Noah and Emily arrived home, the moment they walked in, Emily spotted their dad sitting in the living room. Without hesitation, she ran over to him, throwing her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on his cheek.
“Dad!” she exclaimed, beaming with excitement. “Let’s go wash our hands, Noah got food for us!”
David looked up at Noah, who stood in the doorway, smiling softly at the scene.
He shook his head slightly, pretending to be exasperated but couldn’t hide the fondness in his eyes.
“Alright, alright,” David said, standing up and taking Emily’s hand. “Let’s go wash our hands first.”
Emily practically dragged her father to the bathroom, her excitement brimming.
After washing their hands, she sprinted off to her room, eager to change into her comfy pyjamas, her energy seeming unrestrained.
A few minutes later, she reappeared, dressed in her favourite Kurumi pyjamas, and jogged toward the kitchen with an excited grin.
David, watching her speed past, called out, “Emily! Slow down, you’re going to trip!”
But his warning came a second too late.
As Emily neared Noah, her foot caught the edge of the rug, and she stumbled forward. David’s face paled as he saw her heading straight toward the sharp edge of the kitchen table.
Panic surged through him as he shot up from his seat, heart racing.
“Emily!”
he shouted, his voice filled with alarm. But he was too far away to help.
Noah, however, was already ahead of the situation. The moment Emily began to trip, he moved like lightning, his instincts taking over.
In one smooth motion, he caught her just before she collided with the table, pulling her up effortlessly. Her momentum was cancelled as Noah lifted her above his head, keeping her safe from harm.
“There we go,” Noah said with a calm smile, setting her down gently on the floor.
David exhaled a deep sigh of relief, the tension in his body melting away. He placed a hand on his chest, still shaken from the close call.
“Thank God,” he muttered, feeling his pulse start to slow down.
Emily, who had been frozen in shock, looked up at Noah with wide eyes. Her initial fear quickly faded, replaced by awe. “Wow, brother, that was so cool!” she said, her voice filled with admiration.
Without hesitation, she kissed Noah’s cheek in gratitude. “Thank you!”
Noah ruffled her hair with a smile, his voice gentle but firm. “Just be careful, alright? No running around the house. No one’s going to steal the food.”
Emily nodded quickly and turned to her dad, her face flushed with embarrassment. “Sorry, Dad. I won’t do it again, I promise.”
David, still recovering from the shock, shook his head and said, “Good. You could’ve hurt yourself badly if Noah hadn’t been there.” His tone was serious, but he wasn’t angry—just relieved that his daughter was safe.
Noah, sensing that Emily was starting to feel embarrassed by the situation, decided to change the topic before the mood became too tense. “Let’s eat before the food gets cold,” he said, moving the conversation along.
David understood what Noah was doing and appreciated the gesture. He didn’t press the issue further, grateful that Noah was helping to ease the tension.
In his heart, David was proud. He knew Noah was subtly leaving the task of disciplining Emily to him as the parent, but he also made sure that David didn’t go too far, keeping the balance between being a protector and a teacher.
As they all sat down at the table, Emily eagerly dug into her Pad Thai. Her earlier excitement returned now that the accident was behind her.
The meal continued in comfortable silence, with the occasional chatter from Emily as she described her day at school and excitedly shared stories with both her father and Noah.
Noah smiled as he listened to the same stories again.
After an hour of lounging together, watching a TV show, the sound of the front door clicking open interrupted the quiet hum of the living room. Caroline was back from work.
Emily, who had been curled up against her dad while they watched the screen, immediately perked up. Without hesitation, she jumped up and sprinted toward her mother, her arms wide open.
“Mommy!” she squealed as she wrapped her arms around Caroline’s waist.
Caroline smiled, kissing Emily’s forehead. “Sweetie, how have you been?”
Emily grinned up at her. “I’m even better now that I saw you, Mommy!”
David and Noah chuckled quietly at her innocent excitement. Noah couldn’t help but think how much Emily reminded him of a human version of a cat.
The way she went straight for hugs whenever she saw someone she loved was undeniably cute. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t hold back her affection.
Caroline’s eyes met Noah’s, her expression softening. “Where have you been, son? You had me quite worried this morning. I didn’t see you in your room when I checked on you.”
David’s face tensed slightly, but he quickly masked it. They had already discussed talking about Noah’s plans to move out later, and it wasn’t time to drop that news just yet.
Noah gave a reassuring smile. “Mom, why don’t you go wash your hands and face, then change into some comfy clothes and eat first?”
Caroline blinked, caught off guard by his suggestion but nodded. ”
Alright, I’ll be back in a bit,” she said, giving Emily a long, affectionate kiss on her chubby cheeks before heading off to freshen up.
Twenty minutes later, Caroline reappeared, now dressed in comfortable house clothes.
She made her way to the kitchen and paused when she saw the containers of Thai food neatly arranged on the counter.
“Oh, we have Thai food?” she said, a smile growing on her face. “It’s Noah, isn’t it?”
David chuckled from the living room, knowing exactly what she meant. Only Noah would bring home takeaway since David usually insisted on eating Caroline’s cooking.
“Yeah,” Noah nodded with a grin. “I picked up some for you too. We already ate.”
Caroline’s smile brightened as she quickly heated up her portion, bringing the plate into the living room where the rest of the family was gathered.
She sat down next to David, her eyes flicking to the TV screen where the show they had been watching earlier was still playing.
The four of them settled back into the couch, watching the program in silence. It was one of those lighthearted family sitcoms, the kind that was easy to watch and didn’t demand too much attention.
Caroline ate her food contentedly, chuckling along to the show on the screen.
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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