Baby Sleeps

Baby Sleeps

Though the matter had been resolved, Alvin was not in a very good mood. Too many people had died. Though those guys deserved it, there was no guarantee that cooks, nannies, and the like had not been killed along with them.

Of course, Alvin would not go looking for trouble with Kingpin over it, because this had been a gangland vendetta. As he had said before, anyone who dared challenge Kingpin and call himself Bloody Jansen clearly would not live long.

But judging by JJ's expression, Alvin would probably have to take the blame for this! That would not do. Alvin thought that if he had to shoulder the blame, then Kingpin, as a school board member, ought to increase his annual donation by another five million. After all, he was the only drug kingpin left in Big Apple City, wasn't he?

"JJ, call Kingpin and repeat what I said to Black Bear today. Tell him the school's annual donation is doubling. He knows why!" Alvin ordered irritably.

He pushed open the restaurant door. After everything that had happened today, Alvin was a little tired. Sitting at the bar, he had a drink with people he knew and people he did not.

Just as he was about to announce the second piece of good news today—that Nick had found his father—the small door behind the bar was thrown open with a bang. Nick hopped in on one leg and shouted, "Alvin, go check on Frank! He fainted while doing math problems!"

Alvin sprayed a mouthful of liquor all over JJ. Looking at JJ's innocent expression, I did it on purpose. So what?

With a wave of his hand, he announced that it was time for today's fun to begin! He had JJ arrange for everyone to leave, and those who lived too far away would be given rides. Alvin followed Nick up to the restaurant attic.

The attic was quite large, nearly sixty square meters. Nick's bed stood near the window. Frank lay on it, his face bluish-purple and his breathing labored.

By the time Alvin came in, he was already awake. When he saw Alvin, Frank awkwardly turned his head to stare at the wall.

Alvin breathed a sigh of relief. If he could move, he was fine. It would have been too awful if a happy occasion turned into a funeral. He was merely badly injured and too weak, and after drinking so much earlier, he truly had no strength left.

Otherwise, with his tough, iron-blooded style, he would never act like an aggrieved little girl, twisting his head away and not daring to look at anyone. He would have jumped straight out the window, learned math properly, and then come back to acknowledge his son.

Alvin scratched Nick's head and said, "Go play with your sister Jessica for a while. Ginny's there too. Bring me the culprit that made Frank faint so I can take a look. Frank graduated from LA University! He probably fainted because of his injuries. Go on, I'll heal him."

Frank, lying on the bed, gave a few awkward, rapid coughs. Alvin took the hint and sent Nick out. Then he looked at Frank with a half-smile.

What's the big deal? Back then, I couldn't do my son's homework either, and I was even singled out and criticized at a parent-teacher meeting. Didn't I survive it? You're a killing machine, a tough iron-blooded man, yet a second-grade math problem knocked you out? And you had the nerve to faint?

Frank struggled into a sitting position and looked at Alvin awkwardly. The way he seemed to want to say something but could not made Alvin impatient.

Alvin waved for him to stop talking and consoled him. "Our school is a little different from other schools. The children receive a different kind of education, so parents do not need to worry if they cannot handle their children's homework. You only graduated from LA University. I've seen teachers at the school who graduated from Harvard and still could not solve these problems. You don't need to feel inferior."

Frank became anxious, insisting that he did not feel inferior and trying to explain himself.

Alvin ignored him. He directed the Venomous Flower Vine poking through the window to spray a cloud of green gas into Frank's face, knocking him unconscious. Then a red vine extended dozens of fine tendrils into Frank's body.

A stream of red energy flowed into Frank, repairing his injuries.

Alvin did not dare give him too much energy. When Frank's complexion improved, he stopped.

He waved away the corpse-eating vine, grabbed Frank's foot, pulled off his boots, and tossed them onto the floor. He did not even care about his son's bed. What a filthy bastard.

Leaving Frank to rest, Alvin returned to his own room. The carefree Nick was fooling around with Ginny, their laughter filling the entire room.

Jessica covered her head. The little ones had clearly driven her nearly insane, and she wore an expression of utter despair.

Nick shouted, "Watch my Heavenly Crippling Leg!" He jumped up, kicked his one leg in the air a few times, then crashed into Alvin's bed. Ginny's tiny body was bounced high into the air, and she let out a laugh like tinkling silver bells.

When Ginny saw Alvin enter, she excitedly took several running steps across the bed, leaped into his arms, and giggled, "Nick, amazing! Heavenly Crippling Leg, so amazing! Hee hee!"

Alvin caught Ginny one-handed and glared at Nick. Bratty kids were a highly contagious disease. Look at his little Ginny—she had only been around him for a short while and was already infected. She actually dared jump at him from a meter away. It was all that troublemaking brat Nick's fault for leading his precious daughter astray. What if she fell?

Holding the giggling Ginny, Alvin smiled and pressed his forehead against her little head. "My baby is a lady. You can't learn from those little troublemakers. What you did just now was too dangerous."

Ginny cupped Alvin's cheeks with both hands and gave him a loud kiss on the face. "Daddy, amazing! Ginny likes Daddy!"

That settled it. His daughter was so sensible that a little mischief was fine! Alvin happily held Ginny, jumped high into the air, and slammed his back onto the bed. The soft mattress bounced Nick off the bed, and he landed hard on his backside on the floor.

Nick was a sturdy little brat. He hopped back up, shouting as he charged onto the bed, wanting revenge. Alvin held the giggling Ginny and dodged left and right, playing around with the two children.

After playing for a while, Nick may have grown tired, and the three of them sat together on the bed. Jessica had slipped away the moment Alvin entered.

Nick rarely became this quiet. Lying on the bed with his hands behind his head, he said, "Alvin, my dad has been found. Does that mean I have to leave?" His voice carried hesitation, worry, and reluctance.

Hearing that, Ginny lay against Alvin's chest and said sadly, "Nick, don't go. Ginny likes you. Don't go."

Alvin kissed Ginny on the head, comforting her.

Nick did not get such good treatment. Alvin's large hand messed up his hair, rubbing his face crooked as he said disdainfully, "Leave? Where would you go? Your dad's just a poor working stiff. Where could he take you? Tomorrow, we'll rent the house next door for Frank to live in, and throw JJ in there too. That bastard has made such a mess of my storage room that no one can even get inside."

Hearing that he did not have to leave and that his father could stay nearby, Nick was overjoyed. He turned to Alvin with bright eyes and said, "Thank you! Alvin, thank you!"

Alvin never had a pleasant expression for bratty kids. He rubbed Nick's head hard and said, "Don't look at me with such a disgusting expression. Go take care of your dad. He's injured. I've mostly healed him, but it's best if someone keeps an eye on him."

Nick immediately jumped up. At the door, he turned back, made a face at Alvin, and laughed. "Alvin, my old man is much stronger than you. You'd better work harder!"

Alvin made as if to get up and beat him, and Nick laughed as he hopped toward the attic.

Alvin looked at Ginny in his arms and said softly, "Ginny, shall I take you back to your room to sleep?"

Ginny shook her head and opened her eyes wide as she looked at Nick. "Ginny watches Daddy. Ginny won't sleep. When Ginny sleeps, nightmares come. Daddy won't sleep."

Alvin felt an inexplicable sorrow soak into his heart. He held Ginny tighter and kissed her hard. "Ginny sleeps. Daddy is amazing. Daddy will chase the nightmares away."

Ginny happily hugged Alvin, wrapped in an intense sense of safety. To the sound of Alvin humming an unknown tune, she slowly fell asleep.

The dark sky hangs low,

Warm stars shine together.

Little bugs fly, little bugs fly, who are you missing?