The root beer talk!

At a loss of words, Giselle watched Lia drift off to sleep.

Ethan's appearance reunited the mother and the child, but Lia never got the chance to speak to Giselle or address the scene that caused the detachment in the first place.

Regardless, seeing Lia apprehend her behavior and catch her say sorry, surprised Giselle. Under the night light by the bedside, Lia slept finally after a tiring day. Her face, transparent and visible to the mother. Giselle stayed by her side and kept stroking her hair delicately, without disturbing the child's slumber.

Only a week passed with Giselle working, and they are already apart for most times. Giselle worried if her work would hinder her time with Lia.

None of it matters to concern herself because even more than Lia's confession or their disconnection, her words of support, in regards to Lillian Grey, bewildered the mother. She doesn't have a clue on what went but somehow suspected that Ethan is behind this.

**

Coming out of the room after a while, Giselle saw Ethan waiting for her. He had a case of- from what Giselle's sight perceived appeared to be alcohol.

"Join me, will you?" Ethan approached with a case of root beers.

Giselle glared at him.

"What?" Ethan flinched instinctively.

"What is that?" Giselle pointed at the case.

"Root Beer! Apparently, a lot of people here love this bad boy, so I would like to taste him!"

"When?"

"When we were planning to cook our dinner and entered this supermarket to get a few ingredients!" Ethan appealed.

Ethan has high authority over alcohol since the guy began drinking at the tender age of 16 and never stopped to have fun at it. His tolerance for liquor is ever impressive, and he could keep himself aware even after consuming 10 pints, six shots, and a 35cl bottle of vodka deep.

Although Giselle is not to restrict him in his love for drinking, inviting her to his party is scary. Giselle's alcohol tolerance is low, but sometimes she could hold on to average. However, getting drunk all night is impossible for the woman.

Before she could come up with a reason to politely refuse his call, Ethan dragged her to the living room. The television was still on, playing late-night talk show, and Ethan placed the case of American root beer on the coffee table and took a seat down on the floor. He then signaled Giselle to join with him.

Giselle gave him her troubled face.

"What are you sulking for, I'm not sharing all of this with you. You'll get one can, and you are stuck with it. Meanwhile, I'll test myself how many I can chug these bad boys down!" Ethan commented, sounds as if he is inviting himself to join as well as a win or lose the competition.

One seems fair, and even without knowing the details, Giselle understood that Lia's somnolent confession involves this mastermind behind it.

Overall, Ethan helped her big time, and Giselle considered to repay by sharing a drink with him and listening to his chattering.

"Alright!" she said and took a seat on the couch since she wore a dress uncomfortable to sit on the floor.

Ethan opened the case, and linearly lined the twelve bad boys on the table. He then picked a can from the far right and presented it to his company.

Giselle accepted it.

The clunking sound of opening the can along with the rushing foam from the released pressure echoed within the walls, and the daily show host's monologue is cracking its live audience, but the two individuals did not faze from his speech. Their minds occupied something else, something that ordinary citizen, a family man, and a single mother could trouble themselves with, the worry of living their daily lives in peace, etc.

Giselle distracted herself to stare at Ethan. She watched his still handsome face deeply concerned with thoughts that mattered to him.

"So, did you like chicken and waffles?" she asked casually.

Distracted by her question, Ethan looked at her exhausted face, displaying traces of makeup and grooming here and there. Ethan smiled naturally. One look at Giselle, all his worries disappear. He is very well aware of their dire circumstances. When two people get divorced, they end up not wishing to spend another minute with each other. In rare cases, couples that get a divorce would go back together after realizing their mistake and willing to take a second chance. However, Giselle and Ethan's bond mainly focuses on supporting each other above romance. The romance stage never happened with Giselle, but the guy cherished her even now and would forever. Ethan was grateful that he never became an obsessive maniac after getting rejected. Instead, he channeled his love for her in other ways to assist and displayed the eternal affection to his daughter. Lia is lucky to have her parents cooperate and work to raise her without ever letting her taste the single parent situation.

Back in London, whenever Ethan wished to see his daughter or Giselle, he would drive to meet them. But currently, they are miles away from the meeting, and the distance invoked new emotions for the father. Until the day Giselle left to return to her home, he never felt like the woman left him. Right now, he knew that she is away, far away to see and talk. It made Ethan value the time he shares now and would in the future.

Back to answering Giselle, Ethan sighed from such deep thoughts he gets as soon as his tongue touches the alcohol.

"It's crunchy and unique, dare I say!"

"But- Fish and chips will always be the love of my life!"

Ethan's reply, followed by his cry from missing his favorite food in the world, made Giselle smile. She consumed short sips to keep company with his guest.

Ethan returned a glance at her and believed it to be the right time to open up.

"I spoke with Lia in the morning-" he admitted.

Giselle looked down to the floor, remaining tranquil to process the news.

"How did she take it?" She asked.

"Can't you see that for yourself? She waited for you till-" Ethan checked the time, and the hands already crossed half past midnight.

"I know, but- how did she react to-" Giselle hesitated to bring up the name.

"Ms. Lillian Grey?" Ethan said it for her.

Giselle pursed her lips tightly.

Ethan let out a soft chuckle, seeing her still shy from hearing that person's name.

"She is like me in that category- kind and caring," Ethan groaned as he replied.

He then shared the story with Giselle for the new few minutes. Giselle, exhausted from her job today, still found the invisible strength to pay keen attention to every word Ethan uttered. She posed overall anxiety, but at times would smile at hearing Lia's sweet reactions.

Giselle had trouble with people all the time in her childhood. No one understood her, which let the reserved girl never open up to anyone. However, since the birth of Lia, Giselle slowly began to show her emotions pretty well. She expresses her feelings clearer. By the end of the storytime, Giselle's anxiety bid goodbye to her, and she became impassionate from her child's maturity.

"Thank you, Ethan-" Giselle said, heartfelt and grateful that took back Ethan in a surprise.

"You're scaring me, Giselle!" he exclaimed with his cheeks turning red.

Startled Giselle, almost bowed to him.

"So, what is going to happen to you two now?" Ethan asked, just like Lia, curious to know about the future.

Giselle thought about it a while and explained that she, herself, doesn't know what her future holds.

"I only went because of Mr. Ricardo's request and to bring her back," Giselle spoke.

"Well, did you?"

"No, I couldn't. I didn't even have the opportunity to talk to her!" Giselle exclaimed in great regret and took the final sip. She flipped her can and found it already empty. Without hesitation, Giselle picked another one from the line and opened it in a swift to take a long sip.

Ethan, having not bothered himself with her act of stealing, snubbed it to his anger and moved on to take his revenge.

"Yes, you won't have the time to talk since kissing is always an easier way to express your feelings for Lillian Grey, right?" Ethan remarked while sneering and continued without giving her a chance to explain.

"I never knew you were so bold, Ms. Giselle!" he added.

Giselle, right away, grasped the story behind this acquisition. Ethan is teasing her for the kiss with Lillian Grey. Despite him pointing it out openly, Giselle still looked flustered to own. When Ethan kept going on with his taunting, Giselle blamed it on the alcohol for her reddening face and forced Ethan to drop the subject.

Having conquered his vendetta against Giselle, who stole his root beer, Ethan eventually dropped the topic.

"What happened then?"

"Did she never return?" Ethan asked.

"I never knew as I left without seeing her," Giselle paused to remember something that she failed to add.

"I heard it from Mr. Ricardo that she returned the following day after our departure."

"Did you not contact her then?" Ethan said.

"Never! We didn't meet or reach out to each other!"

Seeing Giselle downcast, Ethan didn't pursue her anymore, and the silence grew between them, with only the sound of the ongoing game played on the daily show to amuse the fans.

"So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" Giselle changed the topic to desist the gloom.

Ethan, who already chugged seven cans of root beer, began to feel a little sloppy. His movements and consciousness appeared a little sluggish. If it were home, he is unstoppable, but the travel, the talk, the all-day walking, the cooking, and finally staying up late with Lia- everything took a toll on him, and to his age, his body began to react.

Nevertheless, he still dominated his thoughts and was aware of his condition. The only difference was the diverse range of emotions displayed in his face randomly. Another good thing is that his willingness to get distracted and go along with the flow of the conversation supported Giselle.

Her shift in topic worked like magic, and Ethan caught the bait.

"Yes, tomorrow, right! I'm going to meet Lia's friends," Ethan murmured under his breath.

"What should I cook tomorrow?" Giselle said, ignoring him.

"Fish and chips!" Ethan jokingly responded, but it caught Giselle's interest.

She thought about it for a while and suggested that they cook a classic British dinner for their guests. She also expressed her inclusion of Ethan's presence and his wish to eat his home country food.

"That's great! Lia's friends would be surprised as well!" Ethan supported her idea.

His mind pondered around Lia's friends and kept considering them.

"That child- she got herself good friends who care for her!" he added.

"How come?"

"One of them asked if you guys made up already!"

Giselle relaxed, sensing the nearing end of the liquor inside the can. She saved it for one final sip and only chatted with Ethan. Their conversation now focused on the kid.

"Lia is a good student. I checked her notes, and I'm glad that she inherited my handwriting!" Ethan teased.

The alcohol finally hitting Giselle, started to play with Giselle, making her pout like a child to Ethan's comment.

Ethan giggled while sipping from his last beer.

"It is true. Your handwriting changes within a page- sometimes its Italian, sometimes it is Bold, sometimes both- I was a little nervous in opening her notes to check, and when I did, it came as a pleasant surprise."

Giselle agreed inherently.

"That child of ours is growing every day!"

By now, Ethan poured out his innermost feelings as the concerned father.

"I miss her, Giselle. I'm thinking of taking Lia back with me to London!" he said with his sincere look.

Giselle's eyes grew in shock and fear, frightened even from overhearing such words.

Ethan remained quiet to watch Giselle panic. However, not even a minute passed before he admitted to joking.

Only then did Giselle feel at ease. No matter what is to happen in her life, she refuses to be away from Lia.

"I know that you need her more than me. I am strong, but you are still weak, Giselle! Don't worry! I won't take away your guardian angel," Ethan assured.

"Even without me, she is taking care of herself well."

"She does!" Giselle bragged to Lia's father.

"I still miss her, though, back then, with a few hours of travel I could meet my baby girl, but right now, I need to apply for leave, consider my job," Ethan cried.

Giselle let him do so.

Ethan found himself back to reality shortly after complaining. He agreed that the separation made him feel lonely. However, he hopes to work hard for Lia's sake so that when she grows to dream and wishes to follow her passion, he could be there to support her from behind.

"Behind? Who is then going to next to her? Her boyfriend?" Giselle sprouted nonsense due to her intoxicated state. But the father who held his feelings hardly from fatigue raged at the mention of a boyfriend.

Like the typical father, he exploded and thundered against his discomfort in Lia dating a boy.

"She will never. She is not allowed to date boys till college," he exclaimed.

Even Giselle's frivolous tittle-tattle received his deliberation, and the two kept talking incoherently about Lia.

Ethan cried until Giselle agreed to promise him on the first hear of Lia's interest towards boys. His raw emotions let him develop hiccups as he still fought against the rubbish talk.

"I- I have- I have to warn- my sweetcakes- to be aware of boys!"

Ethan said to stand up, and it alarmed Giselle. She followed him to her room and let him fall on the bed while she picked the blanket to cover him.

Giselle then returned with two pillows where she stacked it at the one end of the couch, switched off the television that kept going on with advertisements, and finally drifted herself to slumber.