“Alright.” Ernest unlocked his phone, opened the WhatsApp application, and handed it over without further delay.

“Thanks, Dad.” Locke grinned, clutching it with excitement.

Locke held the phone in both hands. Since he hadn’t learned to type properly yet, he pressed and held the microphone icon to record voice messages instead.

“Miss Holland, are you home yet?”

It didn’t take long before Elissa replied. To match his way of communicating, she sent a voice message as well.

“Yes, I’m home. Thank you, Locke. Is it time for you to sleep?”

“Yes, I’m about to go to bed. Miss Holland, you should sleep early too.

Goodnight, mwah!”

He added a playful kiss sound at the end without hesitation.

Ernest, sitting not too far away, caught the exchange and looked up in surprise.

“Do you think that’s appropriate? She might think… You know, she might think that was too much.”

Locke turned his head and shook it firmly. “No, she won’t.”

And sure enough, not even a full minute later, Elissa responded with another voice message.

“Goodnight, mwah!”

“Did you hear that?” Locke grinned at his father, clearly pleased with himself. “Miss Holland didn’t think it was too much. She kissed me back. She likes me!”

“Alright, you win.” Ernest let out a quiet laugh. “I didn’t know the two of you were so close.”

He walked over, bent down, and picked Locke up into his arms. “Come on. It’s bedtime for real now.”

“Okay!”

With his cheek resting against Ernest’s shoulder, Locke was carried back to his room, gently lowered onto the bed, and tucked in. While listening to his bedtime story, he drifted off within minutes.

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Ernest adjusted the blanket over his son, turned off the light, and slowly stepped out, closing the door behind him without a sound.

Back in his own room, he walked to the table and picked up his phone. His fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before he unlocked it. As if drawn by something he couldn’t quite explain, he tapped into WhatsApp and opened Elissa’s last message.

“Goodnight, mwah!”

He pressed play again. And again.

“Goodnight, mwah!”

He played the voice message more times than he could count, letting it loop quietly.

Stretched out on the bed, Ernest pressed the phone to his ear, allowing Elissa’s voice to echo softly again and again.

With his free hand, he lightly touched the corner of his lips. That exact spot… it was where Elissa had accidentally kissed him earlier in the living room.

Now, with her gentle “mwah” repeating in his ear, it felt almost as if she were leaning in, kissing him again and again, each time more vivid than the last.

The following day.

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