Franco felt deflated, “Fine! I’ll go. Stop saying that.” With that, he turned around and went back to his room. Jack followed, “Sir, don’t forget to take your meds.”
Jack came out of Franco’s room a little while later.
Linford had been out of the door, waiting quietly. He stopped Jack before he could go away, “How is Pop’s condition exactly?” Jack only smiled, “He will be fine.”
Linford didn’t believe him, “Jack, you need to tell me the truth if you still care about grandpa.”
Jack frowned, “But I am telling the truth. Going to the hospital was only a part of sir Franco’s plan. He’s actually fine.”
Linford thought for a while and decided to trust Jack, “Okay then… but Jack, you know how vulnerable Pop was at this age. Please take really good care of him.”
Jack patted Linford’s shoulder, “Don’t worry, Mr. Bradley. You know I care about him a lot.”
“Thank you,” Linford nodded and turned away.
Jack went back to Franco’s room with a cup of water in his hand. Pop was leaning against the bedhead, looking exhausted, “You didn’t tell the boy anything, did you?
Jack looked a bit sad, shaking his head. slowly, “No.”
****
Drew looked pretty nervous as he saw the medical report. He called Linford instantly. “Linford, I’ve got the result.”
Linford was pressing the phone to his ear as he watched the babies fishing with Pop. “How is it?”
“It’s not good. I guess Pop’s condition is only getting worse. I hope you have prepared for this… you know… mentally.” Drew lowered his voice.
Linford’s mouth went dry. An unspeakable sadness flooded over him, but he managed to contain himself, “I got it. Thank you.” Linford hung up the phone and turned to look at his grandfather. Pop was wheeling back the hook, shouting excitedly, “Another perch! I told you!”
Candace was jumping and clapping. Cody ran over to fetch a bucket.
Linford only got sadder seeing how happy they were.
Franco looked back, and Linford instantly adjusted his mood to avoid letting his grandfather know that he had checked his medical result.
“Linford! You know how to cook this, right? Make some perch chowder for us!”
Pop shouted from a distance. Linford walked over instantly, “Okay, I got this.”
Cristelle also came to help. Frank and Claire built a fire near the lake.
“Who just called you?” Cristelle asked carefully. She noticed how Linford’s face changed after the call, and she was a bit worried. Linford cleaned the fish as he said, “It was Drew. I asked him to check out Pop’s medical record,”
“What did he say?” Cristelle was curious, looking at him with expectation.
Linford didn’t stop cleaning the fish, but he looked a bit sad as Cristelle mentioned it, “He said Pop probably doesn’t have much time left.”
“What?” Cristelle’s eyes widened in disbelief, “H-How?”
“Pop’s quite old, and he’s also pretty weak. He’s just pretending to be strong,” Linford said softly, his voice sad, “Pop’s gone through a lot when he was young. I really wished he could live a peaceful life. I hope he can spend his days more happily. To be honest, I thought he would always be with me. I’ve never considered this situation before.”
Cristelle knew how it felt. She grabbed his hand gently. “Pop’s a kind person. God will bless him, and he will be fine. No matter what happens, I’ll always be here with you.”
“I know,” Linford answered softly. He looked up and saw Candace running around by the lake, “Don’t tell the babies about Pop’s condition right now. Pop doesn’t want to make people sad.”
Cristelle nodded, “Sure. I won’t mention this to anyone.”
Cody walked over, holding a small bucket. He put the bucket before his Dad, sounding cool as usual, “Another.”
Cristelle frowned a bit. She didn’t like the way her son talked to his Dad. Before she could say anything, Linford suddenly said, “You handle that yourself. By the way, Pop loves perch chowder. I remember you’re pretty good at making it, right? Go ahead and cook the old man some chowder. He will be thrilled.”
Cody thought this was another trap of Linford Bradley.
He was probably the one who wanted to have chowder.
The boy wanted to say no, but Cristelle suddenly cut in, “I also enjoyed the chowder you made last time. Would you mind cooking for us today, Cody?”
Cody would never say no to Cristelle. He sighed and nodded, “Fine. But I also need other ingredients.”
Cody went to make perch chowder, and Pop almost emptied the lake.
He held a huge bucket and walked over. Linford went ahead and took the bucket, carrying it toward the tent, “That’s enough, old man. More fish and we can go to the market and sell these. Why don’t you come into the tent and get some rest?”
Pop shook his head, “Nope. I still want to play with Cody and Candace a bit.”
“Cody’s making chowder over there. Why don’t you take a look?” Linford suggested.
“What?” Pop wasn’t happy with what he heard, “He’s just a little boy, and you sent him to cook? What kind of father are you?”
Linford laughed, “The boy insisted on cooking for you after hearing you’d like some chowder. I couldn’t even stop him.” That man was lying again. Cody didn’t even bother to look up as he heard what his Dad said.
But Franco looked genuinely happy after hearing the lie. Cody thus decided to make the chowder perfect, or it would be awkward for all of them.
When the chowder was done, Cody went to invite the old man, “Pop, the meal is ready. Let’s eat.”
Franco smiled, following him, “Okay. Of course.” And then, he turned to shout at Linford, “Boy! Come over here. Cody just finished cooking.”
Candace was the first one to run over. She liked Cody’s cooking the best. The family enjoyed their meal by the lake. Linford had never seen his grandpa being so happy before. He wished his happiness would last forever.
****
The group of people went back to the mansion after fishing. Franco was quite exhausted after spending all day around the lake. He already felt tired. Jack followed him upstairs as he went back to his room to sleep.
Cristelle also took the babies upstairs, “You guys must also be tired. Let’s take a bath and go to bed.”
Candace nodded, “Okay. I’m so tired.”
Cody, however, stopped in his tracks, “You guys go first. I need to see Dad a bit.”