After everyone else went to the dining table, Mary called out to George, who was about to leave.
"George, haven't you noticed that Sheldon has been a bit off these past two days?" Mary asked worriedly.
"What's off about him? He's always been like that. Strange..." George replied indifferently.
He just wanted to get to the dining table quickly and have a cold beer.
Due to his health, George was only allowed to drink a little beer on weekends. This was the time he looked forward to most throughout the week.
Seeing her husband's distracted look, Mary's expression became serious: "George, you've been paying less attention to Sheldon lately because of the team. You need to take this seriously."
Under similar circumstances, Missy had also been "neglected" during this time, but Mary didn't notice it at all. Clearly, she showed severe favoritism towards her intelligent younger son.
In this regard, George did a better job; he treated his three children equally.
At this moment, George, who only wanted to drink beer quickly, had no mood to argue with his wife. So, he perfunctorily said, "All right, all right, I'll make time to talk to Sheldon and see what's bothering him."
Mary's mood seemed much better after receiving her husband's promise. She continued, "There's one more thing I need to tell you: I'm going to work at the church this weekend, so the task of taking care of Shelly is yours. You must remember that Shelly can't eat cold things; it will make him uncomfortable..."
Next, Mary, as if explaining a major event, summarized a set of standards for George regarding Sheldon's food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
Listening to his wife's nagging, George rolled his eyes. To be honest, he really didn't want to be alone with Sheldon; it meant endless trouble for him.
Then, George had a sudden idea and suggested, "Maybe we can have Connie take care of Shelly. You know, she really likes Shelly."
Mary thought for a moment and rejected, "No, Mom has her own life; we can't be so selfish."
Actually, Mary knew that her mother's weekend life was a bit too rich, and a bit unhealthy, and she was afraid that she would lead Shelly astray.
Seeing that he couldn't shirk the task of taking care of Sheldon, George could only agree, "Fine, I'll ask Shelly later what he wants to do this weekend."
On the way to the dining table, George's face completely fell. He could already foresee that his weekend would definitely be very boring.
The family sat down at the dining table and, as usual, began their pre-meal prayer.
Then, when dinner started, George first opened a bottle of beer for himself and took a comfortable sip. Then, he looked at his younger son: "Shelly, how about going fishing with me this weekend? We haven't been fishing in the wild for a long time."
George tried to seize the initiative by making a preemptive move.
Of course, the suggestion of fishing in the wild was also very good; not only could they enjoy the natural scenery, but it was also very relaxing.
What George didn't expect was that Sheldon strongly disliked being close to nature.
The experience of being chased by bees all over the mountain during the last church picnic left him with a severe psychological trauma.
Moreover, Sheldon also didn't like small animals, including slimy fish.
So, he decisively refused: "No, I don't want to go fishing in the wild. I'd rather stay home..." At this point, Sheldon suddenly remembered the Houston Tech Expo that Libby had mentioned.
Sheldon, who was very interested in this, had later learned that the tech expo held in Houston would take place on Sunday morning.
"Maybe we can go to Houston to see the tech expo," Sheldon quickly changed the subject, his face showing anticipation.
The thought of driving to Houston made George feel troubled. However, under his wife's scrutinizing gaze, he reluctantly agreed, "All right, this weekend, we'll go to Houston."
"Houston? I want to go too." Georgie, who was grabbing a chicken cutlet and eating with a greasy mouth, chimed in.
Houston is the largest city in the southern state of America and the most prosperous region in Texas.
Georgie had long wanted to experience it.
Before George could react, Missy, who was drinking soup at the dining table, dropped her spoon and joined in the excitement: "I want to go too, I want to go too!"
Then, the little girl pulled Mike's arm next to her and pouted, "Mike, let's go together, okay?"
Where they went didn't matter; the little girl just wanted to spend the weekend with Mike.
At this moment, Connie saw the troubled expression on George's face; it was indeed not easy for one person to take care of such a large family of children on a trip.
So, Connie suggested, "How about you men form a team and go to Houston? I'll take Missy and we'll do some things girls should do."
Seeing Mike's hesitation, Connie persuaded, "Mike, you've been in Medford for a while now; it's time you went out and relaxed a bit."
As for Mike, he had recently declined Regina's weekend invitation, and it was foreseeable that this weekend, the "Queen Bee" would again gather the members of The Plastics for some meaningless group activities.
Therefore, Karen, a member of The Plastics, would definitely not be able to make time this weekend.
And as Mike knew, Lina's family farm was also very busy this weekend. As the daughter of the farm owner, she probably wouldn't have time either.
Thinking of this, Mike also felt that going out for a walk was a good idea.
So, he nodded, agreeing to Connie's arrangement.
Then, Connie again persuaded Missy, who was pouting on the side, "Missy, tomorrow Grandma can take you to the amusement park, and then we can also go to the beauty salon for a treatment. Grandma will dress up our little princess beautifully..."
Although Missy was a little tempted by Connie's suggestion, she still turned her face away, expressing her dissatisfaction.
Clearly, these temptations were not enough to offset the little girl's determination to stay with Mike.
"Unlimited ice cream supply!" Connie smiled, adding more weight to her offer.
"Really?" Hearing about ice cream, Missy's eyes instantly sparkled. Then, she deliberately put on a serious face to make herself look less happy. Like a little adult, she said, "Since that's the case, then tomorrow I'll grudgingly accompany Grandma for a day."
During one dinner, Connie alone arranged the family's weekend itinerary.
What was even more remarkable was that the whole family was very satisfied with this arrangement.
Especially George, he strongly approved of the suggestion for Mike to come along, which would make his journey much easier.
After dinner, as Mike was about to leave with Connie, Missy called out to him and said expectantly, "Mike, when you come back from Houston, don't forget my gift."
Yes, the family already knew that Georgie had passed his math test.
And George had also fulfilled his promise, giving Georgie a game-used football.
As for the promises to Sheldon and Mike, George also stated that he would fulfill them before the end of this weekend.
"I won't forget, I'll bring June back for you," Mike promised with a smile.
Amidst the little girl's happy cheers, Mike followed Connie's steps to the house across the street.