Chapter 184 Preparations
Madison was dropped off at The Old Residence by Patrick. Willow's emotions were still shaky, so Mitchell took her away. Throughout the car ride, Madison worked on removing the traces of tears from her face. She was worried Mr. Johnson and the children might notice. She hadn't planned on telling Mr. Johnson about Matthew's situation just yet; she'd wait until she got to Rome for any concrete news.
When she arrived back at The Old Residence around 8 p.m., Mr. Johnson had already retired for the night. He had spent the day playing with the two little ones, which was tiring for someone his age.
Hearing the car's sound, Valerie came out to greet her, "You're back. Is Patrick doing well?"
"Valerie, hi." Patrick greeted her, then turned to Madison and said, "Get some rest early. I'm heading out."
Madison nodded, reminding him to drive safely, and followed Valerie into the house, inquiring about Quentin and Hannah's wellbeing as they walked.
"Madam, don't worry. The young miss and master have been very well-behaved. They insisted on bathing without my help, and right now, they're both done and reading books in Hannah's room," Valerie said, obviously very fond of the well-mannered and obedient children.
"Thanks for your hard work, Valerie," Madison said.
"Oh, it's nothing, really. This is all part of my job. When they returned from playing with William, the kids were asking about you, wondering where you were. I told them you were out working, and they took care of their dinner and bathing all by themselves like understanding little ones."
Chatting as they walked into the living room, Valerie offered, "Madam, have you had dinner yet? I can prepare something for you."
"That sounds good, thank you, Valerie." Although Madison wasn't feeling particularly hungry, she knew she couldn't afford to falter now, so she didn't decline Valerie's offer to make dinner.
She first went upstairs to her room to change her clothes and compose herself before seeking out the children. Pushing open the door to Hannah's room, she indeed saw the two little ones sitting on the carpet, each engrossed in a picture book, quiet and peaceful.
At the sound of the door opening, both kids looked up simultaneously, their faces breaking into smiles at the sight of Madison.
"Mrs. Jonah."
"Mrs. Jonah, you're back."
Seeing the two well-behaved and adorable children temporarily allowed Madison to forget her sorrows. She squatted down and hugged them both, one on each side, holding them tightly. Despite this, she couldn't help but think, "Matthew, you surely can't bear to leave us, right? I will find you and bring you home."
"Mrs. Nash told me you were very good today. How about a reward from Mrs. Jonah, a little flower for each of you?" Madison suggested, her eyes smiling, and then she drew a small flower in the palm of each child's hand.
"I want to be just as good tomorrow and get a flower," Hannah said joyously as if she had just received her most treasured toy. Then she handed her picture book to Madison. "Mrs. Jonah, can you read this for me? There are so many words I don't know, and I always have to ask my brother."
"Of course," Madison agreed, opening the picture book and starting to read it page by page. Quentin stopped his reading, and both children sat around Madison, listening intently to the story. It was a heartwarming scene.
After finishing one book, Valerie came in with a bowl of bread for Madison.
Hearing the knock, Quentin scrambled up to open the door. "Mrs. Jonah, Mrs. Nash brought you some bread; you should eat," he exclaimed.
Madison rose from the carpet. "Would you two like to eat some with me?"
"Yes! I want two pieces of bread, Mrs. Jonah," Hannah said, quickly getting up from the carpet and very modestly declaring she would only eat two.
Madison took her small hand. "Well, let's all go downstairs to eat."
Valerie brought the bread down to the dining room. The three of them sat at the dining table, and Madison fetched two small bowls, serving two pieces each for Hannah and Quentin. "Quentin, are two okay for you?"
With a wide smile, Quentin replied, "Okay, Mrs. Jonah."
For a moment, Madison saw a glimpse of Matthew in her son's face. Quentin's features were growing ever more like Matthew's.
Thinking of Matthew again, Madison's thoughts began to drift away...
Her daughter's voice pulled her back, "Mrs. Jonah, Mrs. Jonah, why aren't you eating? It's really tasty."
Madison snapped out of her reverie, "Alright, Mrs. Jonah will give it a try." She said as she picked up a muffin and took a bite, nodding, "It really is delicious."
Laughter and cheerful conversation filled the table.
After finishing the muffins, Madison ushered the two kids to brush their teeth again, watched them get into bed, and then turned off the lights before returning to her room.
Madison quickly freshened up in her room and lay in bed, scrolling through the photo gallery on her phone. The gallery was almost entirely filled with pictures of the two children. There were only a few scattered shots of Matthew, sneakily taken during family outings. Matthew disliked having his photo taken; he would always be busy taking pictures of the kids or her, steadfastly refusing to be in front of the camera.
She wished she had insisted on taking more pictures of him regardless of his reluctance.
It was late at night, and Madison, lying in bed with the phone in her arms, couldn't help but let her tears fall. Her emotions finally collapsed in the solitude of the night, where no one could see.
*
The next day, Madison woke up early. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she saw her eyes swollen from crying the night before, and she quickly grabbed some ice from the freezer to reduce the puffiness. After thirty minutes, the swelling wasn't as noticeable. She applied some concealer and practiced smiling in the mirror. Once she managed to look as normal as before, she walked out of her room.
Mr. Johnson and the two kids were already having breakfast. Madison took a deep breath, put on a smile, and walked over to join them. Seeing her up, Valerie served her a bowl of creamy corn soup.
"Mrs. Jonah, come have some pancakes. They're so good," Hannah said, concerned Mrs. Jonah might miss out, and awkwardly used a fork to place a pancake on Madison's plate.
Madison greeted Mr. Johnson and, using the pretext of having urgent business at the studio, left with the two kids after breakfast. The Tang family knew they had to leave today since school was starting tomorrow, and they only reminded her to drive safely without saying much more.
So, after breakfast, Madison drove with the children back to Aurora Heights. Once home, she called Rachel, "Rachel, where are you? Can you come over to Aurora Heights?"
"Madison, I... I'm out and about. Is something up with Quentin and Hannah?"
Rachel was somewhat hesitant on the other line, but she usually didn't trouble others lightly, so Rachel thought that something must have happened to Quentin and Hannah.
Madison's mind was elsewhere, and she did not notice Rachel's unusual tone.
"It's not that. I might need to ask for your help," Madison said.
Upon hearing this, Rachel immediately responded, "Okay, I'll come over right away." At this, Madison thought she heard a male voice in the background. Was Rachel dating someone?
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