“Mr. Burns, would you like this packed to go?”
Leland Burns didn’t respond but instead gestured for the server to leave.
Once the table was set and the dishes were brought in, the server exited the room.
Sitting before a dozen plates, Leland selected the ones Winifred Dawson had eaten from earlier. He brought them to the table and tasted each one in turn. He wasn’t hungry, but he finished everything, leaving nothing to waste. It reminded him of the past when Winifred, with her small appetite and picky tastes, often left food uneaten. Without hesitation, she would shove her leftovers in front of him, expecting him to finish them.
Leland had grown used to it. He had never felt humiliated by the act. By the time he realized this behavior wasn’t quite right, it was too late. He had already become accustomed to it.
He didn’t need anyone else to degrade him; he could do it all on his own. A natural-born masochist.
In the ten years without Winifred, Leland’s life had spiraled into disorder. Erratic routines and relentless work left him with chronic stomach problems. After having children, his attention was split between work and parenting, often causing him to forget meals entirely. He only ate when someone reminded him, and even then, it was rushed and mechanical, a mere necessity to keep himself alive.
Food had lost its meaning. He couldn’t tell good from bad anymore, and eating brought him no joy.
But today, as he ate the remnants of Winifred’s meal, one dish at a time, images of her eating quietly surfaced in his mind. For the first time in years, he felt a rare sense of appetite. He finished everything, savoring a strange sense of fullness and satisfaction.
Just as he set his chopsticks down, the house phone rang. Calls to the house were rare, and they were almost always from the children.
Sure enough, as he picked up, Wayne Burns’s soft, childlike voice came through.
“Daddy, did you see Mommy today?”
It was the weekend, and Wayne had a clear concept of time. Weekends were rest days, and rest days meant time spent with their father.
But today, their father hadn’t been with them. He had left early in the morning, and Wayne had been persistently asking why. Eventually, Leland admitted the truth.
He told them he was going to see their mother.
The moment they heard this, the children’s eyes lit up with excitement. They clamored to go with him.
Leland didn’t hide his intentions of meeting Winifred from the children, but taking them along was out of the question. The timing wasn’t right yet.
“If you suddenly show up, you’ll scare her away. What if she runs off again, and we can’t find her?” he explained. At that, the children quieted down, no longer insisting on going. But they did manage to get a photo of Winifred from him.
Looking at the picture, their “mommy” didn’t seem as beautiful as she once was, but in their eyes, she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Wayne even pointed at the photo and said, “I’ve seen her before. At the airport that day.”
Leland’s memory was sharp. He could recall even the smallest details. At Wayne’s words, he immediately remembered. That day, when he brought the children to the Midlands, Wayne had suddenly exclaimed that he had seen a very beautiful woman and wanted her to be their mother.
At the time, Leland dismissed it as childish nonsense. But now, it seemed the woman Wayne and Shawn had seen at the airport was indeed Winifred Dawson.
Blood ties were a fascinating thing. They could create a sense of closeness and familiarity between people who had never met.
Even though these two children weren’t biologically Winifred’s, they had instantly felt a connection to her. So, if they could feel this way about their biological mother, would Winifred feel the same connection when she saw them?
“She’s already gone,” Leland said.
“So fast? Didn’t you talk to her more? Get closer to her or something?”
“No.” Even at four years old, Wayne seemed to understand a lot. He was already talking about building relationships.
“Wow,” Wayne sighed dramatically, sounding a little exasperated. “Daddy, are you… useless? You’ll never win Mommy back like this. Girls like sweet talk. When I’m at school, all the girls like me. They even share their snacks with me. Even the teacher says I have a sweet mouth.”
Girls did enjoy being coaxed, but Winifred Dawson wasn’t just any girl. And even if she were, they only enjoyed attention from someone they liked. To Winifred, he was nothing more than an intruder. How could he possibly make her happy?
“When will we get to see Mommy?”
“When we go back. You don’t need to rush.”
“When will we go back?”
“At the latest… four days.” Four days was all the time he needed to let Garrison Reeves solve the current crisis. Once that was done, he would return with Winifred to their home country. He would arrange for a company to hire Winifred on the surface, but in reality, she would be tucked away under his care.
For Garrison Reeves, this would be nothing short of betrayal. It was a calculated deception, and Leland could only imagine the look on Garrison’s face when he realized the truth. It would undoubtedly be priceless.
Garrison Reeves had deceived him for so many years. Returning the favor, even slightly, seemed fair.
After all, both he and Garrison were businessmen. Businessmen didn’t care about methods, only outcomes.
As long as they got what they wanted, what did it matter how it was achieved?