Charlotte has grown a bit more than before and can now speak just a little.
Of course, she still crawls around slowly and spends a lot of time in my arms… right?
“Mommy…?”
“Charlotte, what’s wrong?”
“Yummy…”
Today, seeing her snuggled in my arms and talking feels… different from before.
In the past, all that came out were sounds I couldn’t understand, but now she can somewhat awkwardly call me ‘Mom.’
Watching a baby grow is such a joy.
It isn’t just me; even those around me find Charlotte so cute.
Not just my coworkers, but also my mother-in-law, the Boss… really, everyone thinks so.
“Yummy…”
“Should I give you some?”
“Uh-huh…”
Sometimes I get confused if she’s calling me ‘Mom’ or ‘Yummy,’ but I’m glad that I can communicate with my baby more than before.
Honestly, it’s nice that she called ‘Mom’ before ‘Dad.’
Corbin was a bit disappointed, but ‘Yummy’ and ‘Mom’ do have a similar feel.
“Hehe…”
It was such a good thing that I couldn’t help but smile.
“Okay, is it Yummy?”
“Yummy…”
I didn’t really need to breastfeed anymore.
But since breast milk is something Charlotte loves more than baby food, there are times I still give it to her occasionally.
It wasn’t meal time anyway; it was more like a snack.
Seeing her enjoy the breast milk so much now is honestly just adorable.
Probably as much as she loves me.
Of course, it’s not because she loves me for my appetite.
“Is it delicious?”
“Yay!”
“Pfft…”
She’s talking more than before, but she’s still a baby.
Unlike before, her hair has grown a lot, and she now has beautiful black hair like Corbin, but she still looks so much like a baby.
“Wow, soon it’ll be a year…”
We had a 100-day party and a 200-day party, but celebrating her first birthday is just so exciting!
In fact, because of that, Midori and Dolores have been bothering me a lot to see Charlotte lately.
These days, I’ve been taking Charlotte to the office less frequently.
I was originally just on maternity and parenting leave, so it was natural that I wouldn’t go that often.
That’s why Corbin goes to work, and I’m here.
Taking care of Charlotte at home.
“Mommy…”
“What is it? Are you sleepy?”
“Maam…”
Charlotte yawns, opening her mouth wide.
Even though she’s grown, she still gets sleepy after filling her tummy.
She has been crawling around more than before, but she’s still a baby who sleeps a lot.
I predict that even after she grows up, she’ll likely prefer sleeping over being super active.
Well, she doesn’t know anything yet.
“Maam…”
“Pfft…”
No matter how you look at it, she’s cute.
With her pretty face and black hair, she really resembles someone.
No matter how many times I look, she’s beautiful.
Considering how I struggled for nearly a year to give birth, the outcome is surprisingly good.
If I had known I would have such a pretty daughter, it might not have been as tough.
Of course, I am definitely not ready for a second child.
Charlotte isn’t even fully grown yet, so having a second right now is a no-go.
“By the way, when will Corbin get off work…”
After placing the sleeping Charlotte in the crib, I started preparing dinner.
After all, Charlotte will wake up soon.
Making baby food isn’t that hard, either?
“Hmm… hmm…”
Corbin has been a little tired from missions lately.
Today, I thought it’d be better to make something a bit healthier.
I don’t really have any special nourishing food to offer, but…
In any case, I decided to make it a bit healthier than usual.
I also decided to add a little more meat than usual.
“Beef is better just grilled.”
It’s not easy to make it like a restaurant steak, but I could at least make it feel like a steak.
Since the meat should be grilled a little later, I decided to start with the soup.
Today, I decided to make dinner with a bit of a restaurant vibe.
Lately, we haven’t been going out to eat much because of Charlotte.
Corbin loves meat and prefers milder flavors.
“…If only he could eat spicy food.”
He used to eat spicy food often, but I never imagined he couldn’t eat spicy food like I could.
Of course, he occasionally eats street food.
“Phew…”
*
“Ah! I miss Charlotte!”
“Speak louder. The Commander ignores you.”
“AH!!! CHARLOTTE!!! I MISS YOU!!!”
“I miss you!”
“……..”
It’s been a while since I visited the office.
Charlotte is sleeping in her stroller.
“Hmm.”
“Charlotte??”
“Did you bring Charlotte?”
“Um…”
“I believe you brought her.”
When I walked into the office, everyone’s gaze turned to me, making me a bit surprised.
I don’t even know why everyone is so eager to see Charlotte.
They liked Charlotte, but I didn’t expect them to like her this much.
“Why are you all like this…?”
Charlotte was behind me, specifically behind the door, but I started with that question first.
I was surprised too.
Seeing such a scene as soon as I entered through the door left me no choice.
“I want to see Charlotte!”
“Right? You haven’t brought her to the office lately. We love Charlotte so much.”
“…Lindera, you’ve been like this lately.”
“…You seem to be in bad shape.”
An honest assessment.
No, I’d say it’s a bit of an understatement.
“…They’ve been like this since the Boss went back to Headquarters.”
“…Really?”
“The Boss used to help out a lot, but now there’s no Boss to help us, so everyone has been losing it.”
“………”
To be honest, they do seem a bit off.
Something about them has dark circles…?
Their eyes also look a bit drained.
They looked like tired office workers in every way.
Of course, they are actual office workers.
“…I did bring her, but she’s still sleeping…”
“Eh!”
“Really?”
“Are you serious?”
“…Why would I lie about this?”
Saying that, I pulled out the stroller behind the door.
There was no need to hide it… right?
Even though they all looked off,
“It’s Charlotte!”
“Ms. Midori, she’s sleeping…! Quiet!”
“Oops…!”
“……..”
As soon as I brought the sleeping Charlotte into the office, everyone changed right away.
They went from looking tired to… like fanatics?
“Ahhh…”
“So cute…”
“…Take a picture.”
Before I knew it, they had gathered around Charlotte’s stroller.
Goodness…
“…Let’s step inside a bit more. Why are you all stuck in the entrance like this…”
It felt a bit shameful, that’s for sure.
I felt bad, sad, and sorry…
I never expected my time off would have this much impact.
At least Corbin normal seemed relieved.
I was genuinely surprised to see them act like this since I hadn’t visited the office often.
“Ahh… look at her sleeping…”
“Whew… whew…”
Click!
“…Hmm.”
“…Should we go to a cafe?”
“…Let’s do that.”
Though I felt bad for Charlotte, I decided to escape.
After all, no one here would do anything bad to Charlotte, and she was asleep anyway.
I fled outside with Corbin, leaving the fanatic crowd behind.
“…Everyone seems to be having a tough time at work lately.”
“Well… they’ve been working hard. Honestly, it seems a bit too much.”
“Once they get used to it, it should be fine. It’s only been a month since the Boss went back, right?”
“True.”
And soon, while we enjoyed our coffee together.
I wondered how I had managed to hold out.
Having coffee again recently felt fantastic.
Honestly, I liked coffee even more than alcohol.
The unique bitterness and sweetness mixed together was just so delicious.
“Even if Charlotte wakes up, I don’t think she’ll be shocked.”
“…If she wakes up to three people staring at her, she might be surprised.”
“…It should be fine. Probably?”
“If it is, that’s great.”
I was a little worried, but they were all familiar faces to her.
I felt like she’d be okay since they saw her when she was younger.
Plus, Charlotte had no fear, so she’d probably be just fine.
“How does it feel to be here after a while?”
“Good. Honestly, it hardly even feels like a while.”
“That’s true.”
“But it’s still nice.”
To be honest, I thought returning to work soon would be good.
Of course, Charlotte needs to grow a bit more, and in that case, I’d feel a bit nostalgic.
But still, I really wanted to get back to work as Vice Commander.
Honestly, working together in the office is fun, right?
Although, I guess it’s still a bit premature.
“Lindera, are you sure you don’t need anything when you go home today?”
“Hmm… eggs?”
“Other than that? Don’t you need any drinks or anything?”
“I probably don’t need anything else, I guess?”
“Really?”
Actually, it’d be fine for me to get groceries on the way home.
But since she offered to go first,
“Hmm… then I’ll just get those and some drinks.”
“…You planned to get drinks from the start.”
“Yep.”
Well, she’s always liked fizzy drinks and such.
Especially energy drinks, which she started drinking recently?
“Get a variety of them. It’d be a hassle to buy one every time I come home.”
“Should I?”
I wonder how Charlotte is doing right now.
I was honestly curious about what the three office zombies were doing in front of her.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
