"Son, how was the football game?" Melinda asked.
Today was the day Jonas and Alex went to watch a football match—a father-and-son day.
"It was good, I liked it!" Alex replied. Truth be told, he'd only seen that sport in movies before, but watching it live was a lot of fun.
"Too bad the home team lost," Jonas added.
"Dad, you were cheering for the other team from the start," Alex said.
Melinda watched the interaction between the two with a smile. For her, days like this were the best.
After dinner, Alex went to wash the dishes, while Melinda and Jonas watched TV.
"Now I remember!" Melinda suddenly exclaimed.
Jonas, distracted while sipping a cold drink, looked at his wife, who had suddenly gotten excited, and asked curiously, "What happened?"
"Today, Mary came to see me—she invited us to have a meeting with Paige's parents," Melinda said, animated.
"Who's Paige?" Jonas asked, confused.
"She's a very smart girl who also started attending Dr. John Sturgis's college classes. She's our son's age," Melinda explained.
"Really? Another prodigy? Seems like they're more common than we thought," Jonas joked.
Melinda rolled her eyes at Jonas, but she was excited. After all, the only other child genius she knew was her friend Mary's son.
Though she never told Mary this, she found many of Sheldon's behaviors strange.
She felt lucky that her son seemed like a normal boy—otherwise, how would anyone know he was a little genius?
"In any case, the parents will meet next Saturday. Are you free from work?" Melinda looked at Jonas with hopeful eyes.
Truth be told, Jonas didn't feel like going to that kind of gathering. But since his wife wanted to go, how could he, as a husband, let her go alone?
"Of course. Where are we meeting?" Jonas asked, taking another sip of beer.
"What are you two talking about?"
At that moment, Alex appeared, having finished the dishes. He'd already heard the entire conversation—his question was just to play ignorant.
"Your mother was invited to a gathering for parents of genius children," Jonas said.
Melinda rolled her eyes at Jonas and shared the news with Alex.
"Mary invited us to meet Paige's parents. What do you think?" she asked.
Alex thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. In the TV series, Paige's parents divorced, which made her resent being gifted. He wanted to change that.
"It's a great idea. Even though she seems like a cheerful girl, I feel there's sadness hidden behind that bright personality," Alex said.
Melinda and Jonas glanced at each other. They hadn't expected their son to say something like that—it left them a bit confused.
"Really? I hadn't noticed. What makes you think that?" Melinda asked, concerned.
Though she had nothing to do with the other girl, she was still a child—and even if gifted, hiding that kind of sadness didn't seem healthy.
"I'm not sure. It's just a feeling. Just ignore what I said—take it as me saying something silly," Alex replied.
"Son, you're a very intelligent kid and have never given us trouble. If you say so, your mother and I believe you. Tell us why you feel that way," Jonas said, now genuinely curious.
Alex looked at his father for a moment. He hesitated, as if fighting whether or not to say something. In truth, he just wanted to steer his parents in the direction he believed was right.
Cruel? Maybe—but he wanted to help that girl.
"I suspect it's something to do with her parents. Since you're friends with Mary and George, I assume they've told you how hard it was raising someone like Sheldon," Alex said.
"Yes, at first we asked for advice on how to care for you—but you never gave us trouble, which made things easier," Melinda said, smiling shyly.
Alex wasn't surprised. Ever since he arrived in this world, he'd been watching his parents—and they always did their best to care for him.
He'd noticed their effort and love during all this time. He silently thanked the mysterious being who sent him into this life.
Alex then spent a long time talking to his parents about Paige and what he believed were her emotional struggles.
At first, they felt it would be rude to interfere in the life of someone they didn't know—but they eventually said that, if the opportunity arose, they would try to help.
Alex was very happy to hear that. After saying so, he watched TV with his parents and went to bed when the time came.