It'll Come Naturally

"Great! Uncle Fred, you are the best. I love you the most!" Joyce was like a little chameleon. She unconditionally loved anyone who fulfilled her every request. Huey shook his head at his sister. "Huey, why the face? Aren't you excited about the picnic?" Annie asked when she noticed that her son had remained silent throughout the trip. She turned to look at him.

"I am. I just miss Daddy." Three days had passed since they had last met. Huey could tell that his Daddy was a busy man and that he didn't have time to visit them.

Annie didn't know how to comfort him. So she told him the truth, "Daddy is very busy with work, Huey. He doesn't have time to meet us now." Belinda had said that Rain had gone out of town for some business purpose. It was odd that he hadn't said when he would come back or hadn't even called the kids in the past three days.

"I understand that he is busy. I am not blaming him for ignoring us. I'm just worried about him. We live together and can take care of each other. But Daddy lives alone. What if he gets sick?" Huey asked with a concerned look. He was very mature and considerate, almost like an adult.

"Umm..." Annie was at a loss of words. Even she hadn't thought of such a thing, while her little son had.

Fred frowned and began to worry as Huey's words showed that the kids really loved their father. They had only been reunited a few days back and they were already so close. Was it because Rain was his biological father?

Joyce looked confused by her brother's words. "Huey, Daddy has a butler. Don't you remember? We met him the other day," said Joyce, naively. She was just like all girls her age. She only saw the surface of things and this irritated Huey.

"He's just a butler, not a family member," Huey raised his voice, as he tried desperately to prove his point to his sister who lacked any principle.

"Mommy! Huey is shouting at me again!" Joyce said, crying. She was brought up from a very young age assuming that girls should be spoiled. So she thought that it was natural that everyone gave her what she wanted. That was why Joyce couldn't tolerate any sharp words, even if they were from her brother.

"Don't worry. He's just joking with you." Annie scooped her daughter up in her arms. She spoiled Joyce because that was how she was raised too. Annie was from a rich and powerful family and had grown up with everyone being kind and polite to her. And that was why she was so immature about dealing with problems in her life. Even though Annie had gone through tough days because of that, she just couldn't alter something that was deeply embedded in her heart. Annie didn't know how to teach her daughter to be different either, and continued to spoil her.

Huey was used to the way his mother treated Joyce. He didn't think badly about it either, He just thought that it was his duty to protect and humor his spoiled little sister.

The picnic spot was very beautiful and the amazing landscape wasn't influenced by the winter season. The green plants and the colorful flowers reminded visitors of spring.

Winter was never the right time to go for a picnic. It was really cold and the wind was raw and biting. But the kids were very happy as they rarely came to the countryside and was amazed at how different the landscape was from the city.

"Annie, have you ever thought about giving the kids a happy family?" Fred asked, looking at Annie earnestly as the kids ran on the lawn.

"Why? What makes you think that we are not a happy family now?" Annie tried to fob him off. But there was no way that she could avoid Fred anymore as his intention was so obvious. Even though Annie didn't know what he was getting at in the beginning, she had figured it out after getting to know him.

"But they need a father." Fred knew that Annie was trying to avoid talking about it. He wasn't going to let her off easy.

"They do have a father. You know him." Annie didn't know how to deal with the situation. She wished she didn't have to.

"But you are not together now, right? Why don't you give me a chance? I am sure that you already know how much I love you. I don't treat you as a normal friend. I love you and I want to be your husband. Besides, I love the kids very much. I think we could make a happy home together." Fred finally let it all out. He said what he had always been wanting to tell her for such a long time now. He couldn't afford to wait anymore. If he did, he would lose the game. He seized the chance to confess his love to her and make sure that he had a fighting chance.

"I'm sorry, Fred. I'm not ready for this yet," Annie bit her lower lip and lowered her head to avoid eye contact with him. She blushed under his gaze. His confession had taken her by surprise.

"I won't force you to give an answer right away. But I hope that you would take what I said seriously and think about it. I love you and I mean it," Fred said. He believed that Annie would choose him in the end as long as he didn't give up.

"Fred. I'm not a young girl anymore. I have two kids. I'm not good enough for you. You deserve someone better, not a single mother like me." She was already hurt by the failed relationship between her and Rain, and hadn't recovered from that pain yet. Besides, she still loved Rain and there was no space for others in her heart.0000000