Ulysses dragged Jeffery upstairs, tossed him onto the bed, and started tickling him. Jeffery was laughing so hard he had to beg for mercy.
"Dude, I just glanced at her, and you start teasing me. Are we still buddies or what?"
Jeffery chuckled, "I didn't say anything. You must be feeling guilty."
Ulysses smirked, "That lady looks way older than me, like almost thirty. I could call her 'auntie'!"
Jeffery warned, "You better not, or you might get smacked."
Ulysses flopped onto the bed. "You have no idea what's going on in my head."
Being around Ulysses brought out Jeffery's playful side. He lay down too and asked, "So, what's on your mind?"
"I think she'd make a good stepmom for me."
Jeffery was shocked. "You're actually looking for a stepmom for yourself?"
Ulysses shrugged, "You don't get it. My dad's always been a hit with the ladies. Even now, young girls want to marry him. Instead of him bringing home some random stepmom, I'd rather pick one I like."
"You're something else..." Jeffery gave him a thumbs up. "Impressive!"
"This way, if my dad ever scolds me, I'll have an ally."
Jeffery sighed. "My mom never scolds me, so I never thought about finding a stepdad."
"You already have Stuart, why would you need a stepdad?"
Jeffery said, "I meant before."
"By the way, speaking of Stuart, what do you think of him?"
Jeffery replied, "So far, he's okay. As long as Mom's happy, I'm cool with it. Whether I have a dad or not doesn't matter to me."
"You're the impressive one," Ulysses said. "Josephine is different from my dad. Josephine spoils you. My dad just scolds me. If my dad spoiled me like that, I wouldn't need a stepmom either."
"Honestly, I could do without a dad," Jeffery sighed. "All he does is compete with me for Mom's attention. He's useless otherwise."
Ulysses said, "Well, I'm not like you. I hope a stepmom can distract my dad so I can do my own thing."
"How much do you dislike Gerald?"
"And how much do you like Josephine?"
The two looked at each other and smiled. Then Ulysses reached out his hand, and Jeffery extended his small hand. They high-fived.
Downstairs, Nicole said, "They're getting along better and better."
Gerald said, "Mom, Josephine, don't worry. Ulysses won't bully Jeffery."
Josephine said, "Ulysses is a good kid. You shouldn't always be so stern with him."
"At his age, he's very sensitive to people's attitudes. If you don't discipline him, he'll get worse."
"It's not that extreme," Josephine said. "You have a bias against Ulysses."
Although she hadn't known Gerald for long, Josephine could see that Gerald was strict with Ulysses. Spoiling the child was not in his playbook.
Gerald explained, "Everyone else in the family spoils him. If I don't discipline him, he'll really get out of hand."
Gerald's phone rang. He excused himself and went to another room to take the call.
Josephine asked Nicole, "Mom, is Gerald really not planning to get married again?"
Nicole said, "I can't control his affairs, and I don't worry about it. Of course, I want him to find a girlfriend, but he's been so focused on work all these years. I think he deserves to be lonely."With Ulysses around, Nicole didn't really care if Gerald had a wife or not. But Josephine always felt that a guy like Gerald should have someone to look after him. Even though he had family, there were still a lot of things that could be a hassle.
But honestly, given Gerald's situation, it was tough to find someone suitable. Sure, lots of young girls liked him, but given his status, dating someone too young wouldn't look right.
Finding someone who was also widowed or divorced would depend on fate.
In the afternoon, they went to a farm where you could pick your own fruits and veggies. The place had a wide variety of healthy, pollution-free produce, thanks to local experts.
Nicole loved these kinds of places. Josephine tagged along, feeling happy seeing her mom so pleased.
Gerald rarely went out, and Nicole said he couldn't work all the time, so she dragged him to the farm too. But his phone kept ringing, and Nicole got annoyed and walked off with Josephine, leaving him to take his calls in peace.
A few minutes later, Josephine's phone rang. It was Gerald. What did he want?
Not wanting to worry Nicole, Josephine said, "Mom, I need to take a call."
She walked a bit further before answering, "Gerald?"
Gerald said, "I'm at the spot we were before. Don't tell Mom, come over."
Hearing the seriousness in his voice, Josephine quickly said, "Okay."
She hurried back and told Nicole, "Mom, I need to use the restroom," and then rushed off.
Nicole called after her, "There's one right here... Josephine, why are you in such a hurry?"
Josephine almost ran to the spot, turned a corner, and saw Gerald. But who was that woman with him? Josephine quickly approached. "Gerald!"
"Josephine," Gerald said. "Come here, I want to introduce you to someone."
As she got closer, Josephine noticed the woman was holding onto Gerald's sleeve.
What was their relationship?
Gerald continued, "This is Kathy Nelson, the daughter of the food factory manager I mentioned before."
He looked at Kathy and said, "Ms. Nelson, this is my sister Josephine. My biological sister. Do you believe me now?"
Josephine was puzzled. "Gerald, what's going on?"
Gerald explained, "Ms. Nelson thinks I can solve her father's issue, so she came to find me. But this matter isn't up to me alone."
Kathy was emotional. "I've been to the city government so many times, and they just brush me off! You're the supervisor, isn't this your responsibility?"
Gerald said, "Even if it is, you can't do this!"
Josephine was curious. What had Kathy done to make Gerald so angry?
Kathy wouldn't let go of him. "Anyway, I'm not leaving until this is resolved! I finally got to see you. If you don't agree, I'll scream that you're trying to assault me! So what if your sister is here? I want to see if a government official like you can afford to be seen like this!"
Josephine quickly intervened, "Ms. Nelson, calm down! Embarrassing Gerald won't help you. Your issue needs to be resolved, but because it involves a life, the government is being cautious and trying to find a solution that satisfies both parties. Right now, you should cooperate with the government, not threaten Gerald."
Kathy's eyes reddened. "Do you think I don't want to? My dad is still in the hospital, and I'm being threatened every day... I'm so tired."
Josephine said, "Let go of Gerald, and I can help you."