One time, Cristofer noticed her awkwardness and forked the food from her plate to his plate when his mom went to take a pot of soup, and his dad was eating with his head down. Since then, they had been coping with his parents’ enthusiasm in this way. At that time, Cristofer’s grandpa was also eating with them. When seeing Cristofer’s behavior, he did nothing but give him a meaningful smile.
Back in the present, Cristofer wished he could turn back time and do things differently. Unfortunately, time only moved forward, so he could only share his feelings with Estelle and Luke as the sun began to set.
“I remember you used to be happy because you thought I was getting more muscular,” Cristofer confessed. “But the truth was, I was just gaining weight. Fortunately, I was young with a fast metabolism and exercised a lot; otherwise, I might have become overweight.”
Estelle responded, “You never said you were full. Whenever I need your help after your parents serve so much food, I’ll give you a signal first. And you never turned me down, so I assumed the food wasn’t too much for you…”
Cristofer grinned even wider, “Yes, my mom would give you all the delicious dishes, and then you’d pass them all to me. In reality, I was eating all those dishes by myself. Maybe even pigs eat less than I did.”
Estelle blushed and weakly explained, “I only asked for your help when I couldn’t eat anymore. It didn’t happen…” She wanted to say it didn’t happen very often, but upon reflection, she quickly stopped talking to avoid giving Cristofer the opportunity to count how many times it did happen with his excellent memory.
Meanwhile, Cristofer had another thought. “Vincent bought a lot of food for lunch, and there’s a lot left. Would you like to have it for dinner?”
Estelle really didn’t like carrots, and somehow, all the dishes Vincent bought seemed to have carrots in them. So she shook her head and replied, “No, I’ll pass.”
Cristofer teasingly remarked, “See? I still have to eat your leftovers now. You treat me like your trash can.”
Blushing, Estelle retorted, “Stop it. Just go wash your face!” Then she hurried into the house to check on what the girls were up to.
“Oh, I almost forgot, there’s still some soup cooking in the kitchen!” Luke suddenly remembered that Mrs. Moorsum had started making soup before they started trimming the flowers. Without wasting any time, Luke rushed back to the kitchen.
Now, only Cristofer and Yohan remained in the courtyard. Yohan crossed his arms, smiled as he watched Estelle walk away, and then turned to his father. Yohan whispered, “Dad, you should go after Mom instead of just standing here.”
Cristofer gently replied while ruffling his son’s hair, “I will, but it’s not the right time now. Let’s go inside together. I’m sure tonight’s dinner is going to be delicious.”
As expected, Mrs. Moorsum had prepared a table full of even more delicious dishes than Cristofer remembered, filling the dining room with mouth watering aromas.
Estelle tried to seat the three children together as usual, but Yvonne and Christina had been playing and were still in a playful mood. If they sat together, they might not be in the mood for dinner.
Then Yohan volunteered, taking the responsibility as the big brother, “I’ll sit in the middle. I promise to take care of Yvonne and Christina.”
“It’s okay, son. Dad got this. You just have to take care of yourself,” With that, Cristofer stepped forward and took the seat between Yvonne and Christina.
This time, the atmosphere was even more lively than that when they had a hotpot. Sitting together as a family sitting around, they ate and chatted happily.
Yohan was old enough to eat on his own. So he didn’t need anyone to take care of him when eating. But Yvonne and Christina were still little, and they sometimes would get their clothes dirty while eating. Luckily, Cristofer was sitting between them. And he would prevent the girls from getting their clothes dirty.
Estelle was afraid that Cristofer wouldn’t be able to take care of them alone, so she would go over to help him with it. And she didn’t expect him to make rapid progress in taking care of the children.
“Daddy, I want mushrooms,” With a napkin attached to her neck, Yvonne held a small fork and said.
“Okay,” With that, Cristofer gave Yvonne a piece of mushroom. After that, he put a piece of mushroom on Christina’s plate, which was also filled with meat dishes, saying, “You need to eat more vegetables so that you can grow faster.”
Christina was the youngest, the weakest, and the shortest of the three children, and she was very upset about that. What Cristofer said hit her soft spot. Therefore, the picky little eater forked the mushrooms and ate them. Then she demanded, “Daddy, I want celery.”
Hearing that, Estelle nearly dropped her jaw. She thought, ‘Wow! This is new. Every time I wanted Christina to eat celery in the past, I had to mix the celery with a bowl of strawberries and juice. Otherwise, she wouldn’t eat it at all. And now, Cristofer solved the problem with only a few words. Seems like you are more obedient to your father than to me. Am I right, Christina?’
Perhaps sensing her gaze, Cristofer suddenly lifted his face and stared at Estelle, and she glared back in displeasure. And yet, Cristofer burst into laughter.
After dinner, it was time for Estelle and the kids to decide whether to stay or go. Mrs. Moorsum and Luke volunteered to go to the kitchen to prepare some fruits and desserts, leaving the living room to the family of five.
Not wanting her to feel like he was using the children to pressure her, Cristofer got up and said to Estelle, “I’ll go to the kitchen to help them.”
Now, it was just Estelle and the three kids left on the couch. Estelle started feeling a bit stressed and tried to suggest, “It’s getting late; we should head home. I can drive you back here for the weekend, and you can play with Neppy.”
Estelle used her best argument, but surprisingly, none of the kids were convinced. Even Yohan, the most thoughtful of the bunch, tugged at her coat and said, “Mom, it’d be easier to stay here for another day. We’d save a 50-minute car ride and 3. 25 liters of gas.”
Estelle looked at Yohan and explained, “But it’s not just about math.”
Yvonne lifted her cute face, blinked her big eyes, and softly said, “Mommy, I want Daddy to read us a bedtime story. Please…”