Sonny laughed. "Yes, yes, I'm working for myself. Alright, I really have got to go
now. Talk to you later."
Then, he hung up.
He had arrived at Hank's door.
He walked up to it and rang the doorbell.
Very soon, his grandmother opened the door.
"You're here, Sonny."
Olivia smiled happily when she saw that it was her precious grandson. She turned to say to Luke, who was sitting on the sofa inside, "Dear, Sonny's here."
"Grandmom."
Sonny entered their home, then greeted his grandfather.
Hank and Jessica came out of the kitchen where they had been preparing dinner.
Usually, the family had simple meals, not because they could not afford more luxurious food, but because everyone was getting on in years now and they were afraid of getting high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Luke had blood pressure and uric acid on the higher side, so he had to be careful about his diet.
Tonight, Sonny was joining them for dinner, so Jessica had specially bought more food, while Hank had not worked that afternoon. The couple bustled around in the kitchen for half a day, making all of Sonny's favorites.
"Dad, Jess." Sonny greeted his father and stepmother.
Jessica replied with a smile, "Hey, Sonny. There are some freshly washed fruits on the platter, so you can have some first. Dinner will be ready soon. Do you want water or tea?"
"Water would be better. Having tea now will affect his sleep later," Hank replied. "Sonny, sit while I get you some water."
Sonny hurriedly replied, "Dad, there's no need. I'll get it myself. This is my home, too, and I'm just coming back to my home. It's not like I'm a first-time guest."
He went to pour himself a glass of water.
"Dad, is there anything you need my help with? What did you and Jess make? It smells so good here."
Sonny took two sips of his water before meandering along into the kitchen.
Hank said with a smile, “It's just some of your favorite dishes. When Jess heard you were coming over, she went out early to buy lots of ingredients. Smells good, doesn't it? I cooked some of it. My cooking is getting better now."
When he was young, he was waited upon when he came home. All the household chores were done by Liberty and Serenity, and even the cooking. To be honest, when Serenity still lived with him and his family, she really was like a free housekeeper who did anything and everything.
She even paid for her food expenses and did not freeload off them. It was only after the divorce that he found out Serenity actually contributed five thousand dollars every month for living expenses. It was just that she was canny enough to ask Liberty to tell Hank that she only gave two thousand dollars a month, and for Liberty to keep the rest as pocket money.
It was no wonder Serenity had done such a thing, because he had not fulfilled his responsibilities as Liberty's husband and had given her too little for living expenses. If the child was fine, it was just about enough to cover the necessities, but if the child fell sick, that meager sum would be far from enough.
When Liberty asked him for money, he would blow up at her and scold her, saying that she got to eat and sleep at home, so why did she need more money to spend? Every month, she did not even have a single cent left over, and often had to ask him for more money before the end of the month.
It was only after Zachary exerted pressure on him and he lost his job, having to resort to working as a ride-hailing driver for a living, that he understood how difficult life was. A mere one or two thousand dollars a month was not enough to maintain a household.
He had been too stingy with Liberty, but so generous with Jessica. Even his parents got more money for living expenses from him than Liberty did, while they used that money to subsidize Chelsea and her family's lifestyle.
Thinking of the past, Hank wanted to slap himself a few times. He really had been such a bastard.