He reached out, enveloping her in his arms, and asked, “Are you feeling tired?” His warm and gentle breath brushed against her ear. She rested her head on his shoulder and held him close.
‘Well, lend me your shoulder,’ she thought. If she could soak up a little more of his warmth, maybe it would chase away the lingering darkness in her heart.
Penelope had always been easygoing, but it was rare for her to be so affectionate. He smiled, gently rubbing the back of her neck as if teasing a cat. He paid no attention to the eyes of the others in the room and continued discussing the ongoing topic.
****
Last night, it rained, and the air felt fresh when they woke up this morning. Penelope was playing with Chris on the lawn downstairs. She pointed at the tree, trying to teach him to recognize it, but Chris only responded with a bunch of saliva bubbles.
The butler was cleaning the fallen leaves in the courtyard, and the driver was helping him.
“You can’t understand me anyway. You play here on your own. Mom is going to help clean the yard,” Penelope said, poking Chris’s nose and placing him in his little baby car.
She rolled up her sleeves and joined the cleaning crew. The courtyard had become messy after the storm last night. Penelope used a water hose to wash away the dirt, and the driver was in charge of sweeping. Mrs. Brown prepared some citron tea to quench their thirst as they worked.
After a while, Penelope wiped the sweat from her brow and noticed that Chris and his car were gone. “Where’s Chris?”
“I saw Mr. Duncan come down and take him in,” the driver replied. At the same time, Warren walked out of the house.
Penelope and the driver had some mud on their clothes, making them look like laborers. Warren rolled up his sleeves and took the water hose from Penelope’s hands. He still looked quite handsome. “Your shoes,” he reminded her.
Penelope quickly moved to the side and said with a smile, “Wow, when did Mr. Duncan start cleaning himself, and why can’t I?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Of course, you can, but I’ll give you a pair of rain boots, or your nice shoes will be ruined in no time!”
Penelope smiled and headed inside the house. She put on the black rain boots that the butler had provided, and they fit her perfectly.
Warren changed into the rain boots Penelope gave him and bent over to pick up fallen leaves alongside her. They talked about the changing seasons, but Penelope, feeling quite bored, wondered how she could ignite some excitement while working with someone so focused.
She couldn’t help but feel sorry for his secretaries. She sighed and turned to the driver. “Hey, let’s chat about autumn.”
The driver glanced at Warren and immediately made a run for it, saying, “I just remembered the car still needs washing. I’ll go take care of that!”
Penelope pouted and turned back to Warren. He held a hose in one hand, the other casually in his trouser pocket, standing tall and handsome. He smiled and playfully moved the water hose in his hand, creating an arc of water in the air, with the water droplets rushing toward her.
“Ah, help!” she cried out.
Mrs. Brown and the butler watched the playful scene from a distance. Mrs. Brown remarked, “It’s the first time I’ve seen Mr. Duncan act so childishly.”
“He’s always been a hard worker. It’s time for him to enjoy and have some fun,” the butler chuckled.
Penelope turned her head to dodge the oncoming water, grabbed another hose from the ground, and turned on the switch. She playfully chased Warren all around the yard. Suddenly, she stumbled over a hidden stone in the lawn and fell to the ground.
“Ouch…” She winced as she wiped the grass off her scraped knees.
Warren quickly turned off the switch and walked over to her.
“You’re so clumsy…” Before he could finish his sentence, she looked up and aimed the water pipe at him.
“Why didn’t you dodge?” She stood up with grass in her hair.
Warren knelt down and rolled up her trousers. “Why should I dodge? Let me see if your knees hurt, Penelope.”
She was defenseless against his playful teasing. Both of them were now soaked, but fortunately, the sun was warm. Otherwise, they might catch a cold. Ignoring the hungry baby waiting to be fed, the two wet individuals headed into the house and made their way upstairs to the bathroom.
Mrs. Brown went to baby Chris with his bottle. “Chris, don’t cry; today is your one-hundredth day.”
Upstairs, Penelope shed her wet clothes and hurried into the bathroom. “I’ll take a shower first!”
He opened the door and followed her in, suggesting, “We can shower together to save water.”
Penelope looked at him warily and said, “The guest room also has a bathroom. You can shower there.”
Warren responded, “Why waste water?”
Penelope blushed. “Well, I’ll go to the guest room then…”
“Let’s shower together,” Warren insisted.
Penelope gave him a stern look. “You’ll try something else on me.”
Warren replied, “Then you can go to the guest room as long as you can unlock the door.”
He began to take off his shirt.
“What happened to the door?” Penelope asked in surprise. To prevent situations like them living separately, he had instructed the butler to lock all the guest rooms. Penelope, now aware of this, quietly retreated to the corner.
After their shower, Warren tossed aside the towel and began drying his hair. Penelope wrapped herself in a bath sheet and hurried out the door, momentarily forgetting about their son’s party. Mrs. Brown knocked on the door, informing Penelope that the stylist had arrived and was waiting downstairs.
“Okay, I’ll head downstairs now,” Penelope dried her hair, put on some casual clothes, and went to the main floor.
Warren unlocked his desk drawer and retrieved a black box from inside. He opened it, revealing a brilliant diamond ring resting quietly on the velvet surface. He chuckled and slipped the box into his jacket pocket.