Chapter 124: Is It Done?
It was getting colder each day.
The rain that had lasted for several days pushed the city to become windier in the meantime.
Owen put down his suitcase and went upstairs to the study. He knocked at the door and heard a low reply inside. He pushed the door and went in.
The study was big and the most luxurious room in the house. To say it was luxurious was not just because of the decoration of the room, but also the shelf with the collection of his father’s whole life.
Owen’s father stood by the window. He was in his sixties, still strong and spirited. He had not one single silver hair. Now he stood with his hands behind his back, and he seemed to be in a slight sorrow.
“Is it done?”
“Yes, I just came back. The surgery went well. You don’t have to worry now.”
Every family had their problem. His sister Ruth had a congenital spinal disease and has suffered from it since childhood. This time somebody recommended a world expert, and she had the surgery again.
Owen sighed and said, “Okay. I can tell your mother when I see her above there.”
“Dad…Why did you say that? How was your physical examination?”
“I am alright. But who knows what could happen in the future? I have quite a few friends who have gone these years.”
Owen didn’t know why his father had suddenly become so pessimistic. He scanned around and saw a black and white photo on his desk. It was a photo of four young men, wearing army uniforms and smiling brightly.
“You are looking at it again.”
“Today is the death anniversary of your uncle David.”
Owen curled his lips down, “He died of an unnatural cause.” He didn’t have much of a good impression of this rich uncle. He had made money by foul means and was murdered in his luxurious house. The killer had not yet been found so far.
Owen’s father sighed and said, “He was gone anyway. Of the four of us, now only two are alive. Last night I dreamed of us fighting in the jungles of Vietnam…”
Recalling the time of war and staring at the photo of the youthful and innocent faces, he was overwhelmed by mixed emotions. He turned his head and saw his son was still lingering there. He asked, “Anything else?”
“Dad, I want to get married to Jessica.”
“Oh,” his father raised his eyebrows, “She agreed?”
“Not yet. I hope you can talk with Mr. Harderson.”
“Jessica is not the kind of girl that would follow her parents’ order. You have been waiting for her for so many years. Why have you suddenly lost patience?”
Owen frowned. Jessie had somebody else in her heart before. Now that person broke up with her for good, but she still showed no sign of accepting him.
Life is short. He didn’t want to wait if waiting was hopeless.
His father knew him very well. Owen’s father thought for a while and said, “Okay. I will bring it up with Donald when I get the chance, but this kind of thing depends much more on you.”
“I know.”
Speaking of chance, the chance was here.
Owen’s loyalty made him know that Jessie was ill for the first time. Acute cecitis, not a very serious disease, but serious enough to deprive the patient of their ability to take care of herself.
Jessie was lying on the hospital bed, looking at the man busy with this and that. His clothes were wrinkled, and exhaustion was on his face. He was so different from the sleek guy he used to be. She could not help asking, “I treated you so badly. You don’t hate me?”
Owen grimaced, “There are two things I am not capable of in my life. One is hating you…”
“And the other one is?”
“…not loving you.”
Jessie could not say a word.
“Okay. I will not bother you with this. What is most important is that you recover. I will bring you soup later.”
He walked out of the room. His back looked lanky and lonely. Jessie suddenly felt sorry for him.
Owen had been by her side since they were teenagers. She changed boyfriends from time to time, but he was always alone. Some of their classmates even made fun of his sexual orientation.
She ignored him habitually, but when it came time she was ignored by a person, she realized how precious his company was.
She called to stop him, “Owen! Will you give me some time?”
The man looked back in surprise. He nodded, “All I have is time. A lifetime.”
The table in this deluxe ward was loaded with fruit baskets, bouquets, and all kinds of gifts. Tristan also had somebody send a giant fruit basket and a card. Jessie took a look at it with a thrilling heart for a few seconds, but then her heart turned cold.
He didn’t even want to see her.
The relations between them were one-sided from the beginning to the end.
He always kept a distance and never really loved her, even for a second.
She felt lucky that she had Owen after all. If she accepted Owen, she would not be too much of a loser in her life.
Jessie didn’t know the person she bore a grudge against was in the pain of losing his mother.
Kate and Tristan planned to visit the cemetery again. Kate bought some colorful plush toy animals, balloons, storybooks, and flowers.
All the things piled up in the corner of the room and made it look like a child’s room. Tristan was moved as well as amused, “Did she receive all of these?”
“Yes, if you can believe it.” She was folding paper cranes with some small pieces of colored paper. Tristan sat down by her on the floor and folded one clumsily following what she did.Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.
One week later, Jessie was discharged from the hospital. Owen still went to her apartment every day and cooked for her.
It was incredible that a man brought up in that kind of wealthy family could cook pretty well and also made the food nutritious and healthy. Would he make a good husband?
After they ate, Owen went to wash dishes and clean the kitchen like a diligent housewife. One evening, after everything was done and he was about to leave, it was raining outside. Jessie drew her attention from the window and said, “Don’t go.”
And they slept on the same bed naturally.
Owen lay beside her politely and gave a light sigh. It seemed this had already given him satisfaction. It made Jessie feel sympathetic for him.
After midnight, there was lightning and thunderbolts. Jessie moved closer to him and leaned against him. He smiled and asked, “You are afraid of this?”
“I was afraid of it when I was a child.” Her mother had died when she was small, and her father always traveled on business. There was only her and her nanny. She slept with her nanny on rainy days, but her snoring disturbed her.
She had always been alone after she grew up. Now that there was somebody by her side, she realized that she was an ordinary woman longing for the arms of a man. When the man got into her body under cover of the sound of the rainstorm, tears came to her eyes.
She thought of another man. What was he doing?
Probably hugging another woman and comforting her, and doing the same thing.