Bab 9: Chapter 9: Opening A Shop IV (Athena)
"Wife, I'll leave the construction of the kitchen to you. You tell the foreman whatever design you want for the kitchen. I'll go to my grandfather today and maybe to a government office for the name of the shop." Seth said and I nodded.
After he left, the foreman went to talk to me and showed me the design he wanted to implement and I agreed. I just asked him if he could create a cabinet that I can put inside the stockroom to put the pots and eating utensils. Apparently, Seth has already ordered the cabinet and would be delivered here later so I let them do their work.
I went back to arranging the clothes. We are almost done with the arrangements and the shop can be opened tomorrow if Seth wants to but I think he plans to open it the day after tomorrow.
I'm in a good mood today. When I woke up this morning, I saw my chubby sons doing laps with their father in the compound. Finally, there's a way for them to lose that excess fat. Stepmother looked like she was about to pull Seth's hair when she saw what Seth was doing. After all, her hard work was being reversed right in front of her eyes. I wonder if she'll scheme something to get Seth to stop making them do morning exercises.
I'm also wondering what got into Seth to start dragging his sons to exercise. Was David getting beaten that big of an impact? I mean, David wasn't badly beaten. From his injuries, I could see that it was just a child fist fight.
Anyway, I'll leave the exercise to Seth and I'll take care of their proper nutrition. Now that they are creating the kitchen, I can make nutritious food or at least try. I know my cooking is bad and former Athena doesn't really have any good recipes in her memory. I can't really blame her. Her family has limited resources.
The day passed by quickly, the cabinet was delivered and the kitchen was done by the time Seth returned with the children. He was also carrying what I think was a stove, followed by another person who was carrying a gas tank.
"Is the kitchen done?" He asked the foreman and the guy nodded.
The foreman showed Seth the final output and Seth paid him when he was satisfied. He then instructed the man who was carrying the gas tank to help him set it up in the kitchen.
The girls immediately helped me arrange the last bundle of clothes while the boys carried the pots, pans and some ingredients that Seth bought from the market to the kitchen.
"How was your day?" I asked the girls.
"It was fun. My classmates played a lot during the break." Faith exclaimed.
"That's great!" I said as I patted her head.
"Mother, I played a lot too." Henry said.
"That's great then. Did you have fun?" I asked the little boy and he nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Mother, are we going to eat our meals here from now on?" Brittany asked.
"Yes. Your father asked someone to make us a little kitchen so we can prepare our meals here." I answered and I saw Brittany smiling.
"Are you happy?" I asked her and the other children.
The girls shyly nodded their heads while the boys didn't seem to care all that much.
"Mother, can I make some changes in the arrangements?" Christine asked.
"Sure. Can you tell mother what it is first so I can tell it to your father also." I told her.
Christine then started to explain about the matching of the clothes and how to put which style together and which colors together. I nodded in appreciation.
Christine seems to have a knack for fashion. I told her to arrange a certain portion as she seems fit so I can show it to her father once he is done installing the stove in the kitchen.
Since there isn't much work to do now, I've told the children to do their homeworks first. When Seth was done, I showed him the shelves that Christine did and he was also pleasantly surprised. He asked for more of Christine's ideas while I started preparing dinner with Brittany and Ashley.
"Christine really has good eyes for fashion." Seth said as he went out to the kitchen.
"I was surprised too." I replied in a small voice.
"Wife, I think I should do the cooking. I don't want you to get tired from cooking. Kelly and Lisa are also awake. Why don't you go there and I'll prepare our dinner? Ashley and Brittany can stay here and help me." Seth said.
Is my cooking that bad? Why do I feel like Seth was shooing me away from the kitchen?
I was forced out of the kitchen so I went to my newborn twins and played with them.
"Mother, I'm hungry." David complained.
"Your father is already cooking. Wait a little bit more." I told him but he seemed to be dissatisfied with that reaction as he started to pull my clothes and start hitting me.
"Stop!" I said in a loud voice.
I am not a person who has a lot of patience when it comes to spoiled children. I saw David looking shocked and then his eyes started to get teary before he started crying loudly.
"You're mean! You're bad! I don't like you! I want Grandmother!" David shouted as he rolled on the floor.
I looked at him and saw Seth coming in to also see him rolling on the floor.
"Father, David couldn't wait for the food to get ready and started hitting mother." Christine tattled.
Seth looked at me but I didn't say anything. What can I say? Athena was the quiet type, who endures whatever life has given her.
"Did you hit your mother?" Seth asked in an angry tone.
David immediately stopped rolling on the ground and looked at Seth fearfully.
"I'm asking you. Did you hit your mother?" Seth asked again and David fearfully nodded.
"Show me the hands that hit your mother." Seth said authoritatively as he took off his belt.
I have to say, even I feel a bit scared of Seth right now.
David shakingly brought both his hands out before Seth hit his hands.
"Show your hands!" Seth said angrily and David showed his already red hands.
Seth him 2 more times before stopping. The other children were also cowering behind the clothes rack. They were all shaking with fear.
"Ashley! Brittany! Come here!" He called them.
Why is he calling them? I saw the two girls come inside the shop quickly. They both looked scared.
"All of you listen. I don't want to see or hear any of you hitting your mother again. If I ever caught any of you hitting your mother, I will personally hit you with this belt also. Do you understand?" He asked.
The kids answered yes together. I looked at Seth and noticed that something is a bit wrong about him. This was not the first time the boys hit Athena but based on my previous memories, he doesn't really intervene.
"David! Go and apologize to your mother." He said and David immediately went to me and apologized.
After scolding David, he went back to cook dinner with Ashley and Brittany while the children went back to doing their homeworks. They all seemed shaken about what happened.
I looked at David who was still crying and decided to ignore him. Some lessons need to be taught.
I led the other children to set up the table so we could eat. This was probably the most unsettling dinner we had. After dinner, Christine and Faith quietly cleaned the plate while the other children cleaned up the table.
"Are you still angry?" I asked Seth who seemed like he was cooling his head outside the store.
"I am. Don't let those children hit you again." Seth said seriously.
I stared at him and wondered if this is really Seth. His actions right now were a bit different from what I remembered. He seemed to be a very different person right now.
"You… are you really Seth?" I asked.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone