"Dad!" Thomas Smith opened the door, and Dylan King raised the steaming buns and soy milk in his hand: "Look, I bought breakfast."
"Thank you." Emma Smith spoke, "But, I already promised to take Tommy for duck blood vermicelli. We also planned to buy toys and sweets for him."
Dylan's face stiffened, then he put the food on the table: "It's alright, we can still eat these later in the afternoon or evening. Speaking of which, it's been a while since I've had duck blood vermicelli myself. Tommy, do you want Dad to come too?"
"Yes, yes!" Thomas agreed, oblivious to the situation, and immediately nodded.
Dylan realized his plan had worked and glanced at Emma, whose expression remained indifferent, as if her heart had become as still as water, no matter what he did.
Before going out, Mrs. Smith made Emma wear several layers of clothes for warmth and dressed Thomas in a small cotton jacket, a woolen cap with a pom-pom hanging from it.
