Early the next morning, Mike, who was still sleeping in, was woken up by Paige outside the door.
"Is something wrong?" Mike opened the door, still in a daze.
"Connie asked me to call you for breakfast," Paige said with a smile, staring at a strand of hair sticking up on Mike's head.
Because he hadn't fully woken up, Mike still carried a lazy aura about him.
"Got it, I'll be out in a bit," Mike replied, rubbing his eyes.
Normally, Connie, knowing Mike liked to sleep in on weekends, wouldn't call him for breakfast.
Perhaps because Paige and her sister were staying, Connie had prepared a very sumptuous breakfast today.
When Mike changed his clothes, washed up, and came to the dining room, he saw Paige and her sister helping to bring breakfast out from the kitchen.
After the four of them were seated, Mike looked at the milk, juice, burritos, sandwiches, and other food on the table and asked curiously, "Connie, isn't today's breakfast a bit too lavish?"
One should know that Connie, who still owed gambling debts, had not been in a good financial situation recently.
"This is all thanks to Paige and her, Linda paid me a large living allowance," Connie explained with a smile.
Earlier, Paige had called home, saying she was doing well there, and also informed her parents about her sister's situation.
Linda, who had reconciled with her husband, immediately offered to increase the care fee for Connie upon hearing this.
After a sumptuous breakfast, Paige asked, "Mike, what are your plans for today?"
Paige, knowing her parents had reconciled and her relationship with her sister had improved, seemed to be in a very good mood.
"I've arranged to meet someone later to learn an instrument," Mike said after thinking for a moment.
Cady and the others were very interested in learning instruments right now; if it weren't for needing to help Paige solve trouble, Mike would have gone yesterday to study instruments with several beautiful girls.
"Learning an instrument, huh? I'm a bit interested too. Can I come along?" Paige immediately asked.
"Uh..." The instrument Mike was learning wasn't suitable for children, so he declined, "I'm afraid it's not very convenient. If you're bored later, you can go play at the Cooper family's."
"I..." Paige wanted to say more, but her sister pulled her aside.
"Paige, you're being too eager. Mike's demeanor clearly indicates he has private matters. Being too nosy can make people dislike you, you know..." Erica, with more life experience, understood more than her sister.
If their relationship hadn't improved last night, she wouldn't have bothered to remind her sister.
In her opinion, her sister clearly had some unique feelings for Mike. However, this overly clingy approach was very unwise.
And to be honest, Erica didn't think much of her sister's little schemes.
Soon after, a pink convertible carrying several beautiful women stopped in front of Connie's.
"Mike, we're here to pick you up!" Regina, who was driving, shouted loudly.
"I'll be right there," Mike responded, then waved to the three people in the room, "I'm leaving now, call me if anything comes up."
With that, Mike got into the sports car and disappeared in a flash, under the gaze of the three.
"Those girls are so pretty, one of them must be Mike's girlfriend," Erica whispered, then raised an eyebrow at her sister.
In her opinion, the girls who had just come to pick up Mike were all very attractive. If her sister truly had feelings for Mike, she would have no advantage whatsoever.
"Connie, was one of those girls Mike's girlfriend?" Paige turned and asked.
"Of course, those are all..." Connie said with a smile.
In fact, Mike had never deliberately hidden his private life. Connie and Cooper all knew that he had several close female confidantes.
"Alright, Grandma is also going out now." Connie, who apparently also had an appointment with Dr. Sturgis today, said to the two sisters, "You can choose to play on the computer at home, or you can go play at the Cooper family's across the street."
"We'll go across..." Erica was not one to sit still and certainly didn't want to stay home alone with Paige.
Moreover, from their previous interactions, Georgie from the Cooper family's across the street was quite an interesting person.
So, Erica pulled her somewhat disappointed sister and walked towards the house across the street.
...
After a day of studying instruments, when Mike arrived at the Cooper family's in the evening, he saw a lively scene.
Paige's family, plus Connie and Dr. Sturgis, made the usually spacious room feel a bit crowded at the moment.
"Mike, come and sit." Connie was the first to greet him.
At the dining table, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper and the Swanson were chatting and laughing, looking very close.
Missy and Paige also seemed to have become very good friends.
On the other side, Georgie was also trying to curry favor with Erica.
Looking around, only Sheldon sat silently to the side, looking somewhat unhappy.
"Alright, everyone's here," Mary said with a smile after looking around at everyone, "Let's begin our pre-meal prayer."
Being able to rekindle friendships with a family that also had a super child prodigy made Mary very happy.
Not to mention, she had also played a part in helping Paige.
This gave Mary, as a Christian, a great sense of accomplishment.
During the meal that followed, Linda also proactively expressed her hope that Paige could spend the next few weekends here.
Having re-enjoyed her time alone with her husband, Linda also seemed to have become more open-minded.
She had decided to give her daughter more private space and also give herself more free time.
After a pleasant dinner, the Swansons thanked Cooper and Connie and others again before leaving with their daughter.
"Linda is actually quite nice; perhaps we should interact more with their family," Mary said with a sigh as she watched the Barry family leave.
Linda, having cleared her mind, no longer had the standoffish demeanor she previously held. This greatly changed Mary's impression of her.
"Barry is also good," George revealed, "He promised to give me a free dental check-up..."
Similarly, Missy had become good friends with Paige, and Georgie also showed a tendency to shift his affections to Erica again.
So, practically speaking, aside from Sheldon, the two families' relationship was already very close.
...
Another week passed, and the time came to Thanksgiving at the end of November.
On this day, a major event occurred at the church: a believer's daughter had passed away on that very day.
After praying for the deceased girl at the church, Mary returned home still feeling down.
Then, unable to calm her restless heart, she built a small memorial with stones in the yard.
Afterward, Mary even had everyone in the Cooper family place bouquets of flowers before the memorial for the deceased girl.
"Mary, you don't need to be like this; everyone has to die someday," George said, trying to comfort his wife, seeing her upset.
"I know everyone dies, but why today of all days..." Mary said sadly, "She was only sixteen, around the same age as Georgie and Mike, and had a bright future ahead of her. Why is God so unfair—"
Just thinking that on Thanksgiving, a pair of parents were grieving the loss of their daughter, Mary felt sad too.
She even thought it was God's fault; he was too cruel.
"Alright, Mike. We should go back," Connie, who had also finished placing flowers, called to Mike, "Tonight, Grandma will prepare special roasted meat for you."
Compared to Mary's overreaction, Connie seemed very calm.
"Aren't you going to try and console her?" Mike asked.
Anyone could see how sad Mary was right now.
"No need." Connie shook her head and said knowingly, "She's just idle; she'll be fine after a while."
Connie, who was around seventy years old, stated that she had seen everything.