"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to see a friend". Axel answered as he threw his suit jacket over his shoulders. He had promised Penelope that he would come to see her today and he was eager to see the child's happy face when she saw him later. "You don't have to wait for me. I will be going home when I finish".
Camden's jaw dropped as he watched Axel hurrying to cuff his sleeves and arrange his already made tie. The Axel he knows has no friends, he only has subordinates and acquaintances. So what friend would make him leave work in the middle of the day and go back home when he is done?
"But…" Before Camden could say anything more, Axel was already out of the office and the only thing that could be heard was his hurried footsteps.
By the time Axel got to Hannah's house, it was already evening. He had spent most of his time at a toy store, looking for the perfect gift for Penelope. He temporally closed down the store for hours and gathered all the staff present in the store to find the best gift for him. All he had to do was sit comfortably while the others ran around the store to carry out his orders.
In the end, the only thing that caught his eye was a white stuffed teddy bear that was at least four times the size of Penelope and he was sure that she was going to love it!
After all, the bigger the better!
Right now, he was holding the stuffed animal– which now had a red bow around its neck– in one hand, while the other hand was holding a big box of confectionaries. He walked into the house with a big smile plastered on his face as he searched for Penelope, and the moment he heard her voice, he rushed down to her.
In the wide open space behind the house, Hannah was sitting in an uncomfortable position near the wall while Penelope was sitting on the floor, a drawing book before her.
Some time ago, Penelope had requested Hannah to be her model, and Hannah being Hannah, agreed. Though she would not have agreed if she knew that she was going to be sitting in the same uncomfortable position for three hours straight!
Her muscles were already sore and numb!
She had thought of just standing up and making an excuse about having to do something important, but after seeing how happy and focused Penelope was as she drew, Hannah convinced herself to just stay still. Moreover, there was nothing else she could do to make the girl happy.
Just then, they heard the sound of footsteps heading in their direction and both of them turned to the door. Hannah, forgetting that she was now Penelope's model and that she had been sitting in one position for a long time, stood up abruptly only to fall flat on her face.
She raised her head in time to see a man walking in with a giant teddy bear that covered the whole of his upper body. The giant teddy bear moved to the side, revealing Axel's smiling face.
While Hannah was stuck on the spot, basking in the beauty of Axel's smile that seemed to make the already darkening sky shine even brighter, Penelope lunched towards Axel– who was already crouched with his hands spread out, awaiting her hug– and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.
Axel stood up with Penelope still in his arms and twirled her in the air which left the girl screaming in excitement.
The loud noise Penelope made was enough to pull Hannah out of her daze and she looked up to the sight of Axel planting small kisses on Penelope's face while she giggled happily.
"What was my princess doing while I was away?" Axel asked as he placed Penelope back on the floor and knelt before her.
"I did nothing, Uncle Axel! I was so bored while you were away!" Penelope cried as she threw herself into Axel's arms again acting all pitiful.
'Traitor!' Hannah shouted in her mind as she watched her daughter snuggle into Axel. Axel turned away from Penelope and glared at Hannah accusingly.
Met with Axel's glare, Hannah shook her head vigorously before pointing to the drawing book, then to the chair she was sitting on, and finally to herself. She even tapped on her wrist before bringing out three of her fingers.
Axel raised his eyebrows and Hannah nodded at him before making some gestures with her hands Axel nodded, his lips forming an 'o' shape as though he understood Hannah's mime show.
I'm so sorry my princess, it's my fault that I didn't come earlier". Axel played along as he patted Penelope's hair. "But don't worry, I am here now, look! I even got something for you!" Axel picked up the teddy bear and showed it to Penelope, his eyes asking, 'Do you like it?'.
Penelope gaped as she stared at the teddy bear in front of her. Even though it was sitting, its shadow still covered her whole frame. She even had to crane her neck to see the face of the teddy bear.
Penelope suddenly looked at her own small hands and fingers and looked at the teddy bear again. How was she supposed to play with something that was at least four times her size?
"It's so big!" Penelope exclaimed and Axel smiled in self-praise. "It's too big uncle axel! How am I supposed to play with this?! I am too small for a bear as big as this!"
Axel's smile fell for a fleeting moment but it rose again. "Then you can keep it till you are as big as this teddy bear!"
"I will be bored of it by then". Penelope pouted and looked like she was about to cry which made Axel's smile disappear. Was the teddy bear not supposed to make her happy, why was she crying now?
Axel gritted his teeth in anger. He was going to make sure that the toy store never see the light of day!
Penelope saw the frown on Axel's face and thought that he was upset with what she said so she immediately tried to coax him. "Don't be sad Uncle Axel. I would have accepted it if it was my size but… you can give it to Mommy, she is as big as the teddy bear. She would be able to play with it!"
Hannah jerked when she was mentioned in their conversation. What was she supposed to do with that thing? She was not a child to play with things like a teddy bear!