The Apple of My Eye

"Clark, Shirley, Grandma bought these presents just for you. Come and take a look!" Melissa eyed her grandchildren anxiously as they stood in front of her. Nervous as she was, she was hoping for a positive response.

Clark and Shirley's ears perked at the mention of presents, and they immediately jumped at the sight of the wrapped toys. Their eyes brightened, hands clapping together as they hovered around her to get a better look at the gifts.

"Thank you, Granny!" Clark was quick to thank his grandmother as he rushed to grab a handful of toys under his arm, fingers grazing on their plastic material. Shirley followed suit, copying her brother as they raced into their bedroom.

However, the two children didn't play with them immediately. Instead, they stashed them carefully with the other toys they had received beside their beds. Then they headed back into the living room. During that time, Sheryl was walking Melissa around the apartment they were living in, pointing at where everything was. Though there wasn't much to walk around, Melissa had to admit that the place was really well put together.

"Though the apartment isn't big, it is very cozy," Melissa admitted. The elderly woman smiled, feeling imaginary needles pinching her cheeks as she forcefully did so. After parting from the children for so long, it felt as if she was unfamiliar with them, and she couldn't help but be embarrassed by it.

"It is. I was searching for a place for so long. If it weren't for Isla, I wouldn't have found this place!" Sheryl shook her head, and a chuckle slipped from her lips as she told the story. Once they returned to the living room, she motioned to the couch. "Where are my manners? Take a seat, Aunt Melissa. You must be tired." Sheryl offered her hand and led her to the couch. Melissa sat comfortably, glancing at the picture frames that were propped up on the desk beside her. It didn't take long before Clark and Shirley joined them.

"Mom! You would not believe what happened at school today!" Without giving anyone a chance to butt in, the young boy quickly chattered on about how he had helped a girl from his kindergarten class, puffing his chest in pride as he threw his hands up in the air animatedly.

"Really? Clark, I'm so proud of you!

A true gentleman." Sheryl couldn't help but praise him, ruffling his hair and ignoring his protests as she did so.

"Mom," Shirley butted in. "I did a great job too, you know. I was cheering for him." She held her two hands up in the air to do a cheerleader pose. It was one that amused all of them. The girl beamed, hoping to receive the same level of praise that her mother was giving to Clark.

"I'm proud of you too, sweetie." Sheryl ran her hand down the strands of her daughter's hair, bringing the two children closer to her. They all laughed, leaning in together as if they were about to take a candid picture.

At their embrace, Melissa couldn't help but feel left out from the mother-and-children bonding. Her fingers twisted the stray fabric from her shirt, suddenly taking an interest in the lint on her pants. 'If I had just treated them better, maybe we wouldn't have ended up this way,' Melissa thought bitterly. 'No use thinking of it now. It's not as if I could change the past.'

"Well? Clark? If you're such a gentleman," Sheryl said, tapping his nose. "Don't you have something to tell Grandma? She did buy you guys all those presents." Feeling the growing tension in the air, Sheryl couldn't help but withdraw from her kid's embrace and stare pointedly at her son.

Melissa flushed, immediately cut from her thoughts. Noticing the awkwardness in the air, she brought her gaze back to the family, as she sent a grateful smile in Sheryl's way for her efforts in breaking it. Clark stared at her for a long time before uttering his next words. "I haven't seen you and Daddy for so long."

Melissa flinched, but she wasn't surprised that the blunt words came out of the boy's mouth. She leaned forward, away from the comfort of the couch, taking a good look at her grandson before speaking. "I know, Clark, I'm sorry," she said slowly. "It's my fault, but I promise to visit you more often now. Is that okay?" She felt her vision blur, but she steadied herself. She wasn't going to cry in front of the kids. "You promise, okay, Grandma? You shouldn't break it!" Shirley repeated seriously. The smile was gone from the young girl's face as her eyes stared her grandmother down at the word 'promise.' Melissa nodded repeatedly. "Yes, it's a promise."

The moment she had said those words, it felt as if the weight around the room finally lifted. Soon the seriousness was wiped from the young kids' faces as they neared their grandmother with animated actions. Melissa laughed and chuckled as they told her stories of their days and what they were doing. They didn't even notice the time till they realized that they had homework to do. With that, the two retreated back to their room, leaving Melissa behind.

With the kids' absence, Melissa and Sheryl continued to talk.

"So Sheryl, how are they doing? Are they drinking enough water? Have you been giving them vitamins? I've heard a lot of people nowadays are getting the flu." Melissa was worried, and she started to ramble on and on of how to prevent the disease from entering a household.

"They're doing well. I'm giving them vitamins every day, extra now, given the flu season. Don't worry about it." Sheryl shook her head, smiling.

They continued talking, with Melissa doing all the asking, and Sheryl doing all the answering. In such a way, it felt like the two's bond was growing stronger because of the kids. They laughed and exchanged stories of the kids, and it felt as if Melissa was there-raising them herself. At that point, she couldn't help but be grateful to Sheryl for doing that.

Glancing at the clock, Sheryl paused. "It's time for the kids to go to bed." She slowly stood up before motioning for Melissa to follow her to their room.

At the sight of their grandmother entering the room, the kids quickly huddled around her. There was less stiffness in their actions, and the awkwardness that had wafted across the living room was now nonexistent. Melissa bent down to hug them. "I'll see you soon, kids."

"Grandma, please visit us often!" said Clark as his pudgy hands reached up to hug his grandmother. "You'll come back, right?" They reached out to hold her hands for the last time.

And as they both swung their arms, with the kids protesting her leaving, Sheryl couldn't help but smile at the sight. 'Blood is truly thicker than water,' she realized.

"I promise" Finally deciding it was time, Melissa said her thanks to Sheryl before leaving the apartment. Somehow, she felt lighter than when she had arrived.

And as she stood outside the building, peering up at the lights that gleamed in Sheryl's apartment, she couldn't help but sigh in relief.

This visit was a fulfilling one. That was for sure.

As Sheryl closed the door, she finally made her way back to the bedroom. It turned out that her children weren't ready to go to bed, with Clark fiddling with the toys that Melissa had left behind, and Shirley playing with the dolls that were always tucked in her bed. Sheryl held back a laugh as she placed her hands on her hips, leaning against the door frame.

"Shirley, Clark, if you two don't get back to bed, then I'll have to wake you up extra early tomorrow," she said in a mockingly stern voice. "You guys have school tomorrow. You know you shouldn't be playing with toys at this time in the night." She faked a strict expression.

The kids saw through her act and neared her. Clark was the first one to voice his thoughts, sitting on the edge of his bed. "Mom," he said. "Why does Grandma seem...different now?"

"That's true, Mom! She wasn't nice to us before, and she never bought us gifts..."

The more words that they uttered, the more uneasy Sheryl had felt. She sat between her children as she thought of the next words that she was about to say. "Look, Grandma...she was sick. She wasn't in the best of state these past few years." She pushed herself to smile. "Now that she's a lot better, she decided it was time to bond with you two."

"She really does love you," Sheryl repeated, feeling as if this was something that was hard for them to grasp. "Grandma was just sick during those years. That's why she wasn't able to visit or to buy gifts for you."

Clark and Shirley looked pleased with the answer. Shirley bobbed her head, holding a penguin plush toy close to her chest. "I get it, Mama," she murmured, her eyes fluttering slightly. Sheryl cracked a smile. It was evident that they were already sleepy.

"Can you go to sleep now?" she asked. "You guys still have a big day tomorrow." Sheryl stood, crossing her arms as she waited for them to respond, knowing full well what they were going to say. "Yes!" Shirley was the first one to bounce to her bed, tucking herself inside with all the plush animals. "Good night, Mommy!" Clark also lay down, both of them getting ready to sleep.

"Goodnight, sweetie." Sheryl smiled before turning to Clark. Her eyebrows furrowed when she noticed that he wasn't ready to go to bed, and his eyes were wide open as he looked up at her, seeming deep in thought.

"Clark," she called his attention. "Aren't you sleepy?" Sheryl frowned in concern. She thought they had both already agreed to sleep, but it turned out that Clark still had so much on his mind.

He shrugged, glancing at his sister, who was already tucked under sheets. "Mom," he whispered. "Can we talk outside?" He didn't want Shirley to hear what they were going to talk about.

Sheryl always felt like Clark was a bit more mature than the children of his age. Some might say he was more empathetic to the things that were happening around him. In that sense, a part of her had a feeling that he still wasn't done with what he was trying to say earlier.

"What's wrong, Clark?" Sheryl had already brought Clark out of the bedroom, pulling him aside so they could talk seriously.

"Mom, I know you were lying," Clark said blatantly. "But that's okay. I forgave Grandma already."

"What are you talking about?" Sheryl couldn't help but think about the exchange she had had with her children. Was there anything that had sparked their attention? Anything that had made them doubt what she said? All the questions faded to the back of her mind when Clark started to respond.

"Grandma treated us badly, not because of her illness, but because she doesn't like us." Clark continued, his voice laced with understanding, "But Grandma has become nicer, and she cares for you too..." He gave a toothy grin. "That's why I forgive her."

'He's so observant...and so kindhearted, ' Sheryl thought, feeling her lips quiver at the thought. He really was more mature than his age.

She forced her lips to stop shaking, and she mouthed the next words as steadily as she could. "I'm really proud of you today, son." She smiled softly, putting a hand on his cheek.

He beamed. "I'll be going to bed now, for real this time," he added at her pointed look. "You should get some rest too. Goodnight." Standing on his toes, Clark kissed her on the cheek before making his way back to his bedroom, without saying anything more.

Sheryl couldn't help but sigh.

'Clark is definitely like Charles while Shirley is the complete composite,' she thought fondly before shaking her head.

Though his maturity was definitely something to be proud of, she hoped that Clark would also learn to have fun and not just worry all the time. Then again, she couldn't help but be proud of the both of them- proud of what they'd become and how much that they'd grown.

"Ms. Xia! It's late! What are you doing still up?" Joan was a night owl, usually wandering around the apartment at night. She was surprised to see Sheryl still awake, given that by this time, she and the kids were usually asleep.

"Don't worry about me, Joan. I'll sleep soon." Sheryl made her way up to her room with a smile. "You should get some rest too." Though she still wasn't sleepy, Sheryl shut the door behind her, not wanting to worry Joan.