“Yes, Timothy said he would ask his father to buy him a talking parrot.” Then, Jamie took out a gold invitation card. “Mommy, he also invited us to his birthday party.”
“Uh…” Charlotte was taken aback. Both of them were at each other’s throats the last time they met. When did they develop such a close relationship?
“Mommy, Timothy does not bully Ellie anymore.” With a serious expression on his face, Robbie continued, “Every day, he brings different types of food for Ellie. For lunch, he even gave her his chicken wings and strawberries.”
“Exactly, he isn’t as rude as he was before,” Jamie agreed. Then, he started to mimic punching motions and boasted, “Recently, he even asked me to spar with him, and I taught him a few tricks.”
Ignoring her brothers, Ellie tilted her head and asked innocently,” Mommy, can I forgive him and accept him as a friend?”
“Of course.” Charlotte nodded her head with a smile. “I will not intervene with the people you want to make friends with.”
“If so, can we attend Timothy’s birthday party then?” Jamie did not hesitate to ask.
“Well…” Charlotte pondered then came up with an excuse. “His family members will probably be at the birthday party too. Although all of you have cleared the misunderstandings and developed a new friendship, his family members may think otherwise. I think it will be best if all of you don’t attend his party. Anyway, you can celebrate with him in the kindergarten.”
“I thought so too.” Robbie, the most mature one, nodded in agreement. He added, “Timothy’s mother and grandmother are so fierce. We should skip the party instead.”
“Okay.”
Disappointed, Jamie pursed his lips and looked down. I won’t be able to see the Transformers figurines at Timothy’s house anymore.
On the other hand, Ellie seemed unaffected. In a serious tone, she stated, “I will draw a picture and send it to him as a birthday gift. Will that be alright, Mommy?”
“Of course! All of you are such wonderful friends!” Charlotte pecked on each of their cheeks.
“Mommy! You are a girl. Please do not me all the time,” Jamie pouted and ran away.
“Oh?” Charlotte was surprised by his reaction. In the past, he was always jealous of his sister and complained that I was biased toward Ellie. He even protested that I had to give them the same number of kisses each time. What’s wrong with him now?
“Jamie likes a girl,” Robbie snitched. Squeezing his chin as though he knew everything, he divulged, “He is always peeking at her.”
“Is that true? Who is it?” Charlotte curiously questioned.
Inching to his mother’s side, Robbie whispered, “He likes our new music teacher.”
“Haha, really?” Charlotte chuckled. “Well, do you like her too?”
“Of course not!” Her eldest child immediately puffed his chest and patted it. “I am only interested in my studies.”
“Haha, you have the right priorities, Robbie,” Charlotte praised and gently ruffled her son’s hair.
“Mommy, Timothy also gave this to me…” Ellie took a bracelet out of her bag. “He gave me this because I helped him to eat the strawberries that he hates.”
“This…” Charlotte took a closer look at the bracelet and frowned, “Ellie, you should not accept such gifts from others in the future, okay?”
“Why?” Her daughter widened her eyes and queried.
“This bracelet is expensive, and it is their family heirloom…” Charlotte trailed off before she thought of a simpler way to illustrate her point. “In any case, you should not accept such presents in the future unless your friends made them personally. Do you understand?”
“Okay, I understand,” Ellie reluctantly nodded and agreed.
“Mrs. Berry,” Charlotte called out and instructed, “When you send Ellie to school tomorrow, will you pass this bracelet to her teacher? Tell the teacher to return it to the student who gave this to her.”
“Alright.” Mrs. Berry acknowledged while cooking.
Charlotte was about to continue, but Fifi was making noises to signal that it was hungry, so the children rushed to feed their pet parrot.
At that moment, the security guard knocked on their door to remind them to pay their utility bill. He also threatened to cut off their electricity if they did not pay.
Instantly, Charlotte lost her trail of thought.
