The Scott Group project was being overseen by Eliza and Jade, leaving Callie with little to do, a situation she found unfamiliar. She instructed them, “If there’s anything you can’t decide on, call me immediately.” That was all; she didn’t want too much interaction with Jaquan.
The weather was nice today. Callie returned to Paucaster Villa and saw Reuben coming back from a walk with Nancy. The two, being of similar age, looked quite harmonious together. “Madam,” Nancy said upon seeing her, “I thought the weather was nice today, so I took him out for a walk.”
Reuben quickly added, “I wanted to go for a walk. Don’t blame her.” Callie laughed, crossing her arms. “Oh, Reuben, I didn’t say anything, and you’re already rushing to play the hero.”
Her teasing made the two elderly people blush. “What are you saying!”
Callie took Reuben from Nancy’s arm and helped him inside. “I was just joking. Why so serious?”
Reuben glared at her. “Alright, alright, I won’t say anything more,” she said, raising her hands in surrender.
Back at Paucaster Villa, they sat in the courtyard basking in the sun.
Reuben suddenly asked, “It’s been two days. Why hasn’t he come back yet?”
Callie smiled. “Who are you talking about?”
“You know! Nelson!”
“Why don’t you call him by his name? When I was in school, you also called Jamir ‘your so-called friend.’ What, are you a daughter-con?” Callie joked.
Seeing that she could mention Jamir calmly, Reuben knew she had completely moved on.
“You’re my daughter. I raised you with so much effort, and now someone else has taken you away. Can’t I be upset?” Reuben said proudly, leaning on his cane.
Callie finally understood what it meant to have an elder at home as a treasure.
“He’ll be back tomorrow or the day after at the latest,” Callie said, counting the days on her fingers.
Reuben felt somewhat reassured and looked at the woman in the sunlight, suddenly recalling something from long ago.
Seeing him lost in thought, Callie asked curiously, “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing… just remembering when I first brought you home. You were so tiny. I was afraid of hurting you. And now you’ve grown up so quickly. Time flies,” Reuben said nostalgically.
Callie smiled bitterly, thinking about her journey as if it had passed in the blink of an eye. “What was I like as a child? Very naughty, I suppose.” She didn’t remember much about those times.
Reuben waved his hand. “You were very well-behaved, unlike other children. You stood quietly in the corner.”
Callie tried to imagine the scene but couldn’t picture it. The weather was good today. Nancy was tidying up old items from the house and dusting them off.
Callie joined her to help and suddenly noticed some photo frames with pictures of Maeve, who Nelson cared about deeply.
Nancy panicked. “I didn’t know these were here…”
Callie picked up a frame and wiped off the dust to make the image clearer. “It’s okay. It’s dirty; I’ll clean it for him.”
By now, she no longer cared about these things as she did initially because, for her and Nelson, it was all in the past.
Reuben glanced over and suddenly stopped, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. “How did this photo end up here?”
Callie was holding a solo picture of Maeve. She shook it slightly and teased him, “What do you think? Doesn’t she look a lot like me?”