Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1593

Sigh… Quincy sighed silently. “Come on, let’s go hang it in his room.” “Okay!” The old man and the young boy took the calligraphy to Bernard’s room. Just as they finished hanging it, Elliot and Walter returned. Seeing Elliot’s red-rimmed eyes, Evan immediately asked, “Elliot, what’s wrong?” Elliot knew Evan didn’t know the truth yet and decided to keep it that way for now. “It’s nothing. I was just on the phone with Mom. I miss her.” Evan’s questions came quickly. “Is Mom okay? She must miss us so much. I miss her, too.” Elliot said, “Mom’s fine. She’s worried about us. I told her we came to the mountains and not to worry. I also asked her to get us a few extra days off from school when she calls our teacher tomorrow.” Evan’s eyes widened. “Mom knows?” Elliot nodded. “Yeah, she knows.” “So… was she mad?” “No, she was just surprised. She told us to be safe and to say hi to our great-grandfather and great-grandmother for her.” Evan let out a long breath, relieved. “So how long can we stay in the mountains?” “Ten days, maybe two weeks, shouldn't be a problem. If we need more time, we can just ask Mom again.” Hearing they could stay for so long, Evan beamed. “That’s great! I was hoping to stay until great-grandpa is completely healed anyway. Besides, he’s teaching me some new moves. I can master them before we leave.” Elliot nodded, a fond look on his face. “Mhm.” After chatting for a bit, Elliot went to Gerald’s room. He wanted to search for more clues, to see if Gerald had left any instructions before he disappeared. Quincy went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, and Walter took Evan to his own cabin. When Evan saw the new fighter jet blueprints Walter had designed, he was blown away. “Whoa! Walter, are these all new designs you made since we left?” Walter nodded. “I was bored, and inspiration just happened to strike.” In truth, Bernard's worsening condition had thrown them all into a panic. Everyone had been pushing themselves to their limits lately, hoping to leave something more behind for the world before their own time was up. Evan leaned closer to Walter’s computer. “But Walter, can you even build these?!” Walter replied, “Probably not right now. I’m just providing the concept. Maybe someday, when new materials are developed, they’ll be possible.” Evan mused, “The world is still reeling from our 6th-gen fighter, and it shocked a lot of countries. If they saw your new designs, Walter, it would rewrite everything they thought they knew about aerial warfare.” Walter said, “Of course, they can’t know. Like I’ve told you before, you can show your strength, but you can’t show all of it.” “Showing just enough lets your enemies know you’re not a pushover. Hiding the rest keeps them from knowing your true power.” Evan nodded immediately. “I remember. ‘Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.’ If we don’t let them figure out our true capabilities, they’ll have a much harder time beating us.” “The weapons we show off to the public are, to us, already old news. We’d never be willing to reveal the new stuff.” Walter smiled. “Exactly.” Evan said, “A while back, my dad took me to visit a military research base.” “The director there said we’ve gone from a militarily weak nation to a strong one. We’re very powerful now!” Walter nodded in agreement, but before he could speak, Evan added, “Of course, that doesn’t mean we can get arrogant. We have to keep working hard and innovating! It’s like they say, if you’re not moving forward, you’re falling behind!”