I thought she was with Mrs. Eriksen, but when I turned around, it was Stella.
The seemingly frail girl did not seem to mind the weather as she engaged Summer. Not a single hit registered on her, but it was obvious she was not going hard at her opponent at all.
Mrs. Eriksen was smiling as she stood by the side with their coats.
I had not noticed the change in Emery’s expression. Relinquishing my hand, I went over and stooped down in front of Summer, then pretended to chide her angrily. “Why have you come out to play when it’s so cold?”
Summer pouted, seemingly a little unhappy. However, she wisely loosened her grip on the snowball in her own hand, allowing it to fall upon the ground and shatter to dust.
Mrs. Eriksen hurried over to help her into her coat. “It’s all my fault for failing to look after Ms. Summer.”
At this moment, Stella suddenly decided to chime in. “I guess this must be Summer. She’s really adorable.”
I lifted my head to see that the woman was all smiles and full of tenderness for Summer. The discomfort she had from before seemed to have vanished completely.
I ought to be impressed by such adaptability, yet all I felt was displeasure and it showed on my face. A rather patronizing thank you was all that I could muster.
Summer had a perceptiveness that belied her age. She raised her head in pride as she knew Stella was praising her. “I like Ms. Collins, Mommy. Could she play with me next time?”
Stella got in ahead of me. “I could do that. As I’m your mother’s home care aide, we’ll be able to see each other quite often.”
“Oh yeah! There’s someone who can play with me!” While the girl bounced up and down like a little monkey, my own sentiments could only be described as one of ambivalence.
As I expected to be busy preparing for the bar examinations, I would not have as much time to spend with Summer. Despite that, I could not help but feel a little jealous allowing Stella to get close to my own daughter.
Any mother would understand how possessive they could be of their own children. No one would want to share them with other women.
Emery was not the type to hold back on anyone, so regardless of how Summer might have felt about it, she barked sternly at Stella. “A home care aide, huh. Since Ashton’s paying you so well, you ought to earn your paycheck. Now, go on and get Scarlett and myself two glasses of warm milk, and head out to buy the latest materials for the bar examination. Make sure you’re back within the hour as we’ve other tasks for you.”
Though the villa was in the suburbs and not that far from the city center, a round trip would take close to forty minutes. Taking into account the time needed to make the purchases, an hour’s time was considerably tight.
Stella’s expression stiffened, but she dared not protest in the face of Emery’s overwhelming presence. The woman merely nodded timidly. “Understood. I’ll get right to it.”
With that, Stella made her way out in double quick time.
It was hard for me to see her in such harried form. “Hire a ride, and remember to get the receipt so that you may claim for your expenses when you get back.”
Stella stopped and turned around. She nodded in gratitude. “Thank you, Mrs. Fuller.”
Then, she departed without looking back.
Emery rolled her eyes and snorted at the choices of a person like me who was too nice for her taste.
My eyes brows perked up and I pretended that I did not see that.
Once I had Summer settled in, I went on to the study with Emery. I bought a bunch of study material for the admission. In spite of the change in direction, there was still some amongst them that could prove useful.
Emery sat at the chair, drinking her milk. She observed as I categorized my books and started harping on it again.
“I’m curious as to how you manage to remain so calm when she’s that close to shitting all over you, Scarlett?”
