Looking at Shirley's cute expression, Abby smiled and said,"Oh yeah sweetie, Sher is here to pick you up."
The kid was so glad to see her mother. Sheryl helped her daughter fix her shoes and tenderly urged,"Let's go. downstairs."
When the three came down the stairs, the dinner was already served on the table. The Zhao family was waiting for them to join in. Amy stood up and happily invited,"Come on, let's have dinner together." Unable to refuse their hospitality, Sheryl sat around the table with Shirley.
The meal ended up in a merry exchange of words and laughter. Shirley didn't recognize Andy, which was a great relief to the latter.
After they had dinner, Andy drove the mother and daughter to their house. Abby tagged along with Andy. After parking the car in front of the apartment, Andy and Abby watched them as they went up the stairs. When Sheryl and her daughter were out of sight, Abby didn't urge her husband to leave immediately. Instead, she turned to Andy and spoke in a serious tone,"Can we have a talk now?"
With a quick glance at Abby, Andy replied,"I have already made myself clear to you. What else do you want to know?"
"Please be honest with me. What's up, Andy? Why have you acted so weird in front of Shirley? I avoided asking you back home because I didn't want mom and dad to hear us argue," Abby said frankly.
"Abby...." Andy faltered with a hesitant expression. Even though he hated lying to his wife, he had no choice but to keep her in the dark about his secret with Anthony. He took Abby's hand and explained in a mellowed voice,"I've had tons of work to deal with recently, so I have been a little anxious. Besides, Sheryl really lost her memory. I was actually stunned when just like that, Mom directly brought Shirley to our house. I was afraid that Sheryl might remember and worse, suspect that she's related to us."
"It's not a big deal Andy," Abby returned, as she narrowed her eyes. "She is Autumn. We both know that. So far, she is our closest kin in this world. If she has any doubts towards us, why don't we just tell her the truth?"
"I... It didn't occur to me," Andy responded, looking away to avoid his wife's gaze. Embarrassed, Andy looked back at Abby. "Abby, come on! Just forgive me this time. It won't happen again," he said apologetically.
"Is that all? Are you sure?" Abby asked, incredulous. "That's all, I promise," Andy swore earnestly.
Abby was still skeptical about her husband's words, but she chose to believe him. Smiling, Andy went on,"I know you're dying to bring Autumn back, but you need to be patient." After a pause, he suggested,"After Anthony is back, how about we treat Autumn and him to a meal?"
"I couldn't agree more. I want to have a talk with Anthony and figure out what happened to Autumn in the past three years," Abby replied excitedly.
Sheryl needed to work and Anthony was abroad. She found it hard to take care of her daughter alone. Therefore, she decided to take Shirley out that morning to search for a nursery school. As soon as Sheryl opened the door of the apartment, she suddenly caught sight of Amy.
Taking notice that Sheryl was going out with Shirley, Amy asked curiously,"Where are you going?"
"Hi, Amy," Sheryl greeted awkwardly, as she gave Amy a quick glance. She had no intention of letting Amy know about her plan. 'If she knew, she would oppose to it, ' she thought.
"I..." Sheryl mumbled. Before she could say another word, her daughter opened her mouth. "Grandma Amy, Mom is going to find a nursery for me," Shirley cut in.
"Shirley!" Sheryl growled with furrowed eyebrows. She grabbed Shirley and gave her a reproachful glance.
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