By now, news of Anna’s mother’s illness has spread within her close circle of friends in college. They offered their genuine sympathy and tried to help her out in ways they could. Knowing that Anna would head straight to the hospital after her classes, Steve negotiated with his sister to give Anna a lift there on days which they shared the same lectures. Katie insisted that Anna take her notes for all the classes she had previously missed and everyone knows there isn’t a more comprehensive set of notes in the entire college than Katie’s. Ivan and Jung Ho recorded a Japanese / Korean get-well-soon song for Claire. Though none of the rest understood a word from this horrendously tuneless collaboration, Anna appreciated their fine intentions nonetheless. The Outdoor Society sent a huge fruit basket directly to the ward and even Maya seemed to stop sneering at Anna whenever they cross each other in the college hallway nowadays. Her lecturers were also being understanding towards her as they thoughtfully rescheduled her tutorial sessions so that she could afford more time to spend with her mother.
None of their combined efforts could match Gabriel’s as he practically committed all his free time towards helping mother and daughter in any way possible. He made himself her personal chauffeur much to Steve’s sister’s delight, ferrying her to and from the hospital. This particular action earned him many brownie points from Claire as she often worried about Anna’s safety especially when she had to commute home from the hospital late at night. Many a times, Gabriel would ensure there’s a hot meal waiting for Anna during dinner hours and the two would enjoy their meal in the hospital’s cafeteria. He would collect mails from their home and deliver them personally to Claire. When the utility and credit card bills are due, he would help pass them to Uncle Leon to be taken care off. There were also occasions where he would sneak his family’s maid into Claire’s home and have the place cleaned and tidied up before Anna could put in her rejection.
Despite everything that is keeping her fully occupied, Anna couldn’t help realising that her fondness for Gabriel has grown deeper. She was secretly delighted that they were now spending most of their free time together even if it means running her errands or simply willing the hours away in the hospital. At least she now has something pleasant to look forward to everyday.
.....
Notwithstanding how much her doctor and nurses tried to prepare her for, Claire couldn’t prevent the depression from showing when the first after-effects of the chemotherapy treatment finally kicked in. She was constantly shrouded in exhaustion. A trip to the bathroom to ease herself took so much effort that she gratefully traded her dignity for some assistance from the nurses in return. If it was even possible, Claire is looking even frailer than she has ever been. Her tremendous loss in appetite limited her food intake causing her body weight to plunge border lining a critical stage. Worse still, she vomited aggressively without fail after each and every chemo session, leaving behind only the bitter aftertaste of the regurgitated bile. Her sunken cheekbones magnified her popping eye sockets and her once healthy looking skin is now almost translucent white, radiating a sickly glow over the branching highway of her purple and green veins. The knockout punch came when clumps of her hair effortlessly came off while being brushed. It took only days before her thinning mane started revealing the obvious beige of her scalp. She began developing a natural fear to shower as the clogged drainage hole was a sight she couldn’t stomach. No amount of comfort could stop her heavy tears from gushing freely. Soon after, Claire refused any visitors apart from Anna, Wei Yee and Mrs. Chan. The three of them went shopping for a wig and found one that was more or less similar to Claire’s former hairstyle. It helped for a while before it began to irritatingly itch when worn over a long period due to sweating. In the end, Claire chose to don a cotton knitted bonnet instead and it proved to be a lot more comfortable. Gabriel still visited as often as before but courteously met up with Anna either in the cafeteria or the hospital’s garden area.
.....
Claire was napping and Anna was completing her assignments as her mobile vibrated silently. She saw that it was Gabriel calling and answered it. ‘Dinner is served my lady,’ he said with a regal tone. She smiled and said ‘Make known that the lady shall be proceeding to the royal dining chamber immediately’. She packed her stuff and left a note to her mother before taking the elevator to the cafeteria. On the way down, a pair of young giggly nurses gave her knowing looks but they had already reached their floor before she could enquire more.
She found Gabriel by the entrance, leaning casually against the wall. When he caught sight of her, he straightened out himself and flashed her a heart melting smile and she still hated herself for feeling so flushed. When she reached him, she tilted her head slightly higher and said ‘Her highness wishes to know what’s on the royal menu today’. He gave a little courtesan bow. ‘Dinner today is a little special my lady. Shall we proceed?’ as he gestured towards the elevator. She gave him a puzzled look before saying ‘You may lead on, my good man’. She was surprised when he pressed on the 7th floor button, the highest level of the hospital. ‘Where are we exactly going?’ she questioned, a tinge of excitement welling from within. ‘Just wait and see,’ he answered, his eyes showing an impish glint. Once at their designated floor, he led her to the emergency staircase and proceeded walking upwards without a backward glance. She had no choice but to keep up from behind.
They stopped at a narrow passage way with a door at the end. He took a deep breath and swung it open, allowing a refreshing breeze to wash over them. He grinned at her reassuringly and cocked his head towards the outside. She took a step on the hospital roof’s flat surface and immediately a light source caught her eye. Like a shiny beacon, a table was laid out at the corner and a cluster of lighted thick pink candles were sitting on it. ‘Come’ he softly said. As they approached, she could see that the table was scattered with champagne rose petals and a basket laid waiting on one of the chairs. ‘May I,’ he asked as he pulled out the empty chair for her. Still recovering from the surprise, she sat down slowly but deep down, she could feel her insides performing a triple somersault, over and over again. Without saying a word, he opened the basket and took out two plates and two pairs of fork and knife. He laid them on the table like an experienced maitre’d. Next, Gabriel opened a container and immediately, a scrumptious aroma enveloped their surrounding. He placed a piece of succulent steak on each plate and drizzled brown sauce generously over it. Anna thought it looked mouth wateringly delectable. On the side, he spooned portions of potato salad and finished the presentation by arranging a few pieces of baby carrots for added colour. As for the beverage, he uncapped two chilled bottles of sparkling grape juice. Perfect.
Anna was utterly lost for words but Gabriel wasn’t done. He placed a cute pair of mini speakers on the table and hooked his Ipod onto them. Soon, the air was filled with the romantic melody of ‘Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore’, a duet by Bon Jovi and LeAnn Rimes and also Anna’s favourite.
She could only look at him, her heart threatening to explode and her mind frantically trying to look for the perfect words to befit such a dreamy scenario. She realised then about the giggling nurses. ‘One last thing,’ he said. He carefully took out two cupcakes and placed them at the center of the table. Squiggled with icing on each of them was Happy and B’day. She was simply overwhelmed. Even she had forgotten that today was her birthday. This was an experience like no other. This was so special it was almost magical. At that moment, Anna felt like a princess in a happily ever after story.
‘I hope it’s not too much and errr ... I took the liberty of assuming that you would be available tonight. Good thing you didn’t have anything planned out,’ he bashfully said, ruffling the back of his hair, a habit for whenever he’s nervous. She could only continue starring at him and whispered ‘Thank you’. He replied ‘Hey, it’s your big day. You have every right to be treated like a princess. Besides, it was my pleasure to ...’. She cut him out mid sentence. Through glistened eyes, she lunged forward, grabbed him by the collar and put her lips to his. His was surprisingly soft and she tasted a hint of sweetness probably from some chewing gum he had earlier. They both knew this was what they had wanted all along and the sensation was purely wonderful. It’s as if nothing could go wrong and even if it did, it didn’t matter. After a while, they pulled away breathless. They couldn’t help but to exchange smiles shyly and he grabbed her hands. Lacing his fingers between hers, he said ‘Now try my cooking. I laboured the entire day for this’. But she couldn’t remember how the food tasted as every part of her body is bathed in a delicious warmth of love.
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