“Please follow me this way. This first floor is separated into three main zones. So, this zone is the lobby and the canteen where the children eat. You can see their dining table here in rows,” Celine proudly showed us the space.
“Small table and chairs. So cute…” I said in a sweet voice.
I turned to Reiner to see that his face was an emotionless mask. Although he suggested that we come here based on King’s request, he clearly wasn’t that interested in this orphanage. He was probably not interested in the children either.
“Please follow me this way. This second zone is separated into many small classrooms for small children and includes a mini nursery. It is unfortunate but we do have very young children here too,” Celine explained.
“Is class going on right now?” I asked with interest.
“Yes. But class for small children is more like developmental playtime so it’s fine if you want to poke your head in or join in with the kids,” Celine explained as she gestured for me to follow her.
Celine opened a classroom door and invited for me to peek inside. After smiling politely at her, I peeked through the opened door and saw a woman inside with around ten toddlers surrounding her. The woman was reading a children’s book to the children while they listened and laughed along. I had no idea what the story was about it was apparent from the children’s reaction that they were enjoying it.
“That is one of our teachers here. She just joined us, but the children already took a liking to her,” Celine explained.
“I see. The children seem like they’re having a good time,” I commented honestly.
From the appearance of the children, I could tell that they came from various racial backgrounds, and I couldn’t help but wonder how such a mixed group of children came to be gathered here in this orphanage. I glanced over at Reiner while I wondered if he knew the answer to that question.
“R…I mean, Knight…do you want to come see?” I asked in a small voice before smiling a little at him.
Reiner did not look interested at all in seeing the children. Arguably, seeing the children and how they were being treated should be the most important thing for us to check out when visiting an orphanage. At least, that was how I felt although I wasn’t an orphanage-checking expert or anything along those lines.
“I’m good,” Reine replied without turning around.
I cocked my head to the side in wonder. Does he…not like children?
“Let’s go and observe the other classrooms for a bit,” Celine suggested brightly.
“Sure. I’d like that,” I quickly replied.
Celine led us down the hallway, and we came to a stop at another door. Just like what we did at the previous classroom, Celine invited me to take a look inside. This classroom seemed to be an art classroom and the teacher was busy teaching children and supervising them on how to paint.
“Can we go look inside?” I asked in intense interest.
The truth was that I couldn’t really see what the children were drawing or painting from where we stood at the door. The art class had a very cheerful atmosphere and that was probably because it was very colorful with the children’s paintings hanging on display all over the walls.
“Of course. All of the children speak English as well so you can talk to them without any issues,” Celine informed me encouragingly.
“Let’s go, Knight…” I said sweetly as I pulled on his large hand.
Reiner looked down at me as he seemed to hesitate. He’s not planning to spend the entire visit just standing on the side, is he?
I nodded at Celine for her to go on ahead while I thought of a way to convince Reiner to be more cooperative in our inspection of the orphanage. Of course, we were on our honeymoon, and this wasn’t strictly work but now that we were here, we might as well have something accurate and fair to report back to King. Also, if King’s decision to increase the funds for this place relied on our report and observation, then all the more reason for us to make sure that we have everything down.
“Is everything ok? You don’t look so…engaged?” I asked with worry as I continued to peer up at his face.
Reiner looked away and wouldn’t meet my gaze and that alone told me more than enough that something wasn’t right.
“Umm…are you not good with children?” I asked as I stared up at his face.
“I don’t know…I don’t think so…” Reiner replied after a moment of hesitation.
“They say practice makes perfect so…let’s try our best?” I suggested before beaming a bright smile up at him.
Reiner sighed but he did look down at my face. Slowly his large hand approached my face, and he stroked my cheek with the back of his hand softly as his blue eyes watched me intently. The warmth and gentleness of his touch made me blush.
“I won’t force you if you still don’t want to…” I mumbled softly.
Honestly, I found it hard to believe that Reiner wasn’t good with children. Looking at how he perfectly took care of me and how kind and caring he was, I doubt that any child wouldn’t like him. I bet that Reiner just didn’t feel confident to give it a try.
“If anything happens, you better save me…” Reiner whispered softly as if he was confessing a secret to me.
My eyes widened at his words. I had no idea what he meant by that. We’re just going in to see a group of young children. What does he mean by me saving him? Reiner didn’t look like someone who would need saving at all.
“Sure. Leave it to me!” I replied confidently, although I wasn’t sure what he really meant.
What can possibly go wrong? We’re just going in to see kids paint some random paintings…
–To be continued…