"You brat, how dare you ask your mom to buy you condoms?" Alwin exploded, seeing his son return with Danny.
Listening to his father, Ace was shocked. Meanwhile, Danny exploded into laughter. However, Ace quickly recovered, and with an indifferent face, he asked his father, "Dad, what is a condom?"
"..." Alwin stared at his son, unable to respond. He anticipated Ace would deny it. But, he never expected him to pull a reverse Uno.
"Yes, Al. Tell your son what's a condom," Dan shouted from the grill station, sipping his beer.
Alwin ignored his brother and his laughing nephew. Then, he sternly warned Ace, "Don't act smart with me. Just for that, you're grounded for the entire week."
"Does that mean we are not leaving for Uncle Rob's house?" Ace asked eagerly. He did not mind being grounded because he planned to spend the week locked in his room, training curse arts anyway.
"We are not going anywhere," Alwin replied with a proud smile and then instructed Ace, "Go apologize to your mother?"
"Why, I did nothing wrong," Ace protested. It was not his fault that his mother could not trust him around Mandy or another woman.
"Why? She carried you in her womb for nine months and suffered hours of unbearable labor pain to bring you into this world. You should be apologizing and thanking her every day for the rest of your life," Alwin had no idea what had happened between his son and wife. But as a good husband and father, he unequivocally backed his wife.
"Fine," Ace agreed unwillingly. He left to find his mother and get it over with. Only to hear his father warn him, "Remember, you're grounded. After you finish apologizing to your mother, go directly to your room. Don't let me catch you sneaking around."
"Ace, come to my room. I will bring enough ribs for both of us," Danny said, filling a tupperware with all the ribs on the table. Then he hurried into the house before Dan could scold him to leave some for others.
Ace soon found his mother relaxing by the pool with Pam and Mandy. He hurried over and apologized, "Mom, I am sorry for my behavior earlier."
"Did you have something to eat?" Mary asked her son, not dwelling on his rebellion earlier.
"No. Dad grounded me. So, Danny and I will eat in his room," Ace replied, taking his phone and shirt resting by his mom's side.
"Don't worry about it. I will talk to your dad. Enjoy your week," Mary responded casually, shocking Ace. He nodded, thinking his father's title, 'Mary Whisperer,' wasn't just for show.
"Thanks, Mom," Ace thanked Mary for returning to her regular self. Changing into his shirt, he returned the towel to his mother. Then, he headed into the house toward Danny's room.
After Ace left, Pam asked, "Mary, what did Al tell you? You are a lot calmer after talking to him."
"Nothing," she replied, "he said our son was too much of a chicken to do what I had in mind. That's how we raised him," Mary said, her smile brimming with satisfaction.
"..." Pam remained silent, not knowing whether to laugh or worry about Ace's sex life. Mandy slowly tried to slip away from his sister's side, but Pam grabbed her wrist and said, "Where do you think you are slipping off to? Stay put. This week, just like my shadow, you will follow me everywhere. And I am sleeping in your room."
"Sister, I am a grown woman. I can do whatever I want," Mandy protested, only to hear Mary retort, "Are you sure you want me to treat you like a grown woman?"
"You heard her, Mandy. Answer her," Paw challenged her sister. She finally had enough of her sister's antics.
"..." Mandy chose to remain silent. She could handle her sister, but Mary was a different story. She did not dare to provoke her.
"That's what I thought. While I'm staying here, I'll also be sleeping in your room," Mary informed Mandy. She was a teenager once and had enjoyed her share of sneaking around, which made her wary of any girl approaching her son.
"Danny, can I borrow your laptop for the week?" Ace asked while whipping his finger with a paper napkin.
"I can do you one better. I recently upgraded my PC setup. So, I was planning to sell the old parts online. You can reassemble and use them for the week," Danny offered while munching on ribs. Ace was astonished to see how Danny could continue to eat without pausing.
"Great, I will get started on it right away. Where are the parts?" Ace asked, only to find Danny pointing at neatly packed, labeled, and stacked carton boxes, ready to be shipped. Observing this, Ace inquired, "Did you find buyers for them? If so, I can use the laptop."
"No, I did not. I had packed them to save trouble later," Danny explained. Seeing Ace not believe him, he complained, "Those jerks online want them for less than half price. Some of these parts aren't even six months old. I'm waiting for someone to offer the right price for these parts."
"Okay, if you say so," Ace said, trusting his cousin's words. Then, he placed all the parts in a larger carton box and carrying the box he prepared to head to his room. As he did, he heard Danny say, "Let me know once you're all set up. We can play a game or two."
"Sure," Ace responded while using the status screen to ask Dame Wasp, [Rose, will these parts be enough, or do you need more?]
[Master, these parts will be enough for me to hack into online gambling sites without getting traced], Dame Wasp informed, assuring Ace that the components in their hands were sufficient for her to win money from online gambling sites without the risk of being traced.
[Great. Finally, we are making some progress.] Ace exclaimed.