Chapter 214 Looking After the Singles
The following day, Madison woke up late. She wished she hadn't disturbed someone last night, as they were both up late because of it. Now she was alone in bed, knowing Matthew had already gotten up. She quickly got ready in the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, she saw a faint mark on her neck from the kisses her lover gave her last night. She was surprised he woke up even earlier than her, despite her calling out to him to sleep.
After freshening up and getting dressed, Madison applied a light layer of makeup to cover the traces on her neck. Thankfully, it wasn't too deep, and a bit of foundation concealed it well—lest meeting her parents and brother today become an embarrassing ordeal.
Once ready, she went downstairs to find everyone else up. Dorian, Quentin, and Hannah were having breakfast. Madison approached them.
"Mom," the two kids shouted in unison, with Hannah still munching on a dumpling. Dorian was sitting with his back to her, but hearing the youngsters call out for Mom, he turned around and said, "Hey, sis, you're awake."
Madison felt a bit sheepish for being the last one up. Why hadn't Matthew woken her? And she was sure she had set the alarm, which never went off.
"Morning, Dorian," Madison greeted her brother first. Then she asked, "Where are Mom and Dad? Who got breakfast?"
“Mom and Dad finished their breakfast and went to Garden Lane to admire some flowers and plants. They always enjoyed that. The breakfast was all bought by your husband, you know. I always thought these big-time CEOs wouldn't do this kind of chore—I'm surprised he's even better at it than our Mom," Dorian noted, finding Matthew quite different from the reputation he had heard about.
Madison hadn't expected Matthew to get up so early, let alone go out and bring back breakfast.
"Where's Matthew?" Madison queried, not seeing her husband around.
"It looks like Matthew stepped out again," Quentin mentioned, having just seen Matthew leave the house.
"I didn't notice where he went; I thought he went upstairs," Madison said, puzzled. She wondered what Matthew could possibly be doing outside, especially since he had already brought breakfast home.
Dorian motioned for her to sit, "Come on, eat something. Your husband isn't going anywhere. Look at you, all worried."
Madison, slightly embarrassed, whispered a defense, "I wasn't..."
"Sure you weren't. The moment you woke up and didn't see Matthew, you seemed all anxious," Dorian had barely finished speaking when Matthew walked in carrying a bag.
"See, he's back," Dorian nodded toward the door.
Madison turned and saw Matthew approaching. She couldn't wait and met him halfway, "Matthew, where have you been?"
"I forgot to buy milk for you," he said as they walked back to the dining table. Setting the bag on the table, Matthew took out the milk. "Let me get a bowl to pour this out." He then went to the kitchen to fetch a small bowl and poured the milk into it.
Madison stood by, watching him busily moving around, unable to stop herself from grinning foolishly.
Watching this scene, Dorian felt like he was overdosing on sweetness early in the morning; it was enough to see his parents being affectionate, but now his little sister was putting on a display, too. He was going to be so full of this lovey-dovey stuff that he wouldn't need to eat at all.
He couldn't help but internally lament, Is this how you treat single people?
Matthew placed the bowl full of milk in front of Madison and said, "Drink it while it's warm; it's got the tofu pudding you like."
Madison smiled and took a sip, "This is delicious."
Matthew gently touched her head and then intertwined his fingers with hers, "Have you eaten? Try a sip."
Matthew took a small sip from her hand. "I've eaten already. Once we finish, we should head out. Since we have more people, we'll take the minivan from the garage."
"Madison thought her husband was so thoughtful," Madison complimented, squinting her eyes. She used to call him 'Matthew,' but perhaps after calling him 'honey' so many times last night, the term of endearment just slipped out.
Dorian couldn't stand it anymore. As he watched his niece and nephew calmly eat and seem immune to their parent's behavior, acting like it was business as usual, he thought they could at least consider his feelings. After all, he was a young bachelor, still single and sitting right there.
"Hey, cut it out, would you? It's like I'm invisible here. How about a little sympathy for the single guy?" Dorian complained just as Mr. and Mrs. Sterling walked hand in hand back from Garden Lane.
"What's the matter?" Mrs. Sterling asked, taking a gracious step and smiling.
Dorian watched his parents stroll in hand in hand, feeling like he'd been hit again. He sighed to the heavens and lowered his head to eat his dumplings.
Mrs. Sterling, noticing her son wasn't engaging, turned to Mr. Sterling with a timid tone. "Honey, take a look at your son," she said. Mr. Sterling looked sternly at Dorian and quickly tried to soothe his wife.
Quentin finished his milk, placed the glass down, and said, "Grandma, Dorian says he's a single guy and wants you to give him extra love."
Mrs. Sterling huffed, "If you won't find a girlfriend, who's to blame? I'm certainly not going to set you up. You want to get married. You better use your skills to find someone."
Mrs. Sterling had progressive views and didn't believe that marriage was necessary for everyone. She thought that marriage should be between two people in love, sustained by a great deal of affection. In their family's philosophy, divorce was not an option if you decided to marry. Thus, she wouldn't pressure her son; some things just couldn't be rushed, and she certainly wasn't arranging any blind dates. If he wanted to get married, he had to look on his own.
Dorian muttered under his breath, "I never asked you to set me up."
"What was that?" Mrs. Sterling's voice was full of vigor, and she raised her volume.
Later, after finishing the milk Matthew had bought for her and packing some snacks, including prepared sun hats and spray for everyone, the family was ready to leave on time.
When they reached the garage, they faced an issue. They had a big seven-seater van that neither Matthew nor Madison had driven before. Matthew suggested giving it a shot, but Madison considered taking two smaller cars instead because there were more options available in the garage.
At that moment, Dorian popped up, thinking it was some difficult problem they were fussing over. Noticing his sister and brother-in-law's dilemma, he said, "Why don't you guys ask me? I can drive, you know. Hasn't anyone told you I have a Jaguar's driving skills?" Dorian grabbed the car keys from Matthew's hand, hopped into the driver's seat, and motioned for everyone to get in.
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