Turning Of the Tide by Diana Sander

An hour later.

Frank asked Edward to send a message in the family group chat. He wanted everyone to gather so that they could have supper together.

Edward was a gentle person. He was gentle whenever he spoke or sent messages. He even reminded everyone in the group chat to gather soon. He was afraid the pasta would get soggy.

Frank prepared a plate of pasta for everyone. Edward helped bring them out. Frank went back inside the kitchen to take forks. Everything was ready. Grace was sitting alone on the sofa in the living room downstairs. She was flipping through a magazine when she saw the message. She got up and headed to the dining room.

Frank took out his phone. He saw that Edward had typed out a long message. He wondered why there was a need to type that long. He could not help but ask, "Why did you have to spend so much effort to type a long message? You could have just told them supper is ready." Edward was holding the last plate of pasta in his hand. His lips spread as he patiently explained, "It's always better to communicate thoroughly with family members. If we do not say much, they might speculate. They might wonder what's wrong." He always thought it would be better to explain things in depth.

Hearing that, Frank felt that it made sense. "That makes sense. You can start to eat. If it's not salty enough, you can add chili." Edward thought it was weird to hear that. Rose had mentioned that Frank's culinary skills were on par with a chef. There was no need for Frank to ask them to adjust the taste.

Seeing that Edward looked perplexed, Frank could guess what he was thinking. "Even if I'm a Michelin chef, | can't be sure everyone will like what I've made. Everybody has different tastes." At that moment, Rose was making her way downstairs with William. The latter was holding onto her arm. Frank was preparing to go upstairs. They met at the stairway. William asked, "Aren't you going to bring a plate up for Ava?" Frank replied, "I'll go and ask her. You guys eat first." Frank had long legs. He strode up the stairs within seconds. When he pushed open the door, he saw Ava standing by the bed. She was preparing to go downstairs. He approached her and asked, "Do you want to go down and eat? Or do you want to eat here?" Ava replied, "I'll go down. Frank, don't be nervous. | can still walk now. It's just that my stomach is a little big, but it's alright. | want to chat with them. It's very boring to be alone upstairs." Ava did not like to miss out on the fun.

She did not want to be alone upstairs.

Frank nodded his head. He agreed. "Alright. Let's go downstairs and eat with the rest then." Frank protected her when they made their way down the stairs. He stood so close to her that it seemed he was hugging her. He repeatedly reminded Ava to pay attention to the steps and to hold onto the handrail while walking. It almost sounded like nagging.

Rose was dumbfounded when she saw how Frank behaved when they walked down the stairs. She stood there in a daze. She did not understand why Frank was so uptight. Just as she was about to speak, Edward placed his hand around her neck and squeezed it gently. He then led her to the dining room. "Let's eat." Rose's gaze lingered on her brother and sister-in-law. It took a few seconds before she replied mechanically, "Alright. Let's go then." Rose turned around. She could already smell how delicious the pasta was. She sat down and picked up her fork.

She eagerly lowered her head. She could not wait to eat it.

Rose started to slurp the pasta. It was delicious. She swallowed the pasta and said, "Frank, your culinary skills have improved again. I've been staying at hrecently. Can you cook supper forevery night?" Frank was already tucking into his pasta. He answered without even looking up. "Dream on." Rose pouted and sighed. "Of course. | guessed that you won't make supper for me. You don't love your cute sister anymore." Frank did not raise his head. He continued to eat his pasta. However, his reply was more relenting this time. "If | make supper, your share will be included." Rose smiled. "I knew it. You wouldn't refuse me. Edward, how is it? Isn't it delicious? It's especially delicious." Rose wanted Edward's consensus. She wanted him to praise her brother's culinary skills.

Edward smiled. The pasta was indeed not bad. "It's quite good. It tastes better than the pasta cooked by the cook in the restaurant." Rose smiled smugly. "My recommendations can't go wrong." Frank finished his pasta in no time. Ava was taking small bites of hers. She could not help but praise. "It's indeed delicious." Frank was satisfied. "I can make it again tomorrow if you like." Rose could not help but compare how Frank replied to her and Ava. Ava's words were indeed more powerful.

William nodded as he ate. "Not bad. Frank's culinary skills are good. He's the benchmark of a good man.

Edward's culinary skills are also good. Continue to improve further." Edward smiled awkwardly. His culinary skills were comparatively inferior. He knew he would have to work hard if he wanted his culinary skills to be on par with Frank. He decided to learn from the Roberts family for the tbeing. In the future, he could cook for Rose.

Rose nudged Edward. She comforted him. "Edward, it's alright. | won't force you to learn these things. If we want to eat in the future, we can always chere. My brother will make it for me. He is stubborn but soft-hearted.

He dotes ona lot." Rose had whispered into Edward's ear. Frank did not hear it. However, Grace heard it. The corners of her mouth curled up. She stood up and brought the plates into the kitchen. She said, "You can go upstairs after you're done." Rose tilted her chair as she stretched her head toward the kitchen. "Letwash the dishes after I'm done. It will help with my digestion." Edward said, " Leave the dishes there. I'll wash them. I'm done eating. You can go upstairs with Dad. | don't sleep that early." Ava loved their family atmosphere. It was harmonious. She did not say anything. She knew they would not assign her any housework. She sat quietly and tucked into pasta.

Frank had also finished his big plate of pasta. He stood up and pushed down Rose's chair. He did not want her to fall. He knocked Rose's head with his fork and said, "You cannot even sit still for a short moment. You like to perform so much. Perhaps you should consider aerobics." Rose touched her head. She wanted to hit Frank. However, he had already entered the kitchen. She complained, "Why are you so annoying? I'd like you more if your words were as fragrant as your pasta." Frank rolled his eyes. "Hurry up and finish eating. You can check on Harper and see if he has kicked his blanket." Rose used her fork to tap her plate. She wanted to show that she still had a lot. "Helptake a look. I'm still eating. You're done eating. Edward's not done yet." Frank had given the women bigger servings.

Frank looked at Ava and said, "Eat slowly. I'll go upstairs and take a look. I'll be down soon." After walking a few steps, he turned around as if he had thought of something. "It's alright if you can't finish." Ava looked up and met Frank's gaze. She smiled sweetly and said, "Alright. Go and check on Harper." Looking at Frank's back as he went upstairs, Rose was smug. "Frank's just stubborn. He's soft-hearted. Ava, don't you agree he has a warm personality? He might look cold and cool, but he's warm inside." Rose capitalized on every opportunity to praise Frank. Even if Rose did not say it, Ava knew Frank well. He had never been angry with her since they fell in love and married. He had pampered her like a daughter.

However, she still nodded. A happy smile appeared on her face when she thought about Frank. She laughed, "Frank is indeed a good man. | have good eyesight." Rose gave Ava a thumbs-up. There was no denying what Ava said. She agreed that Ava had good eyesight.

The next morning.

Frank woke up early. He went to the company after breakfast. Ava was still sleeping soundly in the bedroom.

Rose and Edward woke up after Frank. They had to prepare for work.

Grace had her breakfast. She was sitting on the sofa in the living room. She was flipping through a magazine and newspapers when she saw them coming down. She instructed, "Have sbreakfast. Is Harper still sleeping?" Rose leaped down the stairs. "Yes. He should be up by nine. Mom, you don't have to get up so early." "I'm used to it. | can't sleep even if | lie down. Edward, hurry up and eat." Edward sat down on the chair. He was embarrassed to have his mother-in-law stay at hand not go to work.

He asked, "Why don't | bring Harper to the company? | haven't been busy recently." Grace knew what her son-in-law was thinking. "Harper is my grandchild. I've told Rose to letcare for her for a while. | plan to rest at hfor a while." Rose took a bite of her hotdog. She nodded. "Yes. That's right. We'd made such an arrangement before Ava came. That was why | bought our mother the plane tickets for them to travel. | don't think | told you. | forgot about it." Edward was at a loss for words. He wondered if she would forget about him someday.

Grace held the magazine in her hands. She urged them as she prepared to go upstairs. "Hurry up and go to work. I'll go take a look at Harper." She thought Harper might cry if no one was around when he woke up. She decided to stay by Harper's side and wait for him to wake up.

Rose replied, "Thank you, Mom. It's been hard on you." Grace smiled and turned around. She did not say anything.

Rose was good at pampering people. She suddenly tilted her head and looked at Edward while they were having breakfast. "Can | tell you something?" Edward drank the coffee prepared by his mother-in-law. He replied, "Yes, go ahead." Rose announced, "I have the hunch that | might be pregnant.” Edward could not help but choke on his coffee when he heard what Rose said. Tears welled up in his eyes as he tried to suppress it. Rose reached out and stroked his back.

Rose was puzzled by his reaction. It was nothing but a hunch.

It took stbefore Edward stopped coughing. He looked at Rose in disbelief. After a while, he said, "Rose, are you joking?" Edward had expected the possibility. He could not help but ask again, "Have you confirmed it?" Rose smiled. She felt a sense of accomplishment. She was calm as she took a tissue to wipe Edward's mouth.

She comforted him. "Don't be nervous. I'm not nervous myself. Everyone likes to have more children. Why do you only want one child? We don't rely on child subsidies. There's no need to be nervous." Edward struggled to find the right words to explain.

Rose interrupted him. She knew his concerns. "I know you don't wantto be tired. However, | don't mind being tired at all. | prefer to see our kids running around and having fun." Edward wanted to persuade Rose. Pregnancy was not easy. He did not want her to experience it again. However, Rose could be stubborn.

She patted Edward's shoulder. "Don't worry. | haven't confirmed yet. My period's scheduled to ctomorrow.

However, | don't feel the usual symptoms. That was what led to my hunch." Edward knew Rose would have symptoms before her period came. She had smugly explained that there was no need to remember dates for her period because she could rely on the symptoms.

It was not that Edward did not like children. He did not want Rose to experience the hardship again. He put down his fork and said solemnly, "Rose, let's stop after you've confirmed that you're indeed pregnant. There's no need to have many kids. We do not need that many to play Euchre. Ours can play with Ava's. She has two kids." Rose pouted. She was quick to refute. "What if they go back to Sapphire City? Wouldn't that mean that our kids will be lonely?" Edward could not help but sigh after hearing what Rose said. He said, "We can always have them befriend other kids. There's no need for us to have that many kids. They can also play Euchre online." Rose shook her head. She replied, "I'd played with my university classmates before. You can't be sure that the online players aren't working together to cheat. It's not realistic. People can cheat easily." Rose's classmates had invited her to play Euchre online. She played the gto pass the time. She had initially won on the first day. However, she realized something was amiss after she lost consecutively.

Edward took a deep breath. When he met Rose's expectant gaze, he could not retort. He could only smile weakly.

"ok." Edward planned to go for a vasectomy after Rose's pregnancy was confirmed. That would ease his worries.

Rose felt that something was amiss. It was unlike Edward to agree just like that. He must have had a plan. She could guess what he was thinking about. She threatened, "If you get a vasectomy, our marriage will also be over.

There will be no love." Edward almost rolled his eyes.

Rose caught sight of the change in his expression. She beceven more smug. She had guessed it right.

Edward was thinking of going for a vasectomy. He would not proceed with it after hearing how she threatened him. She lowered her head and ate her breakfast happily.

She had decided on it. They would have four kids. She had always thought the atmosphere was not lively enough at the Landor family's residence. Edward and his father did not speak much at home. Rose thought that kids were vital for the atmosphere to be lively. It would not do to have her and her mother-in-law alone.