Grandmother's Worry

A soft smile curved on her lips as Sophie watched her granddaughter stood on the small stool and brushed her teeth. The girl wore a pastel pink pajama with some bunny pattern all over it.

These days, Sophie was training her son to look after Hazel before she and her husband went back to the countryside.

At first, Sophie was skeptical about the idea of letting her son, Neil to look after Hazel.

The uncle and niece's relationship was not that close. Ever since Hazel was born, her son had never tried to bond with the little girl. Her son would always wear that serious expression on his face. Later, Hazel would always avoid her uncle.

With how the relationship was, Sophie thought that it was not proper for Hazel to stay with her son. Her son had no knowledge of looking after a small child and Sophie did not want her granddaughter to suffer.

However, no matter how much she tried to coax her granddaughter, the little girl was firm with her decision to stay in the city with her uncle. The reason was that Hazel wanted to be able to visit her parent's grave whenever she missed them.

As both Sophie and her husband live in the countryside to let her husband recuperate from his illness, it would be difficult to come back to L City whenever Hazel missed her parents.

In the end, Sophie could only compromise. She decided to give it a try. The uncle and niece needed a chance.

If her son could live together with Hazel and repair the bond between them, that would be great!

After training her son and teach him how to look after Hazel, Sophie could see a massive improvement in their relationship. At least, Hazel would no longer hide away whenever she saw her uncle. Moreover, Hazel would take the initiative to get closer to her uncle.

Seeing the little girl's determination. Sophie could only reluctantly agree to their idea of living together.

"Grandmother, I'm done!"

Sophie snapped out of her trance to look at the little girl beside her. She bent down to reach her level and smiled. "Hazel is a good girl." She patted at the little girl's hair and continued. "Then, it's time for you to go to bed. Hazel, go and wish your grandfather and uncle good night."

The little girl nodded once before she walked over to her grandfather and uncle to wish them good night. Then, she walked into the room, and obediently got under the quilt and closed her eyes.

Seeing that the little girl had settled in her bed, Sophie turned off the light. The room turned dark, with only a small sleeping lamp lit up at the corner of the room. Sophie closed the door but left a small gap between the door. She walked over to her husband and sat down with a long sigh.

"Mom, what is it?" Neil asked.

Sophie looked at her son with a hint of anger. "It's you. I'm worried about you and Hazel. Your father and I will be returning to the countryside in a few days and I cannot stop but worry."

Although she was frustrated, Sophie tried her best to control her voice lest she disturbed Hazel's sleep.

Neil smiled to ease his mother's anger. "Mom, you've seen me and Hazel these days. With Auntie Ann's help, both of us will be alright. Don't worry too much."

"How can I not worry? These few days, your father and I were still around to help you look after Hazel. Once we returned to the countryside, there was nothing else we can do to help."

Lucas Mo put his hand on his wife's shoulder to ease her anxiety. "Since our son had decided to do it, we should let him try it. If the two of them live together for a while and found that they could not do it, our son will look for us. Then, we'll come up with something new for Hazel."

"Dad is right," Neil said. "Mom, I know my limit. If I think that it was hard for me to look after Hazel by myself, I will definitely give you a call or find someone to help me."

Sophie knew that her son was a sensible person, but as a mother and grandmother, she just could not help but worry. Knowing the nature of her son's work, Sophie was worried that he would start neglecting her granddaughter.

Hazel had just lost her parents. It was important for them to be around her. Sophie did not know how she could answer to both her late son and daughter-in-law if they mistreated their daughter.

"Fortunately, Hazel is not a difficult child to manage," Sophie commented. She glanced towards the slightly ajar door and heaved a sigh. Whenever she thought about what her granddaughter was facing, Sophie felt the urge to shed a few tears.

"Mmm…" Lucas nodded slowly. "Hazel is well behaved for a child her age. She did not throw a tantrum or make things difficult for us. I look at her these few days and thought that she can mostly take care after herself." He paused and sigh. "Actually Adam and Claire had done a great job to bring up Hazel."

As her husband mentioned the two names, Sophie felt her eyes and nose started to sting again. She sniffed once and suppressed her urge to cry. Hazel was brave enough to face the world without her parents. As an elder, Sophie thought that she had to try harder and be stronger for her family.

Neil saw the look on his mother's face and subconsciously glanced towards his niece's room. He could not help but wonder if Hazel's act could be explained by her parent's upbringing or perhaps she was a bit too mature for her age.

"Tomorrow, you should come with me to visit Hazel's kindergarten," Sophie said. "She had left school for a while, it would be good if she could return to school and resume her daily life. Moreover, it would be good to explain Hazel's situation to the school and ask the teachers there to look after her."

Neil thought of his mother's request for a while and nodded. "Alright, mom. We'll do as you plan."