Take My Breath Away

Wesley went on explaining a bit more about his associates. "Curtis is the principal of a university. Among the three of them, Damon is always idle and Carlos is always busy. That leaves you with an interesting choice. Damon is lazy too. If it is not urgent, you can call him. If it is important, call Carlos because he likes to be prompt. Even if he doesn't have time, he will have someone else help you."

"Okay, sure," Blair replied shortly. To be frank, it didn't matter who, among the three of them, was there for her. She only wanted Wesley's help.

Since wherever Wesley needed to be was urgent and he had to get back to base as soon as possible, he stopped the car in front of their apartment building and nodded at Blair. After watching her walk inside, he turned his car around and drove away.

It had been such a brief meeting...

In A Country

Baldwin waited ten-odd days before he went to Keith to talk about Niles. His initial plan to see Keith the day after he and Cecelia had talked had been waylaid by unforeseen circumstances. Out of the blue, one of Keith's comrades-in-arms had passed away; Keith had gone to the man's hometown to attend the funeral.

The man had been a good friend to him, so when Keith came back, he was very sad. For the next few days, he had been moody and down.

One day, while they were having dinner, Cecelia brought up Niles. When his name was mentioned, it reminded Baldwin of what had happened between Blair and Niles, so he remarked to Keith, "Dad, Niles seems to have been rather quiet lately."

Keith was busy piling some food onto his plate. When he heard that, he paused and turned to Baldwin. "Isn't that normal for him?" The old man was under the impression that Niles might be still overjoyed with the property ownership certificate.

"No, it isn't. He doesn't like Blair, and Blair doesn't like him. But Cecelia made a mistake and tried to force the two of them together. In fact, she even scolded him unfairly. But what's surprising is that as far as I know, he hasn't been sad at all lately. Instead, he has been in quite a good mood. That's what I find strange," Baldwin explained. He hadn't exactly meant "quiet" in the literal sense.

Keith put down his chopsticks and asked him calmly, "What did you say? Repeat your second sentence."

Baldwin was confused. "What? Which sentence? The one about Niles not liking Blair?"

"Yes," Keith responded flatly.

Baldwin and Cecelia exchanged puzzled glances. Baldwin then explained what he had meant. "Cecelia and I talked about Niles and Blair and concluded that they didn't like each other. But we have a feeling that Blair and Wesley like each other." Since Wesley had never expressed his feelings, Baldwin and Cecelia were not sure about their guess. But they had a pretty good idea about the nature of their son.

"How did you come to that conclusion?" Keith wondered.

Baldwin repeated what he and Cecelia had talked about the other night. "Dad, have you ever seen Wesley buy a present for anyone except Megan? Even for her, he only buys them on her birthdays!"

Keith's hand on the table shook a little. "I know Wesley. Indeed he hardly buys gifts for girls. Call Niles. Ask him to come here and see me. If he asks what it is about, tell him that I miss him and would like to see him."

"Sure. I'll call him right after dinner."

"It can't wait. Call him now," Keith repeated firmly.

Cecelia and Baldwin were getting more and more confused by the moment. Keith was acting a bit weird today. "Niles, where are you?" Baldwin asked on the phone. He had a feeling that Niles was in big trouble.

"Hi, Dad, I'm at school. What's up?" Niles sounded upbeat. Everyone at the dining table could hear his cheerful voice clearly, with the overwhelming feeling that it wasn't going to stay that way for long.

"Perfect. Come home now."

"Now? What's the matter? Is everything all right?" Niles asked.

Baldwin looked at Keith, who had stopped eating to listen to the conversation on the phone. "Your grandpa misses you," he replied after a pause.

"Grandpa misses me?" Niles was a bit confused.

"Yes. Moreover, one of his comrades-in-arms passed away several days ago. He's been really sad the last few days, and I think if you come back, you can talk to him and cheer him up." Baldwin felt a bit bad lying to his son like that, but he had no choice.

"No problem! I'll make sure my dear grandpa will laugh again. Wait for me. I'll be there soon. Just let me finish my classes." The property ownership certificate had made Niles' day. He was so happy he could even make his icy brother grin, let alone his grandpa.

The night deepened as Baldwin put down the phone. The entire Li family was quiet now.

The shriek of a car brake pierced the serenity in the air after about an hour. Niles got out of the car, whistling a peaceful tune.

When he walked into the living room, only Cecelia was there. "Son, you are back," she said in her usual tone, with no betrayal in her voice, though it was taking quite a toll on her.

"Yes, Mom. It's good to see you! Are you happy to see me?"

Niles pecked her on the cheek. He really was in a good mood. Cecelia was amused. "Okay. Now go upstairs. Your grandpa is waiting."

"Gladly!" Niles jogged towards the stairs.

She watched him. "He is in the study," she called out behind her son.

"Okey-dokey, dear mummy!" Niles climbed the stairs, still humming a song.

The second he was out of sight, Cecelia took her handbag and left the house. She couldn't bear to watch what was to follow and what was more, she knew Keith very well. If anyone tried to put in a good word for Niles, he would punish him even more harshly.

She was afraid that if she stayed, her maternal instincts would overwhelm her sense and compel her to stop Keith from punishing her son.

In this regard, Baldwin didn't have any problems. He was firmer and more composed than his wife. Even if he had to listen to his son beg pitifully in front of him, he wouldn't go soft.

The second floor was very quiet, much like the silence before a storm. Oblivious of the upcoming danger, Niles pushed open the door to the study with a beaming face.

"My dear, dear grandpa, I'm back! I missed you so much!" he greeted Keith in the same cheerful tone as before.

"Kneel!" the old man demanded in a harsh voice that was in sharp contrast to Niles' happy and ecstatic tone.

"Okay!" Niles was immediately on his knees with a plop. As long as it made his grandpa happy, he would do anything, including kowtowing to him as soon as he was ordered.

"Baldwin, bring me the domestic discipline tools!"

"Huh?" Niles was shocked to hear that. This wasn't what he had expected to happen. He was here for his own grandfather!

Baldwin gave his son a look before he turned around to get the things that had been ordered, as if he were saying to him, "Good luck, Son!"

Niles started sweating with fright at this moment. "Grandpa! What did I do wrong?"

Keith glared at him fiercely. "You don't know? Such an imbecile!"

Niles thought about it and got a clue. "Wait. Grandpa, tomorrow... No! Today only, I'll register the house in your name. Please don't be mad at me," he pleaded. 'Come on! Has Grandpa found out so quickly?' he thought.

Keith snorted and ignored his pitiful plea. By that time Baldwin was back in the study with a surprisingly thick leather whip, a ruler, and a stick.

"Pick one!" Keith ordered.

Niles looked at the whip. The sight of it made him tremble. "Grandpa, a single strike from that whip will kill me!" He shifted his eyes to the stick.

He then continued, "Grandpa, the discipline stick used to be called an inhuman tool. It's barbaric. We live in a civilized society now. We should adopt civilized methods to discipline the children. Shouldn't we?" The discipline stick and ruler had never been too far away from Niles' childhood. He knew clearly how much they hurt. And they were bad!

"Shut up! What a load of crap! I am disciplining my grandson. What do I need civilization for? Now then. You don't think the first two are good choices? No matter, it will be the ruler then. Baldwin, hit him so he won't lie to me again."

Niles covered his head with both his hands and pleaded, "Grandpa! You're my biological grandfather! Do you really have the heart to beat me? It's only a house. I'll give it back to you. I didn't do anything else wrong. So can you please forgive me this time?"

"Mmm, what you say does make sense. All right, Baldwin! A hundred times on the palms and another hundred on the butt, and skip the mouth," Keith ordered.

Niles did the math in his head. 'Two hundred?' The realization almost gave him a heart attack. "Grandpa! Please! My hands are important to me. They are supposed to hold scalpels."