Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Henry was halfway through his juicy watermelon slice when it was unceremoniously discarded. "..."

So that's what they call love moving on, huh?

Dad's trying to be charming, mom's touched, and there I am, abandoned in the pool with no one to fuss over me. ""Ah, man!"

Cold water-ever heard of it? Thanks for nothing, unreliable parents!

Henry made a valiant effort, belting out a couple of indignant "Wahh!" cries, before finally kicking furiously in the water, flailing his little arms in protest, stirring up enough of a commotion to win back his parents' affection.

In the end, his efforts paid off, capturing his mom and dad's attention.

Turns out, as long as it wasn't about money, he was mommy's favorite little munchkin.

Mia, with her eyes still teary, hurried to scoop up her little champ from the water.

"Honey, I forgive you," Mia said, cradling her slippery son, addressing her husband.

The little rascal was a mix of fury and wails, almost as if he was accusingly saying he had not forgiven his dad for that unceremonious dunk! If it weren't for the diaper safeguarding his tiny bottom, he'd be blowing bubbles underwater right now. Andre, having tackled a tough issue, felt a weight lifted off his chest. His son's "speech" was nothing more than playful banter between father and son.

Now, he had time to give his boy a bath.

Meatball was hoisted up by dad once more, flipped over to rest on his father's forearm, as Andre began to scrub his back.

One arm wasn't quite enough to handle him, Andre remarked, "The kid's too chunky, all chubby and needs both hands to hold him steady, or he'll slip right into the tub." The little guy in question: "Ah-ee-ya-ya-ya," was ready for a father swap!

Mia was mid-bath with her son, her cry from earlier not quite faded, tears still clinging to her lashes when she suddenly froze, staring at the little chunk, forgetting to move. She had an epiphany, "Honey, your son doesn't have a neck!"

After saying that, she burst into laughter, pointing at the little one still in his father's grip, "Haha, he's so plump he's lost his neck!"

The little one: "..." was ready for a mom swap!

Andre was momentarily bewildered, then he turned the bathing bambino to face him, looking down at his little bundle of joy, who really seemed to be... neckless. Henry, already uneasy from the bath, now faced his mom who was laughing at him and his dad examining him with such seriousness that he burst into tears.

be a delightful bath and a merry time eating his parents' metaphorical melon had turned into a series of

to be the darling son of

as his mom chuckled and wiped

cradling the clean little guy and looking

Mia wasn't one to hold a grudge. The lessons of the past days

carried her son to her husband, "Honey, hold

his little face, then his gaze drifted down to the

son's chubby cheek, tilting his face slightly

he found

reluctantly admitted, "Our son has a neck,

the little one managed

sleep late at night, his parents stayed up, secretly getting

the wee hours, typing into the search engine: "Will a baby without a neck grow up to be unattractive? Mom was the campus

start saving money. If our son ends up too unattractive to find a wife, at least he'll

Oh, right.

troublesome son to bed at

lay

been hiding out at the Byrne residence for a few days, relishing

comfort was short-lived, though, as she soon accompanied Coleen on

are, the odd one out, turning it down when it's handed to you," Coleen chided her

rich second-generation Molly retorted, "I'll take it, but I think I

asked, "And how long do you plan on 'having

"Till I'm 40."

like nearly two decades! "Graduate and go to

house, Chad, who had been working night shifts, also

beside Chad, but remembering the late-night incident from a few days ago, she decisively got up

and continued discussing with his parents the need for another visit to the Cedillo family. "Mom and Dad, it's been a while, and the Cedillos are probably cooled down by now. We shouldn't delay any longer; it wouldn't look good. I've switched shifts, so we can visit the Cedillo family in the next few

discussed the gifts for the visit, Molly played on her phone, lost in a mobile game,

you left, we haven't received any