D&B5

44

"Ob, where are you, little one?" Brick's voice rang out at 2 PM after he had gone up to store some things in the bedroom and used the bathroom. When he came down to the living room again, he didn't see his son who had been sleeping in his playpen, but Brick was not alarmed at all because he knew very well that his son hadn’t really gone anywhere.

Little Ob was now over 1 year and 3 months old. During little Ob's recent birthday, he received so many gifts from all his uncles, aunts, and their family, making him feel like a little millionaire as they all celebrated happily together.

In fact, it was not difficult for Brick to find his son. He chuckled as he noticed that at the door leading out to the balcony where the waterfall was, there was a curtain drawn across it. Behind the curtain, Brick could see two round shapes; the larger one was Cotton, and the smaller one was definitely little Ob. Brick walked over and pulled the curtain aside.

"What are you doing here?" Brick asked, smiling. Little Ob jumped slightly before looking up and beaming a wide smile at Brick. Brick observed the scene with Cotton sitting beside little Ob, who had leaned against it affectionately. Brick guessed that his son had woken up, climbed out of the playpen by himself, and come to sit and watch the waterfall with Cotton, which was staying close to him.

"Pa pa, to-to!" little Ob exclaimed, pointing at the waterfall. Brick understood that little Ob was calling him to look at the waterfall outside. Little Ob was showing good development; he could walk and form words, even if not very clearly yet.

"Alright, the waterfall, let's wait for Daddy Day to come back, okay? Then he can take you out for some fun. But first, you need to wash your face," Brick said as he picked little Ob up and used his other hand to gently rub Cotton's head.

"P'Cotton is doing a great job taking care of you," Brick praised, and Cotton barked in response while following Brick as he took little Ob to wash his face after the afternoon nap. Once he was done with little Ob, he heard the sound of the gate opening.

"Oh, Daddy Day and P'Salmon must be back!" Brick exclaimed excitedly to his son. Little Ob squirmed restlessly while pointing at the door, so Brick put him down to let him stand. He didn’t carry him because he wanted little Ob to walk around more often.

"Eek!" Little Ob shouted as he ran excitedly to the glass door that overlooked the yard. Brick followed behind. Little Ob placed both hands against the glass and pressed his face close to it. Brick could see Salmon, Phim, and Frank getting out of the car, while Day was parking it in the garage.

Phim had undergone the procedure to implant the embryo in her body since November, and now it had been over two months. Day was taking her for a check-up today, and Brick hadn’t gone along because he was home taking care of their son. Salmon wanted to stay with his little brother but also wanted to see his mother, so he chose to go out with Day.

"Mon! Mon!" Little Ob banged on the glass, making loud noises while calling out to Salmon, who was teasing him right outside the door.

"Let’s wait for P'Salmon to come in first," Brick said as he gently moved little Ob away from the sliding door and opened it for everyone to enter.

"Ob, do you miss your P'?” Salmon asked as he tried to pick little Ob up.

"Salmon, you should go take a shower first, and then you can come play with your brother," Phim suggested. Salmon hesitated as he remembered they had just come back from the hospital. Even though the hospital was clean, he thought it was better to shower first.

"I’ll be right back," Salmon quickly stepped away from his little brother to head back to his room to shower and change clothes.

"Ahh! Ahh!" Little Ob expressed his frustration when his big brother wouldn’t play with him, furrowing his little brows. Everyone couldn’t help but smile at his adorable reaction.