Chapter 56: What Kind of Child Is So Precious?
Stop, stop, stop!
Realizing what she was thinking, Caroline Whitman immediately shut down that terrifying thought.
’Pursue him? What kind of joke is that?’
Just then, Adrian Grant’s phone rang. Seeing him answer it, Caroline turned and went back to her room.
「The Old Residence.」
"Ryan, your godmother called around noon. She got back today. Do you want to go to her place or stay here with Grandpa for a couple of days?"
Franklin Whitman asked, looking at the little guy who had just woken up from his afternoon nap.
Ryan Grant’s eyes lit up. "My godmother is back?"
"She is." Before he could finish, Franklin Whitman’s phone rang. A glance at the screen showed it was Gavin Grant.
He answered with a booming, "Hello!"
"Come over for a game of chess," said Gavin Grant.
"Can’t make it," Franklin replied. "I’m looking after the kid this weekend."
"Looking after a kid again? Is it that god-grandson of yours?"
"Yep. Anyway, I gotta go. Find someone else to play chess with."
He hung up, but just a few minutes later, his phone rang again. This time, it was Jonathan Grant.
’Sheesh, this father-and-son duo. Why are they both calling me?’ Franklin Whitman muttered, looking at the caller ID in confusion.
It was understandable that Gavin Grant would call him for a game of chess.
After all, they had met over a chess match, and it was perfectly normal for Gavin to call him for another game.
But Jonathan Grant was a different story. He’d been asking him out repeatedly lately—for dinner, fishing, or tea. That was highly unusual.
Then again, Franklin remembered that Adrian Grant had gone on a blind date with his daughter. His mind immediately started concocting a story.
’Maybe he thinks we’re going to be in-laws and is trying to build a good relationship with our family.’
Thinking of this, Franklin answered the call. "What’s up, Jonathan?"
"Free this afternoon? Let’s get together."
"No, no, I’m busy this afternoon."
"Looking after your god-grandson again? Bring him along. It’s not like the boy will get lost, and it might liven things up a bit."
"I’ll have to ask the boy’s opinion on that."
"Alright, you do that."
Franklin Whitman hung up. For the past few days, several of his old friends had been asking him to go fishing, but he had turned them all down.
Now everyone knew he had recently taken on a god-grandson, and they all wanted him to bring the boy out for them to see, but he had politely refused them all.
First, he kept Caroline’s warning in mind: don’t let the boy be seen in public.
Second, he was afraid that if he took the boy out, he wouldn’t be able to watch him closely enough, and he might get lost.
Now, the Grant father and son were both insisting he bring his grandson out with him... Franklin Whitman’s mind started turning. ’Since Adrian Grant is the boy’s godfather, taking him to the Grant Residence shouldn’t be a problem, right?’
So Franklin Whitman turned to Ryan Grant and asked, "Want to go play chess and drink tea with a few old geezers this afternoon?"
"Is it Grandpa?" Ryan asked.
"Yes, the one I told you to call Grandpa the other day. Want to go?"
Ryan Grant definitely wanted to go.
He hadn’t seen his grandparents in a long time and missed them very much.
But before he could decide, the words his mother had told him before her business trip flashed through his mind. He thought about it carefully. ’Mommy didn’t say I couldn’t see Grandpa.’
’But Mommy also said that Grandpa and Grandma are in poor health, and seeing me suddenly might make them sick.’
He didn’t want to make his grandparents sick.
So Ryan could only shake his head regretfully and say, "Grandpa isn’t well. I can’t go."
"Not well?"
Franklin Whitman was completely baffled. He thought of Gavin Grant’s sturdy frame and Jonathan Grant’s vigorous appearance. Those two weren’t well?
’They look perfectly fine to me.’
He said cheerfully, "Who says getting old means you’re not healthy? Look at me, your grandpa. Aren’t I in great shape?"
Ryan blinked. "Really?"
"Of course! Is there any doubt?" As he said this, Franklin suddenly paused. "But you have a point. What if they have some disease that could be passed on to your little body? That would be terrible. No, I have to call and ask them what illnesses they have first."
Franklin Whitman hadn’t forgotten that this child wasn’t his own family; he was looking after him for someone else. If something happened to the boy on his watch, it would be hard to explain.
So he called Gavin Grant and Jonathan Grant separately, and their reactions were quite different.
Gavin Grant grumbled, "Hey, you’re a real piece of work. What kid is so precious that I have to prove I don’t have any contagious diseases before you can bring him over for chess?
"Besides, do I look like I have that kind of disease?"
Franklin said, "This isn’t my own kid. When I take someone else’s child out, I can’t let anything go wrong. If you want to invite me and the boy for a game, then send over a medical report.
"Hey, I’m telling you, playing chess with this little tyke is a lot of fun."
Gavin Grant was left speechless.
With that said, he called Jonathan Grant to repeat his terms.
Unexpectedly, between the father and son, the son was far more reasonable.
When Jonathan Grant heard the request for a medical report, he didn’t find it absurd or problematic at all. Instead, he agreed:
"You’re right. Children are precious, and adults can’t have any illnesses that could be passed on to them.
"I’ll go get a checkup right away and send you the report when it’s done."
After hanging up again, Franklin Whitman chuckled at Tiny.
"Just wait. I’ll see if they have any major health problems. It would be bad if they passed something on to you. Alright, for this afternoon, it’ll just be the two of us going out to play."
Just then, Yolanda Young came out of the house. "Are you two going out?"
"Yeah, taking the kid to the amusement park for a bit."
"Okay, I’ll go too. I can swing by the mall."
...
Adrian Grant took a call and then left.
After Caroline went into her room, she received a message from Adrian.
Adrian Grant: [My childhood friend got back today. I’m going to the airport to pick them up now. Call me if there’s an emergency.]
Caroline stared at the perfectly worded message, stunned for a moment.
Truthfully, a message like this was very normal.
In the past, if they had something to do after work and wouldn’t be home on time, they would always tell the other person where they were going.
This was, of course, purely for Ryan’s sake. It was to prevent a situation where he asked about one of them and the other couldn’t give an answer.
But now, after Adrian had suddenly brought up reporting their whereabouts as part of their agreement, his "leading by example" with this message made it impossible for Caroline to take it at face value.
"Is he implying that I should also tell him when I go out later?"
"..."
As she was hesitating, Lily Young sent her a message.
It was an invitation to go shopping.
Before she had a child, her social life was mostly limited to close relatives like her cousins.
Perhaps due to a lingering fear of bankruptcy from the original novel’s plot, she actively avoided associating with any classmates who had connections to the main characters.
Caroline figured she had nothing better to do, so she agreed.
She left shortly after Adrian Grant.
As she was heading out, she hesitated for a moment but still sent Adrian a message.
Caroline Whitman: [I’m going out.]