Chapter 197 Receiving Children
Matilda met Sally and Nick.
Sally was a neat little girl, though a bit thin. Her big eyes watched Matilda with curiosity and a hint of shyness.
Nick had a lively, energetic look about him. You could tell he was a boy full of energy, but perhaps from living under someone else's roof for so long, he had to hold himself back and try to appear quieter.
Both children knew Wentworth. When they saw him, they called out, "Hello, Mr. Gonzaga!"
Wentworth went over to hold Nick's hand, then asked Sally to hold Matilda's hand.
Nick really liked Wentworth. He had played soccer with Wentworth before, so he naturally took Wentworth's hand.
Sally was a bit more reserved.
Matilda actually felt a bit reserved too. She had always been a loner since childhood and wasn't used to being physically close to others, including children.
But she still took the initiative to hold Sally's hand and said, "Sally, will you come home with me?"
Both children were carrying big backpacks, and each had a suitcase.
Danny helped carry the suitcases.
When they arrived at Wentworth and Matilda's house, Matilda brought out the slippers she had prepared in advance for them.
Sally quickly said, "That's not necessary, Ms. Spencer. We have our own slippers."
They were used to bringing their own slippers wherever they went, to avoid troubling others to buy them new ones.
Watching Sally and Nick rummage through their suitcases to get their slippers, Matilda quickly smiled and said, "Wear the ones I bought for you first. I bought them based on your ages, but I'm not sure if they'll fit."
Matilda took out two pairs of slippers, printed with cartoon characters that were popular with kids. The slippers were very soft, making you want to try them on right away.
The children's eyes lit up.
Although they had slippers, they had worn them for so long that the soles were nearly worn through. The previous families who had taken them in had noticed, but because everyone was used to being frugal, seeing they still fit, they hadn't bought them new ones.
After putting on the slippers, both children showed joy in their eyes.
Matilda continued, "Now you can take your luggage to your rooms. Your rooms are upstairs."
Wentworth carried their suitcases upstairs, one in each hand.
When they got upstairs, the siblings discovered they each had their own room. They were both shocked.
Having been through so many foster families, they either shared one room together or slept with the foster family's children—boys with boys, girls with girls. They had never had a room to themselves.
Because the other families lived in either two-bedroom or three-bedroom apartments, and with elderly people and children in the house, they simply didn't have the space.
Looking at their rooms, they saw each one had new bed sheets and a new desk.
Sally stood at the doorway, not daring to go in.
Wentworth asked her, "Why aren't you going in?"
Sally's eyes welled up with tears, but she didn't speak.
She didn't dare to live in such a nice room. After all, it was temporary. When she had to leave, she was afraid she would feel sad.
She was already 10 years old. Girls tend to be more sensitive. She knew she was different from others. The adults had always taught them to be grateful, study hard, and repay those who had helped them in the future.
"Mr. Gonzaga, I... I want to stay in that small room downstairs."
There was indeed a small room downstairs, originally designed for a housekeeper.
Matilda understood Sally's thoughts, because she had been that kind of girl when she was young too.
Without further discussion, she brought Sally into the room and smiled at her, "Sally, this room was prepared for you, so you'll stay here. If you stay in the small room downstairs, people will say I'm treating you badly. Can you bear that?"
Only then did Sally feel comfortable putting down her luggage.
The more Sally acted this way, the more Matilda's heart ached for her, as if seeing her younger self.
"Can you organize your luggage by yourself?" Matilda asked.
Sally nodded, "Yes."
"Good, then you organize your luggage first. Wentworth and I will go downstairs to cook. We'll call you when the food is ready."
Sally smiled at her and nodded.
After Matilda and Wentworth went downstairs, Sally carefully sat on the bed, touched the blanket, then went to sit at the new desk. Soon her brother Nick came over. Nick said happily, "My room is blue, and yours is purple!"
Sally said joyfully, "I really like it here."
"Me too!" Nick whispered to Sally, "It would be great if we could stay here forever."
"I want that too, but..." Sally lowered her head sadly, but soon she smiled again, "Anyway, each family takes a month-long turn, so we'll eventually come back here again."
"Yeah, yeah."
...
Matilda and Wentworth made several dishes—fried chicken that kids love most, pan-fried steak, mushroom soup, each dish in generous portions.
Sally and Nick didn't really mind about the food. No matter which family they stayed with, everyone tried their best to make them good food, afraid of treating them poorly, so they were used to eating good things.
But other families had the whole household, young and old, while this home only had the four of them. And this home was decorated very warmly, with a real homey feeling.
So the meal tasted even better.
After eating, the siblings volunteered to help wash the dishes. Matilda wanted to stop them, but Wentworth smiled and said to let them do it, because the adults usually taught them that no matter which family they were in, they should take the initiative to help with chores. There were no lazy people in the military compound—everyone knew how to do housework.
...
Phoenix City.
Charles, who was working overtime in his office, received another call from Janice.
"Charles, I have something to discuss. Can we meet?"
Charles immediately thought of Zoey.
He paused, "I'm not available right now. What is it? Is it urgent?"
"If you're not available, then forget it. It's not particularly urgent." Janice smiled, then said, "You go ahead with your work. I'll hang up now."
Charles continued working overtime.
Later, it was Kai who reminded him, "Mr. Gonzaga, it seems Miss Janice has run into some trouble."
"What trouble?" Charles didn't even look up, his eyes fixed on the computer monitor.
"She posted something. She seems to be at the hospital, but we don't know exactly what happened." Kai showed Charles the post.
Because Janice and Charles were together when Kai was already working at the Gonzaga Group, Kai also knew Janice. When he returned to the country recently, Janice had added Kai on WhatsApp.
Seeing this social media post, Charles couldn't help but pause.
Janice had just called, probably about this matter.
He quickly called Janice back, "Are you at the hospital? What happened?"
"It's my daughter. She accidentally took some medicine."
Janice's daughter had autism.