“…”
Blanca stood there looking at the big pink-skirted doll in his arms, holding back her emotions as she asked in a relatively normal voice, “What do you think?”
Paige was no longer a three-year-old, she was doing big things, so how could she like this kind of doll?
The salesperson nearby had been observing the two for a long time. Generally, the people who entered the store were young parents, or grandparents buying toys for their grandchildren. But looking at these two, they didn’t look like parents, and they didn’t look like grandparents either.
Both of them are outstanding in appearance, especially in temperament, and they don’t look like old people at all. Maybe they were born late?
Upon thinking about this, the salesperson walked over with a smile on his face, “Are you buying a gift for a child?”
“For my daughter,” Alonso said directly.
It really was born late.
“We have a doll house here that is exclusively made for little princesses. This doll can talk and change clothes and hairstyles, and little girls really like it,” the salesperson immediately enthusiastically introduced it.
“Okay, buy one,” Alonso said without thinking, “do you have anything else?”
“Yes, we also have some educational toys, such as the princess building blocks, which can help children develop their intelligence and encourage them to think actively while playing. They are over here.”
The salesperson led Alonso to look at the wall full of building blocks, which were dazzlingly pink.
Blanca stood aside and watched as Alonso went over to look seriously, asking inexplicable questions from time to time.
“Sir, these building blocks are graded according to difficulty. If your child is younger, choose the simpler ones. I wonder how old your child is?” the salesperson asked with a smile.
“Twenty-five.”
“…”
The salesperson’s warm smile froze on her face.
Was she being teased?
Blanca couldn’t bear to listen anymore, so she pulled open the glass door and walked out. After a few steps, she looked back inside.
Alonso was still talking to the stiff-faced salesperson about toys. He didn’t feel that his behavior was bad at all, and there was a smile in his dark eyes.
She lowered her eyes. If she hadn’t lost her child back then, he might have been the kind of father who would buy a bunch of pink toys.
Blanca withdrew her gaze and stopped looking.
…
On the other side, for safety reasons, Paige simplified the convoy and drove more discreetly into the traffic of The Capital.
The Ferris wheel virus has been causing trouble for a few days, but the streets of The Capital are still full of people. They are in a hurry, wearing masks as if they were wearing several layers of clothing, doing whatever they can to stock up on goods, for fear that one day even eating and drinking will become a problem. They don’t want to go out so often, as the chances of infection are higher.
The car drives towards Rose Estate and parks directly in the courtyard.
In the courtyard, the roses on the wall are in full bloom, welcoming the wind and setting off waves of petals. The green leaves are swaying, and the air is fresh.
A lightweight flower frame swing is parked in the courtyard. Gabriel, dressed in his pajamas, is sitting on it with one short leg, his hands resting on his knees. He is wearing a small, light yellow fisherman’s hat, and is half-closing his eyes as he watches the scattered sunlight falling between the leaves above.
A glass of orange juice is tied to the side of his little head, and he can take a sip from the straw with just a tilt of his head. He is so comfortable and happy, it’s like he’s on vacation.
Next to him, a pure white puppy is also squatting on the swing, pushing up with all his might to try to make the swing swing.
“…”
Paige is speechless and looks on in disbelief. How can a four-year-old child live his life like he’s retired?
“Come on, little dolphin!”
Gabriel took a sip of orange juice and cheered the dog on.
Hearing a noise, he opened his eyes and looked at the stopped car in the yard, blinking with his big eyes.
Olivia, wearing an apron, hurriedly ran out of the building when she heard the car. She was very happy to see the car and said, “The young master and young lady are back!”
This shout scared Gabriel so much that he fell off the swing, his fisherman’s cap flying off, and the little dolphin jumped high in the air. The little guy rolled and crawled all the way, running into the house.
After a while, he ran out again. Gabriel stood next to the car door with a thin book in his hand, shaking his head and shouting the content of the book.
Paige really couldn’t bear to listen anymore, so she silently rolled down the window.
Gabriel peeked over with a wink and saw Enrico collapsed on Paige’s shoulder, sleeping with his eyes closed.
Gabriel let out a long breath, threw the book onto the swing behind them, leaned against the car door, tilted his little head, and looked all big-lettered and cute, “Mommy, you’re back, I missed you so much, do you miss Gabriel?”
Paige really couldn’t be too harsh on him. Seeing him like this, she couldn’t help but smile. She turned her head to take a look at the man still asleep on her shoulder and whispered, “Hurry up and practice your writing, Daddy will wake up in a bit.”
After Gabriel stuttered when proposing to Enrico last time, Enrico had the teacher teach him even harder.
“Oh oh oh,” Gabriel nodded smartly and turned to run towards the western-style building.
Paige shook her head helplessly, her gaze shifting from Gabriel to the familiar old mansion before her, and she smiled knowingly.
Finally, they were going to live here again.
“Enrico, we’re home,” she said, reaching out to gently tap him on the neck.
Enrico’s brow furrowed as he smelled the flowers in the courtyard and slowly opened his eyes, only then realizing that they had arrived at Rose Estate.
“How long have I been asleep?”
He asked, not straightening up immediately, but reaching around her and burying his face in her neck, taking a deep breath, his lips tracing her skin.
Paige was a little tickled by his rubbing, and whispered, “Not long. Get out of the car.”
“Just a little longer.”
He held her for a while longer, as if he was taking in oxygen, and then let her go, getting out of the car with her.
Paige took his hand as they walked up the steps and through the front door.
As soon as they entered, they saw a simple small desk on the carpet in the center of the living room, and Gabriel was sitting on it, holding a pencil in his hand and writing seriously.
The teacher standing next to him looked helpless, and when he saw them come in, he bowed his head.
“Young master and young lady,” Olivia brought two glasses of water over.
Enrico let go of Paige’s hand and walked straight towards Gabriel, looking down at him. Gabriel’s small back was straight, and he was gripping the pencil very tightly, writing a character on the paper.
“This character is not bad.”
Enrico didn’t expect to see his son working hard as soon as he entered, so his tone was much more relaxed.
“Thank you, Daddy. I also think that I have written Mommy’s name the best!”
Gabriel was smug, his tail cocked.
“…”
Enrico looked at the name that took up an entire column, and his face suddenly said a thousand words. “This is your mommy’s name?”
“Yes.”
Gabriel lowered his head and held the pen tightly as he wrote the characters. A simple Paige Clarke made him span across the top, bottom, and left columns, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a chaotic structure and an unspeakable ugliness…