30 - Oliver Taylor
1564 Words
I knew she was restless last night. I didn’t wake her up until breakfast time. Christan messaged me to say he’ll bring the kids to play with Lee while the two of us go out to talk. I sighed. This little brother of mine could ruin my schedule anytime. I should start setting boundaries.
I brought Lee home when she was discharged from the hospital on Monday morning. I went to work while she rested for the rest of the day. I talked to my personal driver and tasked him with driving Lee around in the next two weeks. I also explicitly gave him instructions to make sure she’s safe.
She was watching TV when I came home that night. She looked like she just had a bath.
"You didn’t take long in the shower, did you?” I asked as I put down my bag and coat on the sofa. The doctor said she can’t expose the wound to water.
“I know. I’m not that helpless.” Her half-amused, half-annoyed expression has always been adorable.
“Have you eaten? I didn’t cook but someone prepared dinner. It was all on the table when I got down to the kitchen.”
“Did you heat them up?” The cook sent me messages about what happened. Lee just woke up when the cook already finished making dinner.
“They’re still warm when I got down. I should heat them up for you, you haven’t had dinner yet, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll do it.” I don’t think she should be doing much. She rolled her eyes at me before she walked to the kitchen. I smiled at her reaction. I followed her and had my dinner as we talked about random things.
Afterwards, we watched TV together. I also gave her a debit card in her own name. She almost forgot to reject it when she saw her own name on it. She was more interested on how it happened. I had Charles prepare her legal documents for the temporary use of her name due to her medical condition. The process took a while.
“There were identification cards as well. I’ll give them to you later. It’s in the office.”
Her look of fascination as she held the card made my heart ache a little. It’s good, though. She’s not rejecting it. Or so I thought.
“How much does this have? You said it’s a debit card, not a credit card.”
I shut my mouth. I shouldn’t tell her, right?
We stared at each other. I pursed my lips as she raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t ask me about that. Just use if comfortably.”
“I understand what’s on your mind. But…” she stopped, glancing at the card again.
“But what…?”
“You understand what’s on my mind?” She asked sincerely.
“I do.” I leaned down to kiss her lips.
“You’re getting bold.”
“What do you mean?”
“You used to only kiss my forehead at random situations.”
I smiled at her thought, giving her another peck.
The next few weeks, I had a few people reporting to me about what Lee’s busy doing every day as she adamantly ordered me to go to work.
The first week, she withdrew one grand and went to buy books and some supplies. She must have paid rent and bills as well since she went back to her apartment.
She was doing some sort of craft at home and was trying to cook a few dishes. She’s gotten close with the cook. She calls her Aunt Anna, a middle-aged woman from the neighborhood. Lee prepares dinner diligently and waits for me to eat together. She’s tried cooking my favorite dishes over the course of two weeks. She was also exchanging messages with Charles with random questions about the company and business in general. Charles was accommodating her, and he also reports to me what they talked about at the end of each day.
“Don’t you feel like you’re invading her privacy?” Charles asked one afternoon when he brought me files for signature.
I already asked myself the same question. Actually, I already told Lee.
“She’s fine with it. She shrugged it off, saying it wasn’t much. When you think about it, there’s nothing secret about the things I’m monitoring about her.”
Charles only nodded.
“She asked just now if I can provide her with information on current projects. Should I?”
“She did?”
“Yeah. Will she be working here soon?”
I contemplated. She’s been reading business books and compiling business cases from the net. She even studied the company website and memorized the available key personnel posted in there. I talk to her about it, but she was shy whenever I do.
“Not soon enough. She’s still learning.”
Charles nodded again. He arranges the other documents on my table as I go over the ones he handed to me.
“I like how she’s thoughtful of you. Bothering me instead of you ‘coz she knows you’re busy.”
“Did she tell you that?”
“Yeah, I asked her why she simply won’t ask you.”
“Give her up to Class B information.” I handed him the signed documents.
“Got it.” Then he started explaining the newly arranged documents to me, emphasizing which ones are urgent. I just want to go home now.
Saturday on the second week of her stay, Christan visited with the kids. Lee played with them on the backyard. I kept telling her not to run so much.
Christan was slowly regaining management duties from me. I’m giving him two more weeks. He went to a lot of places with Andrew and Carl. They matter to him the most, and he doesn’t want them to feel lonely about losing their mother. He has also convinced the kids to start calling Lee as Aunt Lee. She only hesitated for a few minutes before agreeing to it.
That night, she was fairly exhausted as she lies down on the sofa in the living room. I brought dinner to the mini table.
We ate silently.
“That… I have something to give you later.”
“Yeah? What is it?” She got me curious. Wait, it’s my birthday in four days. I smiled.
“Did you prepare a gift for me?”
“Huh… something like that.” She stated, “I’ll get it now.”
I frowned. “Isn’t it for my birthday? You’re giving it to me today?”
She pursed her lips as she narrows her eyes towards me. Maybe I was wrong.
She walked up to her room and came down almost immediately.
“This…” She presented a box to me.
“This comes with a message.”
I can tell she’s being shy. She won’t look at me in the eyes. I stared at the box.
“What’s the message?” I reached out for the box, but she didn’t let go.
She stared at me, then.
“If you can’t take care of it, I’ll take it back.”
“Is that right? If you give it to me, it’s mine. You’re not taking it back.”
“That’s why I said I’ll only take it back if you don’t take care of it.” She reiterated.
“Alright.”
“Deal?” She asked.
“Deal.” I affirmed. She nodded and let go. I was about to open it when she stopped me.
“Look at it later.” She almost cried out.
“Why did you give it to me now, then?”
She scratched her head.
“Count to twenty, then you can open it.” She compromised. I frowned.
“Alright.” I started counting and paused when she turned and ran upstairs.
“Hey, why…?” I didn’t get to finish my question when she closed the door to her room.
I continued the count, sat down and opened the box.
I smiled at the little heart-shaped cushion inside it. Did she make this? It was cute. I stared at it for a long time. When I held it in my hand, I felt some sort of stitching on the back. I turned it over and saw the words “Lee Smith’s heart”. It was embroidered, most likely by a machine. There was nothing else in the box. I laughed lightly, suddenly feeling restless and excited I stood up. Is this her way of saying she’s giving me her heart? She’s sweet. The cushion is soft and comfortable to the touch. I stared at the box. Where should I keep this little treasure? I suddenly heard her voice in my head. If you don’t take care of it, I’ll take it back. Now I understood what she meant.
I can’t help feeling elated. I should put it in my safe.
When I knocked on her door, she didn’t open it. Even after I called a few times, she didn’t answer. Also, this is the first time she locked her door. Normally, she keeps it open so I can enter anytime. I guess she’s feeling embarrassed. I sent her a message instead and let her be.
- Writer
