You More Than Anything In The World

“Go take a shower!” After discussing the matter with the children, Benjamin waved his hand, indicating that they could leave.

The children glanced at him, then turned and ran off, leaving Benjamin taken aback by their speed.

Seeing his grandchildren running out, Darius quickly called them over so they could get some rest. “Gavin, Tim, Zachary, Oliver, Jasper, Jesse, come over here and have some juice with me!”

“Grandpa!” The children's soft and tender voices brought a sense of comfort and ease to Darius's heart and soul.

“Great-grandaunt, Mr. Whitley, are you still up at this hour?”

The children settled down around them, their faces beaming with smiles that showed no hint of the recent punishment they had received.

“Not yet. You're all still up too, right?” Edwin teased the children with a smile.

Gavin and the children chuckled sheepishly. “We were sent to stand in the corner as punishment. Otherwise, we would have showered and be off to bed by now!”

Darius and Mary shared a laugh, their gazes fondly fixed on the children. Both of them bent over to pour juice for the children.

“Come, have some juice!”

“Are you tired?” Darius asked lovingly, his affectionate gaze moving gently over his grandchildren.

The six children shook their heads as they sipped their juice. Jesse even had juice stains at the corners of her mouth, looking adorably cute.

“Grandpa, we're not tired!” Zachary shouted in response, flashing a smile at Darius.

Darius chuckled and nodded. “That's good, from now on you must listen to your mommy and daddy. This way, you can avoid getting punished! Don't engage in dangerous activities!”

Gavin and the others glanced at Darius. They didn't voice their complaints and obediently nodded.

“Grandpa, are Mr. Bailey and the others not back yet?” Oliver looked around but didn't see Shaun and the rest. He wondered if they had yet to finish their run.

“Could it be that they haven't finished running yet?” Jasper's eyes sparkled excitedly.

Darius chuckled softly. “He hasn't come back yet, so he's most likely still in the middle of his run. Otherwise, he would have returned by now!”

“Grandpa, do you have any idea where he and the others are?” Jesse blinked her eyes innocently, her endearing demeanor causing Darius to chuckle, his eyes crinkling at the corners.

Darius lifted Jesse onto his lap, affectionately stroking her hair. He said kindly, “On the road outside.”

“Jesse, do you want to go see them?” Gavin inquired, leaning over to peer at her.

Jesse stuck out her tongue as she glanced at the rest. “Don't you guys want to go see them?”

The six children glanced at each other, then extended an invitation to Darius as well.

“Grandpa, let's go outside and watch Mr. Bailey and the others run. We can cheer them on while we're at it!”

As they couldn't sit still and wanted to go out and play, Darius agreed readily.

“Okay, Grandpa will go with you. Come with us!” Darius invited Edwin and Mary.

He couldn't sleep even if he were to go to bed now, so he might as well go watch the younger ones run.