Goddaughter? I put my cutlery down and was troubled. At the end of the day, Julia liked Monica more. The former’s stance had been clear from the second I stepped into the house. She wanted Christopher and Monica to get together.
Christopher was upset about that. He pointed at Monica and said, “Mom, if you want a daughter that much, then you can just take Monica in as your goddaughter. We’ve known each other for so long anyway, and I’ve always regarded her as my sister.”
“Stop making a scene!” growled Julia angrily before she slammed her cutlery onto the table. Her breathing was uneven at the time.
“Don’t be angry. Watch your blood pressure,” said Monica as she hurried over to stroke Julia’s back.
“Oh, come on now. The kids are all here, so why are you letting yourself get so riled up? Let’s eat up,” said Gordon to coo Julia as if she was a kid. He even got some food and fed it to her, “Here, try this. I cook this for you. It’s your favorite.”
The more I look at it, the more Gordon’s cooing style seemed familiar. That was when I suddenly realized that was how Christopher cooed me. The only difference was that Gordon was a little grimmer while Christopher was a little more relaxed. I guess he learned it from his dad.
Julia ate it before she nudged Gordon and whispered, “What are you doing? It’s not appropriate. The kids are watching.”
Still, Julia stopped talking about taking me in as a goddaughter. That being said, it didn’t take long before Julia instructed, “Monica loves the dish right beside you, Chris. Get some for her.”
“Okay, I’ll do that right away,” replied Christopher. He put some more food on my plate before he picked up the entire plate of the dish Julia was talking about. Then, he placed the plate beside Monica and claimed, “Huh, I didn’t know that your taste has changed. Chow down. You and my mom are the only ones into this dish, though. No one else cared much for it.”
Julia put her cutlery down once more. She stared at me with a complex expression before claiming, “I’m full. You guys can eat up.”
“Jules!” called out Gordon. He stroked his beard when he noted how his wife was ignoring him. That got him to grin at me and say, “Please enjoy your meal. I need to go now.”
“I’ll go check up on Julia,” said Monica before she stood up as well.
It didn’t take long before the few of us were the only ones left there. I noticed that Christopher remained seated, so I asked softly, “Is this really okay? Shouldn’t you chase after her?”
“There’s no need for that. My mom is just throwing a tantrum, and everything will be fine soon,” replied Christopher before he added, “Don’t worry, just eat.”
I had lost my appetite by then. “Is this really just a tantrum, though?”
“What else could it be? Think about it. She lost her temper in front of you, and that means she regards you as a part of the family. She never does that in front of others,” insisted Christopher before he fed me some food.
I honestly hoped that was the case. I shoved the food down my throat and planned on leaving immediately after, but Christopher insisted that I take a walk in the garden. He even pointed at the cruise ship on the lake and winked at me.
I blushed a little. What we did earlier on the other cruise ship was simply too embarrassing. No matter what, I would not follow his lead again. I had a very different mission to accomplish that day.
Christopher was going to drag me over, so I shook my head before flinging his arm away. I didn’t dare to dilly dally after that and ran to the other side of the garden immediately. I had just reached the door to the living room when I heard someone talking.
“I am not being materialistic, but Yvonne was married to another man in the past. Have you boys even thought about what the consequences would be if Chris marries her?” said Julia. Those words got me to pause. I stood out there and started eavesdropping.
“And then there’s Alyssa. Her life is involved. Have you guys even considered that?”