Druid in the Marvel Universe Chapter 14: I Have a Daughter Too

Alvin was hustling till 1 PM, and bam, all 50 steaks were gone. With nothing left to do, he strolled over to the bar, grabbed a can of goji berries from the cabinet, and whipped up a cup of goji berry tea.

Back in the day, every morning before work, his wife would make him a thermos of this stuff. They’d joke around, she’d give him a few playful jabs, and he’d head off to work feeling on top of the world.

Now, he was just making it for himself like some old geezer, lost in memories.

He was zoning out when a knock on the bar snapped him back to reality. It was Jessica.

"What's up? Messed up the change again? I keep telling you to study more, but you never listen!" Alvin said, a bit puzzled, not giving a hoot about Jessica's annoyed look.

After taking a punch, Alvin finally snapped out of it, "Hey~ How can a lady hit her boss? I'll dock your pay."

Jessica, not scared at all, glared at Alvin and muttered, "Dock it all, then you can support me for life."

Alvin tapped her forehead with his finger and said, "What are you dreaming about all day? Support you for life? If a guy ever says that, punch him. Trust me, he deserves it. Silly girl!"

Jessica pouted, looking like she was about to cry, and stared at Alvin with big, sad eyes.

Alvin crossed his arms, trying to shake off the goosebumps, and said, "Get back to work, you silly girl. If some guy wants to date you, bring him to me, and I'll check him out. So you don't get played."

Jessica pouted, "Hmph~ I don't need you worrying about me. I know what kind of guy to look for!"

"Just make sure he's not like me, or you'll never find one. I wouldn't settle for you either; my woman’s gotta be at least a 36D," Alvin said, glancing at Jessica's modest chest.

Jessica thought about the women who made the boss smile, like Dalia and Lilith, all of whom had big chests. She pouted, wrinkled her nose, "Hmph~" and turned to clean the tables, forgetting what she wanted to say.

"Boss, she's a good girl. You're not being very gentlemanly," a blond young dude said, bumping fists with Alvin and making a few hand gestures like a street thug, trying to get Alvin to join in.

Alvin looked at him like he was a joke. The blond guy wasn’t discouraged, laughed awkwardly, and said, "Great steak!" Then he turned to join his buddies waiting at the door, bragging to them, "See, I know the boss here. He's the godfather of this street."

Not long after the dude left, an old Ford sedan pulled up in front of the restaurant. The driver’s door opened, and JJ got out, went to the passenger side, and pulled out a 16- or 17-year-old black kid with a bandaged arm, which looked pretty messed up.

From the back seat, Professor Wilson got out with a 5- or 6-year-old brown-haired girl. They walked into the restaurant together.

Seeing the professor’s grim face, Alvin felt a bit uneasy.

Jessica, being sweet, greeted Professor Wilson and the little girl, offering them a glass of water.

Alvin looked at JJ and asked in a serious tone, "What's going on?"

JJ slapped the black kid on the back of the head, making him bend over, then restrained him as he tried to turn and retaliate. JJ said in a deep voice, "This kid hurt Mrs. Wilson."

Seeing Alvin about to lose it, Professor Wilson quickly stood up, waved his hand, and said, "He didn’t hurt her, just pushed her, and she fell. The doc said she’ll be fine in a couple of days."

Stopping Alvin, Professor Wilson apologized, "Actually, Ginny scratched Jason's arm, so I came to find you, Alvin. I'm sorry to trouble you."

Hearing that Mrs. Wilson was okay, Alvin felt a bit relieved. The Wilsons were the backbone of the school now.

Ignoring the struggling kid in JJ's grip, Alvin looked at the little girl clinging to the professor's coat. He knew she was the girl Professor Wilson mentioned in the morning, the one he wanted Alvin to adopt.

In his previous life, Alvin always wanted a daughter, but with a modest family background, he and his wife worried that having another child would make life difficult. So they never made up their minds.

In this life, he wasn't even married yet, and a daughter was already being sent to him. Although he was a bit unhappy with Professor Wilson's decision in the morning, seeing the delicate little girl looking at him with frightened eyes, Alvin felt his heart melt. He had no time to care about the black gang recruit who had clearly grown up on the streets of Hell's Kitchen.

Alvin squatted down, smiled gently at the little girl, and said, "You're Ginny, right? My name is Alvin!" He then extended his hand to Ginny.

At this moment, Alvin looked like a kind father, with a warm, sunny smile, looking expectantly at his daughter. It was strange to see such an expression on a typical 25-year-old, but on Alvin, it seemed surprisingly harmonious, as if he was born to be this way.

Whether influenced by Alvin or encouraged by Professor Wilson, Ginny slowly extended her hand, touched Alvin's open palm with her fingers, and quickly withdrew, her pale face showing "fear," "uncertainty," and "hope."

Alvin kept his hand open, motionless, looking at Ginny with encouraging eyes.

Ginny looked at Alvin, then at Professor Wilson, who nodded encouragingly at her. She slowly let go of the professor's coat, like a little animal searching for food, and tentatively touched Alvin's palm with her small hand.

Alvin patiently waited, his smile growing brighter. This was an extremely insecure and sensitive little girl. Alvin didn't hesitate to pour all the love he should have given his daughter in his previous life into her.

Finally, the small hand rested on the big palm. Ginny felt the warmth of Alvin's palm, which she liked very much.

In her memory, only Alvin had given her this feeling. It was warm and safe. She had wandered many places but felt something she had never felt before in a chaotic, rundown neighborhood restaurant called Peace Restaurant.

The old professor and his wife gave her a feeling of kindness and goodness, but Alvin gave her warmth and protection.

The little girl clung to the warmth of Alvin's palm, unwilling to let go. She timidly pointed to herself with her left hand and said softly, "Ginny, I, Ginny."

Alvin happily gently squeezed his right hand, wrapping Ginny's small hand in his big one. Mimicking Ginny, he pointed to himself with his left hand and said, "Alvin, I, Alvin."

Ginny finally let down her guard, her face breaking into a small smile. She pointed at Alvin and said, "Alvin, you, Daddy." It was clear Professor Wilson had prepared her mentally before coming.

But who cared? Alvin only felt his heart was about to burst with joy. He smiled happily, nodded, and pointed to himself, "I, Alvin, Daddy."

Ginny's smile grew a bit bigger. She held Alvin's hand and buried her face in it, like a little puppy returning home, squinting her eyes and greedily sniffing Alvin's scent.

Alvin held Ginny's little face with one hand and stroked her brown hair with the other, feeling a sense of accomplishment. Now, he was a man with a daughter.