“Daddy! Let’s go on a picnic.”
As his thoughts were coming to an end, the child who had been sitting quietly on his lap started to bounce around excitedly. It was a kind of movement that might have been annoying to anyone else, but Tommy, infinitely tender-hearted towards children, let the child do as they wished.
“A picnic?”
“Yes. I read in a book Uncle Jack gave me that a picnic is going to your favorite place with your favorite person to eat your favorite food.”
“Where would you like to go?”
“The forest! It would be even better if there’s a forest with a lake.”
“I’ve felt it before, but you really like water, huh?”
“Yeah. I love water the most. I think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world! It always sparkles, like it’s sprinkled with diamond dust.”
Whether the child’s late parents were talkative or not, the child had grown to be quite chatty.
Another thing Tommy had learned was the child’s affinity for forests, especially ones with lakes. Internally resolved to someday take the child to the sea, Tommy stopped stroking the child’s head and activated the communicator.
-“Yes? Do you have a task for me?”
Then, from the other end of the communicator, the voice of Jack, his assistant, could be heard. Gently poking the child’s soft cheeks, Tommy softly commanded.
“Find a good place for a picnic with the child.”
-Yes.
“And it has to be a forest with a lake.”
-…?
“The child wants to go to such a place.”
-Ah, I understand. I’ll find one and let you know soon. Shall I also contact the kitchen in advance?
“Yes. It would be nice to pack a ham sandwich, the child likes those.”
-All right. I’ll reconnect with you shortly. Oh, and by the way.
“?”
-Isn’t it time to stop referring to your child as a child? They are quite old now.
“Is that so.”
Tommy stopped playing hand games with the child and fell silent for a moment. The child, gazing up at him with clear eyes, burst into a bright smile when their eyes met.
A name.
He had been too busy raising the child to think about giving them a name. Or to be honest, he had been unable to decide what name would be best for the child.
Maybe it’s time to give it some more thought. Now that the child is grown, continuing to call them a child wouldn’t be right.
Thinking this, Tommy smiled back at the child, who was grinning broadly.
“Anyway, I’ll think about that matter myself.”
-Got it. I’m really hanging up now.
Click.
A few seconds later, the sound of the communication being disconnected echoed from beyond the handset.
Tommy sighed deeply as soon as the noise from the communication device subsided.
“What was the name…”
While muttering these words full of contemplation, he suddenly remembered something from the distant past.
“You don’t have a name? Then I’ll give you one. Hmm… How about Thomas? In ancient languages, ‘Toma’ means the time of dogs and wolves. And looking at you, I’m reminded of that era, so, Thomas. Do you like it?”
The one who had given him a name when he was nameless was his young lady. Thanks to her, the boy who had been abandoned and lived without a name became Thomas.
Perhaps the young lady could give a good name to the child as well.
Tommy thought of Selena, who had disconnected their communication to take care of him and the child, pressing down on his hollow heart. Still, whenever he thought of her, his heart felt like it was gaping open. It had only gotten better as time had passed.
To hide his darkening expression, Tommy hugged the child tightly in his arms and murmured,
“My child.”
“Huh?”
“Dad is really scared of something.”
“What’s that?”
“Um… a person. A very beautiful person.”
“As beautiful as me?”
“Yes. As beautiful as our baby. But Dad has been avoiding that person for a long time because he’s too scared.”
“Why?”
“He thinks it won’t be scary that way. And if that person doesn’t see me, they won’t know Dad is scared of them.”
“Why can’t they know?”
“Huh?”
At the child’s question, Tommy tilted his head in confusion. Then, the child poked Tommy’s nose with a finger and burst into laughter.
“Dad is such a coward!”
“Baby.”
“Dad, I’m also scared of the monster living in the closet, but I always open it. Do you know why? Because I need to get used to it, so the monster in the closet can’t scare me!”
“You’re brave, baby. Who did you get that from?”
“I got it from Dad being brave.”
“But isn’t Dad a coward?”
“No, if dad acts like me, he’s not a coward either. So you should also try not to be bullied by scary people every day.”
“Should I?”
“Yes!”
The child nodded vigorously up and down, flashing his white teeth with a grin.
Watching this, Tommy chuckled softly, then wiped the drool from the child’s mouth and asked cautiously,
“Hey, little one.”
“Yes?”
“Would you like to go see your aunt?”
“I have an aunt?”
“Yes, an aunt as pretty as you are.”
“I want to see! I like pretty things! When can I see her?”
“Well… after about ten nights’ sleep?”
“Okay. I’ll start counting today. Ten nights mean I have to fold all my fingers, right?”
“That’s right. Because you have ten fingers, little one.”
Tommy shrugged his shoulders as he looked down at the small, busily moving hands. Thanks to the conversation with the child, his endless worries had finally borne fruit.
It’s time to come out of the darkness and meet her, the little lady.
***
“Tommy!”
As soon as the minute hand of the clock pointed to the exact hour, Tommy quietly chuckled at the sight of Selena, who kicked open the office door and entered. Looking at her like this, she hadn’t changed one bit since she was a child.
Selena approached him, lighting up the room with her unique beauty. Her perfectly straight eyebrows were furrowed deeply, indicating she had been very worried about him.
Selena quickly approached Tommy, examined his face here and there, and then flicked him on the forehead.
“Ow!”
“Does it hurt?”
“How could it not hurt?”
“Of course, it hurts since I hit you. You need to feel a bit of pain. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for your contact? You went off to repair the barrier and didn’t contact me at all, do you know how much I…”
“You waited for me?”
“Yes!”
As she spoke at length, unable to hide her sorrow, a clear moisture began to form at the edges of Selena’s eyes. Eventually, seeing her shed tears, Tommy awkwardly panicked.
“Don’t cry. We’ve met now, so it’s all good, right?”
“You don’t understand how I feel.”
“Of course, you don’t know. So now……”
“Hey, hey, don’t touch my mom’s stuff!”
Tommy was about to pull out a handkerchief from his pocket and tell Selena to stop crying and let’s make up, when something small flew from outside the door and landed between Selena and him. Then, it clung tightly to her leg and cried out in a high-pitched voice.
Hm?
Tommy quirked an eyebrow and looked down. There, a little boy about the height of his thigh was standing. The boy with curly platinum blonde hair and clear, bright eyes was glaring at him with tears brimming in his eyes.
What is this cute thing?
Tommy, feeling a warm and familiar feeling as if he was looking at his own child and the young Selena, unconsciously lifted the boy into his arms. Then, tears fell from the boy’s eyes.
“Mommy…”
And he twisted his body towards Selena, sobbing.
Seeing a little miss and calling her mommy? So, it must be.
“Your Highness?”
“Yes, yes……”
The boy confirmed Tommy’s call with a voice trying hard to suppress his crying.
As expected.
Tommy faintly smelled the scent coming off the boy and slightly twisted his eyes. As he had expected, this boy was a child between Selena and the Emperor.
Thinking it was time to stop scaring the boy, Tommy was about to introduce himself when,
“Hey, what are you!”
A child burst into the office out of nowhere, pointing aggressively at the boy as if he had been robbed of something that was his. Tommy internally shook his head at the attitude.
“Kid, this child is…”
“Why are you in my dad’s arms! Come down!”
“Tommy is Dad? Could it be…”
“Waah, Mommy!”
“Kid. It’s not polite to point at someone you’ve just met.”
“Jerome. Mom’s here, so can we stop now?”
“Little Miss, please wipe your tears.”
“Ah, right. Thanks for letting me know, Tommy.”
Selena quickly wiped her cheeks with the handkerchief Tommy handed her and took Jerome into her arms. Frightened by the unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar environment, Jerome was shaking all over and crying incessantly.
Tommy immediately picked up the child who started whining as soon as he was out of his arms. Then, the child wrapped his arms around Tommy’s neck as tightly as he could, expressing his feelings of injustice.
Knock knock.
While each was comforting their child, someone politely knocked on the door. Then, Jack, the emperor, Ruth entered the office.
“The emperor and the first and second princesses have arrived… No, what is all this?”
Jack, who was calmly introducing the newly arrived guests, let out a chuckle upon seeing the office turned chaotic with the children’s crying.
Tommy gestured quietly for Jack to leave and looked at Ruth, who was holding a girl with brown hair and hazel eyes, and with one hand, also holding a girl with platinum blonde hair and purple eyes. Ruth had a puzzled frown, as if he couldn’t comprehend what had happened in the few seconds he was absent.
He had hoped for a somewhat beautiful reunion nonetheless.
Tommy hugged the child a bit tighter as his head throbbed.
“Shall we sit down?”
It had been 7 years, and they couldn’t afford to waste time like this. With the most pleasant smile he could muster, Tommy offered them seats, hoping the day would proceed well.
