Ryder Rosenhall

“Daddy!” the boy cried out happily as he hugged his father.

“Say hello to my good friend. This is Reiner. Reiner, this is my eldest son, Ryder,” Edward quickly introduced the two to each other.

“Hello, Sir. My name is Ryder Rosenhall. It is a pleasure to meet you,” the boy said cheerily and with impeccable manners.

“I’m Reiner. It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” Reiner replied back before smiling a little at the boy and patting his head.

When the boy looked up to smile at him in return, Reiner found himself looking into a pair of very familiar eyes. The boy had his mother’s kind eyes, Natalia’s eyes. He watched as the boy went about eating his food, clearly enjoying himself.

“Did you name him?” Reiner asked Edward quietly.

“No, his mother did,” Edward replied before smiling at his friend.

“I see…” Reiner mumbled; his eyes still glued to the red-haired boy.

“I’ve got some business to take care of for a short while. Ryder, can you stay with my friend. He hasn’t eaten so can you order him some food? Is that, ok?” Edward asked Ryder before winking at Reiner.

Ryder nodded in response to this father’s suggestion.

“Edward…” Reiner said hesitantly.

“Take good care of my son. I’ll be back in half an hour…” Edward said casually as he headed for the door.

“Where are you going off to again, daddy?” Ryder asked accusingly.

“I’m just going to pick up the twins. Ok?” Edward replied smoothly.

“Ok…” Ryder mumbled in reply.

“My friend can pay for your lunch,” Edward said teasingly.

“…Sure,” Reiner said as he looked at Edward in confusion.

Without another word, Edward quickly left the restaurant leaving Reiner alone with a wide-eyed redhead boy.

“You want to order something, Sir? The steak here tastes good,” Ryder said with a big smile before stuffing more steak into his mouth.

“Can you order something for me then?” Reiner asked as he stared at the boy sitting next to him.

“Sure. Leave it to me!” Ryder replied excitedly as he pushed the button to call the waitress.

At the sound of the call bell, the waitress entered the room to receive the order from Ryder who enthusiastically ordered more steak for his father’ friend. After confirming the order, the waitress bowed politely and silently left the room.

“How old are you, Ryder?” Reiner asked in a gentle voice as he continued to observe the boy sitting close him.

“I’m eight, Sir,” Ryder said proudly.

“You can stop calling me ‘Sir’. Just call me Reiner,” Reiner said calmly.

“Alright. Mister Reiner,” Ryder said, trying to sound as formal as he could.

“You seem close to your father,” Reiner commented.

“We are close. He’s my father but we’re best friends. I want to grow up to be just like my father,” Ryder stated proudly, his eyes sparkling.

“That’s not surprising. Edward is a great guy,” Reiner said with a small laugh.

“I know, right?” Ryder readily agreed.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you have your mother’s eyes?” Reiner asked.

“My father did. He said that my eyes are beautiful just like hers. Do you know her? My mother…I mean,” Ryder asked curiously.

“I do know her. We’re not close or anything. I met her through Edward…a couple of times. That’s all,”

Reiner said casually, his smile never leaving his lips as he looked adoringly at the boy next to him.

“I see. Well, why don’t you eat first?” Ryder said as he heard the waitress knocking softly before entering the room to serve their food.

“The food looks good. Seems like you’ve made a great choice,” Reiner said; however, his eyes never left the boy’s face.

“I wonder when father will be back. Maybe you’ll get to meet the twins. Have you met them?” Ryder asked.

“No…I haven’t met the twins,” Reiner answered.

“You’ll know immediately when you see them. They look pretty much like father…same eyes and same hair. They’re just smaller…oh and one is a girl…” Ryder said with a slightly wicked smile.

“Well, at least you have your mother’s eyes,” Reiner said encouragingly.

“My mother says I have beautiful red hair. I’m happy as long as she likes it,” Ryder said bravely as he reassured both Reiner and himself at the same time.

“I see. That’s great,” Reiner said with a smile.

“You have red hair too, Mister Reiner,” Ryder said cheerfully.

“You’re right, I do,” Reiner replied.

“My mother always says that people with red hair have a kind and brave heart. She thinks I have a kind and brave heart…” Ryder said softly as he reminisces on his mother’s words.

“I’m sure that you do…” Reiner whispered.

…

“Are you still sure that you don’t want to meet her?” Edward whispered secretly to Reiner.

“Yes…I’m sure,” Reiner whispered back firmly.

“I see. It’s Natalia’s birthday in two days…I wonder what I should get her…” Edward said as he pretended to be deep in thought.

“Edward…” Reiner said in a low voice.

“See you around…” Edward before winking at Reiner.

Edward got up from his seat and headed to where the kids were playing and chatting loudly to each other. Putting his arms around his children, he crouched down to their level and started chatting to them.

“We should go home now. Natalia is waiting,” Edward told the kids as he rounded them up.

“Ok…” the kids replied in unison.

“Goodbye, Mr. Reiner!” Ryder called and waved enthusiastically in Reiner’s direction.

“Goodbye…” Reiner said as he waved back.

Reiner watched until Edward and the children disappeared completely from sight.

…

“Happy Birthday Mummy!” all my three children shouted excited all at once.

After singing the happy birthday song along with Edward, the three children excitedly grabbed the presents that they had prepared and handed them over to me while wishing me a happy birthday. I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing in joy as I crouched down to throw my arms around my three beautiful children.

I felt tears of happiness in my eyes as I hugged my children tightly to me and felt their warm bodies in my arms. I can’t even begin to explain or put into words how much I love them and how thankful I am to have them in my life. These are the memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

--To be continued…