Chapter 196 She Really Spoils Me
That night Wentworth came home.
Not only did he come home, he brought a gift—a beautifully crafted handmade soap. It was clearly from the supermarket across from the base. He'd been buried in reports lately; where would he find time to pick out presents? The fact that he even thought of it was impressive.
The moment he got home, he hugged Matilda. "Matty, thanks for holding down the fort. I hate making you wait at home alone."
Matilda glanced at her e-reader on the dining table—she had spent a few thousand bucks on that thing specifically for reading. It had everything: novels, essays, commentary, classics.... She'd been completely absorbed in books and, honestly, hadn't missed him that much. Not working, home all day reading, cooking whatever when hungry or just making instant ramen—life was ridiculously chill.
Still, seeing him made her happy. "Hungry?" She wanted to cook for him. She had bought plenty of groceries earlier. "Starving." Wentworth carried her to bed. She immediately knew what he meant.
"What are you doing?"
"You asked if I was hungry. My body's hungry."
"..."
An hour later, Matilda lay collapsed on the bed. She decided the whole job-hunting thing could wait even longer. She was just way too exhausted.
Wentworth held her close, gently stroking her smooth shoulder. "How've you been?"
"Pretty good." Her voice came out weak.
He tilted her chin up with his hand, making her look at him "I want details. As many as possible."
She laughed. "Want me to write you a twenty-thousand-word report?"
"No need. Just tell me. I want to hear your voice." He pulled her closer.
She gave him a brief rundown, then mentioned the two orphans. "That Scarlett—you know her, right? She says I need to take care of some kids for a month."
At Scarlett's name, Wentworth's expression didn't change. But when she mentioned the orphans, his face filled with compassion. "Those poor kids. Both parents died in the line of duty. No grandparents left, either. If we don't keep them here, they'd have to go to foster care. Even with us looking out for them... I really wouldn't feel right about it. If you can manage, please help. If it's too much, I'll arrange for another family."
"No need," Matilda said quickly. "If they're the children of martyrs, I'll definitely take good care of them. I just don't have experience with kids. Are they difficult?"
"They're good kids. The siblings are really mature. I've watched them grow up. They know everyone in the complex and are very polite."
"But rotating homes every month—just when they get comfortable with one family, they have to switch. Is that healthy for them? Sure, everyone likes them, but if a family has their own kids too, there's bound to be a double standard. If they have a conflict with the family's own kids, who do you side with? Side with your own child, and they'll feel hurt. Side with them, and your own kid thinks you're playing favorites."
"We've considered that," Wentworth said. "But it's been this way for two years, and nothing major's gone wrong, so we haven't changed it. Last year a couple dealing with infertility wanted to adopt one of them, but the siblings refused to separate. Adopting both seemed financially overwhelming, and at their age, bonding might be difficult."
Made sense. "How long are you home for?"
"Two days. The weekend, then back. I'll try to come home every weekend from now on."
"Don't worry if you can't. I'm pretty content on my own," Matilda said.
Wentworth's gaze grew even more affectionate. In his mind, his wife was telling such lies just to avoid troubling him. He felt she spoiled him way too much. The next day, Matilda suggested redecorating the two upstairs rooms for Sally and Nick. Their townhouse had two floors and four bedrooms. Two people didn't need all that space. Might as well give Sally and Nick a room each. The rooms had beds and desks; they just needed bedding and supplies.
Matilda planned to hit a bigger supermarket. Heading out, they ran into Scarlett at the complex's sports field. Seeing Wentworth, she immediately called out, "Mr. Gonzaga, day off?"
So many people greeted Wentworth on this path. He just nodded at everyone, Scarlett included.
"Mr. Gonzaga, where are you headed?" Scarlett persisted, moving closer.
Wentworth gave a simple two-word answer. "Supermarket."
"What for?" More questions from Scarlett.
Wentworth paused. "Do I need to report to you?"
Scarlett's face went red. "N-no."
She didn't even glance at Matilda. Matilda couldn't be bothered to greet her either.
...
The big supermarket was downtown. They drove over and browsed the beddingsection. Coming here was definitely the right call—the selection was huge, and buying bedding came with free stuffed animals. Matilda picked a purple set for Sally and a dark blue one with stars for Nick.
Thinking about it, she swapped out the desks too—multifunctional student desks with built-in bookshelves. New desks meant new ergonomic student chairs, too. And she might as well get matching curtains in coordinating colors.
They left empty-handed but came back loaded with bags and boxes. They had to get the store workers to deliver and install everything.
Back at the complex, they ran into Scarlett again. She asked Wentworth curiously, "Mr. Gonzaga, didn't you go to the supermarket? How come you came back empty-handed? Did your wife make you save money and not buy anything?"
Wentworth really didn't appreciate jokes like that. He didn't even respond.
Matilda felt secondhand embarrassment for Scarlett, but she wasn't about to smooth things over.
Soon the store workers notified them the delivery had arrived. The complex didn't allow deliveries inside, so they had to pick it up themselves and arrange transport. Wentworth drove to the entrance to get everything.
Running laps on the field, Scarlett saw that Wentworth and Matilda had bought so much stuff—mostly bedding. A sour feeling welled up inside her. She really couldn't figure out what made Matilda so special that she'd captured Wentworth's heart. How did she get someone as seemingly unapproachable as Wentworth to wait on her hand and foot?
On the last day of the month, Wentworth made time to come back to the complex again.
Today was the day to pick up Sally and Nick. He worried Matilda couldn't handle everything alone, so he wanted to help.