Folly gave me a look and lifted her forehead, feeling a little helpless. I raised my hand and touched my nose. I couldn’t think of anything comforting for the moment.
Fortunately, Karina didn’t seem to go any further into the mood. She took a few bites of dessert and looked at me, “It really tastes good. I’m also learning how to make dessert these days. I’ve eaten so much that I’m getting fat.”
Folly did catch on, looking at her and saying, “Can’t you see how much weight I’ve gained? It’s obvious! You all have babies, and the babies are grown. And I’m only four months pregnant. I still have six months to go. I don’t know how fat I’m gonna get.”
Karina smiled, “It’s not that much of an exaggeration. The average baby’s weight is about 3kg. You don’t have to eat a lot on purpose, just make sure your baby is well nourished. After giving birth, you can control your diet, and then you can gradually lose weight.”
The two of them had something in common and started chatting. I looked at them under my chin and thought that life was so wonderful.
“Clara, are you and Dennis going to have another baby? I heard my brother say the day before yesterday that Clariana was going to H Town with Mario. Aren’t you worried?” Folly led the conversation to me.
I was stunned for a while, and then I said, “It’s okay. Maio will take good care of her.”
Karina turned serious and looked at me, “Don’t you want another baby? Clariana is five now, so if you’re worried about her thinking too much, ask her for advice. Maybe she wants a playmate, too.”
I smiled and said, “Dennis and I are gonna wait until after the New Year. He is too busy these days to think about this.”
They looked at each other and smiled. Folly thought of Luna and asked, “By the way, Luna is in the hospital with appendicitis. I must go check on her later.”
Karina nodded and said, “Well, she’s been resting for a few days. She should be all right.”
She looked at me and said, “She should be ready to go when the wires are off, right?”
I smiled but said nothing more. Then my cell phone rang. It was Clariana calling from Mario’s phone.
She was getting ready to get on the plane, so she called to check in.
…
Over the weekend.
The George group’s annual meeting. It had been a few days since Clariana left City P.
I couldn’t hold her or touch her, even though she called me every night to talk to me. She had been staying with me for four years, and I always missed her when she was gone.
In the afternoon, when Dennis saw that I was distracted, he grabbed me and said, “It’s the company’s annual meeting tonight. Come with me?”
Almost instinctively, I shook my head, but he cut me off, “Come one! If you stay at home all the time, you will inevitably be bored.”
I looked up at him and smiled, “You know I don’t like busy places.”
He smiled, “Then shall I stay with you at home?”
I was stunned, then decided to go with him.
The annual meeting took place next to the hotel’s open-air swimming pool. Everyone seemed to enjoy the atmosphere, the wine, the fine pastries, the brightly lit hall, and the blue swimming pool.
All this seemed to show wealth and elegance.
I didn’t have many hobbies, and I didn’t seem to have any other pursuits besides eating.
I picked some cakes and found a quiet place to eat them.
I didn’t know it when Rose approached. I wouldn’t even noticed her if she wasn’t talking.
“Miss Kennedy, as always, you prefer quiet.”
I looked sideways to see that she, like me, had a plate of cake in her hand, apparently looking for a quiet place to eat.
I smiled, “It is said that women should eat less sweets, or they will get old easily.”
She smiled, stuffed a small piece of cake into her mouth, enjoyed it, and looked at me, “How to define a woman’s getting old?”
She stumped me with this question.
She smiled and continued, “My idea of aging is to lose motivation for life. When a person has the body of twenty years old, but has no expectation and joy for the future, this is old. It is always the soul, not the body. Some people can be 80 and still be refined and motivated. Is that old?”
I smiled, unable to answer her question, and said, “No.”
We chatted for a while. Because Dennis was going to summarize the year of Georges Group, and then doing the recognition session, so she was off.
After eating, I had nothing to do but wander freely around the hotel.
Listening to Dennis’s deep, booming voice, I was already out of the hotel lobby.
The George group had a lot of employees, so it was a little crowded. They also invited some of the biggest names in business and the big names in City.
In the name of gratitude, the Georges Group gave away some of their new AI machines, and it also announced Sheila Torres’ contribution to the Georges Group’s AI department.
There was no denying that Sheila Torres was a good researcher and deserved to be looked at.
At the end of the sequence, Dennis walked straight from the stage to me.
Ignoring everyone’s gaze, he took my hand and said, “How about the pastry tonight?”
“Very delicious!” That was definitely a high rating.
He said, “If you like it, I can have the pastry chef come over and make it for you.”
I laughed.
When we were talking, we seemed so close.
Dennis and I were looking for a place to sit, but before we left, we heard a plop.
When we looked back, a crowd of people had gathered around the pool and someone shouted, “Someone is in the water. Go down and save him.”
The swimmer jumped down.
Dennis was, after all, the chairman of the George Group, so he pulled me over.
He asked me to stand back from the pool and said, “What happened?”
Someone stepped forward and said, “Mr. George, it’s Miss Torre. She seems to be… pushed off.”
By the time Dennis looked over, Sheila Torres had already been picked up. The water was cold in winter, and Sheila Torres lay on the ground, her clothes thin and shivering.
A Gentleman took off his clothes and put it over her legs, and she was given first aid.
It was some time before she woke up, and she looked very weak.
Dennis crouched next to her and had a glass of water for her. Then someone brought a blanket and looked at her and said, “Are you okay?”
Sheila Torres was probably scared out of her wits. She stared at Dennis for a moment, then threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.
For a moment there was a gasp in the air, a furtive glance at me, and whispers.
“I would have thought Ms. Torres was a superwoman, given her aggressive manner. Now it turns out she was a delicate little woman, too.”
“You’re right. Mr. George’s heart must have been shaken by her weak attack.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Mr. George is married. It’s not public, but he’s brought Mrs. George to the office a few times, and that’s a claim of sovereignty.”