“Kwaaaaarrrr… Kyaaaang!”
“Ungaee!”
“…I think their reactions are the same!”
“You’re just doing the same thing in front of us.”
“Is that so?”
I even brought a cradle into the office… I can’t believe it turned out like this.
When I’m tired from working, I just run to Charlotte for some healing.
And it’s already been three hours of this.
I wonder if Charlotte has gotten used to it.
She doesn’t seem to care much about the weird antics of the older sisters in front of her.
“Corbin, did you see that mother said she’s sending clothes for Charlotte?”
“Oh, that?”
“Yes.”
“I think it looks fine. The design isn’t weird, and it seems like it would suit Charlotte.”
While one side was getting healed by Charlotte, we were discussing things about her while working.
It seemed like the office was full of Charlotte in many ways.
I can’t believe it turned out like this.
“Looks like the size is bigger than what she’s wearing now. Wouldn’t it be okay to dress her in it when she’s a little bigger?”
“That should be fine.”
Anyway, we were discussing like this.
Even while we were talking, other people were focusing so much on Charlotte.
Is this essentially co-parenting…?
“Sigh… I wonder why everyone’s acting like this just because a baby showed up.”
“Even the Boss is pretty interested in Charlotte, right?”
“Is being interested in my granddaughter the same as their obsession?”
“That’s true.”
It was funny.
No matter how cute our Charlotte is, it was a bit too much the way they liked her.
It was almost awkward for us.
The difference in energy was striking between the days we didn’t bring Charlotte and today when we did…
“Boss, do you want to have dinner together next week?”
“I’m fine, so you all can eat together.”
“It really would be okay to eat together…”
It was fine to eat together, but Corbin felt a little uncomfortable about it.
He didn’t genuinely dislike it or anything.
So I thought of spending some time catching up with the Boss over dinner since it had been a while, but I was immediately turned down.
A bit disappointing, but if he says he’s fine, then there’s nothing I can do.
Right now, the Boss was in the same office with us, but he was originally in Zone 00 and would be going back up soon.
So, I had planned to spend more time together, but there’s still time left.
We decided to just plan to spend more time next time instead.
“Corbin, there’s a typo here.”
“Ah.”
“It doesn’t look different from the one before.”
“…True.”
Anyway, we spent time working.
If it had been home, we definitely wouldn’t have been doing this, but investing time in childcare instead… But that wasn’t really necessary.
Of course, I also laid Charlotte down to rest a few times.
It seemed like everyone was tiring her out with play.
And I also wanted to play with her.
She’s my daughter, but it looked like only Midori and the older sisters were having fun with her.
Honestly, I wanted to play with Charlotte too, but I had to help Corbin with his work and assist others, so I had no choice.
Actually, I was still on vacation, so it wouldn’t have mattered if I didn’t work.
*
“Ungaee…”
“Did those strange sisters bother you too much?”
“Ungaee…”
After finishing work and coming home, I was having this conversation with Charlotte.
Charlotte’s eyes were slowly closing, perhaps from being tired.
She would definitely fall asleep like this.
After all, I had fed her earlier.
“Did Midori bother you a lot today?”
“Ungaee?”
She didn’t seem to know who Midori was yet.
Well, she was still really young.
She was just a tiny baby who could hardly speak and made only “ungaee” sounds.
“Rindera, should we just lay Charlotte down?”
“Let’s do that. She’s slowly falling asleep.”
I wonder if today was more tiring than usual?
Even though Charlotte had definitely gotten enough sleep, she seemed to want more.
Well, it’s not unusual for babies to sleep a lot.
I didn’t pay much attention to it.
From the beginning, apart from feeding and playing with Corbin, Charlotte had mostly just been sleeping.
Thinking back, it was only natural that today she would sleep more because of Midori and Dolores, the older sisters in the office.
“Sigh… I’m tired. Shouldn’t this be easier?”
“But tomorrow is the weekend, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but I feel tired. I’m sure while Charlotte was awake, Midori and Dolores were playing with her. Why do I feel even more tired?”
“…Aren’t you just tired of working? Didn’t you work every weekday this week?”
“Ah. Is that so?”
“…Sigh.”
Anyway, after laying Charlotte down in the cradle, we quietly talked while preparing dinner.
We had dinner with the office staff together, but we ate little and couldn’t focus on the meal because we were taking care of Charlotte.
So, it wasn’t really a proper meal; we just planned to have a little late-night snack.
“So what are you thinking?”
“…I do want to drink after a long time.”
“Me too.”
One thing was certain, Charlotte would probably sleep a little longer.
Due to being tired, she would definitely wake up later than usual today.
Thinking about it… maybe it’s okay to enjoy ourselves a little.
“It feels like I haven’t had a drink in a long time.”
“That’s true. Some people were drinking often while I couldn’t.”
“That couldn’t be helped. And… Rindera, you allowed it, right…?”
It was absurd, but it wasn’t an incorrect statement, so I felt bad for saying anything.
In fact, I had allowed myself to have a little drink while having dinner.
Anyway, I was still unable to drink, so it felt disappointing every time.
Plus, I hadn’t been able to drink coffee during my pregnancy, and I had endured a lot for that.
“Tomorrow, it would be nice just to sleep with Charlotte. It’s the weekend anyway and there’s nothing urgent.”
“That sounds good.”
We were chatting while preparing late-night snacks.
Actually, there wasn’t much to prepare… It was just some drinks and snacks.
There was no need for anything grand, just snacks to fill our stomachs while drinking.
Grilling beef jerky and tearing open chip bags—that’s the level of preparation.
“Sigh… It feels nice to have a drink after a long time.”
“You know not to overdo it, right?”
“I know. No one’s a fool, and in a situation where I need to breastfeed, how could I forget that?”
Honestly, when I drink, I don’t usually consume a lot anyway.
So, there shouldn’t be any problem.
As long as I don’t overdrink.
Unlike during pregnancy, I could now afford to eat something a little… unhealthy.
Of course, due to breastfeeding, I had to eat healthily as much as possible, but I had been living healthily anyway.
“Just one day should be fine.”
“Hehe…”
“Isn’t that a bit too much enthusiasm?”
“It’s been a whole year, right? Just let me enjoy it.”
“That’s… Sorry.”
“Yeah. It’s all your fault I had to endure this.”
“Ahem…”
Anyway, it had been a long time.
I was honestly looking forward to it.
After all, the taste of alcohol is mostly the same, so I didn’t have unrealistic high expectations or anything.
But still, it’s been a long time since I drank, so it’s only natural to look forward to it.
In reality… not drinking has been beneficial, but since I originally liked alcohol, I don’t think it’s possible to quit completely at this point.
“Wow… it’s amazing that I was able to hold off for a whole year.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not in that sense. I’m just impressed that you managed to hold off for that long.”
“Really?”
I was truly not trying to lay blame on Corbin.
“I used to enjoy drinking alone in my personal space before. I went a whole year without touching it at all. It’s just amazing to me.”
“Really enjoyed it that much?”
“After we got together, I cut back on drinking, but I still drank a lot before.”
Especially when I was home alone at night, I would drink frequently, almost like it was caffeine.
Pouring myself a drink into a glass and swirling it around while drinking, even blowing the bottle like a flute.
“But now… I have other things I enjoy besides drinking. I probably won’t drink as much as before.”
“That’s true. I used to only play games before. Not anymore.”
It’s true.
We both clearly had many solitary hobbies before, but over time those hobbies diminished, and we picked up new ones.
For example… just lying in bed cuddling until we’re hungry?
“Who knows what will happen when Charlotte gets bigger? She might turn out to be a big gamer like you!”
“I doubt that…”
“Huh?”
“I got yelled at so much as a kid because of playing video games… um…”
“……..”
Hmm.
Anyway, we finished preparing while chatting.
We stacked some ice beside us and finished preparing other drinks and different types of alcohol too.
“Let’s give a toast after a long time. To drinks!”
“The last time we drank, there was only water in Rindera’s cup.”
“…That was really unfair.”
“I’m sorry.”
We clinked our glasses, smiling.
It was really nostalgic pouring alcohol into the glasses and toasting.
Ah… it was just nice.
Yeah.
It simply felt good.
The drink after a long time was nice, and the person sitting in front of me was nice, and everything was nice.
“Hmm…”
“Rindera, what’s wrong?”
As I sipped my drink, suddenly a thought crossed my mind.
It was something very important.
You might think, “Why are you thinking about that now?” But it was so important that I unconsciously turned serious.
“…It’s nothing. Just drink for now.”
But it wasn’t a good time to say that now.
Since I already started drinking, I really didn’t want to stop.
After all, condoms are… sold 24/7 at convenience stores, right…?
So, I could just go out to buy them later.
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