When Clara Grant heard him say he was hungry, she finally realized what time it was. She pulled out her phone and saw it was already one-thirty in the afternoon.
No wonder he was hungry. She was an adult and even she was starting to feel a bit peckish, let alone a little kid who gets hungry quickly.
She was the one who brought him out, and she was the one who had taken on this whole mess. So naturally, it was her responsibility to feed him.
"Hungry?" Clara Grant patted his little cheek, glanced around, then turned back with a smile and said, "Come on, I'll take you for some Western food!"
With that, she had him wrap his arms around her again, and she rode off toward their front right.
Since it wasn't far, Clara Grant rode slowly. The little guy in her arms was no longer as quiet as before. He looked up at her, his little brow furrowed as if in solemn protest. "Miss," he said, "you can't call me Little Bun anymore. It sounds awful. I have a name. You can just call me Cherie from now on."
Clara Grant glanced down, and seeing his solemn expression, she couldn't help but chuckle. "Alright, Cherie. So, how old are you?"
"Five." Hearing her use his name, Cherie seemed very happy, and he answered with a wide grin.
"And what's your full name?" 'It can't be something as on-the-nose as 'Cherie Chen,' can it?'
"My full name is Cherie Shaw."
'Shaw? He must have his mother's last name. That means Cherie's mom's surname must be Shaw.'
It was no wonder she didn't even know the client's surname. At the time, Cherie's mother's explanation was: "I'm sending a mysterious gift. To give Mr. Quinn a surprise, I won't leave my name. He'll know who it's from."
'Surprise? More like a scare! She didn't know if Seth Quinn had gotten a scare, but she certainly had!'
Lost in thought, she arrived at their destination. She found a place to park and lifted Cherie off the bike.
"We're here. Let's go in."
Cherie looked up at the iconic sign above the door, and his lips twitched. 'Her idea of "Western food" is KFC?'
They went inside, ordered, and sat down at a window seat. Though it was just simple KFC, Cherie didn't seem to mind at all, taking big bites of his burger.
After all, he was starving!
As Clara Grant reminded him to eat slower, she marveled at the boy's resilience. His mother was trying to give him away and his father didn't want him, yet here he was with a complete stranger, not crying or making a fuss. He wasn't even afraid. He was just eating with gusto.
'But then again,' she thought, 'he's so little. What could he possibly understand? Maybe he doesn't know his mom was trying to give him away, or that his dad doesn't want him. As for why he's not afraid of being with me… maybe he can just tell I'm a good person?'
"Cherie…" Clara Grant began carefully after a long pause. "Have you… met your dad before? The man at the hotel earlier…"
Cherie had just taken a bite of a fried chicken leg and his mouth was full. When he heard her, he glanced over and said indistinctly, "He's not my dad."
After he spoke, he seemed to suddenly remember something. A flash of panic crossed his face, but he quickly masked it, lowering his head to feign calmness. 'Oops,' he thought, 'I think I said the wrong thing again.'
Seeing the cold indifference on his little face, Clara Grant assumed he knew everything. 'He knows his mother is sending him to his father, and that Seth Quinn is his real dad. He must have realized at the hotel that his own father doesn't want him. That's why he just said, "He's not my dad," with such detachment.'
'Children from single-parent homes always grow up fast,' she mused. 'Didn't the same thing happen to me? I had to grow up quickly after my parents divorced and it was just me and my mom.'
'But Cherie is still so little...'
Clara Grant's heart ached for him.