“Eddy! This! This!”
“Uuuuaaaang…”
“Awesome!”
“Teachaaan…”
“Uh, what’s wrong…? Eddy, is there a problem?”
“Scary!!!”
“……..”
What a mess.
Hmm.
I finished work super early for the first time in a long while, and immediately came to see Charlotte at kindergarten.
Just being outside the door made it clear that it was a total disaster.
While she has calmed down a bit compared to before, Charlotte’s energy level is still off the charts.
I wonder when that energy level is going to go down.
Or will it even go down at all?
In fact, the bigger she gets, the more it feels like she might play even harder.
“…Charlotte, she’s really something.”
“Right?…”
“…but why are all of you just hanging out here?”
The eldest sister at the back said this with a tone that sounded incredibly pathetic while we were spying on the kids from outside.
Hmm.
Yeah, we do look pretty silly.
Four adults crouched behind a not-so-large door and peeking inside a window.
“…Hmm.”
“Hehe.”
“…If we go in, they will all notice us.”
“…But four grown adults standing around like this… isn’t that just a tad weird?”
“…I do have to admit that.”
Right after I quickly distanced myself from the door, I glanced at the other three.
I really didn’t want to look like a fool.
“Linda betrayed me…!”
“How can you say that? You were the one who was spying with us!”
“…Isn’t it a bit foolish? Four adults squatting in front of a door peering in?”
“That’s… true…?”
Midori also agreed.
Yeah, honestly, it did look a bit silly.
Of course, for a moment, I didn’t mind losing my intelligence since our Charlotte was adorable, but having four adults standing there wasn’t really right.
“…Why is it only me that got left out? Is this how we’re starting to exclude people?! Are you all pulling some kind of guys-only bullying?!”
“…Dolores, it does kind of look awkward when you’re the only one standing there.”
“The Commander shouldn’t say that! Just a moment ago, before Midori left, we were all together!”
“…That does sound a bit pathetic.”
“Gasp…”
“Pathetic!?”
“…Hmm.”
How did Dolores end up being treated this way?
I thought she was the most normal and kind one in our office before.
Somehow, Dolores has become… the easy target for teasing.
Although I have to admit, there is a certain enjoyment in it.
Still, I can’t help but feel a little pity for her.
“…Let’s just go in. As Corbin and the others said.”
In a way, it seemed best for us all to just go in cleanly.
“Charlotte, mommy’s here.”
“Mommy!”
As soon as we stepped into the kindergarten, Charlotte stopped tormenting—uh, I mean, playing with her friends and ran over to me.
What a daughter who loves her mom so much.
I used to worry that being a daughter meant she would like her dad more.
But those worries faded away long ago.
“Did you have fun?”
“Mmhm!”
Charlotte immediately jumped into my arms, shaking her head vigorously.
So cute…
“Mom! You came early today!”
“Were you surprised I came early?”
“Mmhm!”
Well, I did arrive earlier than usual.
Normally, Charlotte would play with her friends until she was worn out and then I would come to get her, but today I came even earlier.
Even if Charlotte is a baby, she must have been able to notice something was up.
“Did Dad come too?”
“Dad?”
“Yeah, he’s right behind me.”
“Daddy!”
Seeing Corbin behind me, she waved excitedly, and Corbin greeted her normally.
But the real issue was happening elsewhere.
“Is that Charlotte…”
“She’s adorable.”
“Absolutely.”
“……..”
The three people who just called us foolish now had the goofiest expressions on their faces, staring at Charlotte.
Sure, Charlotte is cute, but I never expected such a reaction.
Anyway, we exchanged greetings and chatted with the teacher for a bit.
After all, I’m usually occupied with taking Charlotte home right after work, so I rarely get to talk like this.
“Charlotte may play a bit… too roughly, but she’s actually made friends with the other kids and even invites the quieter ones to play… She’s doing really well.”
“Really…? I thought she was just having fun on her own…”
So she has a good side after all.
I had no way of really knowing how Charlotte interacted with the other kids, and even the CCTV didn’t tell me exactly what happened.
I just thought she was always playing mindlessly, but it turns out she’s quite smart and kind.
“Eddy! Whee!”
“Uuuuaaaang!”
“…But I do think she needs a little more education.”
“That’s… the case for all babies.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
So we chatted with the teacher for about 30 minutes or so.
It was nice to have a serious conversation about Charlotte for once, and it’s not often that I get to talk about such topics without Corbin.
It’s a rare occurrence that came about due to finishing work early.
Well, it was a good thing.
Plus, Charlotte seemed eager to play more with her friends.
“Since when did you start using the company card!?”
“I thought we were going to eat together, but everyone just tagged along.”
“That’s true!”
As we were leaving work, we ended up giving a ride to our office colleagues too.
I hadn’t planned on this happening, but they just kept following us, so suddenly everyone was in the car.
Charlotte seemed really happy about all the people on the way home, and Corbin and I didn’t mind either.
After all, we were planning to go out to eat today.
Just suddenly having three more people join… well.
It had been a while since we had a good get-together.
Let’s think of it as a long-awaited gathering.
“Charlotte, let’s eat meat today! Quickly tell Dad!”
“Fappa?”
“No, not silly, meat!”
“Fappa meat?”
“Eeeek…”
Actually, even if Midori didn’t do that, we were definitely planning to go eat meat today.
With this number of people, a normal restaurant just wouldn’t cut it, you know?
Plus, since it’s a get-together, it’s only right we go to a barbecue restaurant; that’s the justice and the concept of it.
I’ve thought from the beginning that instead of going to some ambiguous shabu-shabu or sushi place, it should absolutely be meat.
“Linda, are you drinking today?”
“…Hmm.”
Out of nowhere, Corbin turned to me and brought it up.
Alcohol.
I hadn’t had a drink in a few months since I didn’t want to be out with Charlotte too much and usually went straight home after finishing work.
“Um..”
“You can drink if you want. I was just saying if you drink, I’ll just opt out.”
“…I’ll just have a little.”
To be honest, I wanted to drink a bit more after such a long time, but since Charlotte was there…
I decided I wouldn’t drink to the extent that I used to with Corbin.
After all, I didn’t want to risk making mistakes and I certainly didn’t want to show Charlotte that side of me.
And besides, the last thing I want is for Charlotte to become interested in alcohol or something…
Absolutely not.
I wasn’t thinking about enjoying drinking anyway, but still.
“Let’s just go to that barbecue place we always go to.”
“Shall we?”
“We’ve always gone there when eating meat.”
Though we have chicken places too, our go-to spot for gatherings had always been the same barbecue restaurant.
Sure, there had been many things that happened there.
But well, the main problem was always the alcohol.
“Meat?!?!?!”
“Yes, we’re going to eat meat.”
“Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!!”
“Yahoo!!!”
Watching Charlotte mimic Midori’s reaction, we all hopped into the car and headed towards the barbecue place.
Despite that, it was also the first gathering with Charlotte and she was excitedly talking to everyone in the car, which was amusing too!
*
“Yummm!!!”
“Tasty! Right?!”
“Mmhm, mmhm, mmhm!!!”
Charlotte munching on the thinly sliced meat that Midori grilled for her was so adorable.
Originally, I planned to cut the regular-sized meat into smaller pieces for her.
Then Midori jumped in, insisting that she’d take care of the thin slices for Charlotte, and that’s how it ended up like this.
Honestly, the thin slices got cooked quickly, and since they were cut small, they worked perfectly for Charlotte.
I was confident she would really enjoy it if we did this at home next time.
Though Midori usually gets teased by Charlotte, she seems to genuinely care for her… that was nice to see.
It’s really great that our Charlotte doesn’t get disliked by the people around her.
Even while playing until other kids were exhausted, she still teased Midori, but the kid was just so kind, right?
“Hehe…”
“That’s nice to see.”
“Indeed.”
“Linda, your glass is empty.”
“Yours is empty too, right?”
“Hmmm.”
“Hehe.”
While we were having a typical adult gathering on one side, the kids were having their joyful little lunch.
I had said I wouldn’t drink much to Corbin, but it sure doesn’t seem like it’s going to hold up.
Having already finished five glasses while the meat isn’t even fully cooked yet…
“Hmm… Sis, don’t give him the same amount as me, okay?”
“Can the Commander not drink?”
“…I can’t drink at all.”
Though I have had gatherings with my sis before, I’ve never let Corbin drink with us.
I was pregnant at the time, and Corbin didn’t drink for obvious reasons.
That was just how it was.
“…If you give me what I drank in the same amount of time… I will pass out.”
I said with an utterly serious tone.
“No, I’ve gotten better…?”
Of course, someone next to me said something, but I didn’t really care.
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