At around twelve in the night.Ross and Jamie and Ivy were coming out together, and all three of them seemed to be in a good mood.“There’s no rush, Ms. Ivy,” Ross said. “We’ll get them engaged soon. But as for marriage, let’s wait a little and see how they go by. If everything is fine after a while, and both of them are still interested in each other’s company, we can arrange a grand wedding.”“Y-Yes, that sounds cool,” Ivy was smiling on the outside but on the inside, she was crying. She didn’t think Ross would bring such a condition out of nowhere.But Jamie wasn’t too surprised by it because he had heard a little of Ross’ backstory, that his wife had left him after five years of marriage when their kids were very young. She left him because he was focusing more on work and less on her. After that, Ross took care of his children on his own. He didn’t marry anybody else, so Jamie could understand why Ross was particular about giving time for his daughter to think before moving onto
Ben and others reached their home in their Kia Seltos. Ben and Ivy went inside happily, whereas Jamie was parking the car in the garage.Mollie’s back was hurting from sitting for nearly forty minutes in the car, so she took Ruth’s and Ulmer’s help to walk to her room.After dropping Mollie in her room, Ulmer said good night and then exited the room with Ruth. He quickly told her, “Don’t steal things, Ruth. It’s never going to help you.”Ruth’s heart shook very much. “W-What are you talking about, Bro?”Ulmer put his hand on her shoulder. “I saw it. You taking the locket from that statue.”Ruth’s eyes widened. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”Ulmer, however, didn’t smile or blink. “I’m not going to tell anyone, but for your own good, I’m telling you. Don’t steal like that again. It’s never going to help. I’m not trying to preach you or anything. When I was young, I stole a thing or two from my friend’s house, too. Once I stole a small mirro
The next morning.Ben woke up at around nine in the morning and came out to the verandah yawning. Jamie was cleaning his car, which made Ben roll his eyes. (He’s at it again. Why does he clean the car everyday?) “Dad, the car won’t become fresh just because you clean it regularly.”“But it won’t look dirty and old if we regularly clean it,” Jamie replied. “Don’t discount these habits, Son. They may seem insignificant to you, but one good habit can lead to another.”“So, you’re suggesting that cleaning your car daily will help you be better in other areas, too?” Ben faintly smiled. “Self-butterfly effect, huh. That sounds interesting. I admit.”“The rice mill worker dropped the bag outside,” Jamie said, “instead of leaving it in the house. Why don’t you take it inside?”Ben looked at the rice big. It looked big. Still, he came to the bag and tried to pick it up. He was able to lift it a bit, but to his surprise, he couldn’t do it fully. “It’s quite heavy.”“That’s 120 pounds,” Jamie sa
Minutes kept passing, but the old couple that had occupied both of the bathrooms were not coming out.Jamie and Ivy, however, refused to go anywhere. They kept their watch even though it meant that they had to put their other works aside.Mollie felt her stomach loosening, so she came to the bathroom and was shocked to see that it was closed. She looked at Jamie. “Don’t tell me, they’re still inside? It’s been almost an hour, though.”Jamie shrugged his shoulders.Mollie then knocked on the door without hesitation. “Are you done?”“Ah, just a minute,” the old man replied from the inside.Mollie patiently waited, but a minute turned into three minutes. Mollie couldn’t help but be frustrated. “How long are you going to stay in there? Come out for a couple of minutes. I need to use the bathroom.”“Just a minute,” the old man replied, making Mollie grind her teeth.Again, one minute turned into three minutes. Mollie would have probably kicked the door open if she hadn’t grown old.“Do you
Mollie was old but had seen a lot of things in life and experienced many ordeals over the years. So, she put herself close to Amelie to understand her better and also make sure that nothing could go wrong.While Amelie’s grandparents were busy talking with Ben’s parents, Mollie spent time with Amelie.“Have you dated anyone before dating my grandson?” Mollie asked her.Amelie smiled somewhat before replying. “I have.”“How are young men during the dates these days?” Mollie curiously asked.“Uh, I think they either make the first move too fast or don’t make the first move at all,” Amelie said. “I believe things were more steady and gradual back in your time?”“When I was young, the concept of dating was seen as a farce,” Mollie said. “A man and a woman holding their hand in public would be considered a big deal. But nowadays, they are kissing each other on roads and in public spaces everywhere. The sensitivities of the past are slowly but surely getting lost. How is Ben, though? Is he
Amelie was roaming the house to find Ben. She couldn’t find him, so she went to the backyard where she saw Ulmer doing something strange. She went over to him only to realize that he was trying to pick up an animal. “Is that a turtle? It looks pretty young. How did it get here?”“Don’t look down on them just because it’s a baby,” Ulmer told her. “These baby turtles cross the seas and navigate through the dangerous oceans.”Amelie was surprised to hear that. “They do grow up in their parents’ care, right?”“No, most of them have to fend for themselves,” Ulmer said, speaking from his experience of traveling through the seas for more than forty years.Amelie slightly frowned. “It’s impossible for them to survive on their own. The babies don’t know anything.”“You’re underestimating them. We are all born with necessary information,” Ulmer replied. “Birds have been migrating from one continent to another for thousands of years. They travel to places they have never been to with precision b
Amelie returned to her grandparents and sat between them on the couch. Though she wanted to kiss them, she couldn’t do it because she was in Ben’s house.“Where is your fiance, Amelie?” Her grandfather, Calvin, asked. He had multiple moles on his face. “When are you going to introduce him to us?”“Ben went out to bring some food from the nearby restaurant,” Ivy said. “He will be back soon.”“My wife isn’t really feeling well,” Calvin said. “I don’t know if she can eat anything right now.”“Then I’ll make some buttermilk for her,” Ivy said and left in a hurry.“Buttermilk, huh…” Amelie’s grandmother, Fiona, smiled. “It’s been a while since I’ve tasted buttermilk. Can she add some spice to the buttermilk?”“I’ll go and tell her,” Jamie said and hurriedly left.Now, only Amelie and her grandparents were present there, so they could talk freely.Fiona was looking around. “This house isn’t big. Are you sure you can live in this house in the future?”“Grandma, Ben and I are not going to sta
After talking with his grandmother, Ulmer decided to find a farmer as soon as possible. So, he was leaving the house.Though he saw Fiona and Calvin in the hall, he didn’t talk with them because neither Amelie nor Ivy introduced him.After Ulmer left, Fiona asked, “Who was that young man? Was he Ben?”“Of course, not,” Ivy quickly said. “He’s my nephew. Don’t mind him. He doesn’t have a job and doesn’t have a clue as to how to build a career. Because his family died, my husband is trying to help him and change him for good.”“Oh, that’s pretty nice of you,” Calvin said. “These days, families are easily breaking apart, so it’s quite heartwarming to see that you care about your nephew so much.”Ivy just smiled in return. (Who cares about that useless freeloader? I have to kick him out of this house as soon as possible! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to answer every time someone asks about him. It’s already getting annoying now.)The more the Richard family are going to be present at this