Nick went to the laundry room to hang dry his wet clothes. Along the way, he thought about warming a glass of milk for Kate. Then walked back to Kate's room.
"She didn't say yes, but she didn't say no," Nick murmured his thoughts as he waited for the microwave timer to finish. "Maybe she's just too upset to say anything."Nick was still feeling nervous and had no idea how to speak to Kate. He isn't even sure he knows what he is doing, but he just has got to soothe her annoyance over him in whatever means and at all cost. He cannot let this issue stay until their next or Kate's next visit to see Kelly. The mother would no doubt be in distress if she felt Kate was sad. Nick didn't want that. He might foolishly trigger taboo issues on Kelly. Not good for the patient and not good for him, who aims to win his girl's mom. Whatever misunderstandings between him and Kate should be dealt with by both of them, he is willing to do anything she asks just to keep peace's flag soaring hNick and Kate snuggled in her bed until they fell asleep but got awakened by a phone call. Kate would always make sure she sleeps with her cell phone unmuted ever since Kelly was brought to the hospital. The two, Kate and Nick, asked the nurses to let them know anything, progress or distress, anytime it may occur regarding Kelly's conditions. At school, Kate made sure her phone was in her pocket, silent mode but with vibrations to notice calls as soon as they arrived on her phone. Nick did the same, and whoever of the two of them gets the ring first, they have agreed to let the other know and meet at the hospital if not halfway going there.Nick had no difficulty reaching out his hand to grab the phone on the bedside table to his side. He softly removed his other arm beneath Kate's neck and sat leaning his back on the headboards. He did not even check who was calling. He had an idea already."Hello?""Yes, okay. We'll be there right away," was all
Just like Lori had told them on their way to Kelly's ward, the patient did not seem to recognize them. There was no way yet to tell, as the patient was obviously still trying to gather herself, her senses, and maybe recall whatever had happened to her. Her voice hadn't surfaced yet, her eyes blinked, and Kate was already overjoyed to watch her mom fight with all her might to regain her consciousness."Mom, it's me, Kate," the daughter pitifully sobbed while holding her mom's hand. Nick was right behind Kate, ready to rub her shoulders and back as his silent expression of support."Mom, we missed you," Nick did not make his joy hidden. A tear silently fell and landed on Kate's shoulder, but as the latter was too preoccupied with her mom's latest progress, she couldn't care for anything else. Kelly's tears streamed down from the side of her eyes to below her temples and rolled to the back of her head. Due to the injury needing surgery, her head was clean-shaved, and to
Kate's sobs had subsided at the words Nick had said. She realized he was right. Her mom had just recovered from months, unconscious in a hospital bed, but she had a blunt force trauma that got her head injured, causing her to undergo brain surgery. The only good thing to consider about it is that the injury left the patient no choice but to remove the tumor—also a life-threatening matter. Kate realized she might give her mom distress if she let her emotions flood out in one go like a dam just broke. But she stayed there in her mom's embrace. With Nick next to her.The whole place became quiet. Calmness, peace, and tranquility filled the entire ambiance. Tears flowed silently. But they were tears of joy."I am so sorry I cannot remember so many things," Kelly uttered softly.Her voice was too low, but the two, Kate and Nick, could hear her clearly every word she said. They did not say anything. They missed listening to her voice that the
A thick silence filled the whole room.A very tensed, awkward, or uncomfortable silence seemed to have cloaked the three of them.And each one has different interpretations to it.They had their heart hanging in a deep and bottom-deadly cliff-like state of feelings. One was scared of how others may react to it. Someone was also clueless on how to express or state its mind about the revelations that popped out surprisingly. The topic must have been in their minds for quite a while now, but it still came like a guest unannounced.Leaving every one of them lost for words to say in response right away.Kate has her heart pounding like crazy. She was scared at how her mom would take Nick's confessions. She was also hoping deep within her for a positive reaction from her mom, whom she had known to be strict with her regarding relationships with a man romantically or sensually.Nick felt like,
"What?!" Kelly asked in surprise.She almost choked on her food when she heard Nick's words."A double date," Nick answered with a clean and clear-sounding voice.Kelly stared at her stepson with wide wide-bulging eyes. Is he her stepson or what?!"Don't you think your dad will wake from his grave to scold you for such despicable silly thoughts?" Kelly coughed.Her words and food felt like choking her to death. She pounded her chest lightly."Kate, are you sure he is Elijah's son and my stepson? Can he go suggesting blind dates and double at that? I don't even know what that means for sure," Kelly turned to Kate.Kate just bit her lips, but they still cracked in her suppressed smile. She knew what Nick was talking about. They have been thinking about it, but they couldn't bring the topic out until today. They were planning for a weekend getaway. They were going to visit a place to enjoy the lo
It was only midweek. But as they told Kelly they were to spend the whole weekend somewhere else, she had started to pack. She packed warm clothes when she found out they were going to a place surrounded by mountains, and she gathered the temperature there would be colder than in the city areas. Besides, she is still considered a patient in the recovery stage. And they cannot be too reckless and compromise her health in the process. Being careful and more careful is always better than regrets.Friday came.Nick and Kelly got off work a little early today. They decided to meet Kate at home around three in the afternoon. A time when she would be home as well from the Uni. Kelly could not help asking Nick about her supposed to be a date along the way home."Are you sure he hasn't canceled?" Kelly asked with a non-Duchenne smile in face.She wanted to make sure she wasn't going to be the third wheel for this young couple. They are of le
Nick walked forward to welcome the newly arrived man."Doctor Gremitt, I'm glad you made it," Nick shook hands with Ismael."Come on, please drop the title. Just call me Ismael," he gently appealed as he shook hands with Nick. Kelly was still standing where she was when Ismael arrived, and she did not know what to do. She silently watched the two men shaking hands in front of her. Kelly could not help checking the other man in front of her stepson. He has a clean-cut hairstyle with a slight pepper and salt complexion. His beard and mustache were neatly trimmed as well. His body was lean, and from his shirt, Kelly could tell he was a health-conscious man. He was wearing a navy blue shirt, sleeves half-folded, and a few buttons open on his chest. The man looked tall but a few inches shorter than Nick. The two men were still exchanging pleasantries when Kate arrived riding a car driven by Paul Courtney. Nick assigned him to be Kate's driver instead of working for
Ismael was overwhelmed with Nick's every word. He spoke like he was Kelly's flesh and blood for a son. The respect, honor, and love were beyond an ordinary mother and son. The emotions of happiness of her being happy with a man as well as the fear of her being hurt by a man were evident and too potent to be ignored. It made Ismael think, "What kind of a woman could Kelly be to be loved not only as a wife but also as a stepmother, not to mention as a mother to her daughter? Could she be the one he had been waiting for all his life? Would he ever get the chance to feel and treasure her love somewhere in their future?""I hope I could be a part of such an extraordinary family," Ismael also felt emotional. He had been so lonely all his life, devoting his time and abilities to helping others. "I have my shortcomings, but I am willing to give my best shot to deserve Kelly. And with your help, I am sure I can win her heart. Please guide me what she likes and dislikes, or at le
“What’s wrong? What happened?” Mavie asked, baffled as the man suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and he cried pitifully. Mavie looked at the patient on the bed, there was nothing unusual. His heartbeat was normal, and he looked just the way he used to be a coma patient. “What is going on? Please tell me….” Mavie answered assuringly. Trying to calm her Master to the best of her ability. She was also starting to feel scared because she had never seen this brave man act the way he was at that moment. Judas told her everything that he had seen his grandpa did except the part where he mentioned Mavie as his girl. But as he tried to ask again to show Mavie, the old man on the bed did nothing similar to what Judas was excitedly telling Mavie. “Mister Dinero, it’s me, Mavie. Do you recognize me?” Mavie asked casually, speaking to her patient like she would usually do. But the patient’s eyes did not move like Judas said they did. They tried again. Nothing. “I asked him a few q
As for Mavie, she was actually brave only because she knew some of her Master's men were around to protect her. But she was not going to rely everything on them. She will fight on her own if someone comes trying to bring her down. Mavie admits that her bravery was also because she was more than confident that her Master was not going to let her be bullied other than him. Like Judas would tell her most of the time; "You are my slave. I am your only Master. No one is allowed to order you around other than me. Not even a bully aside from me."So she did not fear to act accordingly, protecting herself when someone tried to intimidate her with violence. But she did not want to let the matter get worse. Mavie tried to deal with what happened in her own way."Mister Ray, please do not tell my Master about what happened today. I don't want him to get mad or worry about me. He already has so much to handle. I do not wish to add to the things that would bother him about me."Mavie begged Ray o
Days went on. Days became weeks. Weeks turned to months, and months became a year. A lot of things happened. Joaquin Dinero, Mavie's patient, passed away in his nap with Judas and Mavie right beside him. His body had seemed to reject the medications, and in Judas' dreams, his grandpa spoke to him that he was too tired and wanted to join his wife in peace. Ever since then, the grandson was torn between the sadness to let his grandpa go, and another sorrow that he was refusing to grant the last, one and only wish the old man seemed to have asked of Judas, the grandson. It was not even a wish done like every ordinary people would do. It was like asking Judas to let his grandfather die. And the way of asking such a wish was through a dream which Judas could not find in his heart to fully believe until he realized that every medical procedure and treatment they tried to provide the old Dinero did not seem to have any positive effect. But, of course, the grandson did not give up. Mav
Mavie did not want to disobey her employer so she ate the oatmeal although she was not a fan of eating it. She had to take some meds to get better very soon so she could do her tasks, and so she did everything her Master had ordered her. The medicine had an effect to make her feel sleepy so even if she did not want to sleep, thinking it was rude when her employer was around, her body was not able to fight against the medicine’s effect. Without her knowing, she had a good sleep and rested, when she woke up, she felt way much better. It was almost like she had never had any cramps earlier that day. “What are you doing?” Judas asked when he heard some noises from the kitchen while he was checking the monitors all around the house, his and his grandpa’s, his business building, and everything that was going on in his operations. By having an eye directly able to see everything in and out of his business establishments, Judas can easily handle problems even when he is afar. “Ahmm, I am s
Just as Judas had ordered, the lady doctor was able to speak with Ray, but the doctor suggested that the patient be brought to the hospital for a proper check-up. “At the clinic, we have everything we might need in order to make sure everything is accurate, unlike when we do it on house calls. It would be best to have her womb checked through an abdominal or vaginal ultrasound.” Ray relayed the message to his boss. Judas was silent for a while. He had to think of a way to keep everything in safety. There were a few things Judas had to consider whatever he might decide to do in his predicament. “Ray, I want you to check who gave me the first call with an unregistered number today. Can we make it quick? I want to bring Mavie to the hospital, but I am worried about leaving grandpa behind,” Judas stated with a dark face. Ray knew that look. As the assistant for the mafia don for quite a while now, he had learned to read between the lines, hear unspoken statements, and read his boss’ m
"Master….?" Mavie called out softly. Mavie was not so sure she was allowed to address the man the way they had agreed. She was confused if their arrangement also applied while she was on work duty or on the weekdays, now that they both realized they were also employee and employer aside from being slave and Master. But calling the man master was not something she felt awkward about at all, so when she noticed the man did not seem to mind her way of addressing him, Mavie continued to ask what she had in her thoughts. "How was the result from the test we did last Sunday with the doctor?" Judas was not sure if this girl was playing a silly game or if she was really unaware of such facts about the human reproductive system. But when he looked at Mavie's frail mien, Judas' gaze lowered and continued to clean his grandpa's teeth and gums with the soft and wet cloth. Just the way he saw on the security surveillance camera how Mavie would do such tasks of keeping the patient feeling fresh
“Master….?” Mavie did not expect to see the man, but instead of surprise, a faint smile was visible on her face. If there was someone Mavie wished to see at the very moment, it was no other than this person. The only person she had been thinking of with so much longing to see again, spend time with, no matter what reasons fate had to bring them together. “Master, is it really you?” Mavie asked again but in a soft whisper. Judas had so many scenes played in his mind of how this moment would turn out to be in reality to have a slight idea; if he cannot be accurate, so he would know how to explain and clarify his identity to Mavie. He had expected her to be surprised, first of all. If not, she should be scared o upset, but among all the possibilities his mind had conceived, Judas was baffled to see an exact opposite to what he had supposed Mavie would have reacted. “I had hoped the names of my slave and the hired carer for my grandpa would be one and the same person,” Judas hid his a
Ray started to check the packaging label of the item. He had a picture from Mavie’s stocks and the products that were on the racks. “They have the same packaging, right?” Ray held the pack and showed it to Judas. “This item is the same as the one in this picture, right, boss?”The cashier was watching the only customers he had in the store in the wee hours of the night; two men, as they chose items on the shelves. The store worker was not confident to walk closer and offer his assistance because he noticed they were on a section he was not very knowledgeable about. He was a man, after all, so he did not know much about sanitary pads. He was confident he could assist them, but only if they wanted to pay for their purchases. Because f they were going to ask anything else about the item, the worker was not ready to answer any questions. But if they still chose to approach him, he would just tell them to check the prints on the packaging. That’s all he could to help. Soon enough, two da
Ray was startled when he noticed his boss got into a car parked right outside the gates. Judas had ordered one of his men to bring a vehicle outside his gates and had its engine started because he would be leaving soon. And it was right where Judas asked it to be when they walked out of his grandpa's house. "Boss…?" Ray called for Judas' attention with hesitations. "What?" Judas asked as he fastened his seatbelt, seated right next to Ray, who was sitting behind the wheels. "I'm going to buy the pads and a serving of warm porridge. You can take your rest. I can handle this," Ray answered cautiously. "I have no doubt you can. I am even amazed you don't seem bothered that you are going to buy such items for a woman. Personal, if I may add," Judas said casually. "I don't think you're that kind of guy…." Judas could not say his words exactly. The Mafia Don was also cautious not to offend Ray's feelings if he happened to be wrong in his thoughts. They do not have much of an age differe