Momentary Confusion
"Come here, my good children." Jack scooped both children into his arms.
“Daddy, please don't leave us again, okay?”
"Okay."
"You mustn't lie, do you hear?" Ethan slid down from Jack's embrace.
"Ethan, you're the big brother, right?" Jack asked.
"Right!" Ethan patted his chest, beaming with pride.
"Big brothers should take care of little sister. So now take your sister to the playroom. Daddy and Mommy have something to take care of. We'll come play with you right after, okay?"
"Okay..." Ethan dragged out the last syllable.
"Good boy. Daddy and Mommy really do have something to do. We'll be right with you." Jack ruffled his hair.
The door closed again.
“Do you really need to talk to me, Jack?” Alison asked.
"Mhm." He smiled as he walked toward her.
"I'll get the medicine. This needs attention." He took her hand and examined the bleeding wound closely.
He carefully applied ointment and wrapped her finger with gauze.
After finishing, he exhaled softly. "If my addiction flares up again, stay away from me, okay?"
"No." She replied stubbornly.
He sighed.
"Why are you being so naughty? What am I going to do with you?" He gently pinched her nose. "Just let me stay with you."
"Hey, are you tired of me? Do you want to divorce me?" She seemed unusually alert.
Jack clasped her hand tightly, gazed deeply into her eyes, and said tenderly, "Silly girl. I just don't want to hurt you again. Promise me that if my addiction flares up again, you'll stay away from me. Don't let me hurt you. Otherwise, I'll be heartbroken..."
Meeting his intense gaze, Alison slowly lowered her head and whispered, "Okay, I promise."
"Come on, let's go see the kids together now." He smiled happily and held out his hand.
They approached the toy room door.
Jack pushed it open just a crack and heard Sophia's voice from inside. “Will Daddy and Mommy run away together? Will they abandon us? Ethan?”
“Don't say that. Daddy and Mommy love us very much,” Ethan hurried to reassure her.
"But Daddy didn't even acknowledge us when he came back," Sophia said, sounding hurt.
"Daddy said he and Mommy had things to take care of. They'll probably be here soon," Ethan explained.
“Tell them we want to move back home, okay?” she suggested.
"I don't want to stay here either. It's so strange. If it weren't for Great-Grandpa, I would've left already," he agreed.
"Let's sleep with Daddy and Mommy tonight. I'm scared. I don't want to be alone in the room with just the two of us,” she whined.
“What are you afraid of? I'm here," he said, puffing out his chest.
"What good are you? The last time we heard that weird noise, you ran off to tell Great-Grandpa, scared out of your wits,” Sophia called out.
“I wasn’t scared at all! Hey, Sophia, where do you think that sound came from?" Ethan changed the subject.
“From the sky?” Sophia guessed.
"It couldn't have been the sky. It must have been underground,” Ethan dismissed her idea.
"Who knows? Never mind. Ethan, let's go find Daddy.” Sophia's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Just then, Jack pushed open the door. "Hi!"
"Wow, Daddy! Mommy, can we sleep with you tonight?" Sophia asked excitedly.
"Sure," Alison nodded gently.
The family of four spent most of the afternoon happily in the playroom and only emerged at dinnertime.
Looking down the stairs, Alison noticed that almost everyone had arrived, except for Stephanie.
The family of four descended the stairs.
Jack picked up both children.
His gaze casually drifted toward Rock before he remarked, "Alison, your hair is too messy. You should wear a hair clip so the wind doesn't mess it up. By the way, the hair clip we saw near the flower bed this morning was quite nice. You should get one like that tomorrow.”
Hair clip?
"Okay, but you have to come with me to buy it," she replied, though confused.
At the dining table, everyone was seated.
Ethan licked his lips, eyeing the lavish spread before them.
"Let's eat," Alexander announced.