Viola reassured Yvette that her health had improved recently and asked her not to worry. Yvette then called Noah. However, the nurse informed her that he was already asleep. When she called Zachary, the video connected, revealing a lavishly decorated children’s room. “Zac?”
Zachary appeared on the screen in a neatly tailored little suit, looking like a miniature adult. “Sorry, Mom. I was busy just now.”
“Are you at Kiki’s house?” Yvette asked.
Zachary nodded and then added, “To be precise, it’s the house Kiki’s father gifted to me.”
Michael was very fond of Zachary, so much so that he wanted to take the moon from the sky for him. At the moment, Michael was still urging Zachary to continue their chess session.
Zachary had only been on the call with Yvette for a while when Michael called out, “Zac, who are you talking to? Come and continue the game with me.”
Hearing this, Zachary had to apologize and say goodbye to Yvette. To be honest, he had been preoccupied lately. Michael not only liked to play chess and read with him but also enjoyed taking him to his friends to show his “grandson” off.
After closing the laptop, Zachary went to the living room. Michael was resting his chin in his hands and frowning at the chessboard, which showed that he was losing the game.
“Zac, you didn’t trick me, did you? I heard that you can play chess on your phone nowadays. Did you use your phone to play against me?”
Michael had already played ten rounds with Zachary without winning even once. It would be quite embarrassing if people knew that he lost to a four-year-old.
“Gramps, if you still don’t believe it, we can play again, and you can search for a phone on me,” Zachary offered.
He actually wanted to let Michael win, but the old man was so sharp that he would immediately notice if Zachary went easy on him. As a chess player, one should have a competitive spirit.
Michael looked at his grandson dressed head to toe in the outfit he had bought for him. There was no way Zachary could be hiding a phone. Furthermore, Zachary played so quickly that cheating was out of the question.
“You must have inherited my genes; I was just as smart when I was your age.” Michael laughed heartily.
He decided that he would take Zachary to show off to his old friends again tomorrow. He also planned to take the chessboard so Zachary could win back the pieces of land he had lost before.
At home, Kiki poured tea for the “grandfather-grandson” duo.
“It’s almost 10:00 pm. It’s time to go to bed,” she reminded them.
“You go to bed yourself. Tomorrow you have another date; you better not mess it up,” Michael retorted, wishing to get rid of his third wheel of a daughter.
Kiki felt a bit helpless and was about to leave when another complication arose. Michael’s phone rang with a call from Archibald.
“Oh, Mr. Shaw Senior, what can I do for you?” Michael answered on speakerphone.
“Jeremiah Lane is getting engaged the day after tomorrow, right? I thought we could solidify our ties by having Tris and Kiki get engaged as well. My in-law, what do you think?” Archibald’s voice was particularly amiable.
Michael had been worried that, given Kiki’s past and the fact that she had a child, the Shaw family might not want her. He was surprised that the notoriously picky Archibald was proactively proposing an
nove
engagement and doing so warmly.
Amid Kiki’s frantic gestures to stop him, Michael readily agreed, “Sounds great!”
“But… Kiki made some mistakes when she was younger-” Michael felt obliged to mention Kiki’s child.
However, Archibald interrupted, “I
know everything. Tris has told me. He’s no saint either. As long as Kiki doesn’t mind him, we’re all set. We’ll announce it during Jeremiah’s engagement party the day after tomorrow and hold an engagement banquet later.”
“Sure! Sure!” Michael repeated, his face beaming with joy.