“Here, these are your favorite, boy,” Darwin peeled a whole plate of crawfish and put the plate before Cody, “Try them. I know you love them.”
Cody, however, had been eating fish and crabs on the island with his Uncle every day. He really couldn’t force himself to swallow down more. But Darwin was his grandfather, and he made an effort to peel those crawfish for him. It didn’t feel polite to turn him down. So the boy ended up eating them all. After that, he pointed at the roasted loin chops, “Grandpa, I want that one. I’ve been eating sea fruit for days. I really can’t eat more of them.”
“Of course, lad,” Darwin laughed, “You can eat whatever you want.” Saying that he leaned over the table and put some of the juicy chops on Cody’s plate.
Cody’s eyes lit up as he finally could eat some meat.
Mr. Weston looked at the boy across the table. The longer he looked at the boy, the more jealous he felt. Franco was so lucky. He had a super smart grandson, and now he even had a genius great-grandson. Cody might be tiny now, but the way he talked to and treated people showed his intelligence. It was rare to see this among kids of his age.
Mr. Weston sighed and looked at Drew, whose cheeks were stuffed with food. Drew noticed his grandpa’s gaze and let out an awkward smile, making Mr. Weston even more depressed.
When would this idiot grandson of his find a wife and have a baby? It seemed like it would take forever.
Mr. Weston and Mrs. Weston stayed to play with the babies a little. They left after desserts.
Now that the boy had finally returned, no one was worried about anything. Darwin and Tanya wanted to stay, but no one asked them to. It felt awkward to ask, so they left in the end.
****
Candace didn’t want to sleep with Cristelle anymore at night. She missed Cody too much, and she wanted to sleep with her brother.
Cristelle sighed, “Honey, your leg has not fully recovered. Mommy will be worried if you sleep with Cody.”
“It’s okay,” Candace patted her leg, “Mom, I want to be with Cody.”
Cody also wanted to sleep with Candace, “Mommy, you don’t need to worry. I’ll take care of Candace. I promised her today that I would tell her the stories of my adventure on that island.”
“Okay,” Cristelle smiled, “Just be careful and don’t touch Candace’s leg, okay?”
“Okay.”
Cristelle leaned forward and gave each one of the babies a kiss.
She was also pretty tired today. She really needed to get some sleep because she had barely got any after Cody went missing.
****
Cristelle took a long bath in her bathroom. The bedroom door was pushed open when she walked out of the bathroom and slumped on her bed.
“What the….” Cristelle gasped as she saw Linford, “Why… Why are you still up?”
Linford closed the door behind him. He noticed that Cristelle was only wearing a bathrobe and her hair was still wet after taking a bath. His eyes darkened as he grabbed the hair dryer and sat next to her on the bed, “I’m not sleepy.”
Cristelle tried to take the hair dryer from him, “I can do it by myself.”
“Shush…” Linford grabbed her shoulder and steered her away, “Let me do it.”
Linford switched on the hair dryer and combed Cristelle’s long hair with his fingers. Cristelle could feel the warm breeze of the hair dryer on her neck.
The vanity was placed next to her bed. She could see from the mirror as Linford dried her hair so intently and gently.
For some weird reason, he was so attractive when he was doing this for her.
Linford suddenly looked up. Their eyes met in the mirror. Cristelle blushed and instantly dropped her gaze. She heard Linford’s soft chuckle.
She cleared her throat and asked timidly, “It must be quite dangerous… when you tried to save Enzo and Cody.”
Linford nodded slightly, “A bit.”
“Drew… Drew told me that you got hurt. He asked me to clean the wounds for you daily.” Cristelle murmured as she took the hair dryer away.
“Drew told you that?” Linford seemed surprised.
Cristelle shrugged as she put the hair dryer on the table before grabbing the medical kit for Linford.
This Drew finally did something likable.
Linford smiled as he took his shirt off.
“Wait!” Cristelle blushed, “Why are you taking off your clothes?”
Linford kept a straight face, “The wounds are on my back. How will you clean my wounds if I don’t take my clothes off?”
“Oh…” Cristelle looked away awkwardly.
“What are you guys doing?!” Cody’s voice suddenly boomed at the door.
Cody dashed into the room and stared at Linford, “What are you doing in my Mom’s room? And why are you half-naked?”
Cristelle hurried to explain, “Honey… Your dad got injured when he tried to save you. I’m just trying to clean his wounds. Why are you still awake? Where’s Candace?”
Cody shrugged, “Candace asked me to bring some snacks for her.” And then, the boy crossed his arms before his chest, “You need to clean your wounds, right? Let me help you.”
Linford was suddenly so pissed off after hearing Cody’s words.
Cristelle grabbed some snacks and put them in Cody’s hands, “Here. But don’t let her eat too much, okay? And you both need to brush your teeth after that.”
Cody nodded, “Of course.” And then, he grabbed the medical kit as well, “Come with me. I’ll clean them up for you.”
Linford sighed as he stood up from the bed. He was so pissed off, but he knew he couldn’t let it show.
So, before walking out of the room, he left a quick peck on Cristelle’s left cheek.
Cristelle gasped.
“What?” Cody suddenly turned around.
“No-nothing…” Cristelle stuttered, “Just a mosquito stung my cheek.”
“Oh,” the boy still looked angry as he said, “Mommy, remember to lock the door before sleep. This place is not safe.”
Linford looked like he wanted to murder someone as he followed his son and left the room.