"Daddy! Daddy! Please read this for us!" Five-year-old Andy yelled loudly at his father while carrying a book, and he suddenly punched him in the stomach.
"O-Ow!! You shouldn't talk to your father like that!" Ellie exclaims in pain, and his coffee spills out on the table.
"Eh?? You such a killjoy…" he retorted as he felt disappointment to his father.
"Daddy! Please carry me!" his sweet, cute daughter named Athena comes to him, and she hugs him tightly. Ellie couldn't resist to his daughter's cuteness that took over from his mother.
"No matter what happens, I will always love you," Ellie whispered to his daughter as he lifts her.
"What? What about me?" Andy shouted like he wants to cry.
"Even if you're naughty, I still love you too. Just like I did to your mother." he pats his head hard as he soothes him.
Andy gradually comes to him, and together they hugged their father. Meanwhile, while they are having a family bonding in the living room, Alexandria was hanging the laundry outside on their backyard. She saw them having a family bonding, and she felt happy for them. She felt the same way back then when Ellie cherished her with happiness in his heart.
"Hey children? Your Daddy has still a job to go, so don't linger to your father too much!" she said and went inside the house. She saw her daughter is still clinging to Ellie's arms, just like her.
"Athena, your Daddy loves you, but did you know that he loves me more?" she smirks like she's taunting her.
Athena turned around, and she glares at her like she doesn't want to take his daddy away from her.
"Humph! Daddy loves me more, right?" she clings tightly to his arms. Ellie felt that his arm is going to break because of her clinginess. The two of them glare at him, and he suddenly feels the chills crawling to his spine.
"I-I love you both, okay? Y-You don't have to fight about it," he said as he felt nervous. They smiled suddenly, like if he doesn't say it, they will punch his gut. Every day, they are always fighting about me. Like they said, like mother, like daughter. That's what he loves about them. He remembers when Alex used to be like that. His heart flutters when he saw his wife and children are with him, and loving one another.
*beep*
"Alex, I'm going to take this call first,"
"Okay. Kids, Daddy is having a call." she said it as she smiles to them. Natural attitude of hers, actually.
"Okay!" they said it with synchronicity.
Ellie went inside his room to take the call. He saw that Rejean is calling him again. He seemed felt annoyed because she's always a troublemaker.
"What is it?"
"HELLO!!!!" she shrieked on the phone.
He moves away his phone from his ears to avoid damage to his eardrums.
"Don't do that!"
"Yes! Yes!" she's full of excitement today. What will be her scheme this time.
"What do you want?"
"I just want to ask if your family can go to our family trip this weekend. I'm sure that the kids will enjoy. Andrea said that she wants to join too, so this is a perfect time for the kids to enjoy themselves, right?"
"That's right. I got permission to take the leave from work this weekend. Alex and I thought we should have a family bonding these days. What about Teddy and Divina? Will they come too?"
"Yeah. All of us will come. I'm going to end this call because Riley and I have a work to do. Later!"
"Yeah. Later!"
*end*
As he glances at his watch, he still has time before leaving for work. When he went out of his room, he saw his children's favorite storybook, lies on the floor. It is the first book that he'd written for his children. He saw Alex and his kids are having fun in the living room.
"Andy, you said you want me to read this, right?" he said as he showed them the book. The two of them smile because of excitement, as they want him to read it again.
"Come on, Ellie. Sit with us." Alex said while she's sitting on the couch. Ellie sits as his family surrounds him. He flips the page of the storybook as he read the story.
"Here we go. Once upon a time… well, not long ago actually, there was a clumsy boy named, Eleanor. He lived in his different world. The boy known by his classmates as a strange person."
"What's a strange person, Daddy?" Athena asked him.
"Well, you could say that he's different from other people. Okay, proceed." he flips the page of the book as he continues the story.
"But one day… through a crazy incident, the boy turned into a completely different person. Because that time, a beautiful princess came to his life!"
"What? There's no such thing as that! I know there isn't!" Andy roared at his face. Ellie felt annoyed when he's talking to him like that.
"What does a five-year-old like, you know? Go ask your Mommy about that if you don't believe me!"
"Mommy! Do a beautiful princess encountered a clumsy boy? It's a joke, right?" he asked as he looks at her.
"Oh, no. The story is true, you know." she said as she pats his head.
"You know because, long time ago… your Mommy and I used to be like that." Ellie said as he and Alex smile at them.
Andy feels excited about the story. He didn't expect that the story is true and he can't wait to hear the entire story. The title of the storybook is "My Real Girlfriend", which it's based on the love story of Ellie and Alex.
"Daddy! What happens next?"
"Read the next part, Daddy!"
"Ellie, continue the story, please."
"Okay! Okay! Together with his friend, he encountered not only the princess, he ran into also a savage girl, a famous boy, and a shy young lady. These people suddenly change his story…"
~Fin