Chapter 1441
Late at night.
Fiona sent a long voice message to Chicago, who was already asleep, letting him know she'd be home tomorrow with gifts.
After sending the message, she set her phone aside.
Feeling both satisfied and exhausted, Fiona buried her head into the pillow.
She was a bit warm from the recent activity, and the air conditioning was set too low, so Darwin went to adjust the temperature.
Like a koala, he came back and wrapped himself around Fiona from behind, clinging to her.
Fiona didn't feel like moving.
She watched the rain still falling outside the large window.
"Grandma loved big windows," Fiona suddenly said. "When I was little, no one around here had floor-to-ceiling windows like this. She said that before I was born, she planted a gardenia right across from the window in my room. When the gardenias bloomed, I loved to open this window and sit under the eaves, watching all day."
Darwin kissed Fiona's shoulder and neck gently. "When we have holidays, we'll bring the kids back here to stay."
He knew Fiona was thinking about Aishah.
A wave of guilt spread through his chest.
If Darwin had realized his feelings for Fiona sooner, he could have been there for her when Aishah passed away.
The gardenia in the yard had grown into a large tree. Many years ago, after she and Aishah left Serene City for Bay City, the gardenia inexplicably got sick, lost all its leaves, and its roots rotted.
When they came back to see it, they thought the gardenia was beyond saving.
But they couldn't bring themselves to dig it up and throw it away.
So it stayed in the yard, treated like a dead tree for many years.
Until the spring of the year Aishah passed away.
Fiona came back, feeling heartbroken, after signing Aishah's death certificate.
But in the morning light, she saw the gardenia had sprouted many new green leaves.
Fiona told Darwin about it.
As she spoke, she bit her lip and choked up a bit. "I think, even when she left, she couldn't stop worrying about me. So she brought this flower, which came because of my birth, back to life."
Darwin nuzzled Fiona's neck and kissed her again. "Your grandma loved you very much."
"Yeah," Fiona nodded softly.
That night, Fiona had a beautiful dream.
In the dream, Sesame Alley wasn't as rundown as it is now. Back then, every house in the alley had wonderful neighbors.
The elderly were kind, and the young parents were always looking for their children who were a bunch of mischievous rascals.
Carla was the only mom who never spanked the kids, but she was also the prettiest mom in the alley.
All the kids envied Fiona.
In the dream, it was a scorching summer day. Fiona wore overalls made by Aishah, her hair in two pigtails, holding a pinwheel Dagwood had bought her, and she ran into the house.
She shouted, "Grandma, Grandpa, Carla, I'm home!"
Aishah peeked out from the dining room, smiling. "You're calling her Carla again. Be careful, or she'll tell you ghost stories tonight!"
Joshua was under the eaves, weaving a small bamboo mat.
The store-bought bamboo mat had given Fiona a rash, and she cried for two days.
Joshua went to the countryside to get bamboo to make a mat for his beloved Fiona himself.
"Don't worry, Grandpa's here. If Mom tells ghost stories, you can come to Grandpa. Grandpa's so strong, no ghosts or monsters would dare scare you!"
The young and beautiful Carla came down from the second floor. The mischievous girl immediately turned into a dutiful daughter and stopped calling her Carla.
Fiona ran to Carla, hugging her leg. "Mom, Dagwood tested me on math today, and I got 100!"
"Really?" Carla squatted down to look Fiona in the eye. "Then what's 1+3?"
Fiona, holding the pinwheel, thought hard for a moment, then raised her hand and showed five fingers.
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