A Collection of Twenty-Seven Farewells

"Joel, I don't think my dad can be left alone in this condition," Wendy Chance said in a low voice while standing in front of me.

I said nothing as I wiped away the water stains on the back of Josiah Chance's hand slowly with a warm towel. He was lying in bed, making gurgling noises from his throat and gripping my sleeve.

Wendy looked apologetic. I'm supposed to show you off at the celebration party today, but I'll have to take Evan with me instead since you can't make it anymore. I promise I'll bring you back your favorite dessert later, all right?"

I looked at her and was suddenly reminded of that winter three years ago, when she was suffering from a high fever and could hardly stand, yet she forced herself out of bed to feed me hot soup, blowing tenderly on every spoonful to make sure I was not burned.

The woman who once could not stand for me to suffer through anything was using the gentlest methods to take everything from me. I pulled my hand away from hers and avoided her touch subtly. "All right."

That afternoon, Eli Conway dropped by. He visited regularly, so he knew to change into a pair of house slippers the moment he arrived. Josiah was 'sleeping' deeply in the room when he came by.

Eli pulled me over to the sofa, looking upset for my sake. "Listen to me, Joel. Don't lose your temper over what Wendy did. She's at the crucial point of her career, and she's facing a lot of pressure for the family’s sake."

I remained silent.

Eli sighed and continued advising me, "Evan is her personal secretary. He's young and smart, and he helps her a lot when entertaining clients. He's an asset to her business. You're not earning right now, and you have a comfortable life at home. It's only right that you take good care of her dad for her.

"Wendy is a woman trying to carve a path for herself in the business world. Since you aren't able to help her with her career, you should at the very least be understanding of her."

The doorbell rang while Eli was talking, and it was a delivery from a Michelin-star restaurant that Wendy had ordered for me. Then, a voice message from her played.

"I know it's been hard on you taking care of my dad, and you probably haven't had lunch yet. I made sure that this was a quick delivery. Be good and finish the food. Miss you!"

This warmed my heart, but less than two minutes later, another voice message from Wendy came in.

"Evan has a hangover from entertaining our clients last night, and he doesn't feel well. Since Eli is at your place, can you get him to bring the delivery over to Evan instead? Evan has a sensitive stomach and can't eat anything else.

"You can order takeaway for yourself at home. I promise I'll bring you something nice tomorrow."

My hand clenched the phone hard. Before I could say anything, Josiah, who was lying in bed weakly, started to hit the bed anxiously.

Eli took the cue and smiled. "Look at that. Even Mr. Chance is worried about Evan. You won't go hungry at home anyway, Joel. I'll take the food to him right now."

I watched silently as my buddy Eli left the house, remembering how exaggerated his smiles and laughter were when speaking to Evan.

After that, I went into the study and pulled out a thick journal with an unused ticket on every page. There were 27 of them in total. It was supposed to be a surprise I had prepared for Wendy for our engagement party next month.

While going through the slightly yellowed tickets, I called the number of my bespoke tailor. "I'd like to cancel the suit I ordered for my engagement party next month."

The person on the other end of the call was taken aback, but I hung up before he could question me.

At 11 PM, Wendy returned, reeking slightly of alcohol. She had brought a cake as the dessert she promised me, but Evan appeared behind her and came inside the house as well.