Such a Rude and Noisy Woman
Chapter 391 Hide And Seek

"No, no! You know Gavin! I know he wasn't making any sense! Don't worry, darling!" Rachel said indifferently and tried to pretend as though nothing bothered her.

Caressing gently her cheek, he whispered in her ear, "I apologize to you on his behalf, honey. He's getting old and is sometimes acting impetuously. I know that what he said to you is a pure nonsense. Please, don't take it to heart, okay?" "I know. I won't let it affect me. It just went in one ear and out of the other," Rachel replied, snuggling happily in his warm arms.

She laid like that, until Hiram fell asleep soundly. Then she got up, went downstairs to Fannie's room and found out that her mother was packing her bags. Fannie decided to go back to XH Village the next morning.

"Mom, don't be in such a hurry to go, please! Stay with us for a few more days!" Rachel begged like a little girl, as she entered into the room. She was unwilling to part with her mom.

Looking at her daughter with a loving face, Fannie said,"I've already called Richard and told him that I'll be home tomorrow. I have got nothing else to do now, so I'm too excited to just take a nap. Don't blame me for getting ready so early, dear! I'll prepare some soup later and cook you a delicious dinner too!"

Fannie responded, as she kept on being busy and focused on her packing.

Glancing at Fannie's back, Rachel's tears were streaming down her cheeks uncontrollably. Still crying, she came over and held Fannie from behind, "I'm sorry, Mom! It's all my fault and you should have never gone through all this trouble. I'm so sorry!" Hearing Rachel sobbing, Fannie turned around and hugged her, saying, "Honey, don't cry. You don't need to apologize to me for a single thing! Please, understand you have nothing to do with this! Listen, at this age Mom has long been on this earth and seen so many things by now. Don't worry about me!

It's impossible to always walk on a way of roses. There will be storms, rain and rainbows. People are stumbling through their lives every now and then. This is how we learn and grow. I'm lucky enough! I went through all and came out of it - scared, but not seriously hurt and most of all - alive!

Stop crying, honey! There's nothing to be sad about. Let me go back and stay home for a while. Most probably I'll be back to you and the twins in just a couple of days. Come on!"

Instead of making her feel better, Fannie's words woke up in Rachel a new wave of stronger crying. She held Fannie tightly and wept, "Mom, I'm so sorry! I don't want to leave you! I can't! I just can't!"

Seeing her daughter cry so inconsolably, Fannie's eyes also turned red. She patted Rachel on her back and sighed deeply.

Sank so profoundly into their sorrow, they acted as if they were not going to see one another a bit later, as if they had to say goodbye now.

After leaving Fannie's room, Rachel felt the need to go to Joyce's room, but the baby-girl wasn't on her bed. Then worried, like any mother would be, Rachel pushed open the door of Jonny's room.

There she was the little princess Joyce was sitting on Jonny's bed, pinching his nose, rubbing his hair and tickling him, while she was giggling happily all the time

"Joyce, please, leave me alone!" Jonny pleaded and turned his back to his sister. As he was still sleepy, he really wanted to go back to his sweet dreams.

But Joyce kept making noises and had way too much energy to be able to stop, upon the request of her brother. She could never get bored.

"Joyce, come on! Would you like to play with me outside?" Rachel said to her naughty daughter, who, in the meantime, had started to shake Jonny's head. The little mischievous girl always made fun of her younger brother. "Oh, yes!" Joyce shouted, as she jumped from the bed like a rocket, put on her shoes and ran to Rachel.

However, after hearing Rachel, Jonny got up too. He rubbed his large sleepy eyes and said, "Mommy, please, wait a moment! I want to play with you too!"

This sudden, honest, innocent desire made Rachel laugh from all her heart. She could not help, but be astonished by how literally 1 minute ago her baby-son really wanted to sleep or at least - so he said.

"Okay, put on your clothes. How about we play Hide and Seek in the garden?" she asked him.

"I'd love to!" Jonny nodded and replied quickly.

A moment later, Rachel and the twins went downstairs and then into the garden outside. The babies would hide and the mommy would seek for them.

"One, two, three! Ready or not! Here I come to you!" Rachel said loudly with her hands still on her eyes. She supposed that Joyce was hiding behind the trees and Jonny - behind the artificial hill, as they were always doing.

Thus, she went straight to the big tree to search for Joyce, but her little daughter wasn't there. This made Rachel wonder where she could be.

After that she approached the artificial hill to seek for Jonny and he wasn't there too.

"It's weird! Where are they? It seems that the two kids are getting more and more difficult to replace and more creative with every new game!" she murmured. Even though she made sure to check every tree, as well as all the flower beds, to her surprise, she didn't replace them anywhere.

Just in the middle of her hectic, nervous search, Hiram came over quietly. He stood and watched her smilingly.

"What are you doing, honey?" he asked.

Rachel stood up straight, hands on her waist, and with a puzzled look, asked him, "Did you sleep well, babe? I'm playing Hide and Seek with the twins. Those two kids are more and more skilled at this game. Even I can't replace them in a short time. Do you have any idea where they could be?"

Before she could finish her emotional words, a sound, uncontrollable giggling came from behind Hiram. Jonny and Joyce popped their heads out and said cheerfully, "We win! We win! Mommy, you lost the game!" "Jonny, Mommy could always replace us before. But this time she didn't!"

With a true, overwhelming feeling of pride and pure 100% happiness, that only children could exhibit, Jonny and Joyce gave each other high fives with enthusiasm. Pointing at them smilingly, Rachel said, "I don't think so. If your daddy had not helped you, I would have found you easily!"

Glancing at his wife lovingly, Hiram approached her and proposed, "Okay, let's play another round. This time, you can hide inside our house - the three of you! Let's see whether I can replace you. How about my idea?" The twins jumped up and down with excitement and shouted happily,"Great, great! It's a wonderful idea! We want to play with you, Daddy! Mommy, come on! Let's go inside and replace the best hiding place!"

Winking conspiratorially at the kids, Rachel said quietly into Hiram's ear,"Are you sure about this, babe? Our house has three floors and a terrace. I think it's so easy to hide, but hard to seek."

"Let's see!" Hiram replied with a confident smile, as if he already knew where they would hide.

"Ok then! You asked for it!" Rachel said briskly and headed to the house with the kids, as she was shouting in the meantime, "Give us five minutes! Pace yourself!"

Standing in the hallway, Rachel thought hard for one minute. Then she hid Joyce in the wardrobe in Fannie's room.

After that she took Jonny to the third floor and hid him in an empty box in the storeroom. Then she placed several other boxes around. However, she wanted to give Hiram a clue, so she tore a hole on the box Jonny was hiding in. At last, she decided to hide herself in their bedroom.

The curtains in their room had two layers, one of which was light colored and the other - dark. The heavy drapery material naturally formed an arc, when the curtains were closed. So she decided behind it was the perfect place to hide and remain unnoticeable. About five minutes later, Rachel heard Hiram shouting downstairs, as he walking around from room to room, "Joyce?... Jonny?... Where are you? I've found your mommy and now I'm on my way to you!

Let's have a deal! If you walk out on your own, voluntarily, I'll give you a reward!"

Sighing behind the curtain, Rachel was wondering, 'How could this man use such a trick on his own kids? The twins will definitely believe him and walk out!'

Of course, as she expected, just millisecond later, Joyce opened the door of the wardrobe, came out of it and ran to Hiram cheerfully, shouting, "Daddy, Daddy! I came out first! Where is my reward?"

Smiling cunningly, he held her in his arms, rubbed her little head and said, "Wait for a moment. I'll tell you what the prize is when I replace your brother too. Come on!"

Trying his luck upstairs, first he glanced at their bedroom with hesitation, but instead of going in, he went directly to the third floor. Here he used the same tactic. "Jonny?... I've found your mommy and your sister! Where are you? Please, come out on your own and you are going to get a reward!

Jonny?" he asked again.

While passing by, Hiram heard a distinct noise from the storeroom. It must be Jonny. Apparently he heard Hiram's words, but he stayed where he was, instead of coming out.

The little boy was thinking logically that he had no idea whether his daddy was telling the truth. Thus, he chose not to move.

On the other hand, Hiram had known where he was from the first minute he stepped into the storeroom. So he came close, squatted down and started knocking on the boxes one by one. "Please come out, Son! How could a man hide in a box, tiny like this one?" he questioned, trying hard not to laugh in the meantime.

Soon, Hiram confirmed which box he was in.

When he finally opened it, he saw Jonny's disappointed face. "Daddy, how could you replace out I'm here?" Jonny asked curiously.

After helping him out, Hiram said, "Of course, I know! Your daddy has superpowers! Now come downstairs to join Joyce. I'm going to seek for your mommy. Wait a minute and I'll bring her to you."

"What? You haven't found Mommy?" Jonny asked with pouting lips, as he realized that his dad had been lying.

Smilingly, Hiram rubbed his black hair. Then he went to the second floor.

When he got in front of their bedroom, he opened the door quietly.

Then Hiram slid in, closing the door behind him. His next movement was locking it from the inside. 0000000