Chapter 46 Reinstatement
"Well, I would like to meet my beautiful sister-in-law and smart nephew," Bailey spoke, but Arthur couldn't stand Bailey's description of Lucia, so he only responded to Douglas' blessings. Bailey screamed in anger, and Arthur glared at him several times.
"Dad, Theodore is a genius with a high IQ." Arthur knew that his father had a soft spot for smart children, or to more exact, that all elders loved smart kids. He must first make a good impression of Theodore on Edwin, so he looked at Bailey and spoke, "Theodore's IQ is higher than yours. Wouldn't you be afraid of seeing him and being crushed by his intelligence?"
"Arthur!" Arthur's words were nothing but blatant sarcasm.
Although Arthur was only telling the truth, Bailey said defensively, "You've just offended us all by that."
Bailey was trying to get his father, elder brother, and young brother into this, but when the others heard his words, apart from giving him a look of contempt, no one was instigated by him. Bailey was so angry that he shut his mouth directly and became sullen.
Arthur saw Bailey had shut up obediently, and then said, "Mom has suggested to Lucia that we should celebrate Christmas over at our house, but... Lucia has her concerns."
No need for Arthur to say more, the others knew what he meant.
Even though Edwin had been in the USA for many years, he still had a traditional view of family, and he was more strict and in-depth in seeing people and things, so he did have a problem with the fact that Lucia and Jacob were once married. After all, his son, Arthur had never been in a marriage or divorced.
However, just hearing the description of Lucia by his son, Edwin knew Lucia was a woman of good character. Otherwise, Sophie, his wife, would not condescend to become a nanny to take care of them.
Seeing Arthur's embarrassed look, Edwin opened his mouth, "You should have a good talk with Miss Webb. I would like to meet them, too."
He wanted to assess the character of his future daughter-in-law. More importantly, he was eager to see Theodore, who was his grandson, for sure.
Edwin's words made Arthur feel much better. His father had recognized Lucia and Theodore, and he had more confidence now to persuade Lucia into bringing their son back to spend Christmas together. Otis saw Arthur's smile, so he smilingly said to Arthur, "Arthur, if you're serious, then treat them well." Arthur, his younger brother, had never fit in with others because of his high IQ since he was a child, but it was also because of this that Otis loved him the most.
It could be seen that Arthur was serious about this relationship, and Otis, the eldest brother, also sent his blessings.
"For sure," Arthur responded with a smile to his brother.
When Bailey saw that even his eldest brother Otis seemed to affirm Lucia's relationship with Arthur, he put away his sulking and said to Arthur, "Arthur, you are not by yourself anymore in the future, remember to take care of your wife and children, you got it?"
Unexpectedly, Bailey's words were more pragmatic than anyone else, and Arthur nodded in agreement with a gentle smile on his face.
In the end, after confirming Arthur's relationship, the family meeting turned into a work report one. Douglas, who was still in school, shared what was new with him with his father and brothers before going offline, while the other three brothers needed to report to their father about the specific conditions of the branch that they were leading. When Arthur finished the meeting, it was already early in the morning. Lucia hadn't been out in the living room during Arthur's work. He was relieved and curious, 'Has she fallen asleep in Theodore's room?'
Tiptoeing to the small room, Arthur saw Lucia lying next to Theodore, mother and son breathing steadily together, snuggling.
This scene made Arthur's heart soften, and then he leaned against the door frame, unable to suppress the happiness that overflowed from his chest for a long time.
Walking over lightly, Arthur covered Lucia and Theodore with a quilt, branded a kiss on each of their cheeks, and said softly to himself, "Good night."NôvelDrama.Org owns © this.
Lucia had time to take care of Theodore at home after being suspended from work, but Theodore still needed to go to school during the day, and Arthur also had business to deal with, so Sophie was the one who spent the most time with her.
Sophie was getting ready for Lucia's meeting with her family and spared no effort to introduce the husband and several sons to her.
When it came to her family, her tone was always brisk, or she was proud of her children's achievements or worried about the character flaws they had. Every time she started chatting, she never stopped. Sometimes she was afraid that she would talk too much. But Lucia always smiled and listened with interest.
Such a lively family atmosphere was something she had never felt before but envied.
Perhaps sensing Lucia's slight sense of loss and regret, Sophie spoke something to admit Lucia's identity as her daughter-in-law for the first time.
"When you marry Arthur, they, and I, will be your family."
Lucia was moved when she heard these words, and her previous concerns showed signs of being gone. Admittedly, Sophie's words were very helpful.
Occasionally, Nia would come as a guest, but every time she gobbled down her meals, Lucia felt that Nia just came for Sophie's cooking most of the times. When Arthur showed up, Nia would say goodbye and leave quickly, which made Lucia feel very weird and speechless every time.
It had been a week since Lucia had been suspended, but she felt that every day was so fulfilling that it kind of caught her off guard when she got a phone call from Eduard.
"Lucia, the headquarters has notified me that you can be reinstated." Eduard just received the notification from the headquarters fifteen minutes ago, and he called Lucia after hanging up the phone.
"I see," Lucia was standing in the living room at the moment. Sophie had just left to drop Theodore to school, and Arthur was still sitting in the dining room having breakfast, looking at her as he ate. Meeting his eyes, Lucia hesitated and said, "It's just..."
Lucia didn't seem as excited as Eduard had thought, so he, on the other end of the phone, asked suspiciously, "What's the matter?"
Lucia took a breath, finally made a decision, and said to Eduard, "It's just that I can't get back to work right now as Christmas is coming. I would like to take my child back to the USA to visit relatives. If I go back to work now, I might have to ask for leave soon."
"I understand..." Eduard breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Lucia's reasoning, and said with a smile, "This is a trivial matter. All you need to do is come back today and go through the reinstatement formalities. I will give you the approval for the holidays until after the New Year, so that you can spend some quality time with the family."