3. A crazy offer

"Daddy, stay here. Don't go anywhere else," Farel pleaded with his face still looking pale.

"Honey, it's okay. The nurse wants to put your IV in first. Soon the medicine will be inserted. Listen to mama, son," said Lily who was almost frustrated.

            Farel was about to rebel, but the body of the adult man who he thought was his father was getting closer. So he nodded and finally obeyed not to move anymore.

"Pain is bad. So you have to get better quickly," he said in a flat voice. However, it succeeded in making Farel happy because he felt cared for.

"You promise not to stay away from us anymore," Farel murmured with a sad look in his eyes. "Tomorrow is my birthday. My friends will ask me where I am again. So don't go."

"I have-"

These words were interrupted when the doctor who was treating Farel came into the room. "Good morning. Wow! Did you lose the IV?"

"Sorry, Doctor," Farel grinned, showing his horse grin. "I was too happy to see my daddy."

The doctor turned to the man in question. "Mr. Keenan?"

"Don't ask too many questions. This child is sick. You hurry up and finish your work," said the man named Keenan.

"Yes, sir." The doctor quickly reached for a folder containing a collection of patient examination results complete with reports from the laboratory as well. "Thankfully there's nothing alarming. Tomorrow this smart little guy can go home."

"Can't it be now? It's my birthday tomorrow," Farel pleaded, showing his disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Boy. There's medicine that has to be administered through the IV until tomorrow morning. So I have to go home as I said."

            The clock struck nine o'clock. The pair of adults who had been silent earlier now turned to each other.

"I have a meeting. So I have to go," Keenan said matter-of-factly.

Lily nodded in understanding. "Thank you. What you did earlier was very helpful."

            Keenan did not say anything after that. He got up from where he was sitting and walked quickly out of the room. Before actually leaving, he took a moment to glance at Farel who was sleeping on the gurney. There was a feeling of guilt because he had previously accused the two mothers and children of nothing. So he remained silent and did not protest when the boy invited him to the infirmary.

            Meanwhile, Lily was now looking at her son with pity. She did not think that Farel's current illness could be because he missed his father so much. Until a soft knock from outside broke her reverie.

"Auntie?"

"Sorry, Lily. I just finished cleaning up at home. My vegetable customers left a lot for tomorrow so I just came here. Oh yes. Did you have breakfast?" asked her aunt as she took out a package of rice from a plastic bag. "Go to the cafeteria. Eat some hot tea so you don't catch a cold. You haven't slept since last night."

"Yes, aunt. Take care of Farel for a while. If he wakes up, just call me."

            Because she was late in filling her stomach, she felt nauseous when she put the rice in her mouth. Lily gulped down the contents of her sweet tea until only half was left. She lost her appetite because she was busy thinking of solutions to her son's unfulfilled wishes.

            Her stomach only accepted up to the fourth mouthful. The poor woman's attention quickly shifted to the white-furred cat, which immediately made her wince. Poor thing. That's what Lily thought. So she came up with an idea to give the fish in the rice packet to the animal.

"Hey, come here!" she screeched in a half-whisper.

            For some reason, her feet followed the direction of the cat, which was walking to the south wind. After following for a minute, Lily quickly took out the rest of the food.

["Come on, Dad. What era is this? There's no such thing nowadays."]

            The faint voice made Lily stop her activities. She wanted to leave, but her feet refused to move at all. It was as if there was a glue that kept the mother of one glued there.

["I don't want to get married yet. I don't plan to have children anyway. Can't you respect my opinion, huh?"]

["..."]

            The man, who was in the middle of an emotional outburst, roughly pushed his hair back. He kicked the wind because he was so annoyed with the person on the other side.

["I swear. You guys are really annoying."]

["..."]

["Hello! Daddy! I'm not done talking yet."]

            It seemed that the call was cut off just like that. Making the man chuckle in annoyance. Unfortunately, when he turned his head to the right, Lily's face appeared within seconds.

"You?!" he pointed with a flash of anger. "What are you following me for, huh?"

Lily stammered. Fear arose when she saw the man who was none other than Keenan. He turned like a lion about to pounce on its prey. "Sorry. I-I came here by accident. I... ummmm fed the cat. Yes. She was here earlier." Inevitably her finger pointed downwards where there were fish bones that had been scattered.

            Before she could hear a response from the man in front of her, Lily's cell phone started vibrating. She quickly pulled out the flat object from her pants pocket.

"Hello, aunt. What's wrong?" she asked in a voice that was still muffled by the horror of staring into Keenan's emotional eyes.         

              Unfortunately, she didn't hear clearly because at that moment, the sound of the ambulance disguised her aunt's words. So Lily activated another mode on her cell phone.

["Farel is awake. He said he wanted to meet his father. Did Adrian come here earlier?"]

"Ah that." Lily glanced at Keenan who was still in an intimidating position. "I'm going there now."

"Where are you going?" snapped Keenan still with a raised voice. "I don't like people knowing about my life."

            I swear. Lily had no intention of eavesdropping or anything. Who did she want to share the information she heard with? After all, she met Keenan only this morning. They obviously didn't know each other.

              She sighed softly before finally opening her mouth, "I'm sorry for what I just said. I had no other intention at all. Besides, I still have a lot of problems. Excuse me."

"Wait!" Keenan stretched one stumpy hand in front of Lily who was about to leave. "I hate to say this, but I'm under pressure."

"Sorry. What do you mean?" asked Lily not understanding where this was going.

"From what I saw earlier, it looks like your son is suffering from mild depression."

"Thanks for the heads up," said Lily briefly.

"I need a new status to take over the company. Your son also needs a father. So... let's get married."

Marry? What kind of idea is that? Lily chuckled at the offer. "Are you crazy?"