Early in the morning, Sherilyn got up to prepare Jenna’s day-out bag. Last night, Sophia had received a call from Gilbert, confirming his plans to take Jenna out today. It was likely that Francis had passed on the message. Knowing she was going out with Mr. Gilbert, Jenna didn’t even wait for her mom to wake her up; she was already up and following her mom around like a little shadow.
“Mom, when is Mr. Gilbert coming?” Jenna asked eagerly. Sherilyn, with a smile, pointed at the wall clock, “He’ll be here at eight.”
With five minutes to eight, the doorbell rang.
“Jenna, go!”
Jenna ran to the door, laughing joyously, “It’s Mr. Gilbert! Haha!”
“Good morning, Jenna.”
Gilbert bent down and scooped her up in his arms. Looking up, he saw Sherilyn approaching with a bag. She handed it over calmly, “It’s all Jenna’s things inside, her water bottle, wet wipes… Also, I’ve included a note with Jenna’s likes and dislikes, as well as some of her habits.”
“Got it.” Gilbert took the bag, hooking it over his arm, nodding, “I’ll remember.”
He was looking directly at her as he spoke. She seemed to be in good spirits, seemingly having a good couple of days. Sherilyn didn’t say much more, just gently touched Jenna’s cheek. “Jenna, say goodbye to mom.”
Jenna, resting on Gilbert’s shoulder, waved, “Bye mom!”
“Be good, listen to Mr. Gilbert.”
Sherilyn saw them off, waving with a smile. “Be safe and have fun.”
“We will!”
Gilbert, holding Jenna, felt a bittersweet sensation. Sherilyn hadn’t avoided him; on the contrary, she was open and friendly. But everything she did was for Jenna. Nothing for him. He could still see her, yet he was excluded from her world. So close, yet so far… That’s what it meant…
Back in the apartment, after seeing the father and daughter off, Sherilyn moved to the balcony, rolling up her sleeves, ready to do some laundry. She planned to bake a blueberry cake in the afternoon, waiting for Jenna to come back and enjoy it. Her spirits had indeed been high lately, buoyed by good news. Yesterday, she received a notice from Dr. Neil that in two weeks, Jenna would be admitted to the hospital. Galen had already booked the ward. Just waiting for the day to arrive… The greatest ordeal was about to pass, Sherilyn felt that after this hurdle, her life would be filled with nothing but good.
…
At the Martin household. It was a rare
rudely awakened by a series
weekend when Galen was
urgent knocks on the door.
belongs to en.kikistotent
“Who is it?”
“Galen, Galen!”
It was his mother, Malvina’s voice.
“Galen! I’m coming in!”
Before Galen could respond, the door swung open.
“Mom!”
Galen turned over, sitting up in bed, still groggy, his eyes barely open.
“What’s up? So early… Didn’t you go to the hospital?”
Yuna was still in the hospital, and usually, at this time, his mother would be there.
“Yuna has nurses to look after her at the hospital!”
The room was dim, Malvina frowned and marched forward to yank the curtains open, letting the sunlight flood in. “Ouch!”
Galen shielded his eyes, “Mom, it’s blinding…”
“Blinding?”
Malvina chuckled coldly, “You can’t even handle being blinded by the sun, how could you bear to stab me in the heart?”
“What?” Galen froze, realizing she
was
Shering to the situation with
. His sleepiness faceret
somewhat as he sighed.
“Mom, Sherilyn is Aunt’s daughter! She’s your stepdaughter and your niece. How can you not stand me being nice to her with such a close relationship?”