Never Late, Never Away Chapter 2100
Joan lay on her side, her mind occupied by thoughts about Larry. Lucius lay flat, thinking about either Delilah or Larry. As for Caiden, he thought only of Joan’s pretty face. All three of them had their own worries but were reluctant to voice them out.
“Mom, where do you think Dad is right now?” asked Lucius suddenly.
Joan froze for a second, turned over to face the boy, and regarded him solemnly.
“Dad has a lot of things to settle in the company, so he can’t join us on the field trip, but he swears he won’t miss the next one.” Joan held Lucius’s hand, her expression a sincere one.
Is that right? But Mom isn’t even sure whether Dad will come or not, or when he’ll show up. Dad hasn’t been answering her calls either. So how does Mom know that Dad is busy at work? Lucius’ eyes dimmed as he kept his thoughts to himself.
“Lucius, I’d like you to know that it’s your father who asked me to come,” Caiden spoke. Lucius’ eyes lit up.
“Is that true, Caiden? Do you know where Dad is?” Lucius turned over and asked him excitedly.
Of course that was all a lie. Caiden just did not want to upset the kid. He could tell that Joan adored Lucius very much.
Joan was surprised to hear him say that. She could not understand why Caiden would cover for her.
Under normal circumstances, it would take a lot of courage to attend a family event on behalf of another person’s spouse or parent. Not only had Caiden assumed the role, he welcomed it with delight. He even helped smooth over Larry’s absence.
“Of course it is, Lucius. Your father has several big projects coming up, so he’s much busier than usual. So, please don’t blame him, alright?” Caiden said as he pinched Lucius on the cheek.
Lucius was overjoyed to hear that.
So Dad didn’t really forget. Something came up and he couldn’t make it, so he asked Caiden to take his place.
“Mom, did you hear that? Dad didn’t forget about today!” Lucius gently tugged at Joan’s arm.
It was all quite awkward for Joan, but she forced a smile.
“Alright, Lucius. Let’s get some sleep. It’s getting late. We have plenty to do tomorrow,” Joan coaxed her child.
“Okay. Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Caiden.” Very soon, Lucius closed his eyes.
Caiden glanced at Joan on the other side, a swell of emotions surging within him. But Joan did not notice that. She pulled the covers over Lucius before turning her back away.
Joan, when will you notice my feelings for you? Caiden sighed.
Joan caught that sigh, and was quickly overcome with guilt.
The next day, the sun rose early. Perhaps everyone had been too exhausted from the previous day’s events, so no one got up on time.
In the tent, Lucius still lay at the center, but sometime in the middle of the night his body had slid to a lower position, while above him Joan and Caiden faced each other as they slept on, albeit no sign of intimacy whatsoever.
“Um, Mom, time to wake up,” Lucius called her, his eyes barely open.
Roused by the child’s voice, the adults slowly opened their eyes, only to realize that they were apparently laying less than one centimeter apart from each other.
“Joan, I’m sorry about that.” Caiden rolled over and sat up.
“It’s nothing,” Joan muttered.
When they exited the tent, there were already a few others moving about.
Soon, the rest of the campers awoke one after another.
“Oh, morning, Mr. Caiden. Where did you sleep last night?” One of the students’ parents approached him.
Joan stood off at the side, appearing rather awkward.
Why’s she asking such a stupid question? It shouldn’t matter where Caiden slept last night. Who cares if he spent the night inside or outside the tent? It’s totally a non-issue!
