Ice and Fire novel Chapter 477

Waiting at the school gate for her nephew, Jean watched the other children walk by. Soon enough, she saw darling Joe walking between the other children. She waved at him. "Joe, I'm here."

Jean's voice made Joe even more cheerful, and he ran to her once he saw her.

"Aunt Jean, I'm glad to see you, " Joe greeted her happily, his grin stretching from ear to ear.

Jean smiled at her cute nephew. "Well, I'm here to drive you to visit your Mommy." She took Joe's hand.

Joe nodded, his smile remaining just as big. "Okay. I miss my Mommy very much, " he said as he climbed into Jean's car.

While driving, Jean glanced at Joe every so often in the rearview mirror. "Joe, has everything gone well at school lately?" she asked.

Joe nodded happily. "Yes, everything is okay."

Embarrassment flushed her face, but Jean grew confident enough to ask what she really wanted to know. "Joe, I, uh, haven't told your Mommy that you and I have often seen each other recently. Have you told her about that?"

Joe looked at his aunt. "No, I haven't. I'm afraid that she would worry about me, " he answered. He hadn't ever told his Mommy and Daddy about his visits with Aunt Jean. Should he tell his Mommy the truth now?

Jean hesitated again, but forced herself to speak again. "Well, Joe, could you please continue keeping it as a secret between us? Don't tell your Mommy about it please? I'm a little worried about your mommy, her health isn't as good as we want it to be lately, and I'm afraid this might unnecessarily agitate her. The less stress for your Mommy the better, so let's keep it a secret just for now. Til she's better. What do you think?" Jean asked the young boy. 'Cherry being pregnant means that keeping her in good spirits is very important. Once she knows how well Joe and I get along together, she might be happy about it. But what if she gets angry? I don't want to make her mad just now.'

"What's happened to my Mommy? "Why isn't she well?" Joe asked anxiously. He couldn't focus on Jean's request. His Mommy was more important and now she's sick? Didn't his Mommy go back home? Did something bad happen to her?

"No, it's not like that, " Jean hastily replied. "She is well. But she is just sometimes in low spirits, looking like she might be a little ill. But don't worry, she's fine, " she tried to comfort her nephew.

She succeeded and he sighed in relief. "That's good. I've been worried that there's something wrong with Mommy."

"When you see your Mommy soon, you'll know how well she is. She's in Mond's house at the moment. Nothing bad will happen to her there, " Jean told him with a smile.

Joe watched his aunt's face from the back seat. "Aunt Jean, is Uncle Mond a good man?"

She paused and glanced at him before returning her gaze to the road. "He should be, " she replied ominously.

The uncertainty in Jean's voice cultivated the seed of doubt in Joe's mind. Maybe Uncle Mond isn't really a good man. 'Uncle Mond never felt like a good man to me, ' Joe thought to himself. 'He hates my Daddy, and his attention towards my Mommy is wrong. Aunt Jean has stayed with him for a long time, and she must know him well, but is he really like Aunt Jean says he is?'

At Mond's mansion, Mond finally returned to see Cherry relaxing on the sofa watching TV. He walked towards her.

His footsteps caused Cherry to glance over. She met Mond's gaze.

"Hello, " Cherry said quite simply.

"Hello, " Mond repeated the greeting. He quickly studied their surrounds to find an odd lack of Jean's presence. "Where's your sister?" he asked.