Chapter 1256
Elysia’s eyes welled up with tears in an instant. She threw herself into the old woman’s arms, sobbing, “Grandma p>
The old man, small and spry, hadn’t quite caught up to what was happening. He stared in wide-eyed confusion. “Huh p>
Before he had a chance to react, Elliot and Emmett dashed over and each grabbed onto one of his legs, shouting, “Bernard p>
Bernard blinked like crazy, totally taken aback. He looked down at Elliot, then at Emmett, then finally at Evan—the little guy he was still holding up by the back of his hoodie like a mischievous kitten.
The old man and the youngest boy locked eyes for a moment, both of them staring, neither blinking.
After a brief, stunned silence, Bernard suddenly let out a loud exclamation.
“Well, I’ll be darned! It really is you little rascals back again! For a second there, I thought my old eyes were playing tricks on me and my ears were going too p>
“You nearly gave me a heart attack, you little troublemakers! Bernard almost thought he was about to kick the bucket p>
Still holding Evan by the hoodie, Bernard didn’t go for a hug or any kind of warm welcome. Nope-he just tossed Evan off to the side like he was tossing a sack of potatoes!
Tarquin, who was standing off to the side, just gaped in shock. p>
But Evan didn’t hit the ground. The kid twisted midair, landed on his feet like a cat, and grinned.
Bernard gave an approving nod. “Look at you go, kid! Haven’t seen you in half a year, and you’ve really stepped up your game p>
Then he leaned down to ruffle Elliot’s hair. “You’ve shot up, Elliot! And you’re looking sharper than ever. Almost catching up to how handsome your old Bernard was at your age! I’ll tell you, when I was your age, I was quite the heartbreaker p>
Bernard let out a booming laugh, then bent down and scooped up Emmett, lifting him high and weighing him in his arms.
“Not bad, not bad! Emmett, you’ve put on some healthy weight. Gotten taller and sturdier, too! Finally not such a little bean sprout anymore p>
Emmett had always been the frail one as a baby, not nearly as tough as Elliot or Evan. So besides Elysia, the old folks always worried about Emmett’s health the most.
Emmett, being the most sensitive, was already a ball of tears. “Bernard… Bernard he sobbed.
Bernard quickly started to comfort him. “Hey now, Emmett, no more tears. How about Bernard takes you for a ride on the ‘Superman Express p>
The moment he heard that,
Emmett’s crying stopped cold, his mouth quivering in terror. “N-no thank
you, Bernard. I-I think I go
hi to Great-Grandma Tracey p>
And off he ran, hurrying to find Tracey.
Bernard looked down and saw that Elliot’s eyes were a little red too. He tried to
cheer him up: “Elliot, want Bernard to take you flying p>
Elliot’s mouth twitched. Thanks, Bernard, but I should go check on Great- Grandma first p>
He quickly let go of Bernard’s leg and made a beeline after Emmett.
No way was he risking the “flying” game. That was enough to scare the life out of anyone!
Bernard’s idea of “flying” wasn’t your average piggy-back ride. Nope, it meant hauling you up to the roof, or even higher-climbing up a tall old oak tree in the backyard, no safety net, no nothing. Then, like a wild monkey, he’d leap from branch to branch, still holding you, before tossing you right out of the
tree-only to catch you just before
you hit the ground.
Whenever the kids were little and started to cry, Bernard would take them “flying.” They’d always stop crying after that.
Bernard thought he was curing their sadness, but really, they were just scared
stiff!
If you kept on crying, Bernard would just take you for another round!
Only Evan ever actually liked the game.
Bernard, of course, had no idea how terrifying his “cheering up” technique really was. Watching Elliot and Emmett hurry away, he grumbled to himself,
“Kids these days, growing up so fast. Don’t even need Bernard to cheer them up anymore. Guess they’re learning to tough it out on their own p>
Elliot and Emmett: p>
11
Meanwhile, Evan finished greeting Tracey and came running back, eyes shining.
“Bernard! Can we go flying p>
Bernard’s eyes lit up. “Let’s do it p>
He scooped Evan up under one arm and, with a nimbleness that defied his years, bounded up the wall and onto the rooftop.