"Lucille!" Noah's jaws dropped with what his daughter said.

Jess heard Noah's voice in the background reprimanding his daughter with her unexpected question.

"Give me the phone," he lowered down his tone when Lucille got startled by the sudden rise of his voice.

To say that he was shocked by her question was an understatement. Most of the time, Lucille would never ask this kind of direct question to anybody. But it seemed like, she was too comfortable with Jess and Luke that she has a very different personality when she's interacting with them.

Her lips quivered for another bout of crying.

"Let daddy talk to Little Miss Jessie first, then, you may speak with her again," he said in a gentler tone.

She handed back his phone to hear without looking at his eyes.

He got back the phone and stood up with her in his arms, "Hello, Jess, I'm sorry —"

"I have read your messages, how is she?"

"She's a bit sensitive since she has to return to her previous routine, and with some few changes."

"I see. Can I talk to her now?"

"About her question —"

"Kids say the darnest thing. Let me just talk to her," she interrupted Noah from saying anything more. She can deal with Lucille's surprising question, but now with Noah's cross-questioning.

She heard a soft murmuring on the other line. It seemed like Noah was trying to convince Lucille that he was not angry at her.

She strained her ears to listen to their conversation, but their voices were too soft for her to catch on. However, it always amazes her how Noah deals with his daughter.

"I am sorry Little Miss Jessie."

She heard Lucille's timid voice at the other side of the line. It makes her smile how she suddenly became timid when a while ago she was frank with her.

Jess was glad that she took a bathroom break from reading and answering her emails, and decided to scroll her social media while taking a break.

That's when she saw that the number of messages and miscalls from Noah increased. She gave in and opened the latest message and got shocked that he was almost begging her to answer her phone because Lucille was crying and looking for her and Luke but Luke wasn't answering his phone either.

She walked to Luke's room to check on him on why he wasn't answering his phone and found him dead to the world, snoring rather loudly.

"No need to apologize. I'm sorry I didn't reply to your message. I got busy catching up with some paperwork, and uncle Luke got in...uhm, a little accident. He had to take some medicine that made him really sleepy, so he is sleeping now."

"Is uncle Luke okay?"

"Yes, he is okay now. He is taking a rest. I'm sure tomorrow he will reply to your messages too."

"Okay, I understand. Sorry again."

"Is your papa with you?"

"Yes," she looked at Noah, "Do you want to talk to Papa?"

"No, no… uhm, I want to talk with you, not your papa." She didn't know why she panicked with the idea of talking with Noah on the phone.

She wanted to smack her head for she was acting like so not herself.

"Okay. I just want to know that you and uncle Luke didn't forget me," she said in a voice barely a whisper.

"Sweetheart, uncle Luke and I will never forget you," a pang of pain was felt in her heart. The insecurity in Lucille's voice painfully resonated with her inner child.

Listening to Lucille's, the memories of her childhood flooded her mind, which caused the corner of her eyes to sting with salty tears. In an effort to control her emotions, she sighs deeply.

Lucille's anxiety of being left and forgotten by some adult that she got comfortable with, was something that she used to feel.

Every time her father's girlfriend, who treated her nicely, would say goodbye, she would always think that she was to blame. She used to assume that her father's failed relationships were because of her.

Now, listening to Lucille's question, 'Don't you like my daddy?' It sounds like something she would say in the past.

"Listen, Lucille. Due to the fifteen-hour time difference, I might not be able to reply to your messages as quickly as I should, but if you have something to say, please let me know. As soon as I read it, I will respond to them. You can message me anytime. I won't mind."

"Promise?" Her voice rang with excitement.

"Yes, pinky promise!"

Jess' throat constricted with the pain that rose up from her chest. Lucille's request for an assurance breaks her heart. She felt as if she were conversing with her younger self.

"I promise. Truly." She said and meant her words.

She was still thinking about Lucille's serious attachment issue when Noah's voice came to the end of the line.

"Jess, thank you. We are going to have lunch now, and Lucille will have a nap after. Thus, she will just leave a message for you later. Thanks!"

"Bye Little Miss Jessie, thank you! Don't forget to tell uncle Luke I message him." She said in a hurry, then turned to her father "I will go ahead," she said as she jumped off her father's lap and ran inside the house, leaving Noah feeling awkward with Jess.

He doesn't know if he should inform her that her conversation with Lucille was on speakerphone, so he heard everything they talked about.

"Uhm, did you receive the flowers?" he asked Jess when Lucille was already out of earshot. He was pretending to be cool about it.

"Yes, I got them. Thank you. They were lovely," she gazed at the said flowers and knew to herself that they were more than just lovely. But, she can't say that to him.

"See you when I get back. Bye, Jess. Lucille is waiting for me at the table."

"Enjoy your lunch."

"Have you had your dinner?"

She chuckled when he continued chatting with her when he already said goodbye, "I thought you were going to have lunch."

"I'm in the garden. I have to take plenty of steps to reach the dining room, and I wanted to hear your voice more."

"Bye, Noah."

"Come on! Don't be like that Jess."

She just laughed and hung up the call before Noah could complain.

***

"Good morning! Take a seat and have some breakfast."

Luke's forehead creased up with his eyebrows knitted to one line with how Jess looks so chirpy when it's so early in the morning.

"When did you become a morning person?" He was baffled by what he was seeing.

She poured him a mug of coffee and brought his breakfast plate that consists of two slices of french toast, slightly powdered with Cinnamon, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and grilled tomatoes.

She also has a bowl of three different kinds of berries, with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top.

"Is there anything special today?", he asked as he took his seat on the breakfast table.

"None. I just woke up too early, and I don't want to listen to your whining about food first thing in the morning, so I decided to feed you good breakfast."

Luke squinted his eyes at her. He knew she was talking bullshit since her explanation was too long and she couldn't look at him in the eyes. Little Miss Jessie is such a terrible liar.

But she fed him a very nice adobo yesterday, and seeing how scrumptious his breakfast is, he will let her play her little game. He will just wait for her to spill the truth later on.

He sipped his coffee in silence.

"I will also drive you to your apartment, to check the pieces of furniture that were delivered to your house."

'There. Another unnecessary explanation,' he smirked inwardly glancing at the digital clock on the wall.

"Okay, thank you. I will bring most of my clothes to my apartment, but I will leave a few in here."

Jess nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Lucille sent you a message yesterday?"

"Yes, I'd read her messages and Noah's too. But it was already almost midnight there at this time, I will reply later on."

"Don't forget to reply to Lucille's messages because the kid cried yesterday looking for you."

"Oh? Why did my sweet pea cry?" his fork and knife froze in the air.

"She thought because you weren't replying to her messages, you had already forgotten her."

"Aww, my poor jelly beans. Once I finish my breakfast, I will send her a message," he said as he cut his french toast into bite-sized pieces.

Absent-mindedly, he commented, "it seemed like she follows a very rigid schedule with her mother."

"Noah did talk about her schedule..." she answered.

"Oh! So you and Noah discussed Lucille?" Smirking, he added, "Is that why you look like a ray of sunshine, Miss Jessie?"

His eyebrows wiggled as he stared at Jess, looking red as the strawberries on the bowl of her berries.