"Ah, ah," Mia struggled to hold her son. "Sweetie, you can't have this."
"Whaaah!" Henry opened his mouth, trying to nibble on his mom's lips.
"Mommy will taste it for you."
"Waah!"
Later, Mia handed her chubby son over to her husband.
Scott led everyone in. People were already picking cherries and greeted Scott like an old friend as they saw him.
"Go ahead, everyone, have fun and eat all the cherries you can pick," Scott announced grandly.
Mia admired the sight before her: cherries as red as rubies, so tempting and luscious.
She reached for some of the lower ones on tiptoes, and Henry also raised his plump little arms.
The silver bracelet on her wrist shimmered in the sunlight. "Waah!"
Mia tasted one. "The ones at the bottom don't get much sunlight, they're sour. But the ones at the top, they're sweet."
Molly Cedillo looked up. "I can't reach."
"I can!" Anya exclaimed.
Tall Andre Cedillo and Chad Byrne both looked at their niece, who claimed she could do it.
Hansen Cedillo was considering using a stick to knock some cherries down but then noticed the ground was littered with ripe red cherries, some falling with a gust of wind.
Then Anya said she could do it.
Leo Cedillo chuckled. "You can? What, do you have wings to flutter up there?"
Anya found a lush tree, slung her bag over her shoulder, and, wearing a flowing maxi dress, started climbing.
She didn't care about appearances at all.
With both hands gripping the trunk, she leaned her feet against the tree, then, unafraid of getting dirty, she flipped over and slowly stood on a branch.
Leo sighed. "Can't yell, can't scold, can't complain."
Soon, Anya had climbed even higher, happily picking cherries. "The ones at the top really are sweeter!"
Hansen was amazed. "How did my child become so adventurous?"
Chad looked at Anya and smiled. "Efficient movements, a promising talent."
Mia sighed. "Such an unusual talent, she has potential."
Andre gave her a look. "Thinking of taking an apprentice?"
A sheepish Mia replied, "Nope."
No one noticed that from the moment Anya started climbing, Henry was staring, completely fascinated, until she was standing high on the tree, silent the whole time, his innocent eyes fixed on Sister Anya.
Seeing Anya’s actions, something stirred in others. Silently handing her child to her husband, Mia rolled up her sleeves.
Molly went over as well.
Andre and Officer Chad exchanged glances. "Here we go."
Leo was already looking up at Anya. "Chad, don’t rush; I’ll pick the sweetest cherries from the top for you."
Leo added, "Anya, if you fall and break an arm or leg, or worse, hit your head and become a fool, I'm not responsible."
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