Cristelle knew the boy was being worried again. So she explained, “My boss is a great person. And the salary is also good. They gave me this house because I got injured during their competition. You don’t need to worry too much, sweetie. My boss is not a bad person.”
Cody let out a breath, “Really?”
Cristelle nodded as she smiled, “Really.”
“Cool…” Cody clenched his little fist, “You need to be really careful when you go to work, okay? Don’t let any bad guys fool you.”
Cristelle shook her head as she smiled, feeling both sweet and sad. Her son cared about her a lot. But she knew it wasn’t normal for a five-year-old. Cody was too insecure due to what had happened to them before they came to this city.
Cristelle only wished he could be a happy and carefree little boy.
****
Meanwhile, the Bradley house was also enjoying their meal.
Linford’s grandpa, Franco Bradley, was sitting on his main seat. Linford’s father, Darwin, was sitting on Franco’s left hand. Linford sat on the right.
Darwin’s new wife, Linford’s stepmother, Tanya, also showed up tonight. Clara, Linford’s brother’s wife, followed Darwin and Tanya to visit their Pop as well.
There were three grandsons in the Bradley house. The oldest one was Enzo Bradley. He was a great soldier, staying in the military all the time. Linford’s second brother, Clyde, had passed away long ago, leaving behind only his widow wife, Clara.
Linford was the youngest.
The dinner was as fancy as it usually was. Tanya asked Linford about Cristelle over cups of wine, “Linford, which family did Cristelle come from?”
Linford didn’t even bother to look up as he answered his stepmother’s question, “I don’t know. She’s just an employee.”
Clara seemed to be curious as well, “Only an employee?”
“Or who do you think she is?” Linford arched, not sounding very friendly. Clara fell silent, knowing she was talking too much.
Linford’s dad, Darwin, frowned, “You’re asking too many questions, Tanya.”
Tanya pouted, “I’m asking this because I care about Linford. Those journalists are making things up after taking that photo where Linford carried the young woman out of the hall. Linford’s about the right age to get married. That young lady seems nice… I’m just asking.”
Pop’s eyes lit up as he heard what Clara said, “Really, Linford? Did you hold the woman in your arms? What does she look like? Is she pretty?”
Clara cut in, “She’s super pretty, Grandpa. You will like her when you get to see her.”
Linford put down his fork as he cleared his throat, “Don’t worry about that, Pop. I’ll inform you immediately if I somehow decide to get married one day. That Cristelle’s just a normal employee. I carried her out because she got hurt. She needed to be sent to the hospital. Sorry, Pop. But I suddenly felt quite full. I’m afraid I have to leave. I’ll come to visit you again very soon.”
“Linford… Wait,” Tanya tried to stop Linford from leaving. But Linford just walked out of the dining room directly without looking back.
Tanya felt a bit sad. Darwin frowned. Clara also stopped eating.
Pop was the only one who seemed unbothered, laughing, “I knew he was in love now! Linford seldom falls for any woman. That Cristelle must be quite special for him.”
Pop was only happy that Linford was going to have a girlfriend. He didn’t pay any attention to the looks on other people’s faces.
****
Cristelle’s leg got so much better. She decided to go to work tomorrow. But before that, she wanted to take Candace to the hospital first.
She took Candace to the therapeutic division of the hospital directly. When Cristelle got to see Drew, her mouth fell open, “Hello… Dr. Weston. I didn’t expect to see you here as well.”
It seemed like this doctor worked at a lot of different hospitals.
Drew also seemed surprised as he approached Cristelle, “What brought you here, Cristelle?”
Drew’s eyes fell on the babies, and their cuteness almost melted his heart. Cody knew this man would probably become his sister’s doctor, so he went forth to greet him, “Hi! It’s good to see, Doctor. I’m Cody.”
“It’s so good to see you, Cody. You can call me Drew,” Drew liked kids the best. He couldn’t stop smiling as he saw the cute twins.
And why did the boy look so much like someone he knew? Drew was curious.
Drew wanted to say hi to the girl as well. But Candace only hid behind Cristelle. She looked so scared that she almost cried.
“It’s okay, Candace. The doctor is nice. He only wants to make you feel better,” Cristelle crouched down and comforted her little girl.
Cody also patted Candace’s hand, reassuring her, “It’s okay, Candace. We’re only here to visit the doctor. So there won’t be any pills or needles.”
But Candace still couldn’t stop trembling. She buried her face in Cristelle’s shoulder and refused to look at Drew, her little arms hooking around Cristelle’s neck, refusing to let go.
Drew was an experienced therapist. He could tell the girl had a condition with one glance. This girl might suffer from selective mutism, impeding her communication with other human beings.
“It’s okay… It’s okay, honey.” Cristelle tried to comfort her little girl. It broke her heart to see Candace act this way.
Drew, however, went to his desk and fetched two huge pink lollipops from his drawer, showing the candy to the little girl, “Look at this, Candace. Do you like it?”
Candace gave her a fearful look, but she looked away immediately. Drew knew how to handle kids like her.
He played cartoons in his office to distract Candace. And then, after Candace grew to trust him, he told the girl a story. The way he told the story was pretty intense, and even Cody got interested in his story.
Candace ended up sitting on his lap when he told another story. Cristelle was so happy.
She had never seen Candace that close to any stranger before. Drew told story after story for about one hour. After that, Candace gradually started to like him.
“Do you like my stories, Candace?” Drew asked the girl as he smiled.
Candace nodded eagerly.