Thinking of Anna, Jimmy felt a pang in his heart. Even though it had been five years and he now had a normal job and life, he knew deep down that it was all just an illusion. He still missed her intensely.
"Uncle, are you okay?" Jay asked carefully, noticing the pain in Jimmy's eyes.
"I'm fine," Jimmy replied flatly.
"Olivia always says that we should maintain a positive attitude to embrace every new day's sunshine. Uncle, you need to forget about everything that makes you unhappy so that you can be surrounded by happiness," Jay said seriously.
"Olivia is my mom but I call her 'Olivia.' I hope she can be more than just my mom; I want her to be my friend too," Jay explained when he saw the confusion on Jimmy's face.
"Let's go find your mom," Jimmy said as he put away his sadness and regained his usual cold demeanor.
Jay nodded and took Jimmy's hand with her small warm one. The temperature of her little hand made him pause for a moment as his deep eyes fell on Jay.
This strange feeling made him tremble inside for a moment.
"You have big hands, Uncle!" Jay exclaimed innocently with shining eyes.
Looking at those innocent bright eyes of hers made something warm stir inside of him unexpectedly; he realized that despite not liking children before, he really enjoyed spending time with this child in front of him now.
"Your mother has raised you well," Jimmy smiled warmly - the first time in five years since Anna left - making himself feel relaxed again like never before.
"You look so handsome when you smile! You should smile more often from now on!" Jay teased playfully while looking at him
"Do you really not consider Olivia? She is such an excellent girl who will definitely satisfy all your needs."
Jay tried hard to "sell" his mother to him without reservation
"Does your mother know how much effort you're putting into 'selling' her?"
Jay stuck out her tongue playfully
"How can she know? She only cares about me, in order to make money for me to go to kindergarten, she works part-time everyday, sometimes she comes back very late, I feel so heartbroken for her, I wish I could have a stepdad to give her happiness, even if this stepdad doesn't like me. As long as he can make my mom happy, I can live in the kindergarten, as long as my mom is happy, I'm willing to do anything."
Jay's little face had a maturity and understanding that did not belong to his age.
Jimmy, who felt heartbroken, held Jay in his arms.
Jay, who felt the warmth in his arms, for the first time revealed his vulnerability in front of outsiders.
"Uncle, if I can, I want to introduce my mom to you to know, I ... really like you, I also believe that you will be the one who can bring happiness to my mom."
Jay looked sincere, that pair of watery big eyes, showing a trace of expectation.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Goodbye You Never Loved Me novel (Martha and Stefan)