Virginia Chan – Vivian Leung
Freddie Lam – Nick Cheung
Joanne aka Jo Hung – Joyce Tang
Jeremy aka Remy Hung – Julian Cheung
Jeff Lai – Louis Koo
Linda Lam – Flora Chan
Michael Lam – Steven Ma
Deana Chu – Ruby Lin
Marc Cheung – Gallen Lo
Linda was impatient as she waited in the ER waiting room. Within minutes of her telephone call to Remy and Jeff, they arrived through the emergency door. “Linda!” Remy called to her, behind him was Joanne who looked as disturbed as Linda.
“Remy!” She got up from her chair.
“How is he? What happened? Why didn’t anyone see any warnings? Where’s Ginny?” A stream of questions escaped from Joanne’s lips as it trembled when she stopped talking.
Linda shook her head vehemently “I don’t know. I have no idea what happened. I came to talk to him and then when I realized that he was waking up to my cries, I panicked. I took him here myself.”
“How about Ginny?” Joanne asked again.
“I left her a message at her work. Still no sign of her though. Where’s Jeff?” she asked Remy.
“He needs to close the office first, but he’s coming with Deana right now.”
Linda nodded “I’m just worried my mother can’t handle it.”
Remy place a comforting hand on her shoulder “He’ll be okay. I’ll stay with you until this is over.”
She smiled as her eyes welled up with tears again, this time she was touched by his friendship “Thanks.” Her voice croaky as she tried to hold it in.
“He’ll be okay…I just know it.” Joanne mumbled to herself as she sat next to Linda.
In a few minutes Jeff and Deana showed up. He expected to see Virginia but was surprised when she wasn’t there “Where’s Ginny?” was the first question he asked.
Linda shook her head “I don’t know.”
“Did you tell her?” Jeff asked.
“She left her a message, Jeff.” Joanne answered for Linda, knowing she was probably tired of repeating the answer.
*************
At the office, Virginia closed the door behind her as she started her session with the new client. She turned off her cell phone so they wouldn’t be disturbed. She had a new message on her voicemail from her office phone but when she was about to listen to it, her clients came in.
“So, Mr. Wong, what seems to be the problem?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He said bluntly.
“Why are you trying to kill yourself?” she tried a different question. It was blunt but it seemed that he was able to handle it.
“I don’t know…” he replied.
She took a deep breath and sat back in her chair “Look if you don’t tell me, how do you expect me to help you?”
“I don’t know.” He seemed to only know those three words.
Virginia was determined to get down to the problem “Is it your family?” he shook his head “Love?” he shook his head “friends?” he shook his head again. She put down her notepad onto her desk and stood up “Mr. Wong, it looks like I can’t help you with anything. You are not cooperating and it seems that you don’t trust me at all. Maybe you should go somewhere else.”
He finally looked up “I thought you were here to help me?”
She sat back down on the chair across from him and leaned on her thighs with her elbows “If you don’t let me help, how do you expect me to? I know that death is a sensitive subject for a lot of people. But until you grasp the idea that it’s a part of your life and try to embrace it openly, you will always be bothered by it.”
“I guess…why is life so hard? I wish I could take it easy and just relax but every time I turn around, something bad is waiting for me.”
Virginia smiled, he was finally revealing his feelings “Nothing bad ever waits for anyone. People look for bad stuff to happen. If you look at death as a beginning and not an end, you will realize that its not a scary thing afterall. But you cannot face death when it is not ready for you. God will only take those that are ready. If you ask me, I don’t think you are ready to leave this earth?” she raised her eyebrows waiting for him to answer.
“The issues that I have cannot be solve through beliefs.”
“I use to think that way too until I realized that life isn’t about just living. Its always good to believe in some kind of a God. Whether you are a Christian or a Buddhist. I believe with all my heart that each of our lives are planned out for us. The obstacles that you reach are a mere test to see if you have enough belief. Those that do wrong will be punished..”
“But how about the good people? Why do they always die?” she saw his eyes getting red.
“Because he takes the best with him. That way they are safe in heaven, they no longer have to endure all kinds of pain and worries.”
“I never thought of it that way.” He answered with a little more feeling.
“Trust me, its all depends on how you perceive death. Look inside your head and heart, I know you’ll find it. Have a little faith.” She smiled warmly.
The guy returned the smile for the first time. “Thank you…” he began to get up “Can I see you if I need more help? To be honest, I feel very comfortable talking to you, even though it didn’t appear to be that way at the beginning.”
“Your very welcome. And yes, anytime that you’d like. Drop by.” She nodded goodbye to him as he disappeared out the door. She sat back down at her desk as she pulled up her phone to listen to the message. She could barely make out the words, but she knew it was a girl crying. Was it Linda? She asked herself. Through sobs, she could hear something about Freddie being unconscious. Her heart skipped a beat as she replaced the receiver.
Her first thought was to go to the hospital…but something held her back. Fear. It was fear of seeing something she didn’t want to see. What if something happened to him? She would never be the same person again. Tears trickling down her smooth face as she let them drop onto her desk. She didn’t want to see him die. She’d rather keep the fond memory of him being alive and vibrant in her heart.
She began to work on her documents again, trying to get her mind off of Freddie. The day seemed to drag on for her as she received two more messages from Jeff this time. Asking her to come to the hospital, Michael said the MRI doesn’t look too good. He has a mass on the right side of his head. If they don’t operate that day, he will die. If they do operate, there are chances of coma, memory lapse if he does wake up, paralyzed on his entire left side or blind on the left eye.
Virginia played the message over and over again as she cried to herself in silence. It looked like there was no hope for him now. As much as she wanted to believe that he would be alright, she had given up hope. He wasn’t going to live through that night.
************
At the hospital, everyone was praying for Freddie to be okay. Michael allowed Linda and his mom to enter the room where they were preparing Freddie for the operation. They tried calling his name but it was useless, he didn’t answer. Linda grabbed a hold of his hand as she bent down near his ear “Freddie…can you hear me?” she asked. Her face lit up when she felt his hand squeezing hers gently. “Mom…he squeezed my hand.” She told the elder lady.
The woman wiped away her tears “Freddie, my son…you’ll be okay.” She tried to think positively.
“Gi..G…” they heard incoherent words coming from his lips.
“What are you trying to say?” Linda asked.
This time he couldn’t mumble anything anymore. At that time Michael walked in “Mom, Ga Jei, I have to take him to the operating room.” Michael let out a sigh “Pray for me. I will try my best to save him.”
“Don’t say that, I know you WILL save him. You’re the best neurosurgeon they’ve got.” Linda said through tears. “You have to save him.”
As nervous as he was about operating on his own brother, he tried to psych himself up for the operation. Even though he wouldn’t admit it, he was the best surgeon around the city and definitely in the hospital. He had enough faith that he would be able to recover Freddie but he didn’t know what God had in store for his brother. He followed the nurses that were pushing the rolling bed into the operating room of the Intensive Care Unit.
Linda and her mother walked back out to the waiting room once again. Joanne was the first that spotted them. “How is he?”
Linda smiled through tears as she wrapped her arms around her mother’s shoulder “He can’t talk but he knows we’re here. He squeezed my hand.”
Joanne nodded “He’ll be fine…” she told herself. “How long is the operation going to be?”
“Michael said it will be about 6 hours…” Linda replied.
“Still no sign of Ginny?” Jeff asked. Everyone shook their heads. “Damn it! Where is she?”
Remy patted his friend’s shoulder “I’m sure she’ll be on her way soon.”
“We left her five messages! If she was in the office she would have gotten it by now. Her best friend is going into operation and she’s not even here?! This might even be the last time she sees him.” Without even realizing that he just implied that Freddie wasn’t going to live through that night.
Remy glanced back at Mrs. Lam, who burst out in tears again. “Come on.” He pushed Jeff outside the door to the front lawn of the hospital. “What in the world are you trying to do? Scare the poor woman?!” he said angrily.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean for it to come out. But she’s being ridiculous!”
“Its still her choice. Maybe she’s in denial. Don’t think the worse out of the situation. Didn’t you always tell me that?” Remy’s face softened “Look, if you’re so worried, why don’t you go and find her so you could ask her for yourself?”
Jeff looked up after a moment “Should I?”
He just needed the perfect push and Remy was going to do it “Yes. Cause this will drive you crazy. Go on, I’ll be here.” He gently pushed his friend towards the parking lot where his car was.
Jeff nodded firmly “Call me with any news.” He ran off to his car.
Chapter 26
Virginia Chan – Vivian Leung
Freddie Lam – Nick Cheung
Joanne aka Jo Hung – Joyce Tang
Jeremy aka Remy Hung – Julian Cheung
Jeff Lai – Louis Koo
Linda Lam – Flora Chan
Michael Lam – Steven Ma
Deana Chu – Ruby Lin
Marc Cheung – Gallen Lo
When he reached her office, the sun was almost setting. He ran up the stairs and into the third floor. When he reached her suite, the receptionist was about to leave for the day. “Is Dr. Chan still here?” he asked.
The girl nodded “I think so, I never saw her leave.”
“Thanks.” He said hastily as he pushed through her door. She was typing on her computer. “Ginny!”
It took her so long to push her worries aside and continued working. She was deep in thought and his voice startled her as she jumped in her seat “God! What are you trying to do give me a heart attack?” she sounded irritated.
“What the hell are you still doing here? Didn’t you get my messages?” his voice rising.
“Yes.” She said shortly and began typing “I’m very busy. I’ll be there soon.” She lied.
“Don’t give me that! If you knew about Freddie being in the hospital and in the operating room as we speak, then why are you still here?” he was getting impatient and didn’t understand why she was being so stubborn.
“What difference does it make? I won’t get to see him for the last time.” She sounded completely calm.
“You’ve given up already? Without a fight?” he asked, despite that he had thought of the same thing earlier “Out of all people, I thought you would be the first to say that he’ll live through this.”
“Well, I guess you’re wrong!” she snapped at him.
“I just don’t want you to regret anything.” He said more reasonably. “Come on, come with me.” He coaxed as he walked around her desk and placed his hands over her hands on the keyboard.
“No, I don’t want to.” She replied.
“I won’t take no for an answer.” He said a little more harshly as he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and yanked her upwards “Come on!” he pulled her towards the door violently.
“NO!!” she tried to fight off his grasp but it seemed useless. They were getting near the door when she reached over and bit the wrist that was holding onto her own. “Let go!!”
“Ow!!” he pulled back his injured arm and saw deep teeth marks on it. “What’s the matter with you? What’s this talk about having faith in God and that he’ll take care of the good? I can’t believe you would be a hypocrite with your words. You tell you patients one thing and you do the complete opposite!” he cried angrily.
She shook her head as tears streaked her once smiling face. “Shut up!! I don’t want to hear it!!” she cried through sobs.
“I have never been so disappointed in a person before…your friend needs you more than anyone out there…even his mom or sister won’t help as much as you would.” Jeff said sadly as he looked at her.
“Stop…” she fell to her knees as she sobbed openly. “I don’t want to see him…like that…he’s not going …live…no..” she shook her head vehemently as her body trembled from the sobs.
He was about to go on to snap her out of it when he felt a hand placed on top of his shoulder “Let me handle it…” it was Marc.
“Who are you?” Jeff asked.
“I’m a doctor here too. Just go, she won’t talk to you.” He coaxed.
Jeff nodded “I hope you can bring her to her senses.” He gave Virginia one last glance before leaving them behind.
“Ginny?” Marc got down on his knees as he reached out to touch her shoulders. “Ginny?” he asked more softly this time.
She was still sobbing but she looked up at him. Her eyes were red and her face was stained with tears “I don’t want to go…” she muttered.
He nodded slowly “I know…I know. You don’t have to.” He smiled at her. “Do you want to talk to me?”
She nodded her head “I’m sorry, I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
“A person is most beautiful when they are honest. Do you know how beautiful you are right now?” her eyes looked up at him while she smiled warmly “Aww…that’s what I was waiting for. You know, we haven’t had the chance to talk much but from what I’ve gathered from your patients, you seemed to have a big influence on them. I remember one day, I was talking to this person that was coming to see you. No matter how long I tried to persuade him to talk to me because you were busy with another patient, he sat there and waited. It was about a three hours wait, if I didn’t mistaken. From that moment on, I understood what a great doctor you must be. You always appeared so strong, so open to new ideas. And I’m positive you have a way with words if ALL of your patients come out of the your office smiling.”
She looked away “I do well at my job…because it is my job to. If I ever panicked, people would lose trust in me.” She snickered “I guess you just witnessed it.”
“No, of course not. I don’t think anyone would lose faith or trust in you. We as doctors tend to forget that we are humans too. Just because we were blessed with a talent of helping others doesn’t mean that we are invincible to our own problems.”
“That’s true….” She admitted.
“I know you want to see your friend. So why don’t you?” he asked casually.
She shook her head “Jeff was right. I am a hypocrite. Here I am preaching to everyone that God is great and that he will take care of you if you would just have faith. And then he takes away one of the best people in the world. What am I suppose to believe now? I know he does good but I see this as bad.”
He sat back and leaned on the leg of one of the chairs in her office. “You know, a very intelligent doctor once told me that ‘You believe what you want to believe, but in the end love will conquer stubbornness.’ He was my mentor.” He looked into her eyes “Decisions we make in our lives could be bad and good, but regrets are forever. Don’t regret anything that you ever do. You can’t live in denial forever, Ginny. Suppose your friend does pass away, will you forgive yourself for not seizing this last moment to see him? Think about it.”
Her eyes wandered back and forth as she listened to Marc. His words made too much sense and she knew it. She couldn’t admit the fact that she was just making up excuses to not see him. “You’re right.” She finally said after an endless moment of silence. “My conscience will never let me hear the end of it. I will regret it for the rest of my life.” She pushed herself to stand up while Marc stood up too. “Thank you, Marc. We’ve got to do this again.” She joked.
“I’m afraid we won’t have the chance.” He said grimly.
“Why not?” her eyes wide open.
“I’m being transferred to California, USA. They are in search of a psychiatrist that can speak two languages. I already agreed to go.” He smiled slowly “If you didn’t notice, I have been trying to fit in for the past few months. It’s useless because you already made a great name for yourself here. Everyone will come just to see you, not me. I need a new place to gain more confidence from people. No competition.”
“That’s a shame. I think if you weren’t so eager to fit in, patients would realize what a great person you really are.” She was sad to see such a great doctor go.
“Thank you for the kind words. I will always remember them from the beautiful doctor with a wonderful heart. Now go see your friend.” He teased as he pushed her towards the door.
She was about to walk out when she spun around and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly “You have no idea how much you’ve helped me.”
He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her slender waist “I don’t think you have any idea what a difference your presence has been in my life.”
“Good luck to you.” She whispered as she pulled herself away and walked out the door without looking back.
***********
Virginia arrived at the hospital grounds and before she walked into the building, she saw Jeff sitting on a bench by himself. The dim street lamps couldn’t hide his face from her. She knew she had to face him soon anyhow. “Jeff?”
He seemed to be in a daze as he looked up. When he recognized the face, he quickly stood up “Ginny? You came?” the relieved smile could not be hidden from his sad face.
She nodded slowly “I’m sorry. I was being selfish and I had a few issues that I should have left aside. Thank you for caring to come get me.” The apology was short but it had so much meaning behind it.
“Don’t apologize, I shouldn’t have been so harsh. If I realized that this bothered you that much I would have never pushed you. I’m sorry.”
She smiled “It’s not your fault.” She initiated the hug as she reached for him and he responded to her hug warmly.
“I’m just glad you came.” He whispered.
When they broke apart after a long moment, he nodded to the building hinting for them to go inside. She let out a long sigh “I have to face it some day.” She said quietly. He put an arm around her shoulder as they walked in together.
Joanne was constantly staring at the entrance to see when Jeff or Ginny was coming. When she finally spotted them after the 100th glance, she stood up “Ginny! You finally came.”
Virginia nodded “Yeah, I had some… things to take care of.” She didn’t want them to know and be worried over her little problem.
“She didn’t get our messages until I got there and told her.” Jeff lied for her. She glanced at him and thanked her with her eyes. He nodded understandingly.
“How is he?” she asked with genuine concern.
“Still in surgery, its only been an hour and a half. Michael is performing the operation.” Linda informed her.
Virginia nodded “That’s a lot of pressure on him, but I’m sure he’ll do his best.” She added quickly. “Why don’t you guys get something to eat? I’m sure you haven’t eaten since this morning.”
The group nodded in unison as they began to scatter off “I don’t want hospital food…” Deana said “Let’s go out.” She was talking mostly to Remy “Anyone else want to come?” they shook their heads.
Remy got up as he took a hold of Deana’s hands “We’ll be back a little later.” Everyone watch them leave together.
“Come on Mom, lets get something to eat.” Linda said as she too stood up and walked off with the elder lady.
“Joanne, do you want any food?” Jeff asked. He knew she hasn’t eaten yet.
“I don’t want to leave. Can you just get me a sandwich?”
He nodded “Sure. How about you, Ginny?”
Virginia shook her head “No, I already ate.”
He walked off after Linda and Mrs. Lam leaving the girls on their own. “You know when I heard the message through my brother, I didn’t think it was serious. But when I saw Linda I knew it wasn’t a good sign. Then hearing Michael explain Freddie’s situation, it scared me.” Jo began talking.
“I know, this all seem very surreal. He was just fine the other days. Although he did have a bad headache Monday.” She recalled the migraine that left him in pain.
“He did?” it was the first time Jo heard about it.
“Yeah, we thought it was a migraine, but I guess not.” Virginia leaned back on the chair as she let out a sigh “Just let him get through the operation.” She pleaded.
“I know what you mean. That’s the best we could wish for.” Her voice cracked as she went on “I will never argue with him ever again….” Soon she was crying.
Virginia reached over and hugged her friend as she rocked her back and forth “Shh…he’ll be fine. I know Freddie, he’s very strong. He won’t leave us without a good fight. Have a little faith.”
Joanne nodded as she whispered “I’m glad you’re here. I know Freddie will need another strong heart by his side. I’ll probably just cry if I see him.”
“Don’t be silly.” She scolded lightly “There’s no reason to cry. He’s going to be as good as new.” Virginia smiled. Even though Joanne was a tomboy, she was even more emotional than Virginia imagined. “He’s lucky to have a friend like you.”
She felt Joanne nod her head “Yeah, he is…” the girls giggled together for the first time that day.
After everyone had dinner, they were gathered up once again in the waiting room. It was close to 2.5 hours when Michael finally walked out of the operation room to meet up with them. “Michael’s here.” Deana pointed out. As if on cue, everyone stood up at the same time.
“How is he?” questions were thrown at him left and right.
He put up his hand “The operation went very well. They took the mass to the research center to determine if it was a tumor or not.”
“What if it is a tumor?” Virginia dared to ask.
“Then we’ll have to test to see if its benevolent or malignant. Worse case scenario is cancer.”
“Oh my God…” the elder lady covered her mouth at the thought of it being a terminal disease. “When will we know?”
“Hopefully in a week. I don’t want to make any guesses until the study is in my hands. In the mean time, we should continue to pray for Freddie.”
“Can we see him yet?” Joanne asked.
Michael smiled “Yeah, as soon as he wakes up. He did very good in the operating room. He only went into shock once but it was because he realized that he was still awake.” He heard his mother gasp “No, don’t worry. That’s normal, we have to keep the patient awake to do the surgery. They are shot with anesthetic to not feel pain. He’s deep in sleep right now. You guys might as well go home. I’ll be here.” He assured them.
“I’m staying.” Linda announced and Mrs. Lam nodded in agreement. “You go home and rest, I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Okay…” she said slowly.
“We’ll take Mrs. Lam home.” Remy and Deana said.
“I’m not leaving either.” Virginia said.
Joanne smiled “I’ve got to keep my friend company.”
“I’ll stand watch.” Jeff offered.
“Okay, so it’s settled. I’ll have the nurses bring you guys some pillows.” Michael said as he left them alone.
Chapter 27
Virginia Chan – Vivian Leung
Freddie Lam – Nick Cheung
Joanne aka Jo Hung – Joyce Tang
Jeremy aka Remy Hung – Julian Cheung
Jeff Lai – Louis Koo
Linda Lam – Flora Chan
Michael Lam – Steven Ma
Deana Chu – Ruby Lin
Robert Fong – Benny Chan
Marc Cheung – Gallen Lo
Tracy Wong – Kenix Kwok
That night while everyone was asleep in the waiting room. Virginia was still awake but her eyes were shut. She tried desperately to fall asleep but it was useless. Her eyes finally open as she tried to focus on the clock that was against the opposite wall from where she was sitting. She looked around and found Joanne, Linda and Jeff deep asleep with pillows supporting their necks. She decided to take a little stroll to make herself more tired.
She walked down the empty dimmed halls of the hospital. Eventhough it was 3 in the morning, there were still nurses and assistants walking around. She checked her pocket for change to get a bottle of water. She clumsily dropped the change when she pulled out a wad of quarters that was in her jean pocket. Bending over to pick it up, she saw a pair of hands helping her collect the change. “What are you doing up?” Michael asked.
She smiled in return and whispered “I couldn’t sleep.”
“Well, its not good for you. You’ve had a long day too.”
“How do you know?” she asked as she collected the change from his hands.
“Because I can see it in your eyes.”
She looked away “That obvious?” she let out a sigh as she popped the change into the vending machine and got a water bottle.
“You want to see him don’t you?” he asked in wonder.
She nodded “Yeah, but he needs his rest. Anyways, I’m not family, the nurses won’t let me in.”
He chuckled lightly “You’re forgetting that the guy in front of you is the head of the neurosurgeon department here at Yan Sum Hospital.”
Her eyes brightened “You can sneak me in?” she asked excitedly but still tried to keep her voice low.
“Don’t say sneak…more like taking you in there myself. I know Yee Gor will be happy to know that you were there. He cares about you deeply you know.”
She nodded slowly “I know.”
“Come on.” He nodded towards the direction of the ICU corridors. The whole department were regulated with strict rules. Only two visitors at a time and five minutes max. The only people that can see the patient is immediate family. All others were to stay in the waiting room to wait for the okay to go inside.
The metal doors opened at Michael’s hands, which was holding onto the little device that controlled the automatic doors of Intensive Care. He waved to the head nurse in charge as he led Virginia into Room 6, where Freddie was. “We had to shave his head because of the brain surgery.” He explained before he let her into the room. “He needs his rest. So try to stay quiet.” Michael warned before letting her in. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” Giving her a smile before he left.
“Thanks.” She whispered. Her eyes instantly spotted the familiar face on the bed. She slowly pulled the chair next to his bed. Her eyes wandered to what looked like 30 different tubes that radiated his heartbeat and blood level. She reached for his hand but quickly pulled back remember that Michael said not to bother him. She smiled as her eyes moved to his bandaged head. It was wrapped completely in white.
She couldn’t fight the urge any longer as she touched his face with the back side of her hand. Her eyes were close to tears as she soaked his peaceful face in. His cheeks were pink and she was happy to see that he didn’t look as weak as she imagined.
When the clocked ticked further, she realized it was time to leave the room. Pulling her hair back as she leaned in and kissed him lightly on the cheek. His eyes suddenly popped open as he focused on the person before him. “Ginny…” he breathed her name gently as he reached with his arms and pulled her into his chest for a warm hug.
“I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” she asked softly.
He shook his head “I don’t care. I’m just glad that I got to see you…”
She pulled away and sat back on the chair, her eyes couldn’t hold the tears much longer as she cried softly “I’m sorry…I know…I shouldn’t cry.”
“Don’t cry Ginny. I’m fine.” He stared into her eyes and felt happy inside but also sad because she was crying for him. He reached for her hands and squeezed them tight. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Michael did a great job.”
“You know it was him that performed the operation?”
Freddie nodded “Yup. I could hear everything around me but I couldn’t answer. It was very strange you know?” he narrowed his eyes as he thought about his near death experience. “They kept saying I was in a coma but then I could hear everyone, my sister, my mother…Michael..I could hear them cry so much and I wanted to say, its okay. I’m okay…but no words came out. I even called for your name.”
Virginia smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes “You did?”
“Yeah, but I guess they only allowed family inside the room.” He wrinkled his nose in dismay “I’m gonna tell them to put you on the family list. You’re not just a friend…you’re family…” he trailed off.
“Thank’s…” her eyes welling up with tears once again “I’m glad you feel that way about me.”
“Don’t tell me you never knew.” He teased.
She nodded “Yeah, I did, but its better to hear from you.”
They both heard a knocking on the door and the nurse peeked her head in “I’m sorry, but the patient needs his rest. You need to leave.”
Virginia smiled apologetically while Freddie held onto her hands “No, she can stay. I’m awake now. Really, I’m fine…” he assured the nurse.
She smiled and nodded “That’s fine. I guess. Just because you’re Dr. Lam’s brother. I’m amazed that you are already awake. Most people come into a coma after brain surgery. You’re the strongest patient we have.” She winked before leaving them alone once again.
“Did you hear that?” he said menacingly.
Virginia shook her head “Yes, I heard that.” She said sarcastically. “Same old Freddie, glad to know you haven’t changed a bit.”
“Same with you.” He smiled as he brought her hands up to his face to kiss them. “I missed you.”
“Me too…” she smiled “You’ll be fine.” She was trying to convince herself more than for him.
He nodded “I’m sure. But you know, I’m ready for anything the big guy might have planned for me. You know when I was under the anesthetic, I heard my father’s voice. At first I was so scared because I could still see everyone around and I could hear their conversations. But when Michael started the operation, I heard my father say ‘Don’t worry son, its not cancerous.’ That calmed my nerves even more. Can you believe I even said a few prayers?”
She shrugged lightly “Yeah, sometimes our loved ones come back to ease the fear. I believe that it was your father.”
“See, if I would have told my sister or mother, they would freak out. But you take it so well. You amaze me sometimes.”
She looked away as she dodged his eyes “Yeah, well…I amaze myself sometimes.”
“Don’t get a big head now. It was just a compliment. Nothing more…” he chuckled.
“I know.” She replied softly. She began to move uncomfortably in her seat due to the plastic chairs with no cushion.
He mistaken for her wanting to leave as he held tightly onto her hands once again “Don’t leave…” he pleaded.
She shook her head “No, sweetie. I was just going to move my chair closer. I’m not leaving until you kick me out.”
He smiled “Well, might as well, pack your clothes and move in here with me.” He was teasing but in truth he was being honest.
Virginia stopped smiling as she thought about something “Are you gonna move back home when you get out of the hospital?” she was talking about his parent’s home.
“Of course. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” He said quickly. He saw her eyes moved down sadly “You know my ‘home’ is with you.”
Her head moved upwards and a smile crept on her face “Really? You would still stay with me? How about your mother and sister?”
“Oh, they’ll understand.” He said nonchalantly.
“I’m not so sure about that though.” She reasoned “Afte rall, you are her child, she will want to take care of you.”
“Maybe, but I think that she should still understand that its my choice. She’s had me for my entire life, while you only had me for 1year and 9 months. If you think about it, she’s gotten a fair deal.”
She blushed at his response as she smiled broadly “You’re too much. I never HAD you to begin with…that was a strange way of wording things.”
He nodded “Yeah it was wasn’t it?” he let out a small yawn.
“I think someone needs their rest.” She said softly, her eyes dancing through his.
“You too.” He pointed to the dark circles under her eyes. “Come on, rest your head here..” he patted to the edge of the bed. “We’ll both sleep.” He smiled as he waited for her to do what he said.
“Okay.” She smiled and lied her head down. Within seconds her eyes drooped and she was well asleep.
He smiled as he stroked her hair. Pulling some strands away from her face as he smoothed her cheeks. He didn’t know how long he was staring at her until he fell asleep himself.
SIU BING LIBRARY