Carter had to admit, the pie on his plate was rather appetizing.
With a bit of hesitation, he dug his spoon through the crust.
The moment it dug through, liquid gushed out, spilling all over the plate, its melting, salty aroma filling his nose with an exquisite odour.
He gulped, his stomach gurgling louder.
Looking back at his mother for a few seconds, he hesitated again.
He retreated his hand with a spoon full of juice.
Staring at it, he shrugged and put it in his mouth.
His eyes widened.
He gulped the juice like water as soon as it entered, and only the crust of the pie melted in his mouth, filling him with a sensation he had never felt before.
What is this? Is this how homemade pie actually feels?
He closed his eyes, the slightly sweet and salty aroma filling his nostrils.
With each second passing, that simple crust felt to him like a paradise he didn’t want to escape from.
For some reason, he began feeling emotional.
So much so that only when it fully melted did he swallow it, the aftertaste like a paradise he chased.
Shaking his head, he went back for another round.
And with every bite, seconds passed.
His head was blurring from the weird warm feeling he couldn’t really recognize.
Until Carter’s spoon touched only crumbs, with the juice of the pie all but gone in his stomach.
He blinked multiple times while getting a feel for his surroundings again.
His eyes were watery, and he felt like crying.
His eyebrow narrowed, and his other gloved hand cleaned his eyes with two fingers.
I shouldn't get that emotional in front of Mili of all people.
Then, looking up, he hoped the woman in front of him didn’t realize he was about to cry.
Catching the smile of his mother, never faltering, he smiled, relieved.
Exhaling, he leaned back in his chair, his face full of crumbs.
Both his hands were on the armrests, the plate and other utensils on the table, the cup of tea given to him untouched.
He looked at it for a second, but even though he could wash his mouth with the tea inside, he still didn’t touch it.
He had a bad history with tea, especially black tea.
In front of him, Mili chuckled.
With her eyes closed and a hand on her mouth, she found her inclined son a bit funny.
He raised an eyebrow.
Now what?
With Mili’s chuckles stopping, only the noise of the constant dripping water rang in the kitchen.
Carter began sweating.
It didn’t take long for him to crack and finally open his mouth.
“I-” But only one word came out before Mili opened her mouth as well.
As soon as that happened, he sealed his lips.
“Do you wanna do anything?”
Finishing her question, she realized she had interrupted her son.
She tilted her head, curious.
“Did you want to say something?”
Carter shook his head with fervor, his lips still pursed together.
Then he interrupted the shaking, bewildered.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
What the hell am I shaking my head for? Wasn’t I supposed to ask her a question?
Blinking multiple times, he nodded his head with as much fever as he first shook it.
Mili had a clueless smile on her face as she waited for her son’s question.
Ugh, I hate to play this act. Thinking further, he was tired of all this.
Forget about acting; I’ll just do my own thing.
And with the voice of a child, he asked almost robotically.
“Did you know Uncle Vale snuck inside my bedroom yesterday?”
Mili’s expression froze.
“What?”
Well, she doesn’t seem to be aware.
He shrugged.
Finishing what he had to do, he began leaving the kitchen.
Sneaking into the bedroom of someone’s son without notifying them first is a bold move, I must say. Thankfully, their son is as honest and truthful as a child could be; it’d be surprising if he didn’t inform his mother of what happened, wouldn’t it?
With a mischievous smile, he got out of the chair, leaving Mili with narrowed eyebrows and a bewildered face.
After a few steps, he exhaled.
Since now he had the answer to his question, he needed to understand all of the implications that came with it.
First was the most dangerous question.
Were the two people outside onto him?
Thinking about it, he couldn't be sure of the answer.
Fortunately, what he could be sure of was that even if the two were onto something, like him with his hypothesis, they would be stuck on the simple conclusion of his oddity.
Still, he needed to be careful.
Breathing deeply, that only left with a single question.
How did they hear him last night?
As there were so few possibilities, he decided to get his thoughts out when he got back to his room.
Having nothing more to think about, he made his way to the door out of the kitchen.
Carter was already reaching for the doorknob when he heard Mili’s warm voice behind him.
“Ciel, wait.”
He halted, narrowing his eyes.
Mili continued.
“You still didn’t answer my first question.”
Remembering what it was, he hesitated for a bit.
But before Carter could even shake his head, his mother decided for him.
“Let’s go on a walk, the two of us.”
Turning his head, he looked at the face of his mother taking the dishes to the dishwasher.
He was about to voice out his refusal, but looking closer, his words hung.
She had an expressive smile, her eyes definitely closed.
When he turned, his mind was already made up, but looking at her face now, the only thing he had in mind was…
… Scary…
Turning back to face the door like a dog, he gulped.
She was definitely a bit pissed.
And before he knew it, he was dragged out of the door of the kitchen and back to the living room.
Looking in front, with, again, only another closed door in his line of sight, Carter looked at the bright side of things.
He imagined what he would see, and what awaited him, outside.
He imagined the terrain and the nice fresh air.
And then he imagined his mother.
He straightened his shoulders, his back drenched in sweat.
Behind him, Mili was putting her coat on with her hat.
They were both hanging from a wall hook next to the door, directly at the entryway of the house.
Sneakily looking behind him, Carter marveled at his mother's wears.
The coat was beige, long and elegant, and was mainly made to protect the long dress inside it from wind and dust.
Even so, it was beautiful and still accentuated her features.
The hat had the same utility, protecting her ponytail.
It had a normal look to it, still beige in colour.
Most striking to him was their adequacy to his mother's figure, like they were made exclusively for each other.
He shivered.
That was if only Mili hadn't had her smile so frightening while wearing them.
Not to forget the gloves.
The woman was wearing them like she was about to execute the poor soul of another human.
Carter wished good luck to the one who'll endure her fury.
But looking at the overall, the young boy was fascinated by how simple yet eye-catching they were, especially since they were worn by his mother.
Realising she was about to finish, he turned his head and looked blankly at the door again, waiting.
Adjusting her hat one final time, she reached for the door handle.
Looking up from where he was, Carter could see that his mother had returned to her usual self.
He relaxed his shoulders while exhaling with relief.
The door slowly opened.
The first thing his eyes registered outside was, again, the green scenery that was all around.
But this time, he bent his back and knowingly looked to the right side.
He didn’t see the fellow smoker that was next to the wall, though.
Not disappointed, he looked around while taking a step.
It didn’t take him long to spot the chair where Iris had been sitting backward before; this time, unexpectedly, he didn’t see her silhouette, but rather the one of a young man, with smoke coming out of it.
Even if he didn’t see, Carter knew it was the smoke of a lighted cigarette.
He could also hear a male voice coming from there.
“I win again.” With a smug chuckle, the voice began rambling. “Give up, Iris. I already robbed you of all the money you brought today, and you owe me far too many services; we should continue some time later when you bring another batch or something.”
Staring at the table, Carter narrowed his eyes.
Wait, are these guys doing what I think they’re doing?
Nobody talked, as the only thing howling was the wind.
“Hey, you hear me?”
Not responding to the question, Iris directly greeted the silhouette behind Vale.
“Morning, Miss Mili. Is everything alright?”
Looking up, Vale crossed eyes with black eyes looking down directly at him.
A bit flustered, he asked.
“Are you alright, Miss Mili?”
“We need to talk later, Vale.”
Not even knowing that his mother had already appeared there, Carter tried desperately not to laugh.
Turning around, she returned to the door of the house, leaving the astonished young man there, a blank expression on his face.
While arranging the cards on the table, Iris remarked.
“You’re in trouble.”
Snapping out of it, he asked in an unbelieving voice.
“What did I do?”
She responded.
“I don’t know." Tossing the cards, she asked a question. "Do you want to go for one more round?”
Looking at the cards he had in his hand, Vale answered with a smile on his face.
“If I win, you’ll arrange us the best wedding ceremony before I die.”
Without any hesitation, Iris responded.
“Deal.”
“Then, Deal.”
He chuckled, then went all in.
Not too far from them, Carter was genuinely dumbfounded.
What the hell? He asked himself, not knowing what to make of the unbelievable interaction.
“Don’t mind it, Ciel.”
Finally looking at his mother, he was already exhausted.
In front, Mili was staring at the horizon.
Then, looking at her kid as well, she smiled brightly.
“Let’s go.”