A Reluctant Family

Mark's brows winged upward. "Gwen, you are not my daughter," he said firmly. "You are my niece. I'm glad you feel at home here, but I'm not your father, and you're not my daughter. We're family, but not like that." He stood and moved toward the stairs. "I have some work to do. There's a television in the living room if you want to watch something, just don't turn it up too loud."
 
Gwen said as she looks to see what was on tv, "I won't turn it up too loud. I hope I don't make too many mistakes as your niece."
She doesn't watch anything inappropriate on the tv. Instead, she watches educational programs and game shows such as Wheel of Fortune.
 
Mark shook his head and sighed as he headed upstairs. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with that odd little girl.
 
Mark went into his office and made certain the door was locked. He doubted Gwen was someone to listen at doors or try to walk in without knocking, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The heavy, lead-lined curtains were securely closed, meaning the only light source came from the dim little lamp on his desk. He sat down, booted up his computer, and started typing. There was a lot to do and not much time to do it in. As long as Gwen was truly as innocent as she let on, all would be fine. The last thing he wanted to do was to drag an innocent into the sordid world of his work, but someone had to do it. It might as well be him. He settled in for several hours of work, leaving Gwen to her own devices.
 
Seeing as Gwen was quiet as a mouse and as lively as a porcelain doll, Mark decided she must be fine and enjoying herself. If she needed anything, she could come to him and ask. So he worked until his usual time and then went down and let the dogs out into the yard. Once the dogs had played some and done their business, Mark brought them in and closed up, locking the house up tight for the night. Then he headed to his room and bed, leaving Gwen to her own devices.

The next morning, he got up at 5, as was his habit, dressed, and went downstairs. The dogs were waiting eagerly by the door, and he put on their leashes before heading out for a morning run. Once he'd run for an hour, he returned home, showered, changed his clothes, and get a breakfast of sausage and scrambled eggs ready. He put a plate on the table for Gwen and sat down to eat.
 
Gwen goes to the table after getting dressed in her usual outfit and does her duties before arriving. She enjoys everything her uncle does for her.
 
"I have a lot of work to do today," Mark told Gwen. "I'll be down for lunch. Is there anything you need? Do you have stuff to keep you entertained?" He had no idea what to do with Gwen. He really should have picked up a book on parenting. "If you want, you can throw the ball for the dogs if you get bored."
 
Gwen said, "I do have plenty of stuff to keep me entertained. I don't get bored so easily and I enjoy our home. You are the best uncle a little girl can ask for. I am good for right now. I will never disturb you and your work. As they always say time is money. I will never also see you during your work because that will be a bother to you. I love you very much."
 
Mar gave her an odd look. "I'm not used to children, but you are a strange little girl." He stood and picked up the plates, cleaning up the table. "Don't forget that you have school tomorrow. It'd be a good idea to make sure you have everything ready and by the front door. Are you okay taking the bus, or do you need me to drive you?"
 
Gwen said to her uncle, "I am acceptable to both. I already checked last night before I went to bed last night. I am already ahead of the game. It doesn't really matter to me as long as I don't have to pay the bus fare."
 
"It's a school bus. School busses don't have fares," Mark said. "Just be sure not to miss it, but if you do, I'll drive you." He finished cleaning off the table and wiped it down. "Alright, I'm going to head up to work. Unless you have anything you need?" He paused at the foot of the stairs and looked back at Gwen, waiting for her response.
 
Gwen said, "I am good. Just go ahead and do whatever you need to do. By the way, why did you call me a strange girl earlier? That was offensive in my book."
 
Mark just chuckled and shook his head. "I called you that because you are strange. Nothing offensive about it. Let me know if you need anything, kid, just knock on my door." He started up the stairs, still amused.
 
Gwen was making sure everything was ready for school. It never hurts to double check. After that she went to practice her handwriting on a spare notebook. She took a sip of her tea at the table.
 
Mark spent the morning running database queries for clients. It wasn't difficult, but it was tedious work and most people didn't know how to do it, so he made quite a bit of money in only a few hours of work. Unbeknownst to his clients, their patronage also gave him backdoor access to all their information, a fact that he would exploit during his evening work time. He smiled at the thought, only to have it dissolve away with the thought of the girl now living with him. This was a lot more exciting when he wasn't risking another's life.

Finally, it was time for lunch, and he went down to prepare something for himself and Gwen.
 
Last edited:
Gwen was playing with her toys and try to be nicest little girl she can be for her uncle. She smelled something so delicious and went to the kitchen to see her uncle cooking.
 
"Hello, Gwen. I hope you like Ramen," Mark said. He didn't mean just the packet of noodles you can buy in the store. He was making full, traditional ramen, only skipping the step where he made his own noodles. The noodles he'd bought from the store because making this type of noodle was a long process that he didn't enjoy spending time on, but he'd made the broth from scratch. He was just finishing when Gwen came down, so he put a portion of ramen into two bowls and placed broiled chicken, dried shitake mushrooms, a hard-boiled egg, and a sprinkling of scallions. It was quite a colorful dish he set on the table for his niece.
 
Gwen smiles, "I love Ramen. I haven't had Ramen this good in a while. Thanks for preparing this for us. That looks very delicious."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top