However, Benny merely stood there guiltily. He did not move until Roxanne gave him a gentle push on the shoulder. When Benny was out of earshot, Roxanne turned to Lucian and thanked him, “Thank you.”
Lucian merely nodded without saying a word.
Ultimately, they were children. Despite what happened earlier, Benny returned to his happy self after playing with the dolphins. Seeing it was almost time, the staff in front reminded, “Mr. Farwell, it’s time to return.”
Lucian gave him a brief answer and turned to the children standing on the deck. “Come here. It’s time to go back.” However, the children still continued patting the dolphins’ heads, reluctant to leave.
Seeing that, Lucian frowned. He had no idea how to get them to come back.
Meanwhile, Roxanne was amused to see Lucian’s troubled looks. She stepped forward and said gently, “We’re going back now. Let’s say goodbye to the dolphins.”
With that, she held the children’s wrist. Only then did the children return to reality and wave at the dolphins reluctantly. “We’re going back! Goodbye!”
As if understanding their words, the dolphins leaped into the air one by one. When Archie and Benny were waving at the dolphins, they felt a wet and slippery feeling on their faces.
The children were taken aback for a moment, and they stared at the two dolphins that had just returned to the sea in surprise.
They had been trying hard to get a kiss from the dolphins.
Never did they expect the dolphins to suddenly give them one when they were about to leave.
“It looks like the dolphins like both of you too. All right, say goodbye to them. We’ll come back to visit them again next time,” said Roxanne with a smile.
The children nodded, waving enthusiastically. “Goodbye! We’ll come back to see all of you again!”
They kept looking back as they returned to their seats. However, nothing appeared from the waters, as if the dolphins never existed in the first place.
The children could not help but feel a little disappointed. Suddenly, they saw some dolphins constantly leaping from the waters on both sides of the yacht as if they were sending them off.
Finally, smiles appeared on the children’s faces. “These dolphins will still follow us for some distance. You still have time to say your goodbyes to them,” said the staff with a smile.
The children nodded happily and fixed their gazes on the dolphins swimming beside the yacht. As the yacht traveled further across the sea, the number of dolphins reduced.
The children’s faces, too, were slowly shrouded with disappointment. They had not transitioned out of their emotions by the time they arrived ashore.
Sensing the children’s emotions, Roxanne patted their heads and took out her camera to show them the pictures she took just now. “Don’t be sad, okay? Look.. The dolphins are still with you, aren’t they?”
The children craned their necks to glimpse at the picture. Seeing it was a picture of them playing with the dolphins, they finally smiled.
At the same time, Lucian’s expression relaxed when he saw the pictures on the camera. “Mommy, we must go back to see them next time!” Benny gave Roxanne a serious look.
Laughing, Roxanne promised, “Okay. I’ll definitely bring you back next time.” The boys were not the only ones who liked it there. She, too, loved the view of the sea.
After going through the pictures for some time, Roxanne put away the camera and suggested to Lucian, “Let’s go back first. The kids need to get changed.”
The children were drenched from playing with the dolphins. Moreover, the sun was setting, and the sea breeze was a little chilly.
Roxanne was worried that the children might catch a cold. Lucian nodded indifferently. Hence, both of them brought the children back to the hotel.
At the hotel room, Roxanne and Lucian cleaned up the children, helped them to change, and brought them out again. It was already evening. The breeze was slightly chilly, with a faint smell of the sea. It was a comfortable feeling as it blew on their faces.
Roxanne brought the children to the beach as she had promised them that morning. It was extremely different compared to how crowded it was yesterday. There were very few people on the beach, and the whole place looked serene.
The waves crashed gently against the shore, creating a peaceful scenery.
Unable to hold herself back, Roxanne removed her shoes and brought the children for a stroll on the beach barefooted, allowing their feet to feel the soft sand.
Suddenly, Estella shouted with surprise, “Ah!”
Roxanne turned over to look at her, only to find Estella squatting down carefully and picking up a colorful conch from the sand.
“Look, Ms. Jarvis!” Estella brought the conch to Roxanne, looking excited. Roxanne pursed her lips and smiled. “What a beautiful conch! You can keep this, Essie. You can use it for your arts and crafts next time.”
Estella, too, looked really happy with her finding. Carefully, she cleaned the conch and studied it curiously for a long time.
Though the Farwell family was rich, Estella never traveled far due to her autism. Hence, she had only seen things like that in books.
In fact, it was her first time touching a conch. She stroked it lovingly. So, this is a conch!
It’s so pretty! The smile on Roxanne’s face deepened when she saw how much Estella liked the conch. Roxanne took the conch and placed it beside Estella’s ear.
Estella tilted her head and shot her a puzzled look. “Listen. Legend says conches have the sound of the waves. Can you hear it?” Roxanne gazed at Estella with a smile.
When Estella heard that, her eyes lit up, and she listened attentively. After some time, she nodded vehemently. “Yes! I hear it!”
This time, it was Roxanne who was surprised. Roxanne was only playing with Estella. Never did she expect the kid to give her a definite answer.
For a moment, Roxanne could not help but doubt herself. Archie and Benny came over when Estella said she heard the sound of waves in the conch. “We want to listen to it, too!”
Still feeling dubious, Roxanne placed the conch at the boys’ ears.
After some time, Archie and Benny nodded vigorously, their eyes sparkling.
Their reactions filled Roxanne with greater suspicion. Unable to fight her curiosity, she placed the conch beside her ear and held her breath.
However, there was no sound. All she heard was the gentle breeze. Frowning slightly, she then looked at the children, who made it look like a big deal.
Lucian walked up behind them. Seeing her expression, he asked in puzzlement, “What’s up?”
After hesitating for a few seconds, Roxanne was about to dismiss the matter by saying she was fine, but Estella’s voice rang out before Roxanne’s.
“Daddy! A conch!” Estella grabbed Roxanne’s wrist and leaped with all her might, wanting to let Lucian listen to it.
Lucian frowned. “A conch? What about it?”
Estella said seriously, “There’s a sound in it!”
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.