Chapter 254: Companion
In the Allson’s villa. Christopher and Janice were unpacking in the bedroom. "Janice, you have been pregnant for four months. Are you sure you still want to go to work?"
Christopher couldn’t help asking when he saw a box of Janice’s office supplies among their luggage. Janice nodded, "Yes. Didn’t you agree that I could keep working until the baby was born?" Hearing this, Christopher frowned. He had indeed agreed to that request. However, he had been forced to agree by the situation at that time. No! He had to think of a way to solve the problem. So, he paused, took the clothes in her hand over, and pressed her down on the sofa, saying, "If you must go back to work, we need to make a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Janice asked. Christopher thought for a while and said, "I will go with you to work so that I can take care of you there."
"What do you mean?" Janice didn’t understand.
Christopher explained, "I mean I will be with you all the time."
"All the time?"
Janice was still a little confused.
Christopher nodded, "Yes. I will help you carry heavy things and run errands." Hearing his explanation, Janice widened her eyes, and she felt she needed to take a sip of water to calm her nerves. "Are you kidding me? I’m going to work, not play! How can you be with me all the time?"
Did he want to help carry heavy things and run errands? He must be out of his mind. "Why can’t I?" Christopher said, "Look, you are an editor, and an editor’s daily job is to write. Although I am not good at writing articles, I am literate. You can tell me your thoughts, and I will write them down. Also, I can help when you need to eat, drink, or use the restroom in the building."
Janice had just taken a sip of water, so when she heard him say this, she started choking on it. Some of the water splashed on Christopher’s face. Seeing this, Janice was a little embarrassed and quickly began to wipe his face with a tissue. She said, "Sorry, I couldn’t help it."
Christopher frowned as he wiped the water off his face with a tissue, "Well, what do you think?" Janice said, "I don’t think it’s a good idea. I am going to the office to work, not look like a princess." She stood up silently and continued unpacking. Christopher frowned and followed her, saying, "But I think it’s a reasonable idea. You can continue going to work, while I can feel at ease."
"No! It’s not good at all." Janice said, "You are a grown man. How can you follow me around every day? Moreover, you have so many things to deal with in your company. Don’t you have to do your own work?" Christopher replied, "You don’t need to worry about this; I have a plan."
Janice tried to resist, saying, "I will not agree whatever you say." Janice darted an impatient look at him, showing that she didn’t want to continue the topic. Christopher had to shut up sullenly. At this moment, the door was knocked, and Wanda walked in. Seeing Janice unpacking the clothes, Wanda hurriedly stepped
forward to stop her, saying, "Put them down! You are a pregnant woman! How can you do this?"
With that, she pressed Janice down on the sofa and walked over to tidy up the room. Wanda was Christopher’s mother, so Janice felt it was too embarrassing to let her tidy up their bedroom. She then stood up and said quickly, "Wanda, I can do it myself. How can I let you help me do such things." But just as Janice was about to step forward, Wanda held a hand out. "Stop! You are the key priority of our family right now. You don’t need to do anything besides rest."
"Like mother, like son." Janice thought glumly.
...
She had been pregnant for only four months now, so she was not that fragile. Just as she was about to speak, Christopher said, "Just listen to Mom." Janice had no choice but to sit down. While tidying up the room, Wanda said, "I’ve asked one of my friends to design baby clothes for us a few days ago, which will be sent here after being made. You don’t need to do anything other than resting at home. If you need anything, ask Chris to buy it for you."
Janice merely nodded, "OK."
"By the way, Chris said you are still working at the magazine. Why don’t you take maternity leave ahead of time?" Janice hadn’t expected Wanda to mention it, so she was startled by her remark. But before she could interject, Wanda said again, "I know you young people attach great importance to your careers, and I am not a rigid person. I just don’t want to see you get too tired."
"Mom, I don’t feel tired," Janice hurriedly said.
Wanda continued, "You might not feel tired now, but trust me Janice, it will kick in sooner or later. Since we can provide you with such a condition, why don’t you try to enjoy yourself during pregnancy? I know you don’t want to give up your career. You can rest assured. Your maternity leave will not affect your career. I guarantee that you can go back to work at any time after giving birth to the baby. And you still can get promoted step by step, instead of rushing into things."
Hearing Wanda’s words, Janice felt a little embarrassed. If it was Christopher who had said that, she would have refuted it, but Wanda was her mother-in-law after all. How could she argue with her? Christopher saw Janice’s thoughts and took the opportunity to say, "Mom, don’t try to persuade her. If Janice wants to go to work, she can go. I’ll take care of her in person."
Wanda looked at Christopher in confusion, not understanding what he meant. When she saw her son keep winking at her all the time, she seemed to understand something, so she hurriedly said, "Well, I trust your abilities. If you can follow Janice and take care of her, I will have nothing to worry about. OK, that’s the deal."
Wanda then gave her son a happy high-five. Janice felt stunned. She hadn’t said anything yet, but they had made the decision unilaterally. She had a feeling of being trapped. Just as she was about to speak, Christopher’s phone rang. It was Charlie. He hesitated and went out to answer the call. "Mr. Bateman, could you please come back and persuade Joey? He has been kneeling at the gate for almost a day now. I’m afraid it will harm his health."
Charlie’s anxious voice came from the other end of the phone. Christopher paused for a short while before agreeing to go. He returned to the bedroom, told Janice and Wanda about the call, and hurried over. As soon as Christopher got out of the car, he saw Joey kneeling at the gate of the villa of the Bateman family. Charlie had said on the phone that he had been kneeling there for more than ten hours since that morning. Christopher frowned, walked over, and asked, "Joey, what are you doing?"
When Joey heard Christopher’s voice while kneeling, he looked up and became very emotional in an instant. "Mr. Bateman, I am sorry. I should not have done those things to the Bateman family. I must apologize to you and Old Mr. Bateman. Just let
me kneel here." Christopher was a little speechless. He hated the old rules of the Batemans the most.
In their opinion, it was normal for servants to kneel in front of masters. But times had changed. Why was he still kneeling in remorse? Christopher said, "Joey, I’ve never blamed you for any of this. As for my father, it will be useless, even if you kneel here forever. Get up."
"Mr. Bateman..."
Joey refused to stand up. So, Christopher could only pull him up with brute force.
...
"Joey, both you and I are fathers now. Let bygones be bygones. You still have Anna. She has been wracked by illness since she was a baby. As a father, you should care about and take care of her, instead of fussing over these things."
"Mr. Bateman..."
"Stop talking nonsense. Go to your daughter." At this moment, the servant came over holding Anna in her arms. When Joey saw Anna, he felt as if he had come back to life, and he was not depressed anymore. He had always been at the police station and hadn’t seen Anna for several days. When he saw her, his eyes could not help but turn red.
As Christopher had said, Anna had suffered a lot since she had been very young, so he had to focus on her health. He quickly wiped off the tears at the corner of his eyes and walked to her. "Come on, Anna, let me hold you." As Anna saw Joey, her eyes lit up, and she took the initiative to reach out. Joey held Anna in his arms and kissed her again and again. When Charlie stood aside and looked at the father and daughter, his eyes moistened up involuntarily.
After he had taken care of Anna for several days, he had finally realized how tired his son had been in the fast few years. But Joey had carried all the burden on his own. Anna had suffered so much at such a young age as well. Poor girl! She had done nothing wrong. Why did she have to go through these hardships? Charlie wiped his tears off and then said to Christopher, " Mr. Bateman, if you are not in a hurry to leave, please go and see Old Mr. Bateman. His condition is very bad these days."
Christopher already knew that Nathan had fallen ill. Even if Charlie hadn’t mentioned it, he would still have gone to see him. After all, he was his father. He nodded and walked towards Nathan’s bedroom. In the bedroom, the curtains were closed, and the light was turned off, so it was a little dark. Christopher walked in and stood by the window, looking condescendingly at Nathan who was lying on the bed. At this time, his eyes were closed tightly, and his breathing was steady. It seemed he was sleeping in peace.
Except for his slightly pale face, Christopher couldn’t see anything abnormal. This might be the first time Christopher had seen Nathan in such a calm and peaceful state. In his memories, his father was like Superman; always full of fighting spirit. He barely laughed and looked very strict and authoritarian. As long as he had made a decision, he would not easily compromise or change his mind.
Christopher sometimes thought he had inherited these traits from his father. However, his grandfather had taught him how to be flexible, so he was not as ruthless ad his father, nor would he resort to underhanded means to achieve his goals. When he was sick in bed like this, he looked like an ordinary old man. Christopher thought no one would associate his father on the bed with a successful businessman if meeting him for the first time. Christopher found that his father, who had been like a superhero in his childhood, had suddenly gotten old.
Christopher stood rooted on the spot, looking at Nathan, and then he couldn’t help sighing, stepped forward, and tucked him in. But his light movements had awakened Nathan. He didn’t completely open his eyes, thinking it was Charlie who had come in, so he said weakly, "Charlie, what time is it now?"
Christopher paused, glanced at his watch, and answered, "It’s almost four o’clock." Nathan nodded, then suddenly realized something, and opened his eyes. When he saw his son standing in front of him, he was taken aback and wanted to sit up but was stopped by Christopher.
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