Natalie Wheeler went back to the kitchen and organized the ground beef and ground pork for the meatballs. She then mixed them with spices in their respective mixing bowls.
Dante Milton ran to the kitchen, tilted his head and asked, “Auntie Natalie, why didn’t you have dinner with us? You haven’t eaten anything yet. Aren’t you hungry?”
Natalie smiled and squatted down in front of Dante. “I’m not hungry. I will make some meatballs later, so you don’t need to worry about me, little kid.”
“Then I’d like to eat some meatballs later. Could you make one of each for me?” Dante gestured with his index finger, which was cute.
“Well, okay, but you have to go to bed before 9 p. m.” Natalie took out her phone from her pocket and looked at the time. It was already almost 8 p. m. She realized that the mobile phone was still recording so she turned it off.
“Auntie Natalie, do you know how to tell a story? I want you to tell me a story.” Dante looked at Natalie and said eagerly.
“I can do that. Think about the story you would like me to tell you. Go take a shower first.” Natalie stood up.
Dante did not leave. Instead, he played with his fingers and lowered his head, as if he wanted to say something but was hesitant to say it.
Natalie noticed his odd behavior and squatted down in front of him. “What’s wrong?”
Dante looked at Natalie with reddened eyes. He pursed his lips, and the redness in his eyes became deeper, as if there was a thin mist covering it. “Ralph doesn’t want to go out. Dad is at Auntie Hadley’s place, and Auntie Hadley is Ralph’s biological mother. The three of them are a family, and I’m the only one who isn’t part of them. Seeing the three of them together, I feel like I’m the odd one out. I feel lonely…”
Natalie’s heart tightened. She did not expect that Dante, who looked optimistic and cheerful, would think of such things. She held his little hand and said softly, “Dante, you’re not the odd one out. Let me ask you, who is your father’s most beloved person? Do you know?”
Dante shook his head and lowered his head.
“It should be your mother. If he really loved Auntie Hadley, then your father would have married her, right?” Natalie said patiently.
Dante nodded his head and wiped his tears, not fully understanding what she was saying.
“You are the child of your father’s most beloved woman. Of course, he loves you more. Even if the three of them are together, you are not a third wheel. You are your father’s child, am I right?” Natalie’s thumb brushed the corner of Dante’s eyes.
Dante broke into a smile. “Natalie, after hearing what you said, I suddenly felt better. Natalie, Dad doesn’t allow me to be rude. Hence I could only refer to you as Auntie Natalie in front of him. Is it alright if I refer to you as Natalie when there are only the two of us?”
“Sure. I’ll teach you how to make meatballs too, okay? It’ll be faster if we do it together,” she offered.
“Sure, sure!” Dante immediately washed his hands.
Natalie patiently taught him how to make meatballs.
She found out that Dante was a quick learner,. She needed only a short time to teach him. Moreover, the meatballs he made were very well-shaped.
“You’re really smart,” she praised from the bottom of her heart.
“It’s because my Mom and Dad are smart.”
Natalie smiled.
With Dante’s help, they were able to make the meatballs fairly quickly. Natalie dropped a few of the meatballs onto the skillet.
“Dante, it’s time to take a shower!” Jasper Milton called as he came over.
“We’re almost done here. I want to help Auntie Natalie before I shower,” he replied in a childish tone.
Looking at him, Natalie said with a smile, “Dante, go take a bath first. After you’re done, the meatballs should be ready.”
“Well, okay.” Dante washed his hands and left the kitchen.
Natalie continued to shape the rest of the meatballs into perfect spheres.
“Thank you for your hard work today, and your dinner was wonderful.” Jasper observed the stain on her waist. He figured that that she’d also been scalded. He turned around and went out. After a while, he came in with the ointment and handed it to Natalie. “Use this for your burn.”
“Oh, thank you, Mr. Milton.” Natalie took the ointment handed over by him, put it aside, and continued to shape the meatballs.
“Have you had dinner yet?” Jasper asked.
“It’s alright. I can eat the meatballs later. I’m not hungry anyway. I’ll freeze the rest in the refrigerator and write down the type of meatballs on the bag. You can cook them for the children tomorrow morning. They wouldn’t turn bad if they were put in the fridge. Oh yes, Young Master Ralph likes apples and nuggets, right?” Natalie asked cautiously.
“No, Ralph hates apples as it hurts his teeth. He likes having nuggets, but he’s allergic to prawn-based nuggets.” Jasper explained.
Natalie raised her eyebrows and understood. “Does Dante like spicy food then?”
“The couple who adopted Dante are from H City. The people there really like spicy food. Dante likes food that’s slightly spicier, but his stomach isn’t very strong, so I refrain from letting him eat spicy food.”
“Is his stomach unwell?” Natalie was worried.
“He once ate way too much spicy food which hurt his stomach, so I prohibited him from eating any more. When you come here on Sunday, I will tell you more in detail.” Jasper looked at the skillet. “It seems that the meatballs are cooked well.”
“Oh.” Natalie came to her senses and flipped the meatballs onto their uncooked sides. The skillet started sizzling again and oil was splattering onto the stove.
She flipped the meatballs around to ensure that they were heated evenly. She then turned down the fire, and let the meatballs sizzle on the skillet for a little while longer.
Jasper didn’t leave the kitchen. Instead, he was observing her deeply.
Natalie noticed Jasper’s gaze and looked at him in surprise. “Mr. Milton, do you have something to tell me?”
“Did Bettany tell you that Ralph likes to eat apples and nuggets? And that Dante likes spicy food?” Jasper squinted his eyes and asked straightforwardly.
Natalie smiled slightly. “Well, there are some things that aren’t needed to be said out loud. Since we’ll be seeing each other frequently from now on, it would be better if I just keep it to myself. Otherwise, things might turn awkward.”
“Okay.” Jasper responded, “I would like some meatballs too. Give me a few of them.”
“Mr. Milton, would you like to ask Madam and Young Master Ralph whether they would like to eat the meatballs too? If they weren’t invited, they wouldn’t be happy.” Natalie asked politely.
Jasper nodded and walked out. He saw Dante running towards the kitchen with a flushed face.
“Nice to meet you, Dad.” Dante greeted him and walked past him.
Jasper looked at his back, feeling somewhat helpless and sad.
Dante grew up with his adopted parents, only returning to him just last year. He was not used to him and was not very intimate with him. Dante was respectful, polite but a little alienated. Sometimes, he would deliberately avoid Jasper.
Jasper was afraid that he was too lonely. As Bettany was in poor health, he brought Ralph back with him.
After all, Ralph and Dante were about the same age.
He felt that they would have some common ground.
However, Ralph really wanted him to be with Bettany.
Dante could see that. Whenever he was with Bettany and Ralph, Dante would leave the room silently. This made him very sad and distressed.