Terence woke up early to prepare breakfast. To his surprise, he spotted Natasha coming out of Anthony's room.
Confused, he checked the time. Natasha doesn't usually get up so early.
Before he could say a thing, Natasha approached him and greeted, “Morning, Grandpa.”
“I'm usually up at this time, but why are you already awake?” Terence suddenly moved closer to his granddaughter and scrutinized her face. He asked, “Why are your eyes so red? You didn’t sleep last night?”
“I didn't,” said Natasha with a nod.
“Why not? What were you doing?”
“I was chatting with Anthony!”
Terence was incredulous. “The whole night?”
“Well, somehow it turned out that way.”
After some thought, Terence asked, “What happened? Did Anthony do something wrong?”
Natasha smiled and clarified, “No. We were just chatting about everything and nothing.”
That earned her a displeased glance from Terence, who chided, “Staying up late may be commonplace for you, but Anthony's still a growing boy. Staying up late can't be good for his development.”
“All right, I won't do it next time,” came Natasha's reply.
“Hungry?”
“Yeah.” Natasha nodded.
“I'll whip something up for breakfast.
You should catch up on your sleep after you eat.”
“Okay.”
“Just give me a couple of minutes. I'll be quick.” As he spoke, Terence hastily put on an apron before preparing breakfast.
Natasha perched on a stool near the island and watched her grandfather working skillfully in the kitchen. As she stared at his frail figure and salt-and-pepper hair, she was suddenly struck by the realization that her grandfather had aged a great deal.
Her eyes pricked with tears,
unbidden.
A plate of simple yet nutritious breakfast suddenly appeared before her.
Natasha hurriedly wiped the sorrowful expression off her face as Terence coaxed, “Food's ready! Now hurry up and eat before you catch up on your sleep.”
Natasha slowly lowered her eyes to the fried eggs on her plate and nibbled at her breakfast.
Her behavior initially went unnoticed by Terence, who was busy preparing more breakfast portions. When he next turned around to look at her, his brows furrowed in concern, and he asked, “What’s wrong? Does it taste bad?”
“No.” Natasha shook her head firmly before meeting her grandfather's gaze. Smiling, she explained, “I wanted to commit the taste of your cooking to memory.”
“You don't have to do that. I can cook for you whenever you want,” Terence huffed.
Natasha nodded her head solemnly in response.
Her grandfather glanced at her before returning his attention to his cooking. He did not think too much of her solemn mood.
She finished off her plate just as Terence was almost done with his cooking.
“I'm heading back to my room to rest, Grandpa,” Natasha announced.
“Shoo. Get some rest.”
Natasha glanced at her grandfather before heading to her room.
The moment she closed her room door, Terence stiffened and paused in the middle of cooking. He turned and stared thoughtfully at Natasha's room door.
Meanwhile, Anthony was so excited after his conversation with Natasha that he could not fall asleep.
Instead, after some thought, he switched on his computer.
Kyle's message immediately popped up once Anthony was online.
Kyle: Where the heck did you go? I didn't think you remembered how to come online anymore.
Anthony did not expect him to be so upset. Still, high on excitement after his conversation with Natasha, Anthony was unbothered by Kyle's message and replied: Polished language, please!
Kyle: To heck with polished! You have no idea how worried I was'. I almost flew over!
Anthony: I would also appreciate it if you would mind your language.
Kyle did not reply, prompting Anthony to type: Didn't you ask Thalia to look for me? Didn't she tell you about it?
Kyle: She said your mom had a heart-to-heart talk with you.
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