Dinner that night was a quiet one. Finnick was thinking about his unfinished business from earlier.
Vivian was mulling over lunch with Samuel the next day.
Larry was recalling what he learned in school that day and all the events that had happened.
As they were lost in their own thoughts, it wasn’t all that strange that the dining table was quiet.
After dinner, the family of three sat together in the living room to watch TV before returning to their rooms to call it a night.
Just when Finnick was going to pick up where he left off, Larry knocked on their bedroom door.
Sighing helplessly, he rolled off the bed to open the door.
“Goodnight, Mommy, and Daddy.” Larry turned and left after bidding them goodnight.
Not just Finnick, but even Vivian was flummoxed. What’s wrong with little pumpkin? Why did he come here just to say goodnight and then leave?
Unknown to them, Larry’s teacher from school was the reason behind his odd behavior. His teacher taught them to say goodnight to their parents before going to bed at night because that would make them very happy.
Hence, Larry decided to test the theory out that night.
However, what he received in return wasn’t his parents’ smiling faces. Instead, he could vaguely sense their exasperation.
Did I get it wrong, or did the teacher teach us the wrong stuff? Larry honestly had no idea and could only ask his teacher in school the next day.
Due to Larry’s interruption, the flames of desire in Finnick were extinguished, so he took Vivian into his arms and decided to sleep.
“Goodnight, Honey.” Finnick planted a chaste kiss on Vivian’s cheek before closing his eyes.
Meanwhile, the corners of Vivian’s lips rose slightly because of this rather comical scene.
Before long, sleep came over her.
The next morning, Vivian called Finnick who was at work, telling him that she wanted to shop for appropriate attire.
After all, she needed to be in her best looks when meeting her grandfather-in-law for the very first time; it was a sign of respect too.
In recent years, she rarely went shopping because she was in a bad place.
She would either randomly buy clothes from street shops and make do with them or get Benedict to help her buy all of the new clothes of whatever season they were in.
Then, she would rotate between all of the clothes she had, not caring if she liked them or not.
Other girls would usually pamper themselves and go on shopping sprees after a bad breakup because they saw that as the only way to do right by themselves, but Vivian did not have any desire to go shopping. All she wanted to do was stay home and look after Larry.
Watching Larry grow up day by day gave Vivian’s life some meaning and also constantly reminded her that at least she had a son.
Of course, these were all in the past. Hence, there was no reason for her to dwell on them.
Finnick drove Vivian to the largest local shopping mall. After parking the car in the basement parking lot, he held Vivian’s hand and walked into the mall together.
Meanwhile, Noah was watching over Larry at home and was tasked with sending him to school later on.
After all, Noah had been with them for a long time, so they felt more at ease leaving Larry in his hands.
Vivian’s head spun when she saw all the clothes in the mall.
Fashion was a mystery to her. In the past, due to her poor and unassuming life, she did not develop a good fashion sense.
Hence, she was in a bit of a conundrum upon seeing the wide variety of clothes in the mall.
Fortunately, Finnick made up for where she lacked.
He brought her directly to the third floor.
The first floor was usually for the lesser well-off with a monthly salary below ten thousand. The second floor was for those from wealthier families who could afford to buy clothes that cost a fortune.
The third floor was the most luxurious place in the entire mall, and people without a certain social and financial standing were not allowed to enter.
Finnick stepped forward and showed his name card.
When the lady working the front desk saw it, she immediately led the two of them in and offered personalized customer service.
Many women on the second floor grew envious when they saw that.
“Look. I wonder who they are. How did they get in?”
“I don’t know either. This is the first time I’ve seen someone go up to the third floor.”
“That woman is so lucky. I don’t see anything special about her though.”
