Chapter 468 Who Wouldn't Want Daily Cuddles?
"Miss Rhoads..." Cassie began to speak.
But Fiona stopped her with a gesture.
Smiling gently, she joined Cassie and the others, craning her neck to peek inside.
Darwin was pillowing his arm, pinching little Chicago's hand while watching her sleep. His eyes brimmed with barely concealed joy.
Fiona had never seen him like this, and she, too, was somewhat mesmerized.
At that moment, Darwin seemed to sense something and suddenly glanced over in her direction.
Taken aback for a moment, Fiona watched as Darwin stood up and walked towards the door.
The others quickly scrambled, pretending to busy themselves with their work.
"How is everyone here?" Darwin asked with a grin as he approached.
“Charles wanted to pick the brains of some seasoned educators, so I came along with Chicago," Fiona responded, glancing back toward the direction they had come from. "I just checked in on him, and he's thriving."
"That's great to hear," Darwin said with a chuckle, his head nodding in agreement. "Since you're here, why don't we have lunch together? How about that collection of restaurants you're fond of nearby?"
"Whatever works," Fiona replied nonchalantly.
Just then, Chicago, who had been asleep for long, stirred and came to life.
Seeing this, Fiona made her way toward the office.
Cassie made a move to approach Darwin to ask which restaurant he had in mind so she could make arrangements.
But Darwin, showing no inclination to delegate, followed his wife like a faithful tail while simultaneously hunched over his phone, sending a message to a restaurant owner on WhatsApp.
Over the years, Darwin had become a regular at the eateries Fiona favored. He always took care of the reservations. Several restaurants in the area had closed over the previous few years, and Darwin, worried that Fiona's beloved spots might suffer the same fate, exchanged WhatsApp contact details with the owners, offering his help whenever they might need it.
The owners had always assumed their cuisine and service had won over Mr. Solomon's heart. Little did they know that Darwin was fearful that the things connected to Fiona in this world might gradually vanish—the houses she lived in, her favorite perfumes, the shower gels she used, and the food she enjoyed. He wanted to preserve it all, then seek out the echoes of her presence within these remnants.
"Woke up, sweetie?" Fiona settled down next to Chicago.
Chicago was still a bit dizzy, sitting there in a daze.
Fiona gently tousled her daughter's hair, smiling. "Daddy's done with his meeting. We'll pick up your brother soon and go out for lunch together."
The mention of 'Daddy' led Chicago to finally turn her bleary eyes toward Darwin as he walked in.
"That's nice," Chicago murmured and then snuggled into Fiona's embrace.
Fiona playfully teased, "What's so nice, babe?"
Darwin was equally curious.
"That he has work, so I don't have to worry," Chicago mumbled.
Fiona burst into laughter.
Darwin expressed his bemusement, "I guess she assumes I'm unemployed since I'm always home with her and her brother, huh?"
"Yep," Fiona agreed with a nod. "She's always been concerned about that sort of thing, worrying over whether everyone has a job. For the longest time, she thought Uncle Stuart was just some lazy, freeloading relative until he showed her his paycheck."
"Anything else?" Darwin asked, looking at Fiona expectantly. "Tell me more about the fun stuff with Charles and Chicago."
"That's a lot." Fiona didn't look at Darwin as she spoke, "Right, Chicago?"
In her mother's arms, Chicago tried to reboot himself, but without success.
"Do you have more meetings this afternoon?" Fiona asked Darwin.
"Yeah." Darwin nodded. "There's a backlog of things I need to catch up on. It’ll probably take three or four days. How about you?"
"I'll be busy starting tomorrow, too," Fiona replied.
Times like these were common in the past.
With a full-time staff at home - Janna, Thalassa, Burl, Dagmar - everyone took turns coming back when things got hectic.
So, Fiona didn't mean anything special by her comment.
But...
"Yeah, don't worry about work. I'll bring Charles and Chicago to the office with me," Darwin assured.
Fiona paused, caught off guard.
"That's not what I meant..." she started to clarify instinctively.
"Huh?" Darwin looked up at her, puzzled.
Fiona met his gaze, had a moment of realization, and explained, "I mean... you don't have to force yourself. The only reason I asked you to look after the kids was that you, Charles, and Chicago weren't getting along so well back then. I thought it'd be good for you to spend more time together."
"Force?" Darwin became slightly more serious. "I don't see it as a burden. I enjoy their company."
Fiona and Darwin held each other's gaze for a moment.
Once she saw he was serious, she nodded, "Well, that's good. But you should still check with Charles and Chicago to see if they want to come with you to the office."
"They'll want to, definitely," Darwin said, full of mysterious confidence.
Chicago tried to reboot for a little longer.
Finally, she was completely awake.
Fiona glanced at the clock and saw it was about time.
She handed Chicago, who was clinging to her, straight over to Darwin, "Babe, you and daddy head to the restaurant; Mommy's going to pick up your brother and uncle, OK?"
Chicago's little face twisted slightly, but she nodded, "OK!"
Fiona smiled, kissed Chicago, and left to fetch Charles.
Once she was gone, there was a moment of awkward silence between father and daughter.
"I can walk on my own," Chicago swung her legs a bit.
Setting her down, Darwin hadn't yet spoken when Chicago naturally took his hand, "Is the restaurant far? Can we walk there?"
"It's just across the street," Darwin responded gently, "They've got really delicious beef, and I remember Chicago loves beef, right?"
Hearing about beef, Chicago's mouth started to water uncontrollably.
She swallowed and faced her feelings honestly, nodding, "Yeah, I really like it!"
Darwin couldn't help but smile.
But immediately after, life in Chicago taught him a sharp lesson. "Man, shouldn't you be picking out Mom's favorite restaurant by now? She practically booted you out of bed this morning!"
His tone carried a mix of disdain and exasperated affection.
"It is Mom's favorite place. She used to come here a lot when she worked around the corner." Darwin hastened to add and quickly tried to defend himself, "Babe, Mom didn't mean to kick Dad this morning; she was having a nightmare, that's all."
Chicago shot him a look, lifted her chin, and snorted, "Do you guys think I'm a toddler? Don't treat me like I'm naive!"
Darwin touched his nose, feeling awkward.
"Back when we stayed at Uncle's place, the parents of Simon from across the street, they'd hug and peck each other goodbye like a hundred times every morning!" Chicago began to share her observations of life, "You and Mom never do that. Mom only does that cutesy kissy stuff with me and my brother."
Darwin felt deflated. Who doesn't yearn for that kind of affection?
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