NovelEnglishChapter 145 “Get in. We're going to the grocery store.” As Elliot placed Jared at the backseat, it suddenly occurred to him that he would need to get a child safety seat installed so that it would be easier for him to pick Jared up in the future.
After the three of them returned to the car, they went to a nearby commercial area where they had plenty of time to stop since it was still rather early.
While they were inside the grocery store, Jared sat on the cart that was pushed around by Elliot while Anastasia was in charge of selecting ingredients for that evening’s dinner. Feeling somewhat gluttonous tonight, she picked up some pork, shrimp, and a few kinds of vegetables.
“My! What a beautiful family!” someone suddenly commented as Anastasia was choosing vegetables. When she turned her head, she saw two young women standing nearby and staring at them.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe moment Anastasia turned to look at them, they scuttled away in embarrassment as they had been caught in the act.
When Anastasia glanced back at Elliot and her son, she understood why those two young women had misunderstood. They looked very much like a family of three on a shopping trip indeed! She quickly finished grabbing the vegetables and said to the man pushing the cart behind her, “Let's go. I'm done.” Of course Elliot's eyes had caught everything as well and it made the corners of his mouth lift. To him, it was a happy feeling.
After they finished shopping, he drove all the way to the entrance of her neighborhood and parked. As soon as she gathered the bags of ingredients she had bought, he took them from her while saying, “I can carry them.” “They're not heavy. It's fine.” Anastasia didn’t want him to lend a hand.
However, he stubbornly snatched them from her; his action prompted her to glance speechlessly at her son, who was also happy to have Elliot hold his hand.
Now that she was somewhat embarrassed, she strode off quickly to maintain her distance from them so that the neighbors wouldn't think they were a family.
“Mommy, wait for us!” Jared shouted behind her.
Anastasia could only wait for them in a disconcerted manner.
When they finally arrived home, she let out a sigh of relief and took the bags from Elliot before heading into the kitchen. Some foods, like the pork, required a little more time to cook and she would need to prepare it beforehand.
“Entertain our guest, Jared,” she instructed her son as she left the kitchen to grab something.
A somewhat befuddled Jared nodded and looked up at Elliot. To him, Elliot was not a guest but something of a family member.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmElliot stroked Jared's hair with a grin. “I can entertain myself.” Meanwhile, Anastasia began to busy herself in the kitchen. Since she had spent so many years cooking for her son, she had completely mastered her way around the kitchen. Moreover, to cater to her son's taste, she had even spent many years looking up recipes and studying the concept of heat distribution. That meant she was quite adept at home cooking.
Since the pork was for herself, she added more spice and seasonings; for her son, she made do with some vegetables on top of the steamed egg custard with shrimp. Both dishes would be enough for him.
As she entered and exited the kitchen on occasion, she would see Elliot watching television with her son at one point and playing with Jared in his room at another. It was turning out not to be an entirely bad thing to have Elliot in her home. At the very least, he could keep her son company.
Sometimes, what Anastasia feared most was that she and her son had lacked a man’s influence in their lives.
Now that Elliot was there to accompany Jared, she found that it was a good thing.
Dinner was finally served and she knocked on her son’s door after untying her apron. “Time for dinner.” It didn’t take long for Jared to come sprinting out and exclaim upon seeing the food on the table, “It's all of my favorite dishes!” At this point, Elliot also took a seat. Jared had loved egg custard so much that he was digging into it with great gusto, which left Elliot unable to resist the adorable sight of the little boy eating so earnestly.
Now, he had also discovered that Anastasia was excellent at cooking. The pork that she prepared was just soft enough; it was fatty but not greasy and although it was a tad bit too spicy for him, it wasn't as if he couldn’ take one bite after another.
It was incredibly appetizing. Although Anastasia had prepared some rice to go with the pork, she didn’t eat much as she was afraid of gaining weight. Instead, she slowly and patiently chewed before swallowing her share. On the other hand, although Elliot was equally elegant, he kept heading into the kitchen for more servings of rice.
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