The mate of his nanny

Chapter 90: Field Trip

Moana

My head was still reeling from Edrick's sudden change of heart and change of attitude when one of the children, Clara, suddenly spoke up.

"Moana..." she whined, "can we have ice cream? Pleeease? It's so hot out!"

The little girl's request tore me away from my thoughts, and I nodded in agreement as all of the other children began to join in and beg for a frozen treat. It was hot out today, and the mention of something cold and refreshing to eat got me a little excited as well. "Okay," I said. "Let's have some ice cream."

The children cheered excitedly as they followed me to the kitchen. Edrick followed at the back of the group, but only because Ella grabbed his hand and yanked him along unceremoniously. When I got to the kitchen and opened the freezer, however, I was disappointed to see that there was no ice cream or any sort of frozen treat.

"Sorry, guys," I said with a sigh, turning to face the disappointed children. "Looks like there isn't any." The children all began to pout dramatically; I was just about to send them off to play and get their minds off of the subject when Sophia suddenly appeared in the doorway, looking confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked, breaking the silence as she looked around at all of the sad little faces.

"There's no ice cream," Clara said. The little girl had her lower lip pushed out into a distinct pout and even somehow managed to muster up a few tears in her big blue eyes. "It's so hot out..."

Sophia sighed. "Yes. Sorry, I need to do some shopping. I've been so busy-"

"I'll take everyone out for ice cream."
Everyone turned to face Edrick, shocked by the Alpha billionaire's sudden, and generous, offer.

"Oh, you don't have to-" Sophia began, but Edrick stopped her.

"Really. It'll be fun. It's on me."

My eyes were wide as I looked back and forth between Edrick and the equally shocked Sophia. Before either of us could say anything, however, the children suddenly erupted into a grating chorus of excited shrieks and cheers, making my ears ring. I couldn't help but smile, though, and neither could Sophia.

"Alright, alright," she said as Clara and a couple of the other children began pleading and tugging on her skirt frantically. "Everyone, go to the closet and get your shoes and your sun hats. Hurry up!"

With one final cheer, the children all took off in one big stampede to get ready for the walk, leaving only Edrick, Sophia and I standing alone in the kitchen.

"This is very kind of you, Edrick," Sophia said with a tired smile. "I'll pay you back as soon as I can-"

"Nonsense," Edrick interrupted. "It will be a cold day in hell when I ask you to repay me for ice cream."

Sophia's face went a little red. "Well... Thank you. I'll go and get the children ready." With that, she scurried off. I swore I could see a bit of a tear in her eye just before she left, but I couldn't be entirely sure.

Now, Edrick and I were alone. I didn't know what to say; I was speechless. His attitude that morning had been so indifferent and cold, and now here he was, joining us for art lessons, laughing and joking with the children, and taking everyone out for ice cream.

If I wasn't still so hurt by his apparent one night stand with a mystery woman, I would have been softened by his kind behavior... but admittedly, I was still having a difficult time getting over that.
Suddenly, Edrick turned to look at me. He opened his mouth to speak, and for a fleeting moment I thought that maybe he would apologize for his behavior that morning... But he didn't. Instead, he reached into his pocket and retrieved two blue surgical masks. He quickly walked up to me and handed it to me with a somber look on his face.

"Make sure you wear this," he said. "It's still risky."
I was dumbfounded by his request. I took the mask, but felt taken aback that that was really all he had to say to me; no apology? Nothing?

It didn't matter, anyhow; with nothing but one more single, lingering look at me, Edrick suddenly turned on his heel and walked out to meet Sophia and the children in the foyer. I stared after him for a few moments, still in a state of disbelief, before letting out a deep sigh and following him.

When I walked out into the foyer, the place was filled with the chaos of a dozen excited little children getting ready to go get ice cream. Seeing the children so excited temporarily made me forget about my annoyance with Edrick, so I helped Sophia get the children ready. Finally, after everyone was ready and I had my own mask on, we filed out of the orphanage and began the walk to a nearby ice cream parlor. Edrick walked at the front while Sophia and I walked at the back, instructing the children to hold hands and stay in a single-file line as we walked.

We walked through a little park on the way. The shade from the trees and the cool spray of water coming off of the fountains was a welcome relief from the dry heat of the afternoon, and the sound of the birds singing and the children chattering happily made a smile come to my face beneath my mask.
Meanwhile, Edrick walked in solitude at the front of the group. Sophia hung back with me and we talked as we watched the Alpha billionaire walk ahead of us.

"What's up with the mask, if you don't mind me asking?" Sophia asked quietly. "I mean, I understand why he's wearing one, but you..."

I shook my head. "Tabloids are just starting to get the wrong idea," I said, still not mentioning the pregnancy to her. "That's all."

"Ah..." Sophia nodded, mulling over my words for a few minutes before speaking again. "You know, he really seems so much different now. It's like he's not even the same WereCorp CEO that I met that first day at the orphanage... He's really changed for the better, don't you think?"

I stared ahead at Edrick's back as he walked. He was holding Ella's hand, who was holding the child's hand behind her, and so on. Ella chattered happily about ice cream flavors, and although I couldn't see Edrick's face, I knew that he was probably happy to be out on a nice day with his daughter... But at the same time, I just couldn't get over the smell of perfume on his clothes from that morning. At that point, I was more bothered by that than the fact that he drunkenly fell asleep on the couch, fully clothed with an empty whiskey bottle. If he wanted to go out for a bit, then that was up to him - but to go out with another woman and use it as an excuse to disappoint his daughter earlier? Even if he did have a change of heart and wound up making up for it, I still found it to be deplorable.

"Honestly," Sophia continued, breaking me out of my train of thought, "I think that you've had a positive impact on him."

It was then that I shook my head, my eyes still fixed on the Alpha billionaire's back.

"I'm not sure how much he's changed," I said quietly.