"Mommy swee!" Arsenio called out to Adriana who was sitting on a chair on the poolside.
Adriana, Bruce and Arsenio had recently relocated to Wayne Manor. Being away from the city was putting them all at ease. Arsenio loved the Manor, especially the pool.
Bruce and Arsenio were in their indoor pool, and she was watching them with a smile.
"Swee!" Arsenio said and waved one arm as Bruce held him.
"Two more days, baby," Adriana said to her son, knowing he wanted her join them. "And I can get into the pool."
Adriana watched them in the pool for nearly an hour until Bruce could see that Arsenio was getting tired. And even though he was getting tired he still wanted to play.
"We'll just take a break, little man," Bruce said while walking up the pool stairs with Arsenio in his arms.
"I wa steestap!" Arsenio said to Bruce who was a pro at understanding his speech.
"Okay, for a second," Bruce said once he got to the top step.
Bruce placed Arsenio on his feet on the top step beside himself. Arsenio stood happily, holding on to one of Bruce's hands and began to bounce while standing. He reached down and slapped at the water with one of his hands.
"Having fun?" Bruce asked as Arsenio yawned for the third time.
After a warm bath and cuddling with his parents, Arsenio went down for a long nap. Afterwards Adriana went into the enormous kitchen of Wayne Manor and washed a large bowl of raw green beans and sat at the table to begin cutting them. It was strange to do with a neck brace since she had to hold each piece up in front of her face to see what she was doing.
"You know, you don't have to do that," Bruce said, watching her.
She held the beans up one by one as she pulled the string out of the center.
"I know," she said. "But I need something to do, and I like to prep the food."
"I'll assist you then," Bruce said and grabbed another pair of kitchen shears before sitting across from her. "I'll cut, you take the strings."
"Okay," Adriana said, knowing that he wanted to talk.
After a few minutes of silence, Adriana spoke first.
"Maybe cut them closer to the end," Adriana suggested and looked at the thick chunks he was cutting off. "So there will be less waste."
"Gotcha," Bruce said and looked at the beans, seeing what she meant.
The pair finished the task in silence and then Bruce cleaned up everything when they were done.
"Are you going to go back to the office soon?" Adriana asked Bruce, who had been working from home for a few hours a day. He hadn't returned to Wayne Enterprises since her abduction.
"Perhaps," he said. "Tomorrow."
"Okay," Adriana said and smiled.
Bruce smiled back but could not help thinking of what he had told her a couple of days ago. She was acting like everything was completely normal and she seemed entirely unbothered by the fact that he had an affair. She hadn't brought it up again once. He kept replaying in his mind her reaction when she was told.
He was excellent at reading people and noticing micro expressions. And from what he could remember there was no expression. Not even the faintest flicker in her eye when he told her. She didn't blink. Nothing.
"We could peel the potatoes next," Adriana suggested.
"The chef will come in later and find his work done for him," Bruce said and Adriana smiled.
