that she might have overreacted.
Sebastian was only helping her, and after regaining her composure, she managed to utter a stiff, “Thank you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he answered as he waved his hand dismissively. Then, he asked, “By the way, do you have plans for tomorrow morning?”
“I’m bringing Quincy and Joel over to my parents’ place,” she answered. “My mom said something about introducing her adopted son to all three of us, so she’ll have her driver pick us up after breakfast tomorrow.” She paused and asked him, “Is there something you need me to do for you?”
“Kind of,” he replied. “How about tomorrow afternoon?”
She shook her head after a moment of thought and said, “No, I think I’m just going to take a nap with the boys after lunch.”
“Okay.” He looked at her seriously and said, “I’ll make the necessary arrangements then. After the boys’ nap, I’m taking you to Caleb’s hospital so that he can take a look at the scars on your back and see if he can suggest the best treatment for them.”
He did think about letting Caleb examine her scars at home, but that would make for a very awkward moment between a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law. As such, dropping by the hospital seemed like the best solution. Caleb would be seeing Madeline in his professional capacity as a doctor, and she would be consulting him as a patient.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Madeline said now. “I don’t want to impose. I mean, these scars aren’t really affecting my daily life anyway.”
“Haven’t we already talked about this multiple times? Also, haven’t we come to a consensus that if the scars can be healed, we’d go along with the best treatment there is?” Sebastian was insistent as he added, “Right, so it’s settled. Remember to clear your schedule for tomorrow afternoon.”
She couldn’t very well turn him down now. As such, she nodded obligingly and said, “Fine, then. Thank you.”
She owed him more favors every day. Forget it, she thought. There’s still plenty of time for me to repay his deeds.
Soon, an hour had passed since they started hiking the trail, and the kids were already drenched in their own sweat.
Madeline called for them, and when they returned to her side, she began to lead them home. Joel was reluctant to leave as he muttered coquettishly next to her, “Mom, I haven’t had enough fun yet.”
“Be good,” Madeline placated as she rubbed his head. “We can always come back next time.”
“You’re right! There’s always a next time!” The little guy perked up immediately as he said proudly, “I’m staying right in front of the hills, so I can come back anytime I want!”
Entertained by his smugness, Madeline had to keep herself from laughing as she said affirmingly, “Yes, you can come back anytime you want.”
Just like that, the happy family of four trekked back to the villa. It was already twilight by the time they arrived, and before they entered the living room, they could hear the sound of chattering and Philip’s laughter coming from within.
Joel was holding Madeline’s hand as he blinked and noted, “There are guests here! Do you think the uncles have come?”
Sebastian said, “I don’t know, Buddy. Why don’t you go take a look for yourself?”
“Okay!” Joel let go of Madeline’s hand and reached for Quincy’s. Then, he dragged him into the living room as he said, “Come on, Aldo—let’s go see if our uncles are here. Our uncles are really handsome, you know, and Uncle Kieran is a superstar with a lot of fans!”
Quincy did not share his twin’s curiosity and enthusiasm, but he allowed himself to be dragged into the living room nonetheless, fearing that if he let go, Joel would trip over his own feet.
After running up to the door of the living room, Joel shouted while pushing open the door, “Grandpa, Aldo and I are back! Are our uncles here yet?”
Upon hearing the endearing voice piping up from the doorway, the guests in the living room immediately turned to look in Joel’s direction.
Joel gave the door another push, and he dragged Quincy inside as he trudged through the entryway. “Grandpa, Aldo and I are here!”
At the sight of the twins, the three young men in the living room immediately rose to their feet.
Philip chuckled good-naturedly as he said, “Welcome home, my darlings! Come over here and let me introduce you to your uncles!”
Joel pulled Quincy over to Philip and climbed into the old man’s lap habitually. Then, he began to appraise the three young men in earnest.
When his gaze flickered past Caleb and the other two, he exclaimed, “Wow! All of you are really handsome! You’re even more handsome than you were in the pictures!”
“You’re a handsome little fella too,” Lucas praised heartily as he walked up to the child and crouched down to his eye level. Then, he produced an envelope from his pocket and said, “Here you go, I’ve brought you a gift!”
Joel stared at the envelope with wide eyes before he turned to look at Philip.
Philip chuckled and said, “Go ahead and take it. It’s a present for you, after all.”
Joel took the envelope filled with cash, and as his fingers curled around the present, he bowed his head in Lucas’ direction as he said, “Thank you, Uncle Lucas. I love the present, and I hope you’ll be in excellent health and that your business will prosper!”
A delighted look flashed across Lucas’ features. He was so charmed by the little boy’s demeanor that he quickly reached out to pull him into his arms. He gave Joel a tight squeeze, then caressed his soft, chubby cheeks as he crooned, “Oh, aren’t you just the most precious boy I’ve ever seen! You’re so adorable, I could die!” I might just die. This kid is the work of the heavens!
Joel’s eyes glistened. “I don’t want you to die, Uncle Lucas. I want you to live a really, really long life so that you can take care of Grandpa!”
Philp burst out laughing as he rubbed the kid’s head affectionately. “How very sweet of you!”
Even Lucas was amused. “My goodness, what did my brother feed this child to make him say such sweet, endearing things?”
Meanwhile, Caleb and Kieran had each already produced their own envelopes of cash, and they shoved them into Quincy and Joel’s hands as well.
The twins looked at the three envelopes they had each received. Joel thanked Caleb and Kieran as well, showing his appreciation for the generous presents. Then, he turned to see that Madeline had walked in, and he quickly ran over to her to put the envelopes in her hands. “Mom, Uncle Caleb, Uncle Kieran, and Uncle Lucas gave me these. They’re all so nice to me, and they’re so handsome too! Not only that, they’re pretty generous. I really like them!”
Lucas laughed and turned to look at Sebastian and Madeline. He said, “Sebastian, Maddie—your son must have grown up eating honey. Look at him! He’s such a sweet little guy!”
Madeline was a little stunned to hear Lucas address her by her first name, and she flushed. It was strange to think that she could become a sister-in-law to all three of these young men who looked to be around her age. How very strange, she thought.
Caleb and Kieran did not wait for Sebastian to introduce them to Madeline and instead took the initiative to do so themselves as they greeted the couple readily.
Joel was over the moon. He was enamored with his three handsome uncles, and he was completely at ease in their company. He wasted no time in jumping into a humorous conversation with Lucas and the others.
Philip and his sons were very entertained by the little boy, and laughter filled the living room. Lucas, in particular, was bewitched by the child. He had always been the most playful among his siblings, and he had an affinity for fun and games. While he had not come across many children in his lifetime, he seemed to be a natural with them. It didn’t take long for Joel to become friends with him, and he would call him ‘Uncle Lucas’ ever-so-sweetly every now and then.
Lucas thought his heart would melt. After dinner, he insisted that Joel bunked in with him that night.
However, fun and games aside, certain boundaries must not be overstepped, and for a child to bunk in with an adult who was not his parent happened to be one of them.
