Matthew had an absurdly high standard for interior design and decoration. His taste demanded a uniqueness for which he had to source most of the decoration materials from various parts of the world.
Things were, however, much simpler with Sheffield, because he cared for nothing else except for the opinions of his wife and daughter. Fortunately, Evelyn wasn't as nit-picky as Matthew was about the decoration. Before long, with the help of many people working together, the decoration of their whole house was completed in no time.
Gwyn's favorite part of the entire place was the food pantry, where Sheffield had made a small shelf just for her and painted it with cherry red lacquer. This was where Gwyn's candies were being kept in dozens of colorful jars. Gwyn was so fond of it, the mere mention of it would make her heart sing with a whoop of undisguised glee.
Evelyn, however, enforced a strict rule which allowed Gwyn no more than five candies a day.
Five candies? Unfortunately, that was far from what Gwyn had in mind, which was why she would always be found hanging around the pantry.
In the blink of an eye, Gwyn's second birthday had come along. This was the first time Sheffield would celebrate his daughter's birthday, which was more than enough reason for him to throw a grand party.
The invitation list alone was so extensive that it covered every friend and relative they had and the venue of the event was the island Sheffield had given to Evelyn as the bride price.
The entire island was shaped like a giant heart. From the pale tones of rose pink that were the essence of the guava, to the mellow yellows of mango, the cherry red hues of lychee and the fresh brown of soil, these were the epitome of the island. The flecks of green here and there were of the custard apple and freshly grown tea leaves. Overlooking from above, one would witness the beauty of nature in all its essence.
Since a lot of the guests were children, the number of bodyguards for the party had to be doubled so that every child was properly looked after on the island.
The laughter of children filled the air, while the adults happily threw shapes on the dance floor. The ones that didn't want to partake in such merriment took to other forms of entertainment such as singing games and other activities.
"Have you ever taught Gwyn how to dance?" Sheffield whispered softly into Evelyn's ears.
"No. She had PTSD not long after she could walk." Sheffield and Evelyn had arranged many classes for the little girl such as early childhood development lessons; drawing and even piano lessons. However, they seemed to have missed out on dance classes.
Sheffield immediately decided to rectify the situation. "It's okay. I'll teach her!"
Before Evelyn knew it, Sheffield confidently strutted into the dance floor with their daughter in his arms, leaving Evelyn puzzled and at a loss for words.
On his daughter's second birthday, Sheffield accompanied Gwyn in the first dance of her life.
On the dance floor, Sheffield held Gwyn's hand and smiled, softly carrying her on his other arm. They swayed back and forth with grace, father and daughter, in a dance that left everyone staring at them in awe.
There was an expression of carefree happiness on the faces of both father and daughter, the bond between them seemingly stronger than ever.
The sight of their happy faces brought a smile and a sense of relief on Evelyn's face as she placed her hands on her still flat belly.
Secretly in her mind, she prayed for a boy. A son and a daughter—the picture perfect family!
After the Spring Festival, in the Huo family manor
A vast blanket of fresh snow covered the ground, making the whole place seem magical. The sound of cheerful laughter echoed every now and then.
Freshly fallen snow could only mean one thing—a snowball fight! Sheffield, Evelyn, Joshua, Matthew, Terilynn, and Gwyn all joined in on the fun.
While Joshua was busy making a snowman under a tree, Sheffield whispered in Gwyn's ear, "Gwyn, watch this."
Suddenly, he dashed towards the tree and kicked it really hard, consequently causing snow from the leaves to fall and cover Joshua's entire body.
"Look! A snowman!" Sheffield yelled. Everyone burst into laughter, joyously enjoying this wonderful family time together.
While chasing and running around in the yard, Joshua grabbed a snowball to tuck into Sheffield's clothes from under his collar.
When they came back, gasping for air, Gwyn ran to the tree and pointed at the snow. "Dad, I want some snow too."
Sheffield took a moment to smoothen his disheveled hair and catch his breath. "Okay. I'll...make you a snowball."
"No, Daddy. I want to be a snowman too." Gwyn pointed at Joshua.
Sheffield finally caught what she meant and smirked at her knowingly. "Okay!"
After putting a hat and wrapping a scarf around her, Sheffield said, "Gwyn, are you ready? Here we go!"
"Yay!" Gwyn clapped her hand and jumped in the air with excitement.
Sheffield kicked the tree again and turned the little girl into a snowman.
Gwyn ran to another tree, gesturing at Sheffield to do it again. Sheffield didn't have a problem as he was starting to like the game and so he kicked the tree again.
When they came to another tree, just before Sheffield could kick it, Carlos stepped into the scene with Miranda, who was walking with the help of her son and a cane.
Carlos, completely unaware of what was going on, mistakenly assumed that Sheffield was pulling a trick on Gwyn. He was so angry, he wasted no time and said, "Mom, please wait here. Don't move!"
"Why? What's wrong?"
Carlos yelled, "Sheffield Tang! What do you think you are doing?" 'Uh-oh!'
Sheffield had an instinctive feeling that something bad was going to happen. Without even turning his head, he ran away as fast as he could.
Carlos ran after him at once. When he passed by Joshua, his son-in-law handed him a snowball and said, "Dad, take this. Get him!"
Carlos grabbed the snowball and continued chasing after Sheffield.
Sheffield wasn't running very fast. When the distance was very small, Carlos threw the snowball towards him. Sheffield dodged and the snowball fell on the ground. "Dad, Dad, let me explain."
"Explain what? How dare you play tricks on my granddaughter! I won't spare you today!"
Gwyn was so amused she decided to run after them as well. It was Sheffield in the front, followed closely by Carlos and then little Gwyn.
The rest of them burst out laughing at the scene, while Terilynn jumped to cheer Carlos on.
Carlos chased Sheffield all over the manor until he finally caught him and threw him down to the snow-covered ground.
Meanwhile, gazing up into the sky, Matthew exhaled deeply. It felt good to finally have someone else take some heat from Carlos.
"Dad, I'm sorry. You said that... Ouch! You told everyone you would be good to me and make things up to me!" Sheffield remembered Carlos' words from an interview.
Carlos, short of breath, glared at his son-in-law lying on the ground and asked, "I also told everyone that I owed you. Do I owe you anything?"
Sheffield shook his head obediently and said, "No, it's my fault. You have been doing well from the beginning."
Carlos seemed satisfied as he stood up proudly over Sheffield. "Will you ever bully Gwyn again?"
"Dad, I wasn't bullying her..."
Carlos slapped him hard on the back and said, "Are you still trying to deny it?"
Looking at the woman who was standing close by and chuckling at him, Sheffield felt wronged and said, "Honey, come and save me!"
Matthew walked up to her and said, "Don't worry. Sheffield is his son-in-law after all. Dad's just playing with him."
Evelyn was about to help Sheffield, but she decided to sit back and watch the show.
She feigned helplessness as Carlos playfully beat her husband up again.
Afterwards, Sheffield ran to Evelyn and complained, "Honey, you didn't even try to stop him!"
Trying to suppress her laughter, Evelyn stroked his head and said, "Yeah, I didn't feel bad for you." In truth, she knew that her father was just having some fun with him.
Sheffield faked a look of astonishment on his face, but Evelyn gently coaxed him as he usually did when she was upset. "Honey, I love you. Don't be mad."
Sheffield felt powerless at Evelyn's affectionate way of talking. He pulled her close and kissed her. "My dear, I love you too!"
"Sheffield Tang! Didn't you see how Gwyn was looking at you? Was that your idea of parenting my granddaughter?" Carlos roared again.
Sheffield bent down, picking up Gwyn in his arms, and ran. "Dad, I'm sorry! Please don't chase after me. I'm holding Gwyn. What if I fall? Dad! My dear Dad—"
It seemed as though, whenever it came to Sheffield, Carlos would never run out of energy. Without hesitation, the old man kept running after Sheffield even though he was carrying Gwyn in his arms.
A contented smile crept up on Evelyn's lips as she thought to herself, 'Sheffield, with you in my life, every season is spring.
With you in my life, I will live my life bravely.
With you in my life, I begin to believe in eternity.
For the rest of my life, sunny or cloudy, good or bad, year after year, day after day, I want you and only you.'