"Oh, my darling, you're so sweet," Alice said and hugged Ernest in her arms. "Come here, give your aunt a hug."
Ernest spread his arms wide then retracted his arms hastily, and said shyly, "Auntie, my hands are covered in mud."
"It doesn't matter." Alice couldn't be bothered at all. "This little bit of mud is nothing to me. I'm so glad for your mommy. Now that we've found you, the both of us are really happy. I don't mind a bit of mud."
Ernest felt that Alice was rather friendly as she was not afraid of dirtying her clothes for the sake of hugging him.
Ernest extended his little hands and used his arms to hug Alice by the neck. He smiled happily and said, "Auntie, I'm happy too. It feels great to be loved by you."
"How sweet," Alice hugged him back tightly and picked him up. She looked at Grace and said excitedly, "Grace, remember how we were joking that Ernest looked like you? I can't believe that he is indeed your son. Now, Ernest is a part of our family for real."