New Life : A Second Chance

Upon reaching home, Zack and Yuri were greeted with a yell the moment they stepped through the door.

"UNFILIAL KIDS!!"

Zack and Yuri's mouth twitched, trying hard to hold back their laughter as they saw their grandfather sitting in the living room, holding his cane and staring at them. 

He was trying to look intimidating, but with his little pout, unkempt hair and skewered clothes … well, it didn't scream 'scary man' at all. It was obvious that he had fallen asleep on the sofa and had got up quickly upon hearing them come home. 

But the twins played along.

He was, after all, the only relative they had left. Their father had long passed and their mother was not well, so only their slightly senile grandfather lived with them.

They immediately went on their knees and scooted over, their hands in front of them, clasped together on their palm, facing upwards and held close to their chest. Zack had this 'please forgive me look' while Yuri just … er, just looked at him without expression.

The old man harumphed and looked to the side, only to see Zack's face. He turned to the other side, to see Yuri's face. He faced forward again, to see both of their faces.

"Stop that!!" he roared, banging the cane on the floor, the sound muffled by the carpet. 

Then he whacked them on the head with it, scolding them, "Where is she? Where? Where?! How come you haven't brought her home yet? Huh? Huh? What am I to you? A block of wood?!"

"Grandpa," Yuri said calmly despite that cane hitting him on the shoulder and occasionally, the head, "We haven't quite succeeded in wooing her yet."

The whacks were not painful, and it was more of the old man venting his frustration. 

The old man snorted, "What's the problem? Just tie her up and bring her home."

Zack replied, "That may have worked with Grandma, but times have changed, Grandpa."

"Change schamange," the old man scoffed, "It's not rocket science. You like her, you take her. Pamper her and she'll be yours. Knock her up to make sure she stays."

"Grandpa!" Zack said in horror, "Is that how Dad came about?!"

His grandfather looked at him in disdain, "I am not useless like the both of you! I didn't have to do that to have her stay. Pffffft."

"You and you!" he roared, "Falling for the same woman is fine but not getting her until now? What is wrong with you? Why so wishy-washy? If the soft method doesn't work, go all out."

"Grandpa …" Zack started but his grandfather cut him off.

"Enough! I want my great-grandkids on my knees by this time next year," their Grandfather declared with a stern face, "Go."

The Dante twins got up, patted their grandfather on the shoulder and went to their rooms. 

They decided not to say anything more, for that would only make their Grandfather stay up late to scold them. Their Grandfather needed his rest, as was evident by the way he was dressed and looking so tired.

As they reached their bedroom door, they turned around to look at their grandfather, who was glaring at them.

"Go!" he commanded and the twins sighed. 

They gave a brief look at Chen, their grandfather's caregiver who was standing silently at a corner. Chen gave them a slight nod and they entered their bedroom, like naughty children being sent to their rooms for punishment.

Chen is a certified nurse, whom the twins had hired to be their grandfather's primary caregiver. He was the person responsible to keep their grandfather company and be in charge of his health.

In other words, Chen was their grandfather's companion, to make sure his daily needs were met and to keep them abreast of any problems their grandfather may have. 

The twins were often busy and could not be with their grandfather most of the time and they didn't want him in an old folk home, so this was the best solution for all. 

At night, another nurse came to take over so that Chen would be the last person their grandfather saw before he slept and the first person he sees when he wakes up. 

Once the twins went in, the old man gleefully took out his phone.

Chen came up silently beside him, and he showed him the picture on the phone.

"She's really beautiful, isn't she, Chen?" the old man said, his eyes sparkling.

"Of course she is, Anton," Chen replied with a smile. Only Chen could call him by his name, which he would when they were alone.

"Of course she would be," agreed Anton, smiling gleefully, "The Dantes have impeccable taste."

He swiped the various pictures he had of Beatrice, taken at different times and sometimes, with his grandsons.

"Their kids would be so cute and adorable, don't you think?" the old man continued, giggling as he imagined it.

Chen grinned, happy to see how alive the old man was. 

He had been in this job for ten years now, and he couldn't imagine the day he stopped. This job was so much more fulfilling than working at the hospital and he was genuinely fond of the old man. 

He had heard that Anton had been a very powerful figure at one time, but right now, he was like a little kid. His various health issues always made him tired fast, and he wasn't used to being idle.

So the moment he had found out that his grandsons had fallen for a girl, he had immediately had her checked out. Unlike what one would expect though, Anton wasn't doing it to check out if she was suitable but rather, he was excited to see what his future granddaughter-in-law is like. What her life had been and so forth.

Ever since then, he had been waiting eagerly for the twins to bring her home to introduce her to him.

But they hadn't.

"Most definitely, Anton," Chen agreed, "Their children would be like angels."

Even he could imagine it. He had been infected by the old man's eagerness and excitement.

"These useless grandsons of mine. They're taking too long," Anton mumbled, "I would be dead before I actually get to see my great-grandkids."

Chen didn't bother correcting Anton of that. If he was dead by then, how could he see his descendants?

"They probably do not want to scare her off, Anton," Chen pointed out politely, "After all, your grandsons are so great while she looks so timid and normal. If she ran off, that would be worse, wouldn't it?"

"Humph, like I said, useless. If she ran off, then chase after her! What's so difficult?!" Anton said angrily, waving his phone about, "Looks like I have to help them a little bit." 

With that, he got up immediately and started walking to the door.

Chen pressed his lips tightly together, trying very hard not to laugh as he watched the old man excitedly heading towards the door. Completely forgetting his utterly disheveled state … and that he was wearing pajamas. 

Chen knew that Anton was completely oblivious to everything else, his mind probably full of images of his future grandkids already.

"Anton," Chen said, coming up to him and walking beside him, "It's already late and she's probably asleep by now."

Anton stopped, looked out the window and then at the clock, "It's only 10pm! It's not that late! She won't be asleep yet!"

"She has work tomorrow," Chen pointed out, "You wouldn't want her not to get enough rest, right?"

The old man thought for a while, and nodded, "You're right. We can't have a bad first impression now, right? We shall go tomorrow!"

"That's a great idea," Chen agreed, taking Anton by the hand, "Let's go to bed now, shall we?"

Anton leaned on Chen, smiling happily and started telling him all about the things he was planning to do tomorrow. Chen listened patiently, guiding him to his room downstairs.

Once inside, the twins came out.

"Should we warn her?" Zack asked Yuri.

"Nah," Yuri replied, "She can handle grandfather."

"It would be fun to see though," Zack mused.

The twins looked at each other with a grin, then sighed and shook their heads.

They had an important meeting that day.

"Pity," Yuri sighed.

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Beatrice didn't have a good night's sleep. She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. It must have been because of her stupid thoughts the night before that she had to have *that* sort of dream.

Even now, thinking about it, made her blush. 

She had never even seen the twins half-naked, so how could she dream about them like that?! Was her imagination so wild that she could envision them unclothed and even *that* thing ??

She really needed a break.

On impulse, she called up the office and took the day off. 

Time for pampering herself, she thought.