Only after a long time had passed did I realize that it took half an hour to bake a dish of macaroni and cheese, so it would only take longer for a casserole. Worse still, I said I had overslept just now, so I would definitely make something simple. As such, that dish shouldn’t appear.
Argh! He saw right through me, yet he said nothing. Anyway, what else can I say when he’s smirking in such a manner? Feeling deflated, I admitted, “All right, stop laughing at me. I’ll tell you the truth. It was Mrs. Kingsley who prepared all these dishes. I only made the chicken soup. I was in a rush, but I was worried that it wouldn’t be enough for you. Anyway, Mrs. Kingsley made you this hearty spread sincerely. And it makes no difference whoever cooked them…”
A sliver of guilt crept into me as I spoke. Fearful that John would start getting picky again, I shot daggers at him and threatened, “Are you not going to eat, then?”
Timidly shrinking back, John picked up the fork again. “No, no, of course not. If I don’t finish this, would I still be able to eat Mrs. Kingsley’s and your cooking again in the future? I’m no fool.”
At that, I breathed a sigh of relief. It looks like a patient isn’t all that difficult to handle, after all.
I watched him eat for some time before it dawned upon me that I hadn’t seen any sign of Emma. While opening another lunchbox, I asked, “Where’s Emma? Why hasn’t she returned?”
“She went home.” John didn’t even bother lifting his head.
“No, she didn’t. I didn’t see her.” I thought he was referring to the Fuller residence.
“I’m speaking of her parents’ house.” John swallowed the taco in his mouth before he explained, “It’s hectic at my father-in-law’s company these days, and she’s their only daughter. It’ll seem unreasonable if she doesn’t go back and help out.”
“So, that’s what the two of you did back when you both went out together every so often?”
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