Chapter 219: The Popr Cecilia


    "Captain, are you sure we can knock ourselves early today?"


    "Yeah, knock yourself out!" Ron Samuel didn''t even look in Calvin''s direction as he continued, "Leave the coffee shop to us, don''t tell me that you don''t expect us to handle the shop better than your wife and daughter?"


    Calvin lightly chuckled, "It''s not that I am underestimating you, Captain..." He rubbed the crown of Cecilia''s head as he stated, "Our youngss here is just more capable and charismatic than all of youbined..."


    A death re immediately came his way; it came from Ashlynn.


    "Of course, Ashlynn is an exception." Calvin cleared his throat and corrected his words. The killing intent receded in an instant.


    "I don''t believe you," James Branzu came down the stairs and stood before the counter. He made a sidelong nce at the ounts behind the counter and said, "Today, the shop earned about a hundred pesos in just six hours. We''ll surpass that hundred pesos in three hours."


    A smirk spread on his face.


    "Oh? Why do you look so confident, Vice-Captain? Do you have a secret weapon up your sleeves?" Calvin asked, intrigued.


    "It''s not that much of a secret weapon..." James Branzu shrugged.


    He swept his gaze across Ashlynn''s and continued, "Your adorable daughter might''ve won the hearts of the customers due to how cute she is, but our strategy is different. We will win these customers with sex appeal!"


    James dered with passion.


    Calvin couldn''t help butugh, "Sex appeal? Come on, the shop only has two women and one of them is my wife! Do you really think that I am going to let my wife serve customers as a waitress? Well, it could work but this youngss here would definitely not allow it!"


    "You''re right..." James nodded, "Charlotte will not work since she will definitely be always on your side and Cecilia also wouldn''t allow her mother to steal her job, so that is why..."


    He stared greedily at Ashlynn, "It''s your time!"


    Pointing a finger at thetter, he dered, "You will attract these customers with a honeytrap!"


    "W-Why me?!"


    Ashlynn jolted in shock, "No! You are not going to make me wear those flimsy clothes!"


    "Really?"


    James Branzu smirked, "What if I told you that if you do everything that I say I will give you twenty-percent more of your cut for today''s earnings?"


    "Do whatever you want to do with me, and do it until you are satisfied!"


    Ashlynn immediately agreed in a heartbeat.


    Gold coins seemed to be sparkling in her eyes.


    Calvin''s lips twitched...


    <em>Girl, where is your dignity?!</em>


    Letting out a sigh, he heard Charlotte''sughter echoing from beside him.


    "Ashlynn sure is an interesting person..." Charlottemented under her breath.


    "Now that I think about it, dear... You seem to have be quite close to Ashlynn,"


    Calvin couldn''t help but ask.


    "Really?" For some reason, when Calvin mentioned AshlynnCharlotte''s face abruptly reddened, "Yeah, I guess... I mean, Ashlynn''s the only other woman in the coffee shop and I don''t really know how to socialize with others, so..."


    "You don''t know how to socialize with others? Then, how were you able to serve the customers as the cashier all this time?"


    Calvin furrowed his eyebrows. Charlotte''s words didn''t add up.


    "I actually learned the trick on how to do it from Ashlynn, dear... When you were gone, I was having a hard time limating myself to how the shop worked and she gave me a hand..."


    "When she noticed what was happening with me, she told me that I would be less embarrassed if I pretend that the customers are scarecrows..." Charlotte patiently exined.


    "Scarecrows? Why such a strange selection?" Calvin''s eyebrows scrunched up tighter, "I could understand it if you pretended that the customers are a bunch of cabbages, but why scarecrows?"


    "Pfft!" Charlotte''s figure trembled as she tried her best to suppress herughter, "Cabbages? Why did I not think of that?"


    "Hahaha, well I chose scarecrows because you knowhave you seen what scarecrows look like? They are very menacing at night or in the distance, but the way they are propped up with poles and the hasty and flimsy manner they are made makes them look hrious to me..."


    "This is why I am able to maintain my smiles throughout the day..."


    Charlotte lightly chuckled, "But you just gave me an idea, dear! Tomorrow, I will go ahead and pretend that the customers are cabbages."


    "Will that really work?"


    Calvin asked Charlotte, "Are cabbages as hrious as scarecrows for you?"


    "Well, not really..." Charlotte thought for a moment before she squeezed out another smile, "But do you know that every Saturday there would always be a huge sale of vegetables in the Southern Borough? I always make sure to never miss a day of that sale, since it often means that I''ll be able to buy a week''s worth of groceries for just a few pesos..."


    "Then, you see, the most popr vegetable in that wet market is the potato... While the most expensive one is the cabbage, and they rarely go on sale. But when they do go on sale... It always brings a smile to my face." Charlotte leaned her head on Calvin''s shoulder.


    The sweet smile on her face looked incredibly picturesque.


    Cecilia also leaned on his other shoulder.


    "I see..." Calvin also broke out into a smile, "If that''s really how it is for you, then I don''t see why you shouldn''t do it. Try it out at least and see if it''s really effective."


    "Yeah, I''ll try it tomorrow," Charlotte said, "By the way, why did sir Ron gave us a day off today?"


    "Didn''t I just tell you about it earlier? That we should go out and enjoy ourselves?"


    Calvin dragged Charlotte out of the coffee shop.


    "Eh? Are we going to bring Cecilia with us?" Charlotte nced hesitantly at Cecilia and her cheeks blushed out of embarrassment.


    But only Charlotte herself knew what she was thinking...


    Calvin looked at her in confusion as he teased, "Charlotte, what are you talking about?"


    "Are you trying to not let this youngss have some fun with us?"


    "Cecilia!"


    "Look at what your Mommy is saying! She doesn''t want you to join us in the fun!"


    "EEEH?!" Cecilia eximed. Puffing her cheeks, she red at her mother, "Mommy, mommy... do you not want me to join and have fun?"


    "No, no, no..." Charlotte hurriedly waved her hand in shame, "That is not what I meant, Cecilia!"


    ring in Calvin''s direction, Charlotte appeased her daughter as a bright idea came to her mind.


    <em>Calvin had shamed her in front of her daughter, and now it was time for him to be embarrassed in my stead!</em>


    She thought in her head.


    "I was trying to bring your Daddy somewhere else, so we can get you a baby brother, but it seems that your Daddy doesn''t want to give you a baby brother." Charlotte sneered as she stared right at Calvin.


    "Wha?! You..." Calvin was dumbfounded by Charlotte''s words.


    But before he could even say anything...


    Cecilia''s re descended upon him as sheined, "Daddy, why do you not want me to have a baby brother?!"


    "I want a baby brother!"


    "If I have a baby brother, I can let him help me with the customers. If I have a baby brother, he can also give me some of his snacks! Hmmph! Daddy, you better give me a baby brother, hmmph!"


    Calvin awkwardly scratched his head.


    A strange feeling welled up in his heart. After that eventful night back then, Charlotte seemed to have be bolder when it came to intimate matters between a husband and wife.


    Surreptitiously ncing at thetter, Calvin noticed a faint blush spreading on Charlotte''s neck.


    Calvin inwardlyughed. He instantly saw through what was going on.


    <em>It seemed that she isn''t as shameless as I have expected!</em>


    <em>There''s a chance for a counter-attack!</em>


    Wrapping his arms around Charlotte''s waist, he whispered into her ears, "Wife, it seems that Cecilia wants a baby brother, badly. With her being so insistent, we have to try harder!"


    He observed the minute changes in Charlotte''s expression, but the change he wanted didn''t appear. InsteadCharlotte even turned her head and whispered her reply into his ear, "I told you to finish inside... You dummy!"


    "Fuck..."


    Calvin was rendered speechless by her words that he stood frozen right there on the sidewalk.


    "Hehehe... Shall we try again, tonight?" Charlotte even winked at him which made Calvin repeatedly cough in an effort to calm his nerves.


    <em>What in the Goddess''s name happened when I was gone?!</em>


    <em>How did Charlotte suddenly be so fierce from an easily shy maiden?!</em>


    While Calvin was panicking in his heart, he didn''t see Charlotte ncing in Ashlynn''s direction.


    Ashlynn raised a thumbs-up and Charlotte responded with a sweet smile and a nod.


    Meanwhile, the youngss who thought that she had been sidelined by her Mommy and Daddy,ined.


    "Daddy, I want to eat!" Cecilia''s brain seemed to have forgotten the request that she made earlier when she felt her stomach rumble.


    "Ah, yeah. Let''s go and eat somewhere. It''s about high noon, so how about we go to the Hilton Borough?"


    "If we go there, we can avoid the rush," Calvin suggested.


    "The Hilton Borough?" Charlotte looked intimidated, "Isn''t that ce incredibly expensive?"


    "It''s fine," Calvin casually waved his hand as he pulled up a purple card out of his pocket and showed it to Charlotte, "Boss Ron just gave me a bonus after that business trip, so I am pretty loaded." He bragged.


    Yes, Calvin''s journey to the Vige of Tulog was disguised as a business trip so that Charlotte and Cecilia could understand it.


    But Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows to the idea, "Dear, I''d rather take that money and save it for future emergencies... Do you know how expensive a medical emergency isin this city?"


    "What''s more, if we want to give Cecilia her baby brother, then we must prepare a lot of money..."


    "I am already saving up for it since I started working in the coffee shop, but since the average delivery in a reputable private hospital here in Ashmelion costs at least five hundred pesos... I''m still too far from there with my savings rate of five pesos a day..." Charlotte deliberated.


    The woman who didn''t know the concept of arithmetic not too long ago was now adept in the art of multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division.


    Calvin''s lips repeatedly twitched. He wanted to argue, but he ultimately found it tiring. He just wanted to have a good meal, so he decided to let Charlotte hold the purple card that contained all the money that he earned and he was earning at this moment.


    "From now on, you will handle all of our finances!" Calvin revealed a proud smile as he patted Charlotte''s shoulder, "You can do it!"


    "All right!" Charlotte was pumped up and the three became harmonious once more.


    However, the three of them ended up not going to the Hilton Borough for a meal.


    Instead, they visited a random restaurant near the Center Borough. As expected, Cecilia stuffed herself as much as she could, while Charlottewho always ate her food properly was now radiating an intensified air of delicadeza around her.


    Calvin had noticed it just now, but Charlotte inexplicably underwent a great change.


    The way she was carrying herself even in front of the dinner table made everyone feel that she had a higher pedigree than others. Of course, Calvin didn''t really mind this change.


    Charlotte could be whatever she wanted. But it was obvious from her trembling shoulders and the beaded sweat on her face that she wasn''t really used to what she was doing.


    "Charlotte, why bother keeping pretenses in front of me?" Calvin pointed it out.


    "Ah! Pretenses? What are you talking about? I''m not..." Charlotte immediately panicked as she frantically waved her hand.


    Calvin instantly saw through her flimsily covered lie as he chuckled, "Let me guess. Someone told you to do whatever you are doing right now to be a better woman, right?"


    With her cover blown, Charlotte didn''t dare to lie anymore as she sheepishly nodded her head, "Yes, it''s Ashlynn... She told me thatdies should always act like properdies, at least whenever their husbands are around."


    "And why is that?" Calvin retorted with another question.


    "Well, she told me that since I''m older than you and that younger guys are prone to having affairs... I must act like... I must act like someone whose age is simr to you, so..."


    Charlotte didn''t know where to ce her gaze as she looked around the surroundings, trying her best to avoid making eye contact with Calvin.


    "Pfft..." Calvin pped his thigh, "That''s so silly! I have no idea if you are indeed older than me, but that does really make a difference?"


    "Wait, how old are you anyway?" Calvin asked in curiosity.


    He had just noticed that he really hasn''t asked for Charlotte''s age.


    "I should be about 27 years old by this year..." Charlotte replied in embarrassment.


    "What?!" Calvin almost stood up from his seat.


    "See! I''m old, right? That''s why I was trying to use Ashlynn''s advice, and it seems to be working..."


    "Working, my ass! You''re younger than me! I''m 28 years old!"


    "Eh?!" Charlotte was shell-shocked by what she heard that she couldn''t speak for a while.


    But the silence was interrupted by the youngss who hopped into the discussion.


    "Daddy, Mommy! I''m six years old!"


    The specks of rice and the mess that was painted on Cecilia''s face as she said these words out loud elicitedughter from both Charlotte and Calvin.


    "Pfft!"


    "Yeah, you are six years old! That''s right, our Cecilia here is still a youngss!"


    "She''s still so young, yet she''s already working! Do you know? Our youngss here earned three Joselian Pesos in her first day at the job!"


    Calvin was obviously bullshitting with the numbers, but he did all of these to praise the youngss.


    "Really?" The customers around them heard what he had said and they couldn''t help but turn to look at Cecilia.


    "That little girl earned three pesos in her first day at a job? Where is she working?"


    "Wait, she looks familiar!"


    "Isn''t that the cute and adorable little waitress of the Captivating Fragrance Coffee Shop?"


    "Yeah, she''s that young kid!"


    An uproar quickly urred in the restaurant as the customers walked over to Calvin''s side and praised the youngss.


    It wasn''t umon to see children working in the factories of Ashmelion, but it sure was umon for such an adorable young child such as Cecilia to be working as a waitress in a coffee shop that catered to the masses.


    Some kids who seemed to be frequent customers of the shop due to the puffed pastries that the coffee shop was selling even approached Cecilia and the children talked andughed among themselves.


    Cecilia seemed to be having a good time.


    Charlotte and Calvin stared at each other and smiles slowly broke on their faces.


    "Having children around sure livens up the mood, eh?" Calvinmented in jest.


    Charlotte nodded in agreement, "That''s right, would you like to give Cecilia what she wants?"


    "What she wants?" Calvin retorted with a question.


    "Yup!" Charlotte''s smile turned sweeter, "A baby brother!"


    "..."<ol><li>kind of like an air of nobility or some shit</li></ol>