Chapter 1000
Mia clenched her small fists, "This kid's got some spunk." Next door.
Finally, they could sleep peacefully.
Andre glanced at his nephew, who was already fast asleep, and gently tucked the blanket around him. Sitting on the other side of the bed, he shrugged off his coat and lay down to catch some Zs. Sharing a bed with his nephew was no biggie; they'd done it tons of times. Back when he took his nephew abroad for medical treatment, little Leo was so scared and teary-eyed he insisted on sleeping next to him.
Andre sat there, legs under the blanket, watching as his nephew drifted off. In what felt like a blink, his nephew had grown into a young man, bold enough to stand up to him.
The next day, at 9 AM.
"What's up next door? Did they head out?" Leo asked, peering over the balcony towards the neighbor's place.
Chad and Andre lounged on the sofa, casually flipping through the morning paper. "Still snoozing."
By noon.
Standing on the balcony with a bowl, Leo felt the scorching summer heat. As he slurped his noodles, he remarked, "This ain't right, there's still no movement next door."
Chad stepped outside, soaking in the heatwave, and took a glance. "If no one wakes Molly, she'll sleep the day away."
Not long after, Andre joined them. "Weird, aren't those kids hungry?"
Even if they weren't, surely their little troublemaker should've started crying by now.
Next door.
Mia kept her son entertained with a bottle, while the three women continued to doze, and Henry amused himself on the bed. The little rascal slid off the bed, tiptoeing until he finally touched ground. Clad in his tiny pajamas, he wandered over to the wardrobe to play, spotting an open suitcase on the floor. Squatting down, he grabbed his mom's, aunt's, and sister's dresses, tossing them all over before crawling inside.
Finding the suitcase too hard, Henry emerged and his gaze fell on the balcony. As Andre turned to go back inside, a tiny voice called out, "Daddy-," tapping on the thick glass of the sliding door, his face squished against it in delight. "Dada!"
Andre turned back, spotting his mischievous son. "Hey, you, get back inside." Andre waved to him.
Henry kept calling from the bedroom, "Daddy!"
With a glass railing separating the balcony, Henry couldn't get through to his dad. "Dad, Dad-"
"Why are you calling for your dad?" Mia groggily asked, woken by the noise.
She sat up, eyeing the clothes strewn across the floor, and shouted, "Henry!" Startled, Henry turned his little face away from the glass, "Mommy, daddy." Andre sensed trouble. "Quick, get back inside, Mia's awake."
The three men, like kids caught sneaking cookies, quickly hustled back into their room.
Mia approached Henry, the neighboring balcony now empty. She took hold of his tiny hand, "Henry, come here, look at this mess. Blaming your dad? He's not even here!"
Henry surveyed his handiwork, patted his chubby belly, and looked up adorably, "Daddy, oh no."
"Stand over there, you're on a timeout." Mia bent down, gathering the clothes piece by piece.
Molly, waking to the commotion, yawned, "Didn't we change his name to 'Henry'?"
As Mia tidied up, she muttered, "When he's causing trouble, he's gotta take after the Cedillo family."
The good boy is Henry. The little rascal is Henry.
Anya also groggily sat up, noticing the little one standing in the corner, and stretched out her arms lovingly.
By one o'clock, with the sun blazing outside, the three women awoke As they opened the sliding door, Henry, unable to resist, darted out, shouting 'daddy' towards the neighbor's balcony.
Molly leisurely brushed her teeth on the balcony, enjoying the view, "You better stop calling for your dad, a couple more times and they'll split, and you'll be staying with him."
Next door.
Chad and Leo watched, astonished, at the grim-faced man.
"Is it really that serious?" Chad was skeptical it had escalated to divorce.
Andre listened to the ruckus next door.
Moments later, Mia came out, "Henry, come brush your teeth, let mommy clean your tongue."
Henry, still pointing next door, was trying to tell his mom he saw his dad. But before he could finish, Mia, not hearing a word, tugged him back inside. At two, they had lunch in the bedroom, sticking around indoors.
Leo pointed and asked, "Aren't they here on vacation?"
Chad let the cat out of the bag. "They're just changing places to catch some Zs, happy with a couple of hours of fun a day."
Andre added, "Mia's a sun-phobe, with those UV rays blazing, she's definitely staying put."
Leo chuckled, "Yeah, my girl's easygoing. Whatever those two do, she follows."
Sure enough, when the sun wasn't so harsh, the trio, carrying their little ones, headed out, trailed by three men. At the beach, Henry's eyes
widened in awe at the ex eyes net
of
the sea, brimming with curiosity.
As Mia took him into the water, Henry bawled like a tractor. Through tears, he looked back at his dad, who was hiding, "Daddy-"
Mia sat down, wetting Henry's body, quickly bringing him back, "Aren't you a swimmer? Mommy didn't even get you a float, and you're scared of the sea?"
The women, dressed in sundresses, Molly eyed the beach beauties, hands on her hips, "Tomorrow, bikinis it is!"
Officer Chad: "... You must be joking!"
Mia chimed in, "Bikinis reveal too much, I'm getting a sun suit."
Andre: "... You better not!"
Anya sweetly added, "I'll wear a hat too, I don't want sunspots."
Leo looked at the two men, "Uncle, Uncle-in-law, can you really let this slide?"
Meanwhile, Mia tapped her son's little nose, "Scaredy-cat, you're usually so brave, what happened?"
She bought a swim ring and took him back to the water. From the loud cries to soft whimpers, he was soon splashing happily, kicking his mom as waves rolled in.
So much fun, he didn't want to leave. When mommy pulled him out, he cried once more.
Molly, heavily pregnant, couldn't join in, lounging on a chair, sipping lemonade and admiring the buff guys passing by, "Wow, look at those muscles."Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
Officer Chad behind her: "..."
"Not an ounce of fat, those abs are incredible."
Chad rubbed his face, trying to keep it together.
Molly sneakily snapped a picture with her phone. "Foreign guys really are something else, huh?"
Anya was digging in the sand when a sunny, handsome young man approached, "Hey there, how are you?"
This time, it was Leo's turn to lose his cool!