The Sway and Slide of Love

Rosie was clearly exhausted from the day's activities and slept soundly in Noelle's arms the entire ride home. She had been much happier recently and had put back on some weight. By the time Hendrix parked the car, Noelle's arms were almost completely numb.

Hendrix quickly got out of the driver's seat and walked around to her side. "Let me carry her up."

"No, it's fine," Noelle replied without hesitation.

But after taking a glance at her slender arms, he asked, "Are you sure you can carry her up? Or should we wake her and let her walk by herself?"

Noelle really couldn't carry Rosie anymore, yet she couldn't bring herself to wake the little girl when she saw how peacefully she was sleeping.

Hendrix took one more look at her, and without giving her any time to hesitate, he simply bent down and scooped Rosie up in his arms.

He had initially wondered how heavy such a small child could be. But now, holding her, he realized it wasn't as easy as he had imagined. Especially since she was asleep.noveldrama

If he held her too tightly, he worried it would hurt her. But if he loosened his grip, he feared she wouldn't feel secure. So, his entire body was tense the entire time.

Then, he suddenly thought of Noelle-how many times had she carried Rosie like this when he hadn't been around?

"Just put her on the bed," Noelle said.

Hendrix snapped out of his thoughts and slowly laid Rosie down on the bed, his movements light.

Rosie was deeply asleep, and as soon as she touched the bed, she rolled over and continued sleeping.

Hendrix simply stood there, staring at her.

"Is there anything else?" Noelle asked.

Only then did Hendrix realize he had been staring at Rosie for a while. He slowly looked up at Noelle.

"Thank you for today," Noelle added. "Rosie had a great time."

Hendrix simply let out a soft "sure".

Noelle fell silent again, but she furrowed her brows slightly, as if wondering why he hadn't left yet.

Hendrix knew he should leave, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot, rendering him unable to take a single step.

Just as Noelle was about to speak, he suddenly asked, "What about you? Did you have a good time today?"

Noelle hadn't expected him to ask that. In fact, she wasn't even sure what he meant. But after a pause, she replied, "Yeah, it was pretty nice."

"Then, would you-"

"Mr. Freeman," Noelle cut him off.

The words Hendrix had been mustering the courage to say were abruptly cut short. He slowly turned to look at her.

"I agreed to let you spend the day with Rosie because I wanted you to leave a good impression on her. I don't want her to grow up hating or resenting the idea of a father when she thinks about her childhood or goes to school.

"I don't know why you suddenly had a change of attitude toward her today, but I am grateful for what you've done today. And that's all it is. As for the past-or the future-let's not bring it up again. It's enough for Rosie to have just this one day of beautiful memories."

Noelle turned to look at him and continued, "I know you haven't

forgiven me, and the same good net

me. So, there's no need to force anything between us."

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