Leedon nodded and reminded me, “The path is muddy. Ride carefully. You wouldn’t want to get all dirty again.”
“Noted.”
The path leading from the base was indeed muddy, as Leedon had forewarned. Luckily, the weather was good in the morning and dried out the road a little, so I did not fall. I only got some mud stains on me.
The lunch was at the hotel at the visitor centre. I returned the bicycle and cleaned off the mud stain on my shoes and pants before heading to the hotel.
Just then, Nora called. “My dear, what are your plans for tonight?”
“I had a long day. I want to get a good night’s sleep later,” I replied.
“Tsk. What a waste of time!”
“What do you have in mind then?” I questioned her instead.
“Aren’t you working on a project at Lavelian Village? We decided to pop over and spend Valentine’s Day with you. There is a big field just behind Lavelian Village. We can camp there tonight, watch the sunrise in the morning, then spend the whole of tomorrow there. We already bought stuff for a barbeque tomorrow.” She sounded pleased with her plan.
“We?” I was curious.
“Armond, Linda, Tabitha, Laurel, Tessa, and you. We know you are busy at work, that’s why we chose Lavelian Village for our outing. We can have a get-together without affecting your work schedule. Oh, by the way, Tabitha’s fiancé is joining us too. This going to be fun!” she chirped.
After a pause, she whispered, “Do you want to invite Ashton to join us?”
“It is not necessary,” I declined. “What time will you be here?”
“Soon. In about an hour. Shall we have lunch together?”
I would actually prefer to meet them for lunch. However, since Ashton had arranged for a lunch meeting with Mr. Oberick, I could not commit. “We shall see. You go ahead with your plans. I will join you once I am done on my side.”
“Okay!”
“Oh, I dirtied my clothes, so please bring an extra set of clothing for me,” I requested.
“No problem.”
After ending the call with Nora, I went into the hotel and was ushered to the private dining room Ashton reserved.
Almost everyone has arrived, and Channing was delighted to have such a lively group join him for lunch. He was chatting with Ashton and Rachel.
Their conversation soon turned to children. “Come to think of it, you were married for many years. Do you have kids?” Channing asked.
Rachel blushed, but Ashton was tongue-tied, and he turned to look at me.
I casually turned away to avoid his gaze. I could hear him diverting the subject. “Mr. Oberick, you should take some tomato basil soup later. It is appetizing.”
Channing may be old, but he is not senile and can see through Ashton’s little trick.
However, that was a subject close to the old man’s heart, so he refused to let go of it. “My boy, you are not young anymore. You have to start planning for your future. Both of you are over thirty and you had been married for so many years. It’s about time you consider having kids.”
Rachel tried to save Ashton from the grilling, so she smiled and chipped in, “Mr. Oberick, don’t be upset with Ashton. I was the one to blame. We definitely plan to have kids, just not now. We are in no hurry and can wait for a couple more years.”
“No hurry? How old are you now?” He then turned to others seated at the table and asked, “What do you think? Don’t you think it is about time?”
He locked in on Leedon and questioned him. “Leedon, tell me, when you were their age, how old was your child?”
“Mr. Oberick, you can’t compare me to them. I am not educated and left school early, so I got married early too. My focus was on our kids. Mr. and Mrs. Fuller are young and educated. I am sure they have their reasons for delaying having kids. Every generation has their different priorities, don’t you agree?” Leedon was a little awkward being dragged into this conversation.
Channing could not find fault with his reasoning. “Young people like you lack the wisdom we have. There is always an appropriate time for everything. At each stage of our life, we should do the things that are important at that stage. You will understand what I mean when you are older and wiser,” he sighed.
He seemed to be getting melancholic as he spoke, so Ashton told him, “Mr. Oberick, I have a daughter. She is five this year.”
The old man was confused. “You have a child? But your confessions are inconsistent with one another.”
Rachel was embarrassed and tried to explain, “Mr. Oberick, that child is not…”
“Let’s eat! It has been a tiring morning. Let’s get started so everyone can go back and get some rest after lunch.” Joseph was quick to propose. He obviously was trying to stop Rachel from yakking.
Rachel was slightly taken aback and displeased with Joseph’s interruption. Ashton jumped in to change the topic to prevent Channing from probing on.
