Arthur had that "I told you so" look on his face. "See, I knew you'd ask about this, so I went ahead and bought them all. This way, whether it's a boy or a girl, they can wear the clothes their grandpa got them right away."
Vivienne pursed her lips, unable to give the clothes another glance, "Nice choices, but let's not do this again."
Arthur was visibly upset now, "Oh, come on! I'm the baby's grandpa. I want to see them wearing what I picked out. It'll be adorable."
Vivienne glanced over the two big boxes of trendy baby clothes, a twitch forming at the corner of her mouth, "The baby won't be wearing these at birth."
Arthur was taken aback, "Then what should they wear?"
Is there a whole science to baby clothes I'm missing?
Vivienne couldn't bother to explain further, her patience wearing thin, "Don't worry about it, Mr. Wolf is on it."
Arthur choked on his words.
He knew it. That kid was always stealing his thunder.
Noticing Arthur's silence, Vivienne looked out the window, "Dad, where's Winston? Didn't you pick him up? Why haven't I seen him around?"
Arthur paused, then remembered, "He should be in the backyard. He was asking about you just now..."
Before Arthur could finish, Vivienne was already on her way to the backyard.
She hadn't walked far when she spotted a small figure crouched on the grass, busily picking little flowers.
She approached and called out, "Winston."
Hearing her, Winston turned around swiftly, his face lighting up, "You're here!"
Vivienne nodded.
But she also noticed the flowers he tried to hide behind his back, deciding not to mention it.
Instead, she just ruffled his hair, "It's chilly out here, let's go inside."
Once inside, Vivienne poured a cup of hot chocolate and handed it over.
Winston's cheeks were flushed, sheepishly bringing out the flowers he had hidden, "I wanted to pick lotus flowers from Yorick’s pond for you, but there weren’t any. So, I got these little ones instead, hoping you’d like them."
Vivienne took the flowers, a smile forming on her lips, "I love them."
But her eyes lingered on Winston's slightly reddened hands.
The air outside wasn't that cold, making it clear that Winston had spent a good deal of time picking out the perfect bunch.
She found a mason jar for the flowers, placing them prominently on the table.
Then, sitting back down, she noticed Winston biting his lip, seemingly eager yet hesitant to speak.
Vivienne softly asked, "What’s on your mind, Winston?"
Hearing his name, Winston hesitated, his small face tensed, "Is someone trying to hurt me again? Is that why you picked me up from school?"
Vivienne's expression remained unchanged, though a shadow passed in her eyes, "Why would you think that? Did someone say something to you?"
Winston shook his head, "No, it just feels similar to what happened before at home. It’s about my grandpa, isn’t it?"
He cautiously asked, remembering the harsh words his brother Robbie had once said on the rooftop.
Vivienne didn't respond directly, not wanting to drag a child into their turmoil.
Yet Winston pleaded, "Did grandpa do something bad? Do you know where he is? I want to see him."
Vivienne raised an eyebrow, "You want to see him?"
Winston nodded, his voice barely above a whisper, "I just want to know what happened. Everything changed so suddenly at home. And my siblings, they've changed too, except for Colin..."
He paused when mentioning Colin, his fingers nervously twiddling.
"I haven’t talked much with Colin, but I think he’s not a bad person."
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