“Little Ian, it’s getting late. I have to go now.”
“Alright,” came a flat response from Ian, who was playing a game in the room.
Sasha rose from her spot and proceeded to put on her socks, ready to leave.
“So will you be coming tonight?”
“What’s that?”
“You said you would come over every night to treat Daddy’s illness.”
Ian’s fingers did not stop tapping on the game controller while his eyes remained glued to the screen. With that listless demeanor of his, if Sasha had not been staying with the boy in the same room, she might have suspected that he wasn’t the one who said those words.
Sasha lowered her eyes. For a moment there, she thought about telling him that she would not be coming that night.
In fact, she would not be coming anymore. She didn’t want to treat his daddy’s illness again if she could help it.
But as she stood there gazing at the boy’s little head and then at the medicine left on the table, she nodded in the end.
“Yes, of course I’ll come. You should go to sleep after you put on your pajamas, understand? I will come to check on you as soon as I arrive, alright?”
The boy remained quiet.
He felt embarrassed now that his secret had been discovered.
But he nodded in the end before shifting his focus back to the game.
Sasha left the house after that, feeling relieved.
Half an hour later, at the preschool in Old Town.
“Mommy, finally! There you are! I thought you don’t want us anymore.”
Reaching the preschool at half-past four was not considered late. But as soon as she got there, her two little kids came running toward her. They leaped into her embrace and began to whine like the children they were.
Well, Vivian did most of the whining.
Matteo, on the other hand, just stood in front of his mother, carrying his schoolbag.
Sasha instantly cracked a smile. She squatted down and took her two precious kids in her arms. “Now, why wouldn’t I want you two? There’s nothing I want in the world other than the two of you.”
“Really?”
Vivian was happy to hear that. She gave Sasha a tight hug and kissed her on the cheek.
Meanwhile, Matteo merely hugged her.
From that hug, the clever boy could sense that something was amiss about their mommy. Her smile seemed rather unnatural.
Is it possible that… Mommy went there again today, and something happened?
Matteo’s beaming face immediately dimmed.
After fetching her kids, Sasha brought them to the supermarket to get some groceries before going home. She had to prepare dinner for them, clean up after that and then make a trip to Frontier Bay, so there was no time to spare.
At the thought of going back to that place, she started to feel upset again.
“Matt, I’m going to make dinner. In the meantime, you and your sister should get your homework done, alright?”
“Sure, Mommy.”
Having said that, Matteo led his sister to the living room and took out their homework from their schoolbags. He spread out his sister’s homework, got out her pencil which had a butterfly figurine, and placed it nicely in front of her. After that, he whispered into her ear.
“Vivi, I have to make a phone call. Do your homework here, alright? Cover for me and don’t let Mommy find out.”
“Matt, who are you calling? Is it Ian?”
The little girl’s pair of large eyes widened in anticipation. The way her eyelashes fluttered made her seem just so much cuter.
Matteo nodded. “Yes. I realize that Mommy’s not in a good mood today, so I want to ask Ian if she’s been treated badly at his place again.”
“Hmph! Bad Daddy! Alright, call him! If Daddy’s been bad again, then we’re kicking him out of this family!”
Vivian was definitely Mommy’s loyal fan. When she heard that Mommy was being bullied again, her chubby cheeks flushed red with rage as she flapped her little arms about.
Matteo hurried to his room to call Ian.
But before he could dial the number, there was already a text message waiting for him. He clicked on the message to realize that it was from Ian.
Ian: Sorry, Matt. Mommy and Daddy were fighting again, but I’ve already punished Daddy.
So they really got into a fight again!
Matteo was enraged when he saw the message, so much so that he automatically ignored the word “punish.”
Matteo: Mommy’s a person, not a thing. Do you think punishing Daddy is enough to settle this? If I beat you up and allow you to punish me after that, does that solve anything? It doesn’t! And there’ll surely be a next time!
Ian did not reply after that.
After a long while, when Matteo thought that he would not get another response from Ian, the screen lit up.
Ian: Then, what do you suggest?
Matteo: I won’t believe him again until he really repents his actions.
Ian: So, you’re not letting Mommy come over tonight?
Matteo: That’s right!
Silence fell again on the other end.
Their interaction had come to a halt. This time, Matteo did not receive any more messages from Ian until Sasha finished making dinner.
Is he mad?
But there’s no other way around it. This is our mommy here. If we don’t love her, who will? Who else will protect her and treasure her?
Matteo came out of the room, feeling upset.
Right at that moment, Sasha stepped out of the kitchen with her freshly made food. She was stunned to see her son looking somewhat downcast, so she asked him, “What’s the matter? Matt, why the sudden long face?”
