"Yes, I can eat them too if I want!" Mackie claimed, then she started howling like a wolf in the car. It was chaotic, but they had fun bickering.
Chloe was the only one who got quiet, much to Vernon's worry, "Chloe, are you alright?"
"Ah-- I--I'm alright," Chloe lowered her head even deeper, afraid that Vernon would discover how red her face was. Luckily, the street light wasn't enough to expose her.
Vernon got a little worried but ignored it until they arrived at the destination.
**
Vernon parked his car in front of a cinema. The cinema was closed, but just like in the restaurant, a few staff were waiting at the door expecting their arrival.
They identified Mr. Phoenix Gray and immediately opened the door for him. Mackie held her Mommy's hand because she was scared of how dark the place was.
The staff led them to one studio, and the moment they entered, the cinema lights were turned on. Chloe gasped when she saw a giant cinema screen and rows of comfortable beds that had replaced the usual cinema seats.
"This way, Sir," the staff led them to the middle bed. Vernon told Chloe and Mackie to lie on the bed before he joined in. Now the three of them were squeezed into that big bed facing the cinema screen.
"You may take your own Popcorn and Soda from that place," the staff pointed at the corner, where a fully refilled popcorn and soda machine was placed. "Just tell us if you want to watch any movie, Sir. But the first movie we will play is what you requested."
The staff left them alone, and Vernon poked at Mackie's cheek with his finger, "Go take a bucket of popcorn for us before we watch the movie."
"Okay!" Mackie jumped from the bed and ran happily towards the popcorn machine. She was so excited when the popcorn filled her bucket. She intentionally filled it until it overflowed before returning with a bucket of caramel popcorn.
She put the popcorn bucket on Uncle's lap and said, "Wait, I will bring the soda too!"
Chloe and Vernon watched the energetic little girl going back and forth, bringing a plastic glass full of soda for each of them. They chuckled at Mackie's cuteness and looked at each other simultaneously.
Chloe's breath stiffened when Vernon caught her stealing glances at him. She tried to dodge his eyes, but Vernon continued staring at her shamelessly, not even allowing her to escape the corner of his eyes.
"Is this simple enough for you?" Vernon asked. "You told me that I shouldn't give her an extravagant celebration. I was thinking about emptying a mall the night before. But you said that's not a good way to teach her."
"But I don't want to just buy her a toy and call it a day. She deserves much more. Chloe, you have a jewel in your hand, you need to treasure her."
"So I decided to just empty a restaurant and a local cinema for one night. This is the VIP cinema studio, that's why the seats are replaced with beds," Vernon explained.
He was waiting for Chloe's response. If he could, he wanted to go with his original plan to empty a mall for Mackie.
But he didn't want to upset Chloe, so he had to take the middle ground.
"Well... I think it's still too much for her," Chloe answered honestly. "But that's maybe because Vincent never celebrates anything with Mackie. He's always busy with-- you know. He even forgot many of her birthdays, so I had to remind him over and over."
"Usually he'd just buy Mackie a toy and call it a day," Chloe said. "Maybe my standard is just too low, Vernon. I'm sorry for that."
Chloe looked around the big VIP cinema studio and muttered, "But I think Mackie deserves this, more than this if I have the money to spoil her."
Vernon didn't take his eyes off her as Chloe kept muttering everything about her experience with Vincent and Mackie.
He was glad Chloe started to open up more about Mackie and herself. But he was also sad when he learned what Chloe had suffered for the past ten years.
His hand crawled on the bed and slowly held Chloe's left hand. He caressed Chloe's hand with his thumb and muttered, "Then let's spoil her together. I'd love to celebrate her eighth birthday with something more spectacular."
Chloe got stiff instantly. She felt how gently Vernon held her wounded hand. The warmth from his thumb spread all around her body. Even a simple thing like holding hands felt so special for Chloe when she did it with the right person.
'Crap, I know I'm way too easy,' Chloe cursed herself for catching up feeling way too early.
But she was so deprived of love that when a good man crawled his way into her heart, she would melt like an ice cream in a hot summer.
Vernon might not be the 'good man' that she expected, but he was damn good at acting like the one she wanted.
"Mommy! Uncle! I brought your soda!" Mackie's loud voice broke the romantic atmosphere between them. They separated their hands quickly and smiled at Mackie at the same time.
Mackie put the two cups of soda on the table next to the bed and jumped to sit right between Mommy and Uncle.
"What are we watching, Uncle?"
"Hehe, I have a special movie for you," Vernon clapped his hand as a signal to start the requested movie.
The light went off one by one until the whole studio was dark except for the giant screen in front of them.
The screen went blank for a few seconds, and the video recording was played.
Mackie's eyes glimmered when she realized what was on the giant screen.
It was her-- in the wolf costume!
"Uncle, that's me! Mommy, that's me!" Mackie looked at her Uncle and then at Mommy, and they both giggled at her reaction.
"I don't want to watch your performance from a small screen like a phone. Let's rewatch your stage play on the big screen, shall we?"
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