Seemingly sensing their presence, he looked up and burst into laughter when he saw them. Putting down the grill in his hand, he was going to walk towards them.
“Daddy!”
“Daddy!”
Two clear, childish calls made his whole body pause there. Seemingly thinking that he was hallucinating, he looked at the children incredulously.
“Daddy!”
The two children, as if by agreement, screamed in unison, one after the other.
Jerry Xiao finally came to his senses, glancing at Zoey on one side, the ecstasy and emotion that surfaced in the bottom of his heart could not be described in words. Eyes, slightly red, he squatted down, let the two children jumped into his arms. When he opened his arms to hold them, he could clearly feel his own arms, all trembling.
Daddy …
Never knew that these two words were so magical and beautiful …
It also makes him feel this satisfied …
The warm torrent of his heart continued to trip over him, and he closed his eyes, holding his two children firmly in his arms.
Zoey also did not expect the children to take the initiative like this, apparently they had discussed it with each other, but hid it from her. Looking at the scene of father and son embracing each other in front of her, her heart was shaken, not less than his. She smiled with emotion, her eyes red and colored with tears of emotion.
Starting today …
Will their lives, will they, always be this good?
Not only just six months, but, another six months, and another, and another … countless …
What started out as a barbecue for four had turned into a barbecue for Zoey alone. Grudgingly, she slit the chicken thigh in her hand, dipped it in barbecue sauce and placed it on the grill. Beside her, came the sound of the kids laughing with him. The three of them, on a blanket spread out to the side, jostling into a ball of fun.
He also played blocks with the children like a child, and whoever fell first would be punished. When he punished the children, he would purposely use very little force, for fear of hurting them. Or, he would simply give in to them and let them punish him. Occasionally, he would ride a horse, and occasionally, he would play taut.
Every request the children made, he gladly accepted. Just to make them happy.
Completely left out, Zoey was jealous as hell, but couldn’t help but smile. Taking a bite of the cucumber, she lowered her head and continued to brush the barbecue sauce. Suddenly, a pair of long arms reached out from behind her back, holding her whole body firmly in her arms.
She took a step back and leaned right into his chest. That warmth came up and chased away the cold wind at once. Thinking of the two children on the side, she blushed and slapped his hand that embraced her, “Stop it, both children are there.”
Such ‘education’ would be inappropriate!
“None of us can see! Neither can see!” The two children immediately shook their little heads like rattles, their little hands reaching out to blindfold each other.
Jerry and Zoey laughed together. He lazily rested his chin on her shoulder, his hand in hers where she was grilling, and over her ear he asked, “You talk to them?”
“Hmm? What?”
“The ‘Daddy’ thing.”
“Uh-huh. Said last night.” She flipped the chicken leg over, his hand still gripping hers. Zoey’s heartbeat quickened and her mind went a little blank.
“Why didn’t you tell me in advance? It’s also good for me to be prepared.” As he said that, he moved towards her face, and pressed it. Her face, was a bit cold, and he just wanted to warm her up with his own temperature.
“Wanted to surprise you …” Zoey felt he had simply come to disturb himself on purpose. The hand holding the chicken leg, a little soft, like the strength was drained. In her ears, it was all about her breath. She tried to calm her breathing before saying, “Don’t you think this is great? You’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time.”
“It’s great …,” he sighed, his tone was full of satisfaction and laughter. Deeply holding her tighter, he seriously said to her, “But, being a father for the first time, it’s still inevitable that I’ll be nervous. In the future, I might need you to teach me more about how to set these two little things right. Have I ever told you, they especially like to raise the bar. Oh! When it gets rowdy, I really can’t do anything about them …”
“First day as a dad and so much resentment, huh?” Zoey raises an eyebrow and turns her face sideways to look at him.
“Disgruntled?” He smiled away and suddenly, turning his back on the children, he stole a kiss planted lovingly on her earlobe. Zoey couldn’t help but blush, even though she knew the kids were already down playing with their own. Just in case he did something more out of the ordinary, to push him away, but heard him softly speak, “Suddenly I want to say ‘I’m sorry’ to you again …”
Zoey felt a slight jolt of emotion. The tone of his voice, it was sincere and serious. And the guilt.
“The past is the past.” She shook her head. More than the past, she hoped that they were looking to the future. Because … she knew that taking the time to remember the not-so-happy past now was just a luxury for them …
He shook his head, letting her whole body rest in his arms. “Just wanted to apologize again because of you and the kids, it’s hard to imagine how you’ve gotten by with them all these years.”
Hearing him mention this, Zoey lifted her head, half leaning on his shoulder, and smiled, “In the past, I would really find it very hard. A foreign country, all alone. But then after I had them I felt that everything was nothing more than that.”
And …
What was she compared to the hard work he was enduring today?
Although, she said it in a cloudy manner, but in his ears, he still felt heart-breaking. It was hard to imagine the helplessness and haste of a woman, with a big belly, on the streets of a foreign country.
“In the … future, as long as I am there, I will definitely not let you and your child be alone and unsupported again.” He, with all his heart, assured.
She wanted to say: she didn’t really want anything, as long as he could live and have countless six months …
However, these words, she dared not say. She was afraid that she would accidentally touch the source of the sadness between each other’s hearts, wasting the little time they already had.
So, quietly smile away and say to him, “I’m glad I didn’t lose this big bet.”
“Hmm? A big gamble?”
Her headless words made him feel puzzled. Somewhat strangely, he looked at the side of her face.
Zoey smiled, turned her face sideways, looked at him fixedly, and asked, “Wasn’t it a big gamble to bring the kids to you and choose to trust you again?”
“You won the bet, and I won’t let you lose again!” He solemnly, looking fixedly at her, holding her hand. Thankfully, she, still able to give such righteous courage, took a step closer to him …
Under her eyes, there were tears floating. Smiling openly, she nodded, “Although, the bet is not yet over, but, now I can be sure that I really won … ah! The chicken thigh is completely burnt!”
The next second, she stomped her foot in chagrin and looked at him, “It’s all because of you, coming over here all of a sudden to talk to me about all this nonsense.”
He looked innocent, “I couldn’t bear the thought of you being left alone.”
“You’d better go stay with the kids.” Otherwise, she really wasn’t sure she could bake anything at all.
Too much fun always goes by fast.
A whole day passes by in silence.
By the time the barbecue was over and dinner was served, the city was snowed in. The two little ones loved the snow so much that they wouldn’t go back inside, so Zoey took a towel and a hat and wrapped them up in it, leaving them to have a snowball fight in the back garden.
Jerry Xiao stood by the window, watching the two little things scream and roll into a ball. Every time they fell, he tried to help them, but before he could walk out, the little things were strong enough to get up from the ground again.
“Have a glass of water.” Zoey poured hot tea over and handed it to him. Looking out the window with him, the little thing couldn’t help but mutter, “Two naughty boys!”
“They’re staying here tonight. Right?” He asked her.
“Uh-huh.” She was fully prepared, bringing them everything from toiletries, to pajamas and pajama pants.
“What about you?”
“Me?” Zoey sipped her water and glanced at him. The expectation in the bottom of his eyes was obvious, it was clear that he wanted her to stay. She pursed her lips, “When I went out in the morning, I didn’t bring a change of clothes. So …”
“You can wear mine.” Her words were interrupted by him.
Zoey thought about what he said about seeing less and less ….
The heart is so soft and hard that even just a light touch will feel pain. Solely, deciding to be capricious for once for the time being, she nodded her head, put the glass of water in her hand to the side, and spread her arms to hang around his neck, “Then I’ll stay with the children.”
“Last night, you should have made that decision.” Just because she was gone, that’s why he tossed and turned all night, wondering what time in the morning it was before he finally fell asleep.
Zoey pouted and put the blame on him, “Then you didn’t have to keep me last night, either.”
“I thought I made that clear.”
“I’ve always been slow, and I certainly wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t told me.” Zoey’s smile curls her eyes.
His eyes burned, he bent his head, looking at her, “Zoey .”
“Hmm?”
“I love you.” He, suddenly, uttered those three words. Eyes as deep as midnight, surging with an unspeakable tide of love.
Zoey’s entire being shook, her heart fluttering in a way that even she couldn’t contain. Tilting her head back to look at him, for a moment, even her breath stopped in her throat. In a trance, she only felt that these three words were somewhat unreal.
Looking at her reaction, he sighed, a little helplessly, a little favorably, “I was afraid that if I didn’t say anything, you wouldn’t even know about this. So …”
She spread her face and smiled, a bright, moving smile that also brought out a single tear, “Yes, of course I wouldn’t have known if you hadn’t said anything …”
“So, now what? Got it?” He asked her with a smile, not really able to do anything about her tears. All that could be done was to reach out, and wipe them away for her. But immediately, new tears, kept coming.
“Still don’t know.” She cried, shaking her head, and demanded, “Can you say that again?” Those three words were too rare for her. So, could she be greedy and ask to hear it a few more times?
He unconditionally fulfills her request. Embracing her, moving, warm and soft in her ear, murmuring over and over again, “I love you … started a long, long time ago … and after that, it will never end again… . now, know it?”
If she still said she didn’t know, he wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his life trying to tell her. But …
She nodded, and suddenly she pulled down his face, stood on her tiptoes, and a tearful kiss landed on his lips. It didn’t go deep right away, just eagerly kissed his lips, his cheeks, the tip of his nose …
Her lips, trembling, one by one, but kissed eagerly. Jerry Xiao just pause for a moment, the next second, muffled grunts, a spinning body will be her whole person pressed on the wall behind her, blazing and crazy kisses, so densely fall down. His breath, like a dragnet, wrapped her whole person firmly.