"Mary, you're still as beautiful as before. You haven't aged a day!" Peter said with a fond smile. He didn't notice William glaring at him.
"Peter, you're such a sweet talker!" Mary beamed.
William held back his temper. Before he could lose it, a nurse came over to him and took him away to receive his medication.
"Go on," Mary urged.
"I'll be back soon." William reluctantly walked out, giving Peter a hard stare before he left.
"Mr. Lan's been giving me strange looks," Peter said as the door closed. "Is he jealous of me?"
"What do you mean? Haha... Why would he be jealous of you?" Mary waved her hands. "He's just a grumpy man. You must be seeing things. Don't take it too seriously, Peter."
"You think so?" Peter frowned and said, "Maybe I was just overthinking."
When he arrived in his ward, William stared intently at the white pills in his hand, as if they were his enemy. He fiercely swallowed them all in one go. Damn it! He was flustered whenever a man wandered around Mary.
"Mr. Lan, I'll be leaving now."
"Wait a minute." William stopped the nurse. "Could you ask the president of the hospital to visit me?"
"Alright." The nurse nodded in confusion and immediately brought the president of the hospital over.
"Mr. Lan, what can I do for you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?" the president questioned.
"I want a bigger bed for Mary Lu. She will be more comfortable with a bigger bed," William nodded. "Yes, make it a double bed."
"Well..." The president pushed his glasses up and said, "Would that be a good idea?"
"Yes, would that be a good idea?" Lucas pushed the door open and asked with a smile. "Mr. Lan, are you causing trouble for our president again?"
"It's only a small request," William replied. "Change Mary's bed to a double bed."
"Wow..." Lucas stared at William's face and snickered. "I heard that Mary gave you a list of don'ts. Now you're asking for a double bed? I advise you to think twice!"
William blushed when he got caught. "You're well-informed. How did you find out? Jazlyn? Aisha?"
Lucas shrugged, "You don't need to know."
"Do you want a beating?" William threatened.
"You should vent out your frustrations as soon as you can!" Lucas shook his head. "You'll be frustrated for two years! No kissing, no hugging
"Fuck off!" William grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at him.
Lucas laughed, "I love to see how defeated you are!"
"Change her bed, now!" he commanded.
"Alright, alright," Lucas nodded with a smile. "We'll change it for you, but if you get kicked out of bed tonight, don't blame me for it!"
"Shut up!" William yelled.
It was getting darker. Timothy and Amy brought over their kids so they could have dinner with the two patients.
"Aunt Amy, this is too much of a hassle!" Mary watched Amy taking out of food from her bed. "You don't have to do all this yourself. I can handle it."
"No way!" Amy said, "Your health is our priority. Your hemolytic reaction was terrible. You'll be in danger if you don't take proper care of yourself. You need to be more cautious. I'm willing to visit twice a day as long as you can give me a healthy grandson."
"Grandma," Elissa said while munching on her dinner, "there's something wrong. Mommy is carrying my little sister."
"Okay," Timothy said with a smile. "I like both boys and girls. They are all my grandchildren."
"Father, Aunt Amy," William pushed the door open and greeted them respectfully.
"Dad!"
"Dad!" The two kids cast aside their dinners and rushed over to him as he entered the room.
"My babies!" William rubbed their heads fondly and said, "Go and eat your dinner."
"Where have you been?" Mary asked. "Come and have dinner, too. Aunt Amy prepared it for us."
"Thank you, Aunt Amy," William nodded and sat opposite to Mary.
"No problem." Amy looked over at Timothy with a gentle smile and said, "Look! They're getting along so well now!"
"Right." Timothy nodded and said with a slight smile, "I wish they could have been like this earlier."
The family continued to talk and laugh over dinner, and enjoy each other's company. As they were having their dinner, the door of the ward suddenly opened. Lucas walked into the room dressed in a white gown. "Yes, be careful. Bring it in carefully..."
Behind him, several people carried a large bed into the ward.
"Good evening, Uncle Timothy and Aunt Amy!" Lucas turned to greet them.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love Contract