You More Than Anything In The World

The little ones giggled. They finally let go of Arissa after they had hugged her for long enough, then bounded up to Darius.

Gavin asked excitedly, “When did you get here, Grandpa?”

“Did you bring us yummy snacks, Grandpa?” Jesse piped up brightly.

“Are you playing chess with Mommy, Grandpa?” Zachary asked. “Who's winning?”

“Are you staying for dinner, Grandpa?” Tim asked.

“Grandpa, will you be sleeping over tonight? Let's go out after dinner!” Jasper chimed in.

“How are you feeling today, Grandpa?” Danny asked.

The six children asked their questions in such rapid succession that Darius was completely lost. He only heard Jesse's question, because her voice was so loud that it cut above the rest.

As such, he reached out to ruffle the little girl's hair and answered lovingly, “Yes, I did bring yummy snacks, but they're for your mommy. You can have some if you'd like.”

Jesse's large eyes lit up at once. She ran up to Arissa and asked eagerly, “What did Grandpa bring, Mommy?”

“Feeling peckish, are we?” Arissa laughed as she gently flicked the end of Jesse's nose. “Go put your schoolbags away, kids.”

“Okay!” The kids immediately headed toward the couch on the other side of the room and tossed the bags onto it.

Arissa took out a box of cookies from under the coffee table and opened it, then set it aside for the children. “Don't take more than one or two, kids, or you'll end up not wanting dinner. Mr. Watts, would you like some?”

Kingsley smiled and nodded. He helped himself to a cookie and asked, “Isn't Shaun here? I don't see him.”

“Oh, he should be in the study,” Arissa answered, glancing in the direction of the study. Benjamin was holed up in there, too.

Kingsley excused himself and made his way over to the study. He had only just reached the door when Shaun and Benjamin came out.

“Boss!” Kingsley greeted Benjamin.

Benjamin nodded, acknowledging Kingsley with a cursory glance.

Shaun, on the other hand, grinned at Kingsley and chided playfully, “Took you long enough to get here! I thought I wouldn't see you until after dinner.”

Kingsley glared at him and pointed out dryly, “I had to go and pick up the kids from school.”

“Aw, why didn't you tell me sooner? D*mn it!” Shaun whined as he glowered at Kingsley. He wanted the kids to have a good impression of him, too.

As such, when he went into the living room and saw the kids, he immediately made his way over to them.

“Shouldn't he be at the hospital? For a doctor, he sure has a lot of time on his hands,” Kingsley remarked as he walked with Benjamin.

“He came here to give my wife her regular check-up,” Benjamin explained, then went up to Arissa.

The chessboard was still on the coffee table.

“Shaun! It's time for the check-up!” Benjamin called out to Shaun, who was so busy playing with the kids that he had completely forgotten about his purpose here.

“Give me a minute, kids. I'll play with you guys later, okay?” Shaun rubbed the children's heads affectionately and hurried to examine Arissa.