Isabella’s car was parked in the hospital parking lot across the street. She drove, taking Andrew back to the apartment.
Amelia took Asher to his early education class and wasn’t at home.
The two of them had to prepare dinner by themselves.
Andrew was a patient, so she couldn’t let him cook. She could only brace herself and walk into the kitchen.
Anyway, as long as he dared to eat, she dared to make.
She wasn’t adept at cooking, which wasn’t entirely her fault. Her mother was elegant and skillful in piano, wine appreciation, painting-she excelled in almost everything but cooking. Naturally, she didn’t groom her daughter to be a chef.
Later, Charlotte married her father, and to play the role of a good wife and mother, she was even less likely to cook.
The kitchen was stocked with various ingredients, but Isabella felt a headache looking at the raw vegetables and fresh fish and meat.
She held her phone, browsing Baidu recipes, learning and cooking at the same time, barely managing to make a pot of fish soup for Andrew.
Although it was quite bland, it was still palatable. He graciously drank a big bowl of it.
Just after they finished eating, Amelia returned with Asher.
Upon Amelia’s return, she was busy in the kitchen. Isabella had cooked a meal, but the kitchen looked like a battleground, and it took a lot of effort to clean up.
And Asher, upon seeing both his parents at home, was extremely happy, wanting Dad to carry him one moment and Mom the next.
Hide and seek was a game Asher never got tired of playing. Isabella hid, letting him find her.
Although the duplex apartment wasn’t too small, there weren’t many places to hide. Although Asher was not yet twenty months old, he was particularly smart and could always find Isabella.
Once he found Isabella, he lifted his little face, giggling in delight.
In the living room, Andrew changed into casual clothes and sat on the couch, smiling as he watched the mother and son play.
Unable to hide any longer, Isabella finally kicked off her shoes, jumped onto the couch, and hid behind Andrew.
Soon, Asher’s pitter-patter footsteps came from upstairs. The chubby little boy blinked his big golden eyes, wandering around the living room. He ran to the door, sniffed around, found Mom wasn’t there. Then he opened the wardrobe, went into the bathroom, still couldn’t find Mom.
A look of puzzlement and confusion appeared on Asher’s little face, so cute and innocent, truly an emoji king.
Andrew smiled as he watched his son, extending his leg to nudge the slippers under the couch.
Isabella’s pink Mickey Mouse slippers were under the couch. When Asher spotted them, his eyes lit up. He quickly ran over, used his hands and legs to climb onto the couch, pushed past Dad, and found Mom behind him.
Asher felt a great sense of accomplishment and danced with joy.
Isabella embraced her son, pampering him with a kiss on his chubby face, but at the same time, she kicked Andrew hard with one foot.
Betraying her like that, this traitor! She had seen him kick the slippers.
Asher got tired from playing and nestled on the couch, watching cartoons with Mom and Dad.
While the baby was engrossed, Isabella started feeling drowsy, yawning. Suddenly, the phone she left on the couch rang.
She answered the call, it was the lawyer reminding her to find the materials for establishing the charity foundation.
She had been quite busy with work lately-scripts, contracts, countless documents-she didn’t even remember where she had kept the materials for establishing the charity foundation.
Fortunately, her organizational habits were still good; she didn’t randomly throw away important documents. They were mostly kept in the drawers in her room.
She hopped off the couch, slipped on her slippers, and went upstairs. Asher followed behind her like a little tail.
She searched through the files in her room, Asher curiously peeking into the drawers, imitating his mother, rummaging around inside. Whenever he found something interesting, he’d take it out to play for a while.
Isabella was completely focused on searching for documents, momentarily forgetting about her son.
After rummaging through the drawer for a while, she finally retrieved the materials related to establishing the charity foundation from the bottom drawer. Placing the documents on the nearby windowsill to avoid mixing them up with others, she bent down to pick up the scattered papers from the floor.
That little rascal Asher always knew how to make a mess.
She gathered all the scattered papers back into the drawer, suddenly feeling like something was missing. Pouring the contents of the drawer out again, she checked each one. Indeed, her wish cards were missing.
“Asher!” Isabella ran downstairs in a huff.
As she descended the steps, she saw Andrew and Asher sitting on the couch, surrounded by many wish cards.
Andrew held one of them, flipping it open to read. It seemed he heard her footsteps, lifting his gaze as Isabella approached. His eyes seemed to hold a knowing smile.
Her cheeks reddened instantly. She hesitated, debating whether to turn and walk away, pretending nothing had happened, or to rush over and grab those wish cards back.
Either way, she felt completely embarrassed.
Andrew averted his gaze, his usually indifferent face now showing a gentle smile. His eyes fell upon those wish cards, scanning through them.
These wish cards were of the same design as the one he had given her initially, yet their contents were quite diverse.
Opening the first one, it read: ‘It rained outside in the evening, suddenly wanted to have steak with him.’
The second one read: “On the 103rd day into the shooting, really missing him.”
The third one: “Waking up and finding him lying next to me, his sleeping face so peaceful, the slight curve of his lips resembling Asher.”
The fourth one: “Saw an elderly couple holding hands on the street today, the old man leading the old woman off the bus. Suddenly felt that holding hands like this, until our hair turns white, would also be blissful.”
The fifth one: “It’s snowing, watching him walking ahead with an umbrella, suddenly wondered, if we keep walking like this, can we walk together until we are old?”
The nth one: “…”
The cards were filled with small, trivial matters, seemingly inconsequential wishes, yet they were so sincere and genuine.
Andrew wasn’t someone who easily displayed emotions or someone fond of sadness, but at this moment, he was overwhelmed with emotions.
It turned out they had already walked through spring, summer, autumn, and winter together.