Looks Of Disapproval
Zachary, Oliver, Jasper, and Jesse nodded simultaneously. “We’ve finished ours!”
Suppressing a chuckle, Arissa asked curiously, “Gavin, why haven’t you finished yours? Did you not
eat them?”
“No, Mommy. I was eating fruits at that time, so I didn’t eat the candies. If I ate them, the fruits wouldn’t
taste sweet anymore!” Gavin explained.
Zachary tittered and whispered in his mother’s ear, “Mommy, it’s because he ate so slowly. We had all
finished our fruits, but he was still eating his one small bite at a time!”
Arissa could not help but smile.
Gavin was the slowest eater among the five kids, even slower than Jesse.
She cast a glance at Benjamin, who was driving. Gavin must have picked it up from him. He’s also a
slow eater.
Gavin blushed as he lowered his head and explained, “I wasn’t that slow. You guys were too fast.”
His siblings laughed, making his face turn even redder.
Arissa chuckled, thinking that her son looked adorable.
After clearing her throat, she said to the other four kids, “All right. Cut it out. There’s nothing funny
about it. Everyone has their own pace in eating!”
“Mommy, you were laughing too!” Oliver’s eyes crinkled from smiling as he exposed her.
“Yes, I saw Mommy laughing too. She laughed like this!” Jesse imitated the way Arissa was laughing,
tugging the corner of her lips upward.
That evoked a peal of laughter from Zachary and Jasper, whose eyes flickered between Gavin and
Arissa.
“Gavin, Mommy was laughing at you!”
Gavin looked at them, blushing. “Laugh as much as you want!”
I do eat slowly, after all.
“All right. Sit properly now!” Arissa cut them off to spare Gavin’s blushes.
The kids stop laughing immediately, pursing their lips together. By then, their drowsiness had
disappeared.
At that moment, Benjamin took a peep at the back seat through the rearview mirror, and a smile
hovered on his lips.
Jesse leaned against the window and gazed at the neon lights outside. “Wow! It’s so beautiful out
there!”
The little girl pointed at the light show outside, overwhelmed with excitement. “Look! Isn’t it prettier than
overseas? There are even animals here!”
Zachary, Oliver, and Jasper leaned against the window, marveling at the scenery. “It’s so breathtaking!”
Gavin looked outside too. “That’s a cow. Don’t you guys have them overseas?”
“No. It’s so quiet during the night overseas. There’s nothing fun!” Jesse pouted.
“Mm-hmm! I also think it is more fun over here during the night!” Jasper grinned from ear to ear.
“I wonder what that place is. Gavin, have you been there?” Zachary asked curiously.
“No!” Gavin was curious too.
Oliver and Jasper stared at their brother and let out a sigh. “Mr. Graham has never brought you there?”
Gavin pursed his lips when he heard that. “No!”
Instantly, Zachary, Oliver, Jasper, and Jesse shot looks of disapproval at Benjamin.
Having perceived their stares, Benjamin glanced at the rearview mirror. “I can bring you guys there
tomorrow if you want! There’s a mountain there, which is good for a night run!”
The kids were rendered speechless by his statement. We want to go there to have fun, not to jog!
Arissa looked at Benjamin. “You’ve never brought Gavin out to play before?”
No wonder Gavin looked so dejected.
“Mmh.” Benjamin took a glance at Gavin, and guilt welled up in his heart.
Indeed, I spent too less time with him before this.
Seeing that he did not speak further, she shifted her gaze toward the children. “Sweethearts, do you
want to go there now?”
The kids’ eyes lit up, but they immediately shook their heads. “Mommy, let’s not go there tonight. We
want to go home and sleep.”
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