Mackie's eyes glimmered with hope. She was genuinely happy with her Mommy's joyful mood!
Honestly, Mackie wanted to ask Mommy if she could at least call Daddy on the phone.
But she was an observant and independent girl. She didn't want to make Mommy sad again, especially when she was in a happy mood.
'Un… I miss Daddy so much, but I want Mommy to be happy too. Maybe I will ask Mommy to call Daddy tomorrow before going to school…' Mackie thought, sacrificing her urge to meet Daddy so Mommy would be happy, even just for a day.
Chloe put two big plates on the table for Mackie and Vernon.
"Waah! So much!" Mackie grabbed the spoon and fork, ready to eat the English Breakfast in front of her.
Chloe put a glass of warm water on the table and advised, "Don't eat so fast, dear, you'll choke. Drink the warm water first."
"Okay, Mommy!"
After ensuring her daughter ate well, she walked to the living room to check on Vernon again. He was still sleeping and would probably sleep for more since he must've been tired after working until midnight, proven by how loud he was snoring in his sleep right now.
Chloe wondered if she had to wake Vernon or just let him wake up on his own and reheat his breakfast later.
'Hmm, I guess I'll just wait for him to wake up. He's always very grumpy when he wakes up early,' Chloe thought.
She turned around and was petrified when Mackie suddenly hopped off the chair with bacon in her hand. She ran to the living room and yelled, "Mommy, Mackie will wake the big bad wolf!"
"M—Mackie, don't!" Chloe tried to catch Mackie before she reached Vernon on the sofa, but she was very agile for a seven-year-old. She was able to bypass her Mommy and stood right beside the sofa.
She saw that Uncle Vernon was still sleeping, his mouth partly open, and he snored pretty loudly, which she had never heard of because her Daddy didn't snore like Uncle Vernon.
Thus, Mackie thought Uncle Vernon's snoring meant he was growling out of hunger since he was a big bad wolf.
'Okay, Uncle just needs to be fed with bacon!' Mackie aimed at Uncle Vernon's mouth and dropped the bacon right on top of his opened mouth.
"Mackie!" Chloe quickly grabbed her daughter's hand and tried to hide Mackie behind her body. She was scared that Vernon would be angry at her daughter because of her prank.
"G—Go to the kitchen, Mackie. Mommy will handle it from here," Chloe instructed, but Mackie didn't understand her Mommy's concern.
"Mommy, why are you scared? I was just giving the big bad wolf with bacon!" Mackie claimed carelessly.
Chloe wanted to scold her for disturbing someone's sleep, but there was a bigger priority right now: to save her daughter from Vernon's wrath!
"Grrhmm…" Vernon growled and frowned. He subconsciously munched on the strip of bacon in his mouth and swallowed it.
He stopped snoring and then opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling in a daze for a while and then sat on the sofa. He glared at Chloe, who turned pale instantly. No matter how long they've lived together, Chloe still couldn't get used to his death stare.
"V—V—Vernon—"
Chloe stammered nervously, but Mackie was either too courageous or simply ignorant because she ran towards her Uncle Vernon and grabbed his wrist with two hands.
"Uncle, what takes you so long? Let's have breakfast!" Mackie said as she tried to pull her Uncle from the sofa to no avail.
Vernon continued staring at the little girl for a while and then at Chloe, who looked scared.
"V—Vernon, I'm so sorry. Mackie is just…."
"Do we have an English breakfast today?" Vernon asked out of the blue.
Chloe was surprised, and she nodded reluctantly, "Y—Yes, I made English breakfast, with bacon, sausage, cherry tomatoes, beans, and mushrooms—"
Vernon got up suddenly, with Mackie dangling on his arm, "Uncle! Let's eat! I'm so hungry!"
"Hm, I'm also starving," Vernon said. He lifted Mackie by grabbing the back of her shirt with one hand, like holding a shopping bag, then walked to the kitchen.
"Wha—Uncle, put me down!" Mackie struggled while being carried like a plastic bag. But Vernon didn't seem to care about the little girl's struggle. He put Mackie on her seat effortlessly and sat right beside her.
He stared at the breakfast in front of him and started eating, ignoring the little girl who was upset.
"Uncle is so mean! You shouldn't grab Mackie like that. Mackie is not a shopping bag!" Mackie protested, but her Uncle ignored her completely.
Mackie started sulking because her Uncle was being mean to her, but the smell of the food distracted her, and Mackie finally followed her Uncle to start eating the food in front of her.
Chloe stared at them both for a while and sighed in relief. She really thought that something big would happen today, but it seemed that Vernon wasn't in the mood to get angry today.
Chloe put a glass of warm water for Vernon and told him not to eat too fast, "Be a good example for Mackie. You shouldn't eat too fast, Vernon."
Vernon glanced at his sister-in-law, who smiled at him. He still remembered what he had done about two hours ago and was quite ashamed because he had just followed his desire to embrace her in his sleep.
But, it seemed that Chloe didn't take it at heart, and Vernon could continue being ignorant about this.
'As long as she doesn't question my action, I guess it doesn't matter,' Vernon thought.
"I will go and do the laundry, you two eat here, okay?" Chloe said. She wanted to go to the laundry room, but Vernon suddenly caught her wrist and pulled her until she sat on his muscular thigh.
"Wah— Vernon!"
"You're not allowed to do anything until you eat with us."
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