When Johnny finally spotted Tilda in the bustling crowd, she was sneaking around, wearing a mask and a hat. She was wiping tears from her eyes while grinning and talking to someone on the phone!
In an instant, his anger flared up again!
But after taking a few heavy steps toward her, Johnny stopped.
How pathetic was he?
Tilda had made it so clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Was he really going to shamelessly approach her again, only to get slapped in the face?
It was obvious she had a boyfriend. They were living together, and tomorrow they were even going to visit Tilda’s parents together! So what did that make him?
Johnny’s thin lips twitched, and he pressed his tongue against the inside of his right cheek.
Yeah, that was right. To her, he was just a “premium fruit.” Screw that premium fruit!
…
At the arrivals area, Malcolm waved vigorously as soon as he saw Tilda.
Floyd and Jake, standing on either side of him, tugged at his pants and shouted, “Uncle Malcolm, pick me up! I want to see too!”
Helpless, he couldn’t favor one over the other, so he picked up both of them, one in each arm.
Tilda hurried over, dragging her suitcase, and immediately planted kisses all over Floyd and Jake’s faces.
“I missed you guys so much!”
“Aunt Tilda!” Floyd leaned in, demanding to be held.
Jake, on the other hand, wiped the saliva Tilda had left on his cheek and pouted, “Aunt Tilda, I’m a boy, and you’re a girl! You can’t just kiss me like that.”
“I’ll kiss you if I want to!”
Malcolm set Jake down on Tilda’s suitcase and started pulling it along, asking gently, “You must be tired from lying down on the plane for so long. Stretch a bit.”
“I’m fine! I slept like a log.” Tilda smiled, her eyes narrowing, naturally keeping the incident with Johnny to herself.
“That’s good. What do you want to eat? My treat.”
Malcolm had always been gentle and warm. He reached out and ruffled Tilda’s hair as she rattled off a list of cravings.
As they approached his car, Malcolm suddenly asked, “Did you call Rosalind to let her know you arrived safely?”
“Oh! I forgot! I’ll call her now.” Tilda reached for her phone.
Malcolm quickly said, “I’ll call her. You get in the car first.”
Tilda blinked, not understanding why.
“I don’t have many excuses to call her anymore.”
Tilda opened her mouth, wanting to tell him that Rosalind had mentioned him during their last conversation. But after a moment’s hesitation, she decided against it. “Alright, you call her. I’ll get the kids in the car.”
“Okay.”
Malcolm nodded and walked a short distance away with his phone.
The wind in Northville City was quite strong today, ruffling his hair and causing the hem of his coat to flutter.
He found Rosalind’s number and hesitated for a few seconds before dialing.
Rosalind answered almost immediately.
“Malcolm!”
“Yeah,” he replied, a smile spreading across his face at the sound of her voice. “Just wanted to let you know that Tilda’s been picked up. She’s safe, and we’re taking the kids out to eat now.”
“Great! Malcolm, thank you for looking after the kids, and thank you for-”
“You’re always thanking me. I’m getting tired of hearing it,” Malcolm said with a wry smile. “When you come back, thank me in person and treat me to a meal.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a man’s voice on the other end of the line. “Rosalind, come wipe me down.”