Wayne was about to reply when Luther stopped him, “Alright now, this argument is the equivalent of
chicken or egg. There’s no right answer.”
Luther turned around and looked at the expressionless Sage and said, “Sage, what’re you waiting for?
Invite the old man in.”
Sage was about to invite Wayne in when he dodged to the side, “No, I’m not going in!”
Wayne refused to go inside and squatted by the corner of the wall.
Everyone else looked at each other knowingly, they, too, tried to get Wayne to rest inside the Rosa
Garden, but he refused to. So everyone stood outside and waited.
Luther could not understand Wayne’s refusal. He looked over at Sage, whose expression was as still
as the dead water, and frowned. He knew Sage was about to lose it.
“What’s up with you, grandpa? Why’d you refuse to go inside?” Luther squatted next to Wayne and
asked.
Luther pointed at Sage and continued, “This girl here had been thinking about you every day. Now that
you’re finally back, you should spend some quality time together. Go inside, take a shower, have a
good meal and a good sleep. How good does that sound? You haven’t had Sage’s cooking in a while,
have you?”
Wayne licked his lips upon hearing that. He did miss his granddaughter’s cooking…
“I’m still not going in.” Wayne took his pipe up and was about to light it and said without looking at
Sage, “If you guys miss me, have a good look at me now then. I’ll go back to my place once I’m done
with this.”
Sage’s face sunk. “Where are you going back to? Do you have a house in Salem City?”
Wayne looked up and said, “Of course I do!”
Hunter looked at the old man and looked back at Sage, “Mister Wayne meant the hut next to the City
Church. It’s old and run down, and it used to be where they kept the ponies.
Sage’s face sunk. “Grandpa!”
Wayne responded quickly, “You startled me! What a loud voice you have there.”
Wayne’s eyes met Sage’s and said, “What’s wrong with a hut? I’m living a decent life. There’re many
successful people who live in huts and achieve great things. Why can’t I live there?”
Sage’s eyes reddened. She was tired of the meaningless conversation.
“Wando,” Sage called out.
“Here,” Wando poked his head out of nowhere.
“Let’s ‘invite’ the old man in,” Sage said.
Wando hummed in response, went ahead and lifted the old man up.
Wayne was squatting on the floor when he got lifted off the ground. He said shockingly, “Hey, hey now,
I said I’m not going in… HELP!!”.
Wayne’s protest was unsuccessful as he was eventually carried into the Rosa Garden.
Luther could not help but laugh upon hearing the old man’s cry for help. “Our old man is becoming
prouder as he ages. You’re just like him. It’s obvious that he raised you.”
Luther said as he rubbed Sage’s nose with his fingertip. Sage curled her nose up and said, “I’m much
more obedient than him.”
“Are you now? You can be a real pain in the *ss too, from what I know,” Luther said jokingly.
Seeing as Sage was about to flip, Luther quickly changed the subject. “Alright now, I’m going to head
out since grandpa has been found. Be nicer to the old man.”
Sage nodded.
She turned around after Luther left and looked toward the Rosa Garden. Her eyes sparkled in
anticipation as she called out to Leah.
“Sage?” Leah was still recovering from everything that had happened. Sage smiled pleasantly. “Come
help me out. We’re having a feast tonight!”
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