Chapter 365 Granting a Wish
The overcast sky meant that the little park today was less crowded than usual.
Chicago walked around but didn’t see Bob and Grace, which left her feeling disappointed.
"I wonder how Jessie's getting on." As she walked home after feeding Doodle, she passed the street where they had encountered the Golden Retriever the night before and muttered under her breath, glancing around.
Darwin, seeing the worry on her face, reached out and patted her head. "Don't worry, Chicago. Maybe we'll run into Jessie this afternoon on our way back."
Chicago still looked dispirited.
Back home, Darwin was concerned if Chicago was feeling under the weather.
He even asked Wendy to take her temperature.
Everything was normal.
"There’s no need to worry about the young lady's health, sir. Her medical check-up results just came back a few days ago. She's in excellent health, the doctor said."
Darwin was momentarily speechless at the description.
As long as she was healthy, that was all that mattered.
It had recently been decided that Charles and Chicago would be studying in Armie Country, and Charles already seemed ready to go. However, Chicago needed to enroll in some preparatory courses to keep up with the academic pace back home.
Part of the preparatory course was online.
After arriving home, Janna pulled Chicago to the study to start her online class.
Darwin went to check on Charles, who was busy working on some software project with Burl, so he didn't intrude and headed downstairs.
He had just sat down on the living room sofa when he received a text.
"Mr. Solomon, the phone number you were looking for has been found. Bob, 135xxxxxxxx."
Darwin stood up and walked outside before dialing the number.
The phone rang for a bit before someone answered.
"Who is this?" An elderly voice answered the phone.
"Hello, Mr. Bob, I'm Chicago's father," Darwin started calmly. "I need to talk to you about your Golden Retriever."
Chicago was bored to tears in class.
If Janna hadn’t been keeping a watchful eye on her, she might have already dozed off at the desk.
As the class was winding down, a couple of loud and cheerful barks came from outside the window.
Chicago's drooping head shot up instantly.
"You’re almost done, sweetie. Just focus a little longer," Janna said, gently turning her head back towards the screen.
A few more barks echoed from outside.
"That's Jessie!" Chicago broke free from the constraints of Great Grandma Rhoads’ expectations, slid off her chair, hurriedly bid her online teacher goodbye, and darted out of the study.
“Darling, slow down, will you?” Janna sighed, resigned to her great granddaughter’s impatience.
Chicago ran to the front door, stretched up to unlatch it, and was immediately greeted by the sight of Bob and Grace holding the leash of Jessie, the cheerful Golden Retriever.
"Bob, Grace!" exclaimed Chicago, nearly tumbling down the steps in her glee, much to Darwin’s heart-stopping alarm.
"Chicago, be careful!" he called out.
Chicago raced up to Jessie and hugged her, burying her face in the dog’s fur. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispered, though the words lingered in her heart.
She hadn’t told anyone about the nightmare from the night before where Jessie had been hurt.
"How could Jessie be in trouble, pumpkin?" Grace chuckled.
Darwin gave a subdued smile. "While we were on the phone, I didn't get a chance to mention that Chicago ran into Jessie here in the neighborhood last night, but it wasn’t you walking her."
"Last night?" A look of recognition crossed Grace's face. "Oh, that would have been my granddaughter. She's been studying abroad and just moved in with us a couple of months ago to keep us company."
"Let Chicago's dad finish. What happened last night?" Bob, ever perceptive, knew they didn't walk Jessie every day. The dog needed more exercise than they could handle, and it was usually the housekeeper who took her to the park in the morning.
Chicago had been anxious to see Jessie, and what she said when she saw Jessie suggested to Bob that something must have happened.
"It was my fault, really. I wasn’t watching Chicago closely enough," Darwin’s eyes softened as he looked at his daughter. "She spotted Jessie last night, called out on impulse, and Jessie ran right over. It gave your granddaughter a fright. She said some harsh words and... whipped the dog with the leash in front of Chicago."
Darwin's tone was gentle, almost teasing, but it masked an underlying displeasure.
Bob frowned. "So that’s why Chicago was so worried. She can be quite the handful. I'll talk to her when we return."
Normally, someone else would offer some polite platitudes to smooth things over.
But that just wasn't Darwin.
After hearing Bob's promise, Darwin simply curved his lips into a faint smirk but said nothing more.
In no time at all, Chicago and the Golden Retriever were romping around together in a blur of playful energy.
The Smiths and Darwin watched from the sidelines, amusement in their eyes.
Suddenly, Bob shared a bittersweet thought. "You know, Jessie isn’t really ours. How could we handle such a big dog at our age?"
"Then who does she belong to?" Darwin asked.
"She belonged to our grandson. He begged his parents for a dog as a birthday present when he turned ten, but... sadly, he passed away in a car accident last year. His parents wanted to rehome Jessie because she reminded them of him, and the memories were too painful. My wife worried that Jessie wouldn’t be treated well, so after a talk, we decided to take her in."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Darwin said sincerely, empathy in his voice. He understood their grief all too well since he was a parent himself, and his son was battling an illness.
"We owe Chicago a lot, actually," Grace said, dabbing the corner of her eye with a smile. "We were drowning in sadness, but since Chicago moved in, she's been coming to the park every day to play with us. She's so lovely. She’s helped us heal so much."
With affection in her gaze, Grace turned to Darwin. "You and your wife have raised her to be so beautiful and well-mannered. It's wonderful."
Darwin looked at Chicago.
"It's all because of her mother. I can't take any credit," he said sincerely.
Upstairs, the sound of laughter drifted through the window.
Charles and Burl peered out, watching the scene below.
"Chicago’s like a character out of a Disney movie," Burl said with a loving tilt of his head. "She connects with every little creature and plays so well with them."
Charles nodded in agreement.
His gaze settled on Darwin.
The Golden Retriever must be Jessie, the one his sister had talked about so often. He had heard about last night’s ordeal.
It was no coincidence that Bob and Grace had brought Jessie over today.
He knew his sister was worried about Jessie, and that was probably why Darwin had suggested Bob and Grace bring her here.
"Charles!"
Perhaps some twin intuition had kicked in.
Chicago suddenly turned to look up at the balcony, spotted Charles, and immediately waved with a big smile. She then tugged at Jessie’s floppy ears and whispered to her.
Jessie barked at towards the balcony, her tail wagging more happily than ever.
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