She kissed his head, holding him tightly, and asked, “Tyler, Mommy was very unfair to you before, and I treated you badly. You really don’t blame Mommy at all? You still want to be so close to me?”
Sam Noah said she hated children, so the things she did to push him away and hurt him in her fragmented memories must not have been limited to just that one incident. Yet the little guy wasn’t afraid of her; instead, he sought ways to get closer to her.
In his sweet, innocent voice, he said, “I won’t blame Mommy. Daddy said Mommy was unhappy, which is why she acted that way. I want Mommy to be happy, and Daddy wants Mommy to be happy too. Mommy, please don’t be unhappy anymore, okay?”
For some reason, Thelma suddenly felt a warm liquid flowing into her body, giving her a sense that she was loved by the whole world. Every pore in her body relaxed comfortably, and this feeling should have been pleasant and enjoyable, but for some reason, a sour bitterness spread in her heart.
Just hoping she wouldn’t be unhappy, just hoping she would be happy.
Such a simple request.
What had she done in the past?
Thelma felt a pang in her nose; she lovingly rubbed his little face and promised, “Okay, Mommy won’t be unhappy anymore.”
Mommy won’t be unhappy, won’t ignore you. Mommy will work hard to be a good mother, won’t let you get hurt again, won’t let you hide behind the railing and only watch Mommy from afar.
The next day, when Thelma woke up, the baby was no longer in bed. Considering his self-care abilities, she didn’t worry.
She went downstairs and heard the father and son talking in the living room.
The position of the stairs was a dead angle for the living room; they couldn’t see her, and she couldn’t see them, but she could hear them clearly.
She heard the little guy say, “Daddy, did you know? Mommy smells really nice, she’s soft and comfortable. I fell asleep holding Mommy for a while. If Daddy holds Mommy, Daddy would also fall asleep in a while.”
Hearing this, Thelma felt a rush of heat flood her face, and her cheeks instantly turned red. This little guy spoke so innocently, probably unaware of how profound it sounded to adults.
Thelma couldn’t see Sam Noah, so she naturally couldn’t see his expression at that moment, but she heard him cough heavily. The little guy seemed very excited and continued, “Mommy also talked to me a lot; she told me stories to help me sleep. Mommy has never done this before. I want to sleep with Mommy again tomorrow; the story she started telling me isn’t finished yet, it’s the one about the wolf coming, Daddy, do you know? Once upon a time there was a… blah blah blah…”
Later, Sam Noah probably couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted, “Why are you so chatty like your mom?”
At this moment, standing on the stairs, Thelma, Tyler’s mom: “?????”
“Do you want me to tell Mommy that you already have the Forest Boy puzzle?”
Tyler hurriedly said, “Daddy, don’t say that.” After saying that, as if afraid someone would hear, he even shushed, “Daddy, please don’t tell Mommy, okay?”
Sam Noah didn’t answer him, just lightly hummed.
Thelma, who had originally planned to go downstairs, didn’t know whether to go down after hearing this. It would probably be very awkward now; Sam Noah would feel awkward, and the child would feel awkward too.
Forget it; she would wait a while before going down.
So, the baby already had the Forest Boy puzzle, but she didn’t know. He pretended to be very excited just to play with her.
This little thing, how could he be so warm? So warm that it made her heart ache, and her nose felt sour.
Thelma stayed in her room for a while, and when she went out again, the father and son had already left.
Thelma soon discovered that her little son’s self-care abilities were quite impressive; brushing teeth, washing face, bathing, changing clothes—these were all completely manageable for him.
He was just a bit shy. When he was bathing, Thelma worried he might struggle and wanted to help, but she heard him anxiously call from the bathroom, “Mommy, don’t come in! I can wash myself.”
Lying in bed, the little guy nestled himself in her arms, excitedly calling out to her, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.” Again and again, with affection and dependence.
With her little meatball, not yet four years old, calling her like this, Thelma felt her heart melting.
Everything before her felt so surreal, so unreal. She had come to a strange home that belonged to her, and just like that, she had become someone’s wife and someone’s mother. At this moment, the little meatball was leaning against her, reminding her over and over that this was her son.
It was truly unbelievable.
