My Dreamy Old Husband

The talk in the living room resumed shortly after Carmen retreated upstairs. The whole family could sense that it was a crucial time in her life since she was about to transition from a teenager to a young adult—a process that was otherwise known as ‘the transition’.

It was at the start of the family discussion when Sophia first made the announcement that a historical revolution was slated to happen at around the same time Carmen transitioned into young adulthood.

“Carmen is going to start using condoms soon,” Sophia declared slowly with a sigh. “She’s all grown up now. She’s no longer the kid she used to be.”

Upon hearing the news, Cooper and Anna felt their hearts sink. Linus, too, looked as if he was in despair.

Carmen’s words would leave the family heartbroken for an entire year.

Her generation had evolved and using condoms at eighteen was commonplace. While the adults in the family were acutely aware that it was a rite of passage, they could not help but feel as though they were about to lose their little girl—whom they had raised for seventeen years—to some filthy boar-headed boy.

Sophia figured that Carmen would be done with her shower by the time the discussion was over, so she knocked on the latter’s bedroom door before entering.

She tried to come to terms with the fact that her daughter was growing up. Carmen no longer needed a nanny and she had been weaned off the bottle for years. Now, she was a teenager whose bedroom door was always locked and no one could enter without her permission.

Carmen is a big girl who wears a bra now, Sophia reminded herself.

Carmen was about to sleep when she heard the knock on the door. With a tired look on her face, she opened the door to reveal an enthusiastic Sophia.

“Darling, don’t you have to get ready for finals now that it’s a new school term? How about I look through the mock papers with you?”

“Mom, I graduated with a PhD,” Carmen pointed out as she looked at her mother through bleary eyes. “High school exams are a piece of cake.”

with your boyfriend today. Do you

sighed. “Mom, you can’t go around beating people’s

we go through

it’s eleven! We’ll go through the thesis tomorrow. Can you please let me head to bed now? I have to self-study

that, Sophia began to back out of the room and responded, “Okay,—go and

over her index finger to form a heart. “Here’s a

her a kiss on

stared at the ceiling, which was simulated to resemble a starry night sky. I’m practically an adult. Can all of you please

and it was made to perfectly conform to one’s sleeping habits, thereby bringing out the best sleeping experience. For Carmen, who was already worn out, that

she dreamed that night, it was as if she had traveled back to her

of the few of her childhood nightmares, one involved her being kidnapped by someone who wanted to kill her. She was frightened and scrambled to hide under a table,

fell into someone’s arms. She could still remember the feeling of being held that way—it felt

kept her eyes closed all the way, afraid to open them, but the

of her parents and he slowly stepped

scared that she broke into ugly sobs. By the

house at six in the morning while yawning as she perched on the back of Theo’s

since he started using the three-step age-defying skincare collection that was manufactured through a collaboration between the Michel Medical Technology Group and

in Ronney Group had also partnered with Michel Medical Technology Group to produce several skincare and cosmetic products that would stop aging in its tracks. As a result, Carmen and her pets were

pedaled his bicycle with his granddaughter perched behind him as they headed down the familiar road that led to the school. His schedule was synchronized with Carmen’s. He was the security guard stationed by the school entrance and every morning he

arrived at the school and saw that the elite institution was brightly lit. It seemed as if everyone had arrived

everyone contemptuously turned to look at her, but she was used to their sneers and paid no attention to them as she walked toward her seat. She placed her bag down and plugged in her earphones to listen to music while she read her books, ignoring the malicious whispering that