Chapter 263
The next morning, Elaine was recording data from the latest batch of antibodies.
Her phone vibrated on the edge of the lab bench, and the name flashing on the screen made her pause slightly.
It was her son Julius.
Since the divorce, Julius had reached out to her on his own initiative only a handful of times.
She pulled off her gloves, picked up her phone, and walked to a quiet corner of the hallway before pressing the answer button.
"Hello, Julius?"
There was a rustling sound on the other end, along with the child's somewhat rapid breathing, as if he was gathering courage.
After several seconds, Julius's voice finally came through, but very awkwardly.
"Mom... are you, are you busy today?"
Elaine glanced up at the busy scene in the lab, where Parker was holding a stack of documents and gesturing to her.
She looked away, her tone calm: "Yeah, I'm at the lab. What's up?"
Another brief silence.
She could imagine Julius on the other end, perhaps picking at his fingers, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn't.
"It's just... I..."
Julius's voice grew even smaller, almost mumbled: "I want to eat that thing you used to make... that cinnamon apple pork chop."
Elaine's heart trembled.
Cinnamon apple pork chop.
That was a dish she had specially learned to make for Julius's third birthday.
Because he said all the other kids' moms at kindergarten could make this sweet and tangy dish.
She remembered spending the whole afternoon in the kitchen that day, adjusting the sauce proportions over and over, accidentally getting splattered with hot oil that left several small blisters on her hands.
When she finally brought it to the table, Julius ate with shining eyes, his cheeks puffed out, mumbling: "Mom's is the best."
After that, whenever he had something to celebrate, he would always ask for this dish.
After the divorce, she never made it again, and never heard him mention it either.
She could almost see Julius on the other end of the phone, awkward yet hopeful.
But what flashed through Elaine's mind was the scene from their last meeting in the private room.
Julius clutching tightly at Emily's clothes, hiding behind her, looking at her with resistant eyes.
That flicker of emotion in her heart was quickly covered by clearer awareness.
She couldn't fall into that cycle again.
Every time the child showed a little bit of need, she would satisfy it without principle, only to be met with even more willful demands next time.
More importantly, she really couldn't be in two places at once right now.
The lab was entering a critical phase, Sophie's latest medical data needed analysis, and then there was that "mother" at home...
She closed her eyes, and when she spoke again, her voice was calm:
"I have a heavy workload at the lab today, I can't get away. Don't you like Emily the most? Ask her to make it for you. She should be a good cook too."
On the other end, all of Julius's awkwardness froze instantly.
He had gathered all his courage just to make this call.
He hadn't even dared to say directly "I miss you" or "come back and make it for me," just carefully mentioned a dish.
But Elaine didn't even hesitate before refusing him and pushing him toward Emily!
That feeling was like carefully offering up something precious, only to have it casually knocked to the ground.
"Who wants Emily to make it! I don't want it!"
Julius's voice suddenly rose: "If you won't make it, then don't! I never want to eat anything you make ever again!"
"Beep—beep—beep—"
The busy tone came through. The call had been hung up hard.
Elaine held her phone, standing in the empty, quiet hallway for a moment.
There was no expression on her face. She turned around, put her gloves back on, and walked toward the microscope waiting for her.
...
At dusk, the kindergarten entrance was packed with parents picking up their children as usual.
Elaine parked her car a bit further away and walked over.
Children streamed out of the kindergarten one after another. Elaine immediately spotted Vera in her pale yellow dress.
A gentle smile appeared on her face, and she was about to wave when her gaze froze.
Next to Vera, Julius was also standing there with his backpack, quietly looking around, occasionally standing on tiptoe to peer into the crowd of parents, clearly not waiting for the Smith family's driver.
Elaine frowned slightly and walked over.
"Mommy!"
Vera's eyes lit up as she rushed into her arms.
Elaine bent down to hug her daughter and kissed her cheek: "Did you have fun at kindergarten today?"
"Yes! The teacher praised my drawing!"
Vera reported excitedly, then as if just remembering Julius beside her, tugged at Elaine's clothes: "Mommy, brother said he wanted to wait for you with me today."
Only then did Elaine formally turn her gaze to Julius.
The little boy stood a bit further back than Vera, hands gripping his backpack straps, eyes somewhat evasive, not as confident as usual.
Seeing Elaine look at him, he instinctively puffed out his little chest, but quickly let his shoulders droop slightly.
Elaine didn't ask more questions, just said to Vera: "Then let's go home."
She took her daughter's hand and turned to leave, choosing to temporarily ignore Julius's presence.
Arthur or Emily would naturally arrange for someone to pick him up, perhaps it was just a coincidence today.
"Mommy!"
Julius's urgent voice rang out behind her.
Elaine paused, turned around, and looked at him calmly: "Is there something, Julius? The Smith family's car should be here soon."
Julius felt a bit uncomfortable under her calm gaze, but he still looked up, trying hard to organize his words.
He stammered out some legal terms he'd heard from somewhere: "You... you and Dad are divorced, but... but you still have custody rights over me! It's the law!"
Elaine was somewhat surprised.
She hadn't expected Julius to suddenly bring this up.
The divorce agreement had been clear: Arthur got custody of both children, and she had visitation rights.
Although legally, parents' obligation to support their children doesn't end with divorce, what was Julius's intention in suddenly emphasizing this?
"So?"
Elaine asked, her tone still flat: "What are you trying to say?"
Julius was stumped by her question, looking even more awkward.
He lowered his head, his voice dropping, with a hint of hope: "I... I don't want to go back to Dad's today. I... I want to go back with you and Vera."
After speaking, he quickly glanced up at Elaine, then immediately looked down again.
This request completely caught Elaine off guard.
Since the divorce, every time Julius saw her, he was either distant or throwing tantrums and making demands. This was the first time he had actively asked to go home with her.
But seeing the awkward attachment in Julius's eyes, Elaine's defenses softened slightly.
No matter how much resentment there was between the adults, no matter how hurtful this son had been, he was still just a four-year-old child.
His world was black and white, his emotions came and went quickly. Perhaps he had just encountered something upsetting at the Smith family's or at kindergarten, and instinctively wanted to find his mom.
Vera also looked up, gently shaking Elaine's hand: "Mommy, let brother come back with us, okay? Just for today, please?"
Looking at her daughter's hopeful eyes, then at her son's forced composure that couldn't hide his anxiety, Elaine sighed silently in her heart.