At lunchtime, Tammy would bring him some of Anna’s cooking, which was all he ate every day. He wouldn’t eat anything else, no matter how delicious the food their cook had prepared for him.
Wayne stepped heavily on the gas and pulled out of his neighborhood. He was expressionless. However, he looked quite irritated at that precise moment.
Wayne thought. How did you manage to break up with me so soon and leave me without a trace? Why did you let me deal with so many tricky problems, Anna?
It was almost five o’clock. In addition to the temperature becoming lower as autumn arrived, it also started getting darker sooner. As a result, Matthew’s kindergarten dismissed them 30 minutes earlier than usual.
At 4:30, Wayne showed up in front of the kindergarten. However, he was unable to find a parking space
Wayne spotted a red car parked to his right under a tree while driving around the campus in search of a parking spot. Then, a woman wearing a long lavender dress, whom he knew well, stepped out of that car
Wayne was agitated and honked his horn a few times as he thought about what the chef had just said to him.
When Anna looked back and saw Wayne sitting in the car, she frowned and said, “Hey, you‘re near the school now. You can’t honk your horn!”
Anna shouted loudly and sounded aggressive as there was another car between them.
Wayne looked subdued and slowly said, “I’m going to pull over further away. I don’t think there is room for me to park here. So, could you go pick up Matthew for me?”
When Anna heard Wayne‘s request, she immediately said yes
It took Wayne ten minutes to finally find a parking space. After he parked his car and returned to the entrance, he saw Anna standing at the end of the line.
“Anna, I want to discuss something with you,” he said as he approached her. Anna looked at him suspiciously before a king, “What?”
Anna thought to herself, if you‘re to bring up getting back together with me now, I‘ll definitely say no to you. Wayne.
Wayne then told her the truth, “Matthew doesn‘t want to eat anything these days. You have had Tammy bring him a meal every day at lunch before, right? But, you see, he would only eat that throughout the day. So, what am I supposed to do?”
When Anna heard this, she grew worried. She asked, “What? Does he really refuse to eat anything?”
Wayne was taken aback by how anxious Anna appeared to be. He believed that since he and Anna were no longer together, Anna had no obligation to take care of Matthew.
However, it surprised him that Anna actually cared about Matthew so much. Wayne nodded and said, “Yes, I’ve had three different cooks come to my place this month. He still won’t eat anything they cooked, though.”
He had been reluctant to discuss it with Anna for fear that she would believe he was doing it to win her sympathy,
Meanwhile, he had no choice but to ask Anna for help. Matthew was already physically weaker than his peers, and he couldn’t afford to skip meals anymore.
“I think I can get Tammy to bring Matthew lunch and breakfast each day to school. Well, I probably can’t do anything about dinner. Oh, yeah, I can bring it to you every day after I’ve made the meal. Then you can take it home to him.”
After Anna agreed right away, Wayne continued seriously, “It works for Matthew and me. But what will he eat on the weekends? You know, Matthew can’t be hungry all weekend.”
Hearing that, Anna frowned.
After glancing at her, Wayne added, “Would you mind cooking for me every Sunday at my home? You know, Anna, just like we used to do.”
Anna rejected it right away, exclaiming. “No way!”
She clearly remembered that she and Wayne used to start dating because she always cooked for him at his place. Anna reasoned that repeating such action would be extremely risky
Besides, she didn’t want to stay around Wayne anymore.
Wayne continued to ask, “So, you want Matthew to skip dinner all weekend?”
Anna finally thought of a sensible strategy. She said, “How about you send Matthew to your grandfather’s house on the weekend? I think I can cook for Matthew at his house. It’s not only near my place but also rather crowded with people. That way, we don’t have to face each other alone.”
Anna knew that Peter wasn’t a fan of her lately. So, she thought it would be more appropriate to cook for Matthew at his house so as to assure him that she meant no harm to Matthew.
After hearing Anna’s words, Wayne scowled. He looked impatient and said, “Do you hate being alone with me so much?”
Everyone had adored Wayne for the past thirty years of his life. So, Anna’s behavior puzzled him. He didn’t expect her to keep trying to avoid him and be aloof toward him even when he initiated a conversation with her.
Anna said again, “I’m not trying to avoid you, Wayne, but I don’t want everyone to suspect that we‘re getting back together. You know, we‘ve already broken up with each other. I know your grandfather doesn’t want to see us being together again because Henry had told me about it. So, I fear your grandfather will retaliate against me if he learns that we are still in contact. Wayne, I’m doing this to protect myself.”
Wayne responded with a quick grimace, “Gee! Why do you make it sound like we‘re living in those dramatic yet boring soap operas? My grandfather won’t do that to you. He has things to do.”
2/4 Anna rolled her eyes at him and said, “Actually, that’s not necessarily true. Some people may simply imagine themselves as the lead in a soap opera.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Well, I’m talking about your fiancée Charlotte, of course! Charlotte didn’t do anything but talk to me when she asked me to leave you. She didn’t even pay for my coffee, for god’s sake! You and your friends, in my opinion, are quite rude. You guys always take everything for granted and want to get what you want for free!”
Wayne was irritated and unsure of what to say when Anna brought up Charlotte.
After a while, he collected himself and said, “Well, Anna, I’ll pick you up at your house on Saturday.”
“Well, you don’t have to do that. I’ll be at your grandfather’s house on my own.”
As Anna looked at the kids who were lining up from inside the school, she waved to the two of them and said, “Hey, kids! Over here!”
Wayne saw that Matthew and Tammy ran out holding hands.
Tammy was so excited that her face was flushed. After waving goodbye to her teacher, she looked back and saw Wayne.
She pouted unhappily and let go of Matthew’s hand. She said, “Mommy, let’s go.” – Wayne frowned. He was going to say hello to her, but he finally didn’t because he felt she didn’t want to see him.
Anna stroked Matthew’s head and said, “Matthew, honey, your daddy says you’re not eating anything now. Why?”
After a brief period of silence, Matthew said, “Food’s not good.” Anna sighed and asked, “So, you prefer the food I cook?”
Matthew nodded.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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