As they reached its home, Sophia left the husky there and headed back to her own.
Judge had every intention of luring her into its house to babysit for him. Alas, Sophia saw through its ruse and turned back immediately. It loitered at the doorstep, uncertain whether to go in or to go to work. If it went to work at the pet shop, its rump would be sore from being caressed and pinched by guests there. If it went to the company to stand guard, it knew it was no match against the two fierce German Shepherds that just arrived. Every time it tried to put up a fight, it would end up getting beaten badly, so it figured it might as well skip work.
If Judge returned to Stanley’s place, it would be all alone as Stanley was always at work, and no one would play with it. It did not even think about going back to the Fletcher Residence, for there would be an entire pack of military dogs, both still in service and retired, waiting for it at the lawn. Once again, winning a fight with them would be out of the question.
After much consideration, it decided to settle in Michael’s cozy villa. Despite several years of sleeping on the carpet, its meals had been well taken care of. It would have been perfect if it did not have to babysit Carmen.
The poor samoyed had its face painted with colourful makeup, which was far from complimenting its looks, yet it still bared a silly wide grin. Meanwhile, the poodle was seen lying by the side, dressed in a pink princess costume.
Horrified, Judge ran off with a yelp with Carmen chasing behind. “Judgey! Come and try this new skirt!”
Sophia had just arrived back at her house and closed the door when she realized that Judge was once again nervously clawing on the door from outside, with Carmen catching up behind.
She opened the door and saw Judge barge in and hide. Delighted to see Carmen, Sophia bent down to rub her head. What an adorable little girl, smelling all nice and sweet. She would have loved to give her a big hug, but seeing that her nannies came running over, she refrained herself from doing so. She wished to talk to the little girl, but she remembered that she should not strain her vocal cord.
Carmen, notorious for her extraversion, begged her, “Miss, can I come in and play in your house? My doggie has gone inside…”
Sophia gladly welcomed them in, so Carmen headed into the living room as both her nannies followed behind. She found Carmen to be under constant supervision. Standing behind the little girl, Sophia observed the hat with cat ears she was wearing, looking no less adorable even from behind!
Cooper and Linus were working in the study room. Cooper noticed their little guest and went on with his own business, while Linus, who came out for a drink, said to Carmen, “Little girl, Lucile is not feeling well, so she cannot talk. Why don’t you go play by yourself?”
Carmen turned to Sophia with a frown. With concern, she asked, “Miss, are you sick? Shall I dance for you? When daddy was not feeling well, I danced for him and he got better. He even stopped crying.”
Linus gazed at Carmen and felt a tinge of sorrow. He glanced at Sophia and replied, “Sure!”
Sophia beamed with elation. She then sat down and eagerly looked at Carmen.
“Miss, this is the bear dance that was passed down in our family!” Carmen said. “Nate told me that before mommy became an angel and went to heaven, she fell ill and was crying in pain. So after Nate performed the bear dance for her, she got better and stopped crying. Nate taught me this bear dance. I’m only showing it to you, Miss. Please don’t share it with others!”
Such a bright little child.
Sophia was bursting with anticipation.
Carmen looked at Nicholas and ordered, “Nicholas, music!”
The robot began playing a light melodious tune as Carmen started dancing to the rhythm. She shook her butt and flailed her waist as she happily sang and danced.
“Three brown bears, living together. Papa Bear, Mama Bear, Baby Bear…”
To hear a mellow children’s song like that was a pleasant experience for Sophia. After she finished her dance, Carmen ran up to Sophia and placed her hand on her knee while she yearningly asked, “How was my dance, Miss?”
Sophia shook her head. Far from it—it’s as if my heart has been smothered with sweet, sweet honey.
How could there be a little girl this cute?
Carmen was exhilarated to hear Sophia agreeing to attend her concert, so she let out a whole-hearted laugh. Meanwhile, Cooper found out that Carmen was still around and came out to see her. He gently rubbed her head and felt her soft silky curls. He glanced at her and thought to himself, Is she that kid?
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