Skating has a lot of unpredictable factors, and Anya kept her head down, watching her feet like a newbie cyclist fixated on the wheels.
Leo stood there again, and before he knew it, Anya had crashed right into him, full force.
"Lift your head, watch me skate. That’s how you’ll learn," he said gently.
Childhood memories were hazy, but Anya clearly remembered the time she had accidentally pushed Chad into the pool. She feared a repeat performance. "Chad, I can’t. I’m scared I’ll knock you over, and if I fall, you’ll get hurt too."
With a sigh, Leo wrapped his arms around Anya’s waist and braced his legs against the railing. "Look at me skate. For every hundred meters, I’ll give you a kiss."
Anya’s cheeks turned crimson. "......"
Around four in the afternoon, Mia tore a piece of paper and folded it into a makeshift fan to cool herself and her son. Henry saw the fan and reached out, trying to grab it. "You cheeky boy, keep those little hands to yourself."
Initially, Mia could chat with everyone like a proper adult. But when she saw her husband catch a fish, she couldn’t contain her excitement. "Honey, you caught a big fish!"
Henry’s eyes widened in awe, watching his dad lift the fish with the rod, idolizing him and longing for a hug. "Buzz dad, up!"
The onlookers, seeing the big fish Andre had caught, immediately chimed in with flattery: "Looks like Andre’s tech development talk is really something; even the heavens are giving signs."
Andre, used to the ways of the world, remained calm, his emotions under tight control. But seeing his wife and son’s excitement, he couldn’t help but feel a bit proud.
He placed the fish into a bucket, and both mother and son squatted beside it in perfect sync, one large hand and one small paw touching the edge of the bucket, peering at the big fish. "Honey, you’re amazing! Your son and I love you so much~"
His wife’s warm, passionate love broke through Andre’s composed facade, a smile cracking his face. He carried the bucket to a cooler spot. "You two have fun."
Mia pulled up a chair and sat down with Henry. "Look, son, the fish is blowing bubbles. Isn’t your dad amazing?"
Henry’s drool almost dripped into the bucket, prompting Mia to quickly wipe his mouth. "Aren’t you embarrassed?"
Others chatted with Andre. "Mrs. Cedillo really admires Andre; her words are full of love for him."
Andre, baiting the hook again and casting it back into the lake, shared his small family joys. "Mother and son cling to me. When I come home from work, my son covers my face with kisses. If I refuse, he throws a fit."
Hearing calls from the front of the boat, the three women enjoying the cool inside the cabin stepped out to see the big fish in the bucket and take pictures for Facebook.
Posting about Andre’s big catch on Facebook would indirectly show everyone that they had dined with Andre, boosting their social status.
Only the mother-son duo were seriously planning, debating whether to cook the fish braised or steamed for dinner.
"Honey, catch another one, please. This one alone won’t be enough," Mia cooed.
Andre turned back, his eyes meeting those of his wife and child, filled with indulgence and smiles. "Hungry?"
"Not now, but who knows later."
Fishing is all about patience, and for them, non-professionals looking to relax, even if they caught nothing, there was always ready-to-cook fish in the cabin.
"Andre is thirty this year, isn't he?"
Andre smiled. "Age is a tough reality. I became a father at twenty-nine, and I’m hitting thirty this year."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Sweet Mischief's Rollercoaster Romance