THE WOES OF A SINGLE FATHER ; BATFAMILY && SUPERBAT

Chapter 07

The guardian angel of life
sometimes flies so high that man
cannot see it, but he always is
looking down upon us, and will soon
hover nearer to us

by Jean Paul

  ★  

"Here you go, Alfred."

A bowl of steaming hot corn stew was placed before the butler's view. Alfred raised a curious brow at the food. The man was expecting his Charge and young masters to bring him those oily deep-fried food that the kids enjoyed so much. The old butler knew that sometimes Master Bruce would bring the boys out for those fast food he had forbidden them to eat. Sometimes, the older man would decide to ignore it and allow the boys to have their so called 'Boys' Day Out' where they could eat those unhealthy meals.

Thus, to see the bowl of stew surprised Alfred. The man stirred the contents in suspicion before he raised a spoonful up and took a sip. The butler allowed the taste to slowly spread in his mouth before he swallowed it down. From the taste and the content, it didn't seem to be something they bought from a nearby restaurant nor was it good enough to be considered a fancy dish, cooked by a professional chef.

It tasted more like a simple stew that was made by someone in rush, but still didn't forget to pour their passion in during the process.

"I know this is close to impossibility, but... did you make it, Master Bruce?"

The children snickered at Alfred's sly remark while Bruce chuckled. The man shook his head as he sat on the sofa next to the hospital bed.

Alfred had always been an important family member for Bruce. The man was by his side when his parents were no longer there and he had stayed with him all through the years - tolerating his stubbornness, guiding him to the right path of being a father figure for the boys he'd adopted and making sure he eats and sleeps properly.

"Of course not, Alfred." Bruce said, rocking Damian in his arms. The child was sucking on the pacifier, his eyes wandered around the room—it was his first visit to the hospital. "You know me. I may not be completely worthless when it came to cooking, but there is no way I could cook that without professional help."

Alfred nodded his head in agreement. The elderly man knew that Bruce couldn't cook; the most successful meal the billionaire had ever achieved was hard-boiled eggs. The possibility of the man being able to cook stew without Alfred by his side is too mi[ld.

"Clark made it." Bruce said it as he called on Tim who was reading at the corner. Upon hearing Bruce's call, the child placed the book he was reading on the desk before he approached Bruce.

"Clark?" Alfred questioned back. It took the butler a few seconds to remember who Bruce was talking about. "You mean Mister Kent, the reporter from Daily Planet who was supposed to do an interview with you today?"

"Yes." Bruce nodded his head. "The house is a mess when you're not around, Alfred." The man extended a hand as he pushed back Tim's fringes and placed his palm on the boy's forehead to make sure his fever wasn't returning. "I didn't even notice Tim was feeling unwell until Clark pointed it out. He offered to make lunch for us when he saw Tim's state. He ended up making more than enough for lunch and we heated it up as dinner."

Upon hearing Bruce's words, Alfred gave out a light chuckle as he scooped up another spoonful of the stew. "Mister Kent is really different, isn't he?"

"He is." Bruce agreed along as he gave Tim's hair a gentle tousle. The child gave out a happy giggle–a sign telling Bruce not to worry too much. "I told you from the start, didn't I, Alfred? He just makes me feels at peace. And today... he really helped me a lot."