CHAPTER 3 – Call me Hun

“I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Mark Hunter. You can call me ‘Hun’ for short” Mark said in a business-like tone.

“Amanda North, and you already know my son Jack” Amanda replied while handing her business card.

‘Amanda North. Branch Manager – Green District. Heaven in a Spa’ Mark quickly read the business card before keeping it in his wallet.

“I don’t have my business card with me now but I can give you my number” he quickly dialled Amanda’s number.

“It suits you, you know” Mark remembered how concerned she was with Penny and he thought it’s her nature to take care of others.

“Which one?” she smiled while throwing him a confused look.

“The SPA, I think you have the talent to calm other people. You have that effect” Mark honestly complimented her.

“Thanks, well, professionally, I’m into wellness and health. But Penny here, is purely maternal experience” she feed another piece of pancake to Penny while tickling her side tummy making the baby giggle.

She finds the guy acceptable if he’s not flirting at her. She feels like she can relax a bit and the guy is exuding an aura of security.

Mark was just observing her interactions with the two kids and he felt an unexplainable warmth inside. He saw how carefully she sliced the pancakes and put it in Jack’s plate then turned again to wipe Penny’s mouth. It was a lovely sight for him.

“Mom, I’m a big boy now. I can eat by myself” Jack protested. He wants to show off to Uncle Mark so the big guy will take him seriously.

“I know, sweetheart, just let mommy do it for you when I can. You’re growing up so fast” she lovingly patted Jack’s head.

“So, what brings you guys to Northern Province? Are you from here?” Amanda finds it odd for a guy to travel without the baby’s mother.

“I have an urgent conference in Metropolitan and my nanny is on a month-long leave so I had to send Penny to my parents here while they’re on vacation” Mark explained his current situation.

“How about you guys? You seemed to pack light” he asked while eyeing both the mother and son.

“Yeah, it’s school vacation so we will stay with my in-laws for a week. And they usually take care of everything when we visit so no point to pack the whole house” she smiled.

The pleasant conversation continued on mostly about each other’s work and that’s when Amanda found out that Mark works at Windmills Hotel. He said he oversees the operation and Amanda assumes that he is a manager in one of the hotels.

Mark intentionally skipped the fact that his family owns the chain of hotels and his surname is actually MILLS.

But who exactly are the Mills family?

The Mills family is one of the four prominent families in Diamond Country controlling the capital city together with the Goldings of the North, Henleys of the West and the Smiths of the East.

They have long been influential in the government coming from generations of military men. Their family have successfully led the army to defend the country during the last war. With great strategy, the country’s damage was reduced to minimum making it easier to rehabilitate after the war cementing the MILLS family status as heroes in the country’s history.

Highest officials often seek their advice in terms of the country’s security. Those who wanted to further their careers in politics would request for the family’s support. If a politician is vouched by the Mills family, the people can be assured that the man is of integrity and can be trusted.

Every Mills’ child has a duty to serve and train in the military as a commitment to the country. After their service, they have the freedom to choose to stay in the military or to pursue other careers.

For Mark’s case, his father stayed in the military while his mother manages their hotel chains. After his service, he figured military lifestyle does not fit him well so he chose to venture into business which proven to be a right move. In less than 10 years, he has expanded their hotel chains making their presence in hospitality industry remarkable.

When one of their foreign investors made an urgent trip and wanted to finalize a huge business deal, Mark needed to be in his element to ensure the success of the deal. He couldn’t focus on his job while he’s taking care of Penny.

“Will your husband pick you up?” out of nowhere Mark suddenly felt the urge to pry into their lives.

“My brother-in-law will” Amanda felt uneasy when someone mentioned the word ‘husband’.

“I see” he gave a faint smile when he saw the uneasy look on Amanda.

“My father is dead” Jack blurted out.

He doesn’t want other people talking about his father. He never met his father and he felt it’s unfair that he doesn’t have one.

“Jack” Amanda gave her son a pitiful look.

“I’m sorry kid” Mark didn’t expect that Jack would be upset by his innocent question.

“It’s ok Uncle Mark, it’s just that I don’t think we should be talking about those who are not here anymore” he gave a faint smile and stuffed another piece of pancake in his mouth.

Amanda could feel the longing in Jack’s eyes but she couldn’t do anything about it.

She tried her best to be both a father and a mother but it seems that it’s a position that could not be replaced. It’s one of the reasons why she kept coming back to her in-laws. Her brother-in-law and father-in-law can be a father figure to her son.

“We’ve talked about this, sweetheart. You can always call your Uncle Henry and Pops right?”

“Mom, it’s ok.” Amanda could only sigh.

“It seems Penny will have the same problem when she grows older. She doesn’t have a mommy either” Mark wanted to sympathize with Jack.

When Jack learned that Penny doesn’t have a mommy, his eyes glowed and an idea comes in his mind.

“Really Uncle Mark?”

“Yeah”

“Mommy, can we take Penny home?” Amanda almost spilled her drink upon hearing her son.

“Sweetheart..” she doesn’t know how to explain to her son anymore.

“But the baby store is still closed and we don’t know when it will open again. I always wanted a baby sister and we already agreed that we will name the baby Penny. Mom, please. I will take care of her.” Jack continued with pleading eyes.

“Jack, it doesn’t work like that. She will look for her daddy. How about we wait until the baby store opens up. Can we do that?” her heart is breaking right now.

Mark could not believe Amanda could lie to her son like that and he does not approve of it. For him it’s important to tell the children the truth no matter how difficult the topic is. He eyed Amanda with a raised eyebrow like he was questioning her lie.

Amanda just shrug her shoulder like a helpless mother.

“Hey buddy, how about we schedule a play date? You can come to our house if you miss Penny and Penny can visit you during weekend” he knows they need to give him something so he will not be very disappointed.

He’s really interested with the adorable kid.

Jack immediately accepted the offer without blinking.

“Really Uncle Mark, really?” he leapt from his chair and immediately hug Mark. “Thank you, Uncle Mark. You are the best”.

“Whoah, hahaha yes, really. I think Penny will also miss you so you need to promise to be good to your mom. Okay?” he didn’t expect that the child’s mood will brighten up as soon as he mentioned the play date.

“Thank you” Amanda sincerely showed her appreciation when she saw how happy her son is.

Mark just smiled at her as if it was nothing.

Before they left the café, they asked the waitress to take their photo. As Mark said, ‘one for Penny’s books’. Mark immediately sent her the photo for her copy and if anyone unfamiliar would see it, they would think that it really is a picture of a happy family.

When they went out of the airport, she immediately saw her brother-in-law and the four of them walk towards the man.

Both men held a staring contest until Amanda broke the awkward silence.

“Brother-in-law, this is Mark Hunter”

“Hun, this is my brother-in-law, Henry” both men shook hands then quickly withdrew.