Chapter 69 Bringing Them Together
"Did you burn your hand while smoking?"
She saw deep burn marks on the sides of his index finger and thumb, which seemed like a mixture of new and old wounds.
Juniper had noticed before, but since they had just reunited and their relationship was tense at the time, she didn't dare ask. Although their relationship wasn't great now, at least they could speak calmly to each other.
"No."
Magnus withdrew his hand indifferently.
Juniper, seeing he didn't wish to divulge the reason, didn't press further. Tact was the skill Juniper employed best now.
That evening, Magnus brought dinner.
Juniper handed him a tube of burn ointment, "I got this from the doctor earlier. Use it if you want, or toss it if you don't."
"Dinner."
Juniper was about to put the burn ointment back on the table to reach for the takeout box that Magnus was handing her when he suddenly snatched the ointment from her hand.
He had accepted it.
Taking the takeout box, Juniper still asked, "Have you eaten yet?"
"Hmm."
He gently nodded, then said, "I'm going out for a smoke."
Magnus and Juniper had stayed up the entire night with Jennifer. The next morning, when Jennifer woke up, she saw their concerned faces and managed to smile with a weak smile and pale lips.
Juniper reached out to touch her forehead and asked, "Jennifer, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
The little girl shook her head, her voice hoarse from just waking up, "Mom, Dad, can you guys not separate?"
Worried about their adult issues right after waking up, Juniper felt a twinge of guilt, "Jennifer, you just had surgery. You need to rest and get better. Dad and I aren't going anywhere. We'll stay with you."
"Really? Will you stay with me even after I get better?"
The child's clear, dark eyes looked uncertainly at Magnus, filled with a clear yearning and hope. It struck right at the softest spot in his heart.
Magnus suddenly didn't know how to respond.
"Daddy, you won't let Mom leave me, will you? And you'll stay with me and Mom forever, right?"
After a few seconds of silence, Juniper quickly said, "Jennifer, you just woke up. Let me go call the doctor, okay? We should have the doctor come and check on you."
"Okay."
Magnus left to get the doctor, as Juniper had smoothly suggested.
Jennifer's eyes filled with a sense of abandonment as she asked solemnly, "Mom, you won't go live at Dad's house, right?"
"Jennifer, Mom loves you very much, and so does Dad. No matter if we are together or not, we both love you, and that love will only grow."
"Hmph, Jakob's parents said the same thing when they got divorced, but it wasn't long before Jakob's dad found a new wife. Jakob's stepmom had her own baby and stopped liking Jakob. Jakob's mom said she would visit once a week, but look, a month has passed, and she hasn't visited him once. Adults just lie!"
Jakob was Jennifer's best friend in class. As the little girl spoke, her eyes brimmed with hurt, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Juniper felt uneasy as she tried to comfort her daughter. "Your daddy said he won't get married, won't fall in love again, and definitely won't have children with another lady. Your dad's a man of his word. he'll only dote on you."
The little one asked in her tiny voice, "If daddy doesn't love anyone else, why won't he marry mommy?"
"Jennifer, even though daddy and mommy can't be together, you're still their precious baby. Daddy won't marry, and Mommy promises you she won't start a new relationship, and she won't abandon Jennifer."
"Liar! A big liar! Mommy promised to go with me to Daddy's house! You just want to leave me! I don't want you anymore! You're both liars!"
The little girl became increasingly agitated, choked on her saliva, and kept coughing.
Juniper quickly calmed her, speaking softly, "Mommy won't leave you; she loves you so much; how could she bear to leave you? Jennifer, mommy's sorry, let's not talk about this anymore, okay?"
Magnus walked in from outside, "Your mother and I, we'll always be with you."
His voice was calm and reassuring.
Hearing her father say this, Jennifer's cries came to an abrupt halt.
The child blew a bubble through her tears, "Daddy, are you telling the truth?"
"Yes, really."
Jennifer waved him over, "Daddy, come here!"
Magnus approached the bedside.
The little one took Juniper and Magnus' hands and put them together, instructing them in a grown-up tone, "Then, makeup, and no more fighting, okay?"
"Jennifer..."
Juniper was at a loss for words.
Magnus took Juniper's hand and told the child, "Now we've made up, and you can't cry anymore."
Immediately, Jennifer stopped crying.
Juniper looked at their interlocked fingers and spaced out for a moment.
She knew Magnus was just deceiving Jennifer.
Everything was fine for now, but what about in a few days?
Later, the doctor arrived and examined Jennifer.
"No major issues. Just ensure a light diet post-surgery and balanced nutrition. She should be hospitalized for about a week before discharge and then avoid strenuous activities. While it's not a major surgery, it was a heart procedure, so she'll need to rest and avoid getting upset."
After the doctor gave his advice, he left the room.
Little Jennifer's eyes rolled around for a moment as she looked from her dad to her mom before pursing her lips and saying, "Uncle Doctor said I shouldn't get upset. You both better be good and not make me upset, okay?"
With her tiny brows furrowed like an old soul in a young body, she sighed, "Geez, what's up with you two grown-ups, leaving a little six-year-old to worry your heads off. Really, you're so clueless!"
Thanks to Jennifer's unyielding efforts to bring them together, the trio finally started looking like a real family.
Jennifer, being the energetic one, found it boring to just lie around in the hospital room, so Juniper handed her a cell phone to play with.
The moment she got hold of the phone, Jennifer switched on the front camera.
"Dad, Mom, we haven't taken a group picture yet! Let's take a family photo," she exclaimed.
Jennifer was really going all out to bring them together.
Juniper gave Magnus an awkward glance, at first worried he wouldn't be cooperative.
But the man promptly moved to Jennifer's left side without any fuss.
He even asked, "How should we take it?"
Little Jennifer beckoned the still-dazed Juniper, "Mom, come stand on my right."
"Oh, okay."
Juniper had nothing to do but to comply unconditionally.
Magnus was on the left, Juniper on the right, and Jennifer in the middle.
The little girl turned the phone horizontally, but her hands were too small to hold it properly, so she asked Magnus for help.
"Dad, you hold the phone, I want to do a cheer!"
Magnus found himself neatly organized by a six-year-old.
Juniper could hardly believe it, as if it were all an illusion.
They snapped the first photo.
Jennifer checked it and was not satisfied, "Why aren't you two smiling? Let's try again!"
Magnus, accustomed to being serious, found it strange to suddenly be asked to smile for the camera.
Little Jennifer turned her head, pulled the corners of her lips with her fingers, and showed her pearly teeth to Magnus, saying, "Dad, smile."
The man awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Jennifer then noticed Juniper looking grim and let out a resigned sigh, "You two look like you're being forced. I'm about to cry."
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