Free Web NovelChapter 157: The Right Decision?
Wendy stared at the closed kitchen door and was at a loss for words.
Mary gestured for her to sit with her on the sofa.
As Wendy sat herself down beside her, Mary’s gaze moved to the kitchen and asked, "What’s the story with those two?"
Wendy spread out her hands helplessly, "Todd is a friend of mine from Rheinsville City. We trained together under the same mentor. I guess he’s just being polite in helping with the dishes. As for Michael, he has been trying for a reconciliation ever since I returned to Lake City."
"And what do you want?" Mary asked as she looked, with concern, at her daughter.
Wendy looked down at her nails, obviously still struggling over this, and answered honestly, "I have not really given it much thought. All I want to focus on is to raise my two kids to the best of my ability."
At the mention of her kids, she suddenly remembered something and said to Mary, "Before I forget, Mom. Michael thinks that we have only Jake. He doesn’t know about Leah, who is here as Todd’s daughter. Remember not to let slip that she is his too."
Judging from her daughter’s tone and expression, Mary did not comment for a while.
Then, she said, "I can tell that Todd is attracted to you too."
"Oh, it’s not like that, Mom. Since he was going to be here on a business trip, I requested that he bring Leah along with me," Wendy explained.
Continuing, she said, "I guess the reason he’s here today is because he knew that Michael would be coming too. And he just wanted to be here to support me in case Michael acted up and became unmanageable."
Nodding, Mary replied, "Actually, I was referring to Todd. What I want to know is what do you intend to do with Michael?"
"I have decided to return to Rheinsville City. I don’t want to reconcile with Michael." freёwebnoѵel.com
Sighing, Mary paused for a long while before deciding to give her daughter some advice.
"Look Wendy. I’m not sure what exactly happened between you and Michael. But the truth of the matter is that you are now the parents of two kids. In my opinion, you should think about what’s best for the kids, not just you. I can tell that Michael has you in his heart so unless the circumstances are beyond repair..."
Although Mary had stopped talking further, her message was loud and clear.
Keeping her head low, Wendy said nothing, deep in thought.
Shortly, there was a loud crash from the kitchen, the sounds of crockery splintering on the floor.
Instinctively, both Wendy and Mary stood up from the sofa.
Wendy rushed to the kitchen and pushed open the door. And there, scattered all over the floor, were pieces of broken crockery.
While Michael and Todd were bickering away.
"I would not have dropped the plates if you had listened to me and moved further away instead of cramming against me like that," Michael stated.
"When did I cram up against you? There are two sinks here, one for each of us. I did not take up any of your space," Todd rebutted. "Why blame me if you have butter fingers and let the plates slip?"
Todd was not one who gets caught up into verbal altercations with anyone but now, he looked flushed and upset as he argued with Michael.
Obviously, neither of these two men were accustomed to being in the kitchen.
Looking resigned, Wendy began to drag them both out of the kitchen, saying, "Get out, both of you. I’ll do the dishes."
Before they could say anything, Wendy continued, "Jake and Leah are very curious about the countryside. Why don’t you take them out to explore? Don’t forget the hats, fans, and insect repellant. There are lots of bugs in the fields."
The two men looked at each other. At Wendy’s insistence, they walked out of the kitchen.
They, too, were fully aware of their own capabilities. If they stayed any longer in the kitchen, they would just end up breaking more bowls and plates.
Left alone in the kitchen, Wendy began washing the dishes as she mulled over what Mary had said to her.
She knew that Leah had always wanted a father. Even now, she would often ask why she did not have a dad.
She also knew that, despite not broaching the subject with her, Jake was also yearning for a father.
At that, Wendy began to ask herself if her decision to return to Rheinsville City was the right one?
Apart from her teaching job, Mary spent her spare time growing vegetables and fruit. So, while Wendy was doing the dishes in the kitchen, Mary took the others to explore the fields in the vicinity.
Not only had Jake and Leah not seen any vegetable fields before, even Todd and Michael found the rural landscape interesting.
Especially for Michael, a city boy who had been brought up in the lap of luxury, stepping into a vegetable field was a novelty for him.
Walking into the field and looking out at the idyllic, rural scene, he found this new experience refreshing and intriguing.
Although Wendy had not been home for many years, she had, after all, grown up here. And Linton had changed a lot in recent years, with the newly repaired and paved roads, and the refurbished school.
However, despite the changes, everything still looked familiar to Wendy.
After she was done with the dishes, Wendy took a cup from the kitchen, filled it up with water and wandered outside.
Walking down the stairs, she noticed a small crowd gathering around hers and Michael’s cars.
"What type of car is this? It looks different from what we see in our town!"
"Is Wendy back? Wasn’t there some news about her marrying Michael Lucas of Lake City? Then, there was apparently some news of her death. I don’t know whether it’s fake news though."
"I seem to remember that Mr. Lucas. Isn’t he the guy who paid for all our roads to be repaired and paved?"
"Oh yes. And it wasn’t just the roads either. He donated a lot of money to our schools, homes for the elderly and many other organizations. Five years ago, if he had not paid for all our roads to be paved, we would still be travelling on dirt tracks now."
"Of these two cars, I can tell that this one’s a Bentley. I’ve seen them on the internet. Even the cheapest model would set you back by a million or so."
"Oh my! Is it really that expensive?"
"So, is Wendy really back in town? If indeed she is married to Mr. Lucas and is still alive, then there is a high probability that she is back. No one else in our town is wealthy enough to drive such fancy cars. See, there are two fancy cars here, both parked outside Ms. Stewart’s house."
To the rural community, a luxurious car is a rarity.
A Bentley would be even more rare. In fact, it would be safe to say that no one in the entire town owned or drove a Bentley.
Anyone seen driving a Bentley in town was probably a native who spent all their time living away from the town and had returned for a brief visit, especially during the traditional holidays.
So, naturally, everyone in Linton was exceptionally curious about the owners of these two luxurious cars.
At that moment, someone in the crowd had spotted Wendy and exclaimed loudly,
"Isn’t that Wendy?"
At the sound of that one voice, everyone turned in her direction.
"Oh yes, that is indeed Ms. Stewart’s daughter," someone walked towards her and smiled,
"Hello Wendy, remember me?"
"Oh yes, of course I do," Wendy nodded and smiled. Politely, she added, "You’re Mrs. Watkins who lives in the house in front of ours. As a kid, I used to love your pork jerky and would always hang out at your house whenever you were cooking it."
"Oh, my word! Fancy you still remembering me and my pork jerky!" Mrs. Watkins nodded her head, overjoyed.
Eyeing Wendy from head to toe, she continued, "You are getting prettier each day. Are you here to visit with your mom? How long will you be staying? Oh right, are you really married to Michael Lucas? What an excellent choice! Let me tell you. He is a very, very good man. Do you see how the town has changed? Well, he paid for all of it. We heard that you had fallen into the sea and presumed dead five years ago.
What was that all about? And how did you survive and come back alive? Also, why have you not come back here during all those years..."
Wendy was touched by the welcome and warmth of these folks that she had known since she was a child.
However, she was not ready to deal with their insatiable thirst for a good gossip.
Apart from Mrs. Watkins, many other people walked up to her asking if she remembered them, trying to draw her into deeper conversation.
Smiling awkwardly, Wendy uttered, "Apologies. I have something to attend to. Please excuse me."
At that, she walked away from them at top speed.
On her way to look for Mary and the others, Wendy mulled over what Mrs. Watkins had told her.
Had Michael poured cash into Linton these past years?
Why would he be so magnanimous?
Suddenly, Wendy recalled some information that she had found online about Michael making huge donations in her name. He had even set up a charitable foundation in her name.
At that thought, she grimaced, feeling conflicted.
"Mummy, come quick! Uncle Michael just caught a big fish," Leah waved excitedly to Wendy when she saw her.
Smiling, Wendy quickened her pace when she heard Leah calling happily to her.
There was a stream that ran through Linton. Seemingly unpolluted, its waters were still clear.
Michael and the others had already taken off their shoes and were frolicking about in the water.
Wendy was familiar with this stream. She used to go there after school to play in the water. Back then, crowds of people would congregate there after school, especially in the summer. Because it was a fast-flowing stream, the water was always clean and very cool, an ideal place to get some respite from the summer heat.
There was no fear of getting sunburnt either because there was ample protection from the many trees planted along its banks.
When he saw Wendy walking towards them, Michael lifted his net proudly to show her the fish he had caught. Looking like a kid clamoring for a compliment, he asked, "Look at this! Isn’t this a big fish?"
Truth be told, it was indeed a big fish, maybe weighing about one or two pounds. Netting a fish this big was not easy in this stream.
Nonetheless, not feeling inclined to compliment him, Wendy simply gave him an unenthusiastic "yeah."
Michael looked dejected at her lukewarm response.
But then, he did not seem too affected and pressed on, "I’ll net you another biggie."
"Hehe, Mummy look! Jake has caught a crab. It’s so cute!" Leah clapped happily.
She had never experienced the joys of rural living before and was over the moon with this new and intriguing experience.
Leah extended her arm, wanting to grab the crab in Jake’s hand. However, Jake moved his hand away from her, warning her, "Don’t grab it. You will be hurt by its claws."
Leah quietly retracted her hand.
Looking around him, Jake pulled a few blades of tall grass and used them to bind the crab’s claws before passing it to Leah.
Grinning from ear to ear, Leah accepted the crab happily. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Wendy smiled as she watched them playing happily in the stream.
If she had known that they would love this place so much, she would have brought them back here sooner.
On his part, Todd was feeling a little left out. While the rest of the group was having fun with their catch, he was the only one who had not caught anything.
Unfazed, he bent over and continued to look for a fish, shrimp or crab, or anything, for that matter.
Eventually, he spotted a fish and was about to net it when Michael deliberately kicked the water, muddying it up.
Needless to say, the fish escaped through the muddied water.
Standing in the middle of the stream, Michael laughed merrily.
Turning beetroot red with fury, Todd pointed at Michael, "Why’d you do that for? It took me a long time to find a fish that size!"
"Well, start looking for another one then," Michael retorted gleefully.
And so, war was declared between the pair.
Whenever Michael found a fish, Todd would ape his action and deliberately muddy up the water to make him lose his catch.
Amused by their childish acts of sabotage, Wendy shook her head and burst out laughing.
Accustomed to living on her own, Mary preferred her solitude to this boisterous group of visitors in her home. However, she was still glad that they had come to visit and smiled, saying, "All this must be a new experience for the city dwellers. Look at how happy they are, frolicking about in the water!"
"Oh yes! I remember doing the laundry in this stream when I was young. Back then, I had a close friend named Emma, but we lost touch after I left for work in Lake City. Where is she now? Is she doing OK?"
"Oh, her. She’s married now and has moved away."
So, that was how they spent the afternoon - the kids and two men playing in the stream while Wendy and her mom sat by the banks chatting.
