Chapter 1558
In the evening, as per her usual routine, Ellinor left work and picked up her three children from the kindergarten before heading home.
As she pulled up to the entrance of the Blanchet Villa, she waited for the electric iron gates to slowly open. Suddenly, a man clutching a handful of cartoon helium balloons passed by her car.
Layla, her eyes fixated on the balloons, piped up. “Mommy, can I buy a pink balloon?”
Ellinor, who was checking her phone, looked out the window to see the balloon seller passing by.
A flicker of confusion crossed her eyes, but she agreed. “Sure. You three hop out, and each of you pick one.”
“Thank you, Mommy!”
“Thank you, Mommy!”
“Thank you, Mommy!”
The three little ones chorused their thanks and followed Ellinor out of the car to choose their favorite balloons.
Even in front of her own house, Ellinor kept a close eye on her children. While they chose their balloons, she studied the man selling them. He looked to be in his forties and was seemingly harmless as he cheerfully chatted with the children.
Soon, all three children had selected their balloons and were happily waving them around.
Ellinor turned to the balloon seller. “How much?”
The middle-aged man replied, “Ten bucks a balloon, so thirty for three.”
Ellinor nodded and pulled out her phone. She would use PayPal for payment.
The balloon seller hesitated, then said somewhat apologetically, “Could you perhaps pay in cash?”
Ellinor didn’t have any cash on her.
The balloon seller looked embarrassed. “Uh… I’m really sorry, but I forgot my phone. Could you just give me cash?”
Ellinor furrowed her brows, sweeping her gaze over the man one more time before she instructed Baber to take his siblings inside.
Once the children were safely inside, Ellinor turned to her driver to borrow some cash to pay the man.
As he was giving her change, Ellinor squinted at him. “Is this your first time selling balloons?”
The balloon seller seemed a bit flustered. “Yeah! I was recently laid off and couldn’t find any other jobs at my age, so I thought I’d sell some knickknacks to get by. Today’s my first day; I was in such a rush that I wasn’t properly prepared.”
Ellinor politely wished him luck and, after taking her change, entered the gates of the Blanchet Villa.
Veronica had gotten home from work earlier, changed, and was about to head out for a date when she saw Ellinor bringing the children home.
She peered curiously at the departing balloon seller and walked up to Ellinor to ask, “Huh? Why’s there a guy selling balloons at our front gate?”
Ellinor looked back at him as well. “You find it strange too, huh?”
Veronica did find it strange. Although the Blanchet family’s neighborhood wasn’t gated, it was rare for street vendors to sell anything here.
“It is a bit odd! Maybe he knows we have a lot of kids and thought he could make some money.”
