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Chapter 5
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The Night Autumn Came Chapter 10
Another year went by.There was a new courtyard in the bed and breakfast, and Mark put me in charge of training the new hires.The first time a guest complained about Callie Winters, one of my trainees, she was so flustered she was close to tears. I pulled her aside. "Hear them out first, then offer a solution.""Simon, were you always this calm?" she asked.I smiled. "Not always. I just fell down enough times to learn."That evening, Poppy came.This time, she was not hiding behind Delia. She carried her own backpack and held a small bag in her hand. "Daddy."I opened the door for her. "Come on in."Inside the bag was a small frosted cake, a little smudged along one side. "I bought it myself with my allowance.""What made you think of buying a cake?" I asked.She pressed her lips together. "I remember that on your birthdays, you always said you didn't like cake. Later, I figured out it wasn't that you didn't like it. You just didn't want to spend the money."I looked at the
The Night Autumn Came Chapter 9
Six months later, my life had settled down a lot.Mark put me in charge of part of the operations. I got a raise and moved into a new place, which had a small balcony. I bought two potted plants and set them by the window.On payday, I went out and bought myself a new jacket. When I got home, I washed my old work uniform, folded it, and put it away in the closet.I had not forgotten those hard days. They just could not weigh me down anymore.Ingrid was the same as ever. She never pried into my past, and she never expected anything in return for looking out for me.Once, Mark joked that she had been waiting for me for a long time.Ingrid only said, "He doesn't owe anyone an answer just because they've been waiting."I kept my head down and sorted the receipts, but the corner of my mouth still twitched upward. I had never known that being respected like that could slowly put a person at ease.Meanwhile, Delia was not having an easy time.Jensen had completely turned on her, and
The Night Autumn Came Chapter 8
It was raining in Solenne Valley the day Delia left with Poppy.Before the car drove off, Poppy sent me a message: [Daddy, I'm at the hotel.]I wrote back: [Okay.]A little while later, she texted again: [I tied my own shoes today.]I replied: [Good job.]She sent back a crying face, and I did not reply again.It was not that it did not hurt. I just could not let every soft moment turn into a reason to go back.Later, Delia sent me a long message. She said she would deal with the video, make Calvin apologize, and set things straight with Jensen.I replied with only one line: [None of that has anything to do with us getting back together.]Before long, most of the copies of that video had been taken down online, and Jensen's account had stopped posting.When Calvin called me, I picked up.His voice cracked on the other end as he admitted he was wrong. He said he only thought the Rhodes family could help Delia, and he did not want to watch everyone go down."So it was fine as
The Night Autumn Came Chapter 7
Delia did not leave Solenne Valley right away. The next day, she brought Poppy to the bed and breakfast again.Poppy walked up to me and held out a bag of fruit candies. "Daddy, these are for you."I glanced at them. "I don't eat candy."Her hand froze in midair. "But you used to say they were yummy.""That was because you liked them, so I ate them with you," I said flatly.She lowered her head, and the tears came spilling down.Delia's voice turned stern. "Simon, don't treat her like this."I closed the guest log. "Then how should I treat her? Like before, when I let everything go the second she starts crying?""She's still little," she said.I looked at Poppy. "She is little, and that's why I don't hate her. But when my hearing aid got crushed, the pain I felt was real too."Poppy's head snapped up, and she cried, "Daddy, I didn't mean to!""Then why did you step on it?" I asked.She sobbed between her words. "Papa said it was ugly and that it made you look like an old gr
The Night Autumn Came Chapter 6
That evening, I had just finished checking in a guest when I looked up and saw her standing at the front door of the bed and breakfast. Poppy was hiding behind her, with only half of her face peeking out.Poppy was the first to run over. "Daddy!"She tried to throw her arms around me, but I took half a step back.She stopped in her tracks, and her eyes instantly turned red. "Daddy, you're really here."I had not seen her in three months. She had grown a little taller and was dressed in nice clothes, but her shoelaces had come undone.She looked down at her shoes, then back up at me. "Daddy, I don't know how to tie them.""Ask your mom to teach you," I said flatly.Delia crouched down to tie her laces. Her hands were clumsy, and it took her two tries to get it right."You always did it in one try," Poppy said quietly.I looked away. "I'm working."Delia looked at me. "Simon, can we talk?"I checked the time. "I get off at eight."She seemed relieved. "Okay. We'll wait for yo
The Night Autumn Came Chapter 5
By the time I reached Solenne Valley, the sun had just come up.Dragging my suitcase past the drivers hustling for fares outside the station, I found the cheapest motel I could. The room was tiny, and the corners of the walls were damp. I locked the door behind me, sat on the edge of the bed, and turned on my phone.A string of missed calls popped up. There were more than 20 from Delia, more than a dozen from Calvin, and even two from Dad. I looked at them for a while, then turned my phone off again.That afternoon, I went to a carrier store, canceled my old number, and got a new one.The employee asked, "Are you sure you don't want to keep your old number?"I nodded. "I'm sure."At first, I washed dishes in the kitchen of a small restaurant.The owner looked me over. "Meals included, 3,000 dollars a month. Want the job?"I agreed right away.The kitchen was always thick with steam, and the floor was slippery year-round. Whenever my old leg injury flared up, I leaned on the si
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