Page 226 of His Sunshine Baby

“Crap.”

My brother runs out, and Nora turns to us with a large smile.

“A mug cake?” I repeat, confused.

Stella nods, smiling from ear to ear, while Nora laughs at my confused expression. She grabs one of the cups and some of the ingredients I took out and puts it in the microwave.

“Well, you know how bad Elena’s cooking is, so I gave her this recipe. Two minutes to make a chocolate mug cake, with a microwave and basic ingredients. James loves these too.”

“You’re telling me I just spent fifteen minutes preparing croissants for nothing?” I sigh.

“I love croissants, but for kids, this works better,” she says with a confident smile.

As it turns out, Nora is right. Both James and Estelle eat their mug cakes in a few minutes, looking happy and satisfied. Okay, I may be the best at cooking, but my sister-in-law definitely beats me at handling kids.

Damian lets me know that after a call to the hospital, Elena hasn’t woken up yet, but everything else looks alright.

“I’ll go visit her this morning; I need to do my pregnancy check-up anyway. How about you take Estelle out?”

I nod. I did say I would take her shopping and to see my place too. I’m not sure how confident I am about watching a kid, though.

“How about you go with Boyan? He’s good with kids, and it will give him a break from watching me and James all the time.”

“Okay.”

I’m still not confident about this. I’ve never spent the day alone with a child, let alone my four-year-old daughter who I didn’t know until yesterday. However, I still want to spend as much time as I can to get to know her. I borrow one of my brother’s cars and take us to the mall, which is not too busy on a Sunday. Plus, the huge brown wolf next to us keeps everyone at bay, meaning we can walk side by side and take our time.

Truthfully, it’s even better than I thought. First, Estelle is impressed by everything. She’s never been to a mall and seen so many things or so many people in one place. Though she doesn’t let go of my hand one second, her eyes are everywhere. I’m also shocked by how well-behaved and shy she is.

Even if she sees something she really likes, she will just stare at it and not ask for anything. It takes me a while to realize every time, and I have to insist and ask several times if she wants it. If I make her try on clothes, she’s happy to show it to me and blushes anytime I or any of the salespeople gives her a compliment. In the end, despite my best efforts, we only buy a few outfits, two pajamas, and a drawing set.

I sigh as we exit another shop empty-handed, but Estelle doesn’t seem to mind at all.

“Don’t worry. You’re doing well.”

“You think so, Boyan?”

“She’s just not your average kid. She grew up in a forest; this is too new for her. Spending time with you is probably more important to Stella than all that stuff you want to buy her.”

I realize he’s probably right. Everywhere we went, Estelle made sure I was never out of reach or sight. She just won’t leavemy side, and looks to me for everything. I put a knee down to face her.

“Estelle, shall we have lunch now? Are you hungry?”

“Um… a little bit.”

“What do you want to eat?”

She seems to hesitate, then looks around. This mall has a few restaurants open, and from across the hall, she spots the food court with people lining up. It will probably be easier if she can see the food. We walk over there, checking what’s available. There are a couple of Asian food stalls, one for sushi, two famous fast-food chains, an Indian one, and a Mexican one.

“Daddy? What do you like best?”

“I’m not sure. Which one do you like, Estelle?”

“I don’t know…”

A lady is giving samples a bit further along, and after trying it out, we settle for the Asian food one. It turns out my daughter loves the noodles and sweet and sour pork. It’s nice to simply chat like this and eat together, trying each other’s food. I realize it’s also the first time I’ve really taken a day off in ages.

“… Daddy?”

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