That evening
Blair put the asleep Ethan on his small bed and went back to the big bed. On a whim, she said, "Wesley, you have a good eye for people. Do you think Chantel and Gifford are good together?"
Wesley frowned slightly. He had never thought about it before. Finally, he shook his head and said, "Not really. She's too young." Gifford was twelve years older than Chantel.
"You got that right! Chantel's only 20, and Gifford is 32. There's a generation gap right there. They won't share the same interests." Blair was concerned. All she wanted was for her son to be happy.
"But..." Wesley hesitated. "Gifford doesn't even like hanging out with girls. Since he chose to bring Chantel back home, it means that he's interested in her. If you want to try and play matchmaker, go ahead."
Wesley knew Gifford well. He worked from dawn until dusk. Whenever a young girl came over to him and tried to talk to him, he would ignore her.
He wouldn't even acknowledge she existed.
Wesley was anxious for his son to start dating. He didn't care about the age gap between Gifford and a potential girlfriend, as long as he was willing to date her.
In his opinion, it was okay for the boy to be older. At least older boys knew how to take care of girls.
"But Chantel decided on an acting major. She wants to work in show biz. If she becomes a star and gets caught in a scandal, won't it hurt us?" Blair's concerns were valid. After all, the Lis were a military family. They had always avoided any drama and never got involved in the entertainment industry.
"Take it easy. Chantel's only been here for a few days, but you already have her career set up and are marching her down the aisle already. You must really want another grandkid. Isn't Ethan enough for you? Just call Rika. I'm sure she'd be willing to squeeze another baby out for you."
Blair rolled her eyes at him. "You think I won't?"
Wesley chuckled. "Of course you will. My wife is the most important person in this family. There's nothing you won't do!" His tone was playful, and not meant to be taken seriously.
"Cut it out. I'm going to call Rika!" Saying that, Blair had already begun dialing Erica's number.
"Hi Rika, it's Mom. When are you going to give me another baby?" Blair asked.
After grumbling a few words to her, Erica hung up the phone. Blair stared at her phone, dumbfounded.
Wesley frowned. "What's wrong?" He didn't hear much, but he swore he heard Rika mention "the woman Matthew likes."
In a gloomy mood, Blair recounted what Erica told her. "Your daughter said since the woman Matthew likes is pregnant, maybe she should bring that one home. That way, Matthew will be happy and we can take care of it...
Wesley snorted, "I've never known anyone as silly as your daughter. Matthew must have the patience of a saint." She even believed Matthew had feelings for someone else. If Matthew really had a relationship with another woman and the woman was pregnant with his child, there was no way that Matthew would send the kid elsewhere.
And Carlos would never allow Matthew to have an affair.
Blair was still wondering about one thing. "Weren't you having second thoughts about Matthew marrying Rika after their engagement? Are you on his side now?"
"Can't you see that Matthew likes our daughter?" Wesley asked. Women were usually more attuned to love than men. He thought Blair could tell Matthew had a thing for Erica.
"Not really. Didn't Erica just say he's in love with another woman?" Blair actually wasn't crazy about Matthew and Erica getting married, either. But Erica did have a kid out of wedlock, and her reputation was ruined. An arranged marriage would ensure she had a good life. Blair was thankful anyone was willing to marry Erica, let alone Matthew. She could do worse—the man was handsome and loaded.
Wesley looked at Blair with a faint smile. "Well, I know Matthew has fallen for someone. And I can even tell you who she is."
"Okay...who?" Blair asked curiously.
"I'll tell you later. I need to make sure first."
Blair rolled her eyes at him. "You did that deliberately. You always like to appear mysterious."
Wesley just smiled without saying anything.
He still remembered when Matthew visited them long ago, Erica was still a little kid then, covered in mud like—well, a little kid.
Then she barreled into Matthew and stained his white shirt. Blair asked Erica to buy a new shirt for Matthew.
Erica left the house with the ten thousand Blair had given her.
But she stopped off at the farmer's market. When she saw another shirt there, she snatched it up, not realizing it was not up to par.
It was cheap, so she took the rest of the money and bought snacks and a piggy bank.
She put the remaining money into the iron piggy bank and buried it under a tree in the yard.
Wesley knew Erica would somehow screw this up, so he checked all the surveillance videos from the cameras along her path. It was not until then that he realized that she bought a shirt for 30 dollars for Matthew and wrapped it in a package worth 20. The shirt was not worth 8999 dollars like she claimed.
Noticing that there was a mini-garden under the willow tree where the piggy bank was buried, Wesley thought it was so obvious and silly, as if Erica was testing his intelligence.
He pulled out the vegetables and dug, and soon the piggy bank was exposed. Then, he went off looking for Erica.
When he found her, the girl was playing with Yvette on the slope behind the villa.
Erica had a smug look on her face as she stood on the slope with her hands on her hips, and then she burst into laughter. She said something, but it was lost to the wind.
When Wesley was about to drag the girl back home and teach her a lesson, he saw Matthew standing nearby, pointing the camera on his phone at Erica.
If he was right, Matthew had snapped a pic of Erica in secret.
Thanks to Debbie, Erica was able to escape her father's discipline. She was out of the house for three days.
Wesley knew where she was hiding, but Matthew pleaded on her behalf before he left. "Uncle Wesley, it's just a shirt. And she's still a child. Please don't be angry. There's no harm done."
Just wait. She'll be by sooner or later. Either she runs away from home,
Damn! He missed his precious daughter. Without Rika by his side, it was quiet, but there was always something missing. It felt wrong.
He turned over and gathered Blair in his arms. Luckily, the woman who would be there for the rest of his life was right there. It was some comfort, at any rate.
Downstairs, in the Li family's house
Gifford quietly opened the door to the villa, and closed it behind him. After changing into his slippers, he walked into the living room.
At the same time, a young woman padded downstairs. When she saw him, she greeted him with a smile, "You're back!"
Gifford was puzzled at first. "Who—? Why are you here?" And she acted so excited. She was wearing pajamas, as well. 'Is that who I think it is?' Gifford thought.
"It's me—Chantel!" Chantel could understand why Gifford didn't recognize her. Her face was dirty before she came to live with the Lis. Bathed, and wearing the new pajamas Blair had bought her, she looked like another girl entirely. And a pretty one, to boot.
'It's really her, ' Gifford thought. He looked her up and down and finally nodded. "You clean up nice! But you're too thin. You should eat. We have plenty of food here."
Rika was already quite thin. Gifford couldn't imagine someone skinnier than his sister. Well, now that someone was standing in front of him.
Chantel smiled and her eyes lit up. "So, Gifford, are you busy every day?"