Chapter 23
Mandy rolled her eyes. “I’d be thrilled if you and that jerk
divorced! If you two split up, I can sleep with his dad without
feeling guilty!”
Tracie was speechless.
Sighing, Mandy continued, “I just feel bad for grandma. She took
care of her in–laws when she was young, only to be abandoned
by her husband, and then spent her life with no children, no one
to back her up. The whole village used to bully her when she
was alone. But after you married Grover, no one dared mess
with her anymore. She’s seventy–two now, how much longer
does she have left? She’s suffered her whole life–doesn’t she
deserve a little fantasy?”
Tracie’s eyes welled up. “Mandy, thank you for caring about my
grandmother.”
“She’s your real grandma, but she’s my grandma too!”
“Yes!”
In the afternoon, Tracie, Mandy, and Rico said their goodbyes to
grandmother.
Chapter 23
Watching Tracie’s car drive away, grandmother suddenly began
tearing up, her voice trembling as she cried, “Does that mean my
son–in–law doesn’t want my granddaughter anymore? I should
call Wendi and ask. My granddaughter is such a good child…”
With that, she dialed Wendi’s watch phone.
This time, the call went through, but no one answered.
Wendi saw the incoming call on her watch, but her parents had
always taught her not to answer calls from unknown numbers.
Besides, she was busy that weekend.
She had gone to a neighboring city with Grover, his friends,
Juliana, and Juliana’s friends to watch Juliana compete in a rock
climbing contest.
Juliana was amazing–she won first place again.
That evening, they all celebrated at the beach in Juliana’s honor.
Juliana drove the jet ski, taking her and Grover across the water,
and it was the coolest thing ever.
Wendi was beyond excited.
She completely forgot to mention to Grover that a strange
number had called her watch.
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By the next afternoon, it was time to head home.
Juliana had some work to handle, so she said goodbye to Wendi
and Grover.
Both father and daughter felt a little down.
Back at home, sitting in the living room, Wendi spoke up first, “Dad, Juliana doesn’t hold me while I sleep or tell me stories. I
can’t fall asleep without that.”
“I’ll tell you a story and hold you to sleep,” Grover replied flatly.
“Your stories are boring! They’re nothing like Mom’s… or Juliana’s. And you don’t smell nice when you hold me–you smell like smoke, and your arms are too stiff!” Wendi complained.
Grover was speechless.
After a long pause, he said, “I’ll pick out your clothes for tomorrow. You’ve had two fun days, so how about you take a bath and get some rest?”
“Can you pick out your own clothes first?” Wendi blinked and
asked her dad.
Grover had no answer.
He had to admit that since Tracie left, he and Wendi had become
Chapter 23
a bit disorganized with things like meals and getting dressed.
They weren’t eating well.
They weren’t dressing well.
Before, Tracie would lay out all their clothes, pairing everything
neatly and putting them in the right place. Even his underwear-
she washed, disinfected, and placed it where he could easily grab
- it.
The same went for his outerwear.
Every day, he’d leave the house in neatly ironed shirts, ties, and
jackets–everything perfectly coordinated, thanks to Tracie.
Now, everything was a mess.
Even though there were four maids in the house, it didn’t help
much.
Grover turned to Wendi seriously. “Do you think the house feels
a bit chaotic without mom around?”
Wendi lowered her eyes and silently nodded.
“Do you like it when mom’s at home?” Grover asked again.
Wendi shook her head. “I don’t like it. I like you and Juliana
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better. I want you and Juliana to get married soon, so we can
always be together.”
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Grover.
She knew Tracie was her biological parent, that Tracie gave
birth to her.
Chapter 24
