When Kim arrived at work, his colleagues were surprised by the sadness on his face. "I'm sorry, everyone. The meeting is postponed. I'll inform you of the new date," he said before retreating to his office without waiting for any comments.
Madison approached Jay to ask what was wrong, but he didn't know. "This morning, I saw him driving to catch up with Riele," she whispered.
"Did Riele come to work?" Jay inquired.
Madison shook her head. "She left in a hurry. I think something must have happened for her to leave like that."
Jay was concerned and planned to speak with Riele after work. With the new information from Madison, he decided to call her. "Thank you," he told Madison before making the call.
He called Riele several times, but she didn't answer. He was about to enter the office when he received a call from her. Her voice was soft and sad, and he could tell something was wrong. "Hey, Sugar, what's wrong? Why do you sound so sad?" he asked.
"I'm going through a lot right now. I'm sorry I missed your calls," she replied.
"It's okay. I thought I was bothering you."
"I'm at the hospital now. I'm going to see my mom in her ward."
"Is she okay?"
"I don't know. Her eyes are open, but she's not moving or talking, so I can't tell if everything is okay."
"That's a locked-in syndrome," Jay replied.
Riele was surprised that he knew the diagnosis without any explanation. "How did you know that?"
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Sugar, but that's a story for another day," he said with a smile.
"How did the meeting go?" Riele asked.
"It was postponed," Jay replied.
"What? Did he say why?"
"I should be asking you that. What did you do to him?" Jay asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I heard he followed you, and I'm sure he caught up with you. Tell me what happened."
"I don't know what's going on in his head, and I don't want to know. I just want him to stay away from me. He's caused enough damage to my mental health, and I don't like it."
"Why do I feel like there's more?"
"I have to go. The nurse just told me to end the call. We'll discuss more when we see each other, okay?"
"Do you want me to pick you up afterward?"
"That won't be necessary, but thank you for caring."
"Okay, bye."
"See you soon."
***
"Did you bring your boyfriend with you?" Nurse Jane inquired, noting his caring tone.
Riele grinned. "Jay isn't my boyfriend, Nurse Jane. He's a colleague and a close friend."
"That's how you see him?"
Riele hesitated before responding. Did she only see Jay as a friend, or was there something more? She pondered.
"In any case, it's none of my business, but a guy like him who cares so much shouldn't slip away," Nurse Jane remarked.
Riele smiled and nodded.
The nurse opened the ward door, and they entered. "She's been like this since morning," she informed Riele, who went to sit beside her mother. She couldn't help but cry as she held her mother's hand. "Let me know if you need anything." Nurse Jane patted her shoulder before departing.
"Mom," Riele called out. "Why does seeing you like this hurt me so much?" She wiped away her tears as she poured her heart out to her mother. "There's so much to talk about, so much I need your advice on, and so much I want to hear you say to me, but none of that can happen because you're here, like this.
"I miss you so much, Mom. I feel like now is the time I need you the most because I feel like I'm going through a moment in my life where you're the only one who can guide me through. I'm scared, Mom."
She paused for a moment and gazed at her mother. "Harry was thrilled to hear that you moved your fingers. He was wondering if it meant you'd be coming back home. He'll be disappointed when I tell him that he won't see you for a couple of weeks or months.
"How are you doing, Mom?" she asked, waiting for a response or a sign that her mother was hearing everything she was saying, but there was nothing. She continued to speak to her, asking her what she was doing and how things were going. "The doctor told me that you're a strong fighter, and I can't argue with that because you are, Mom. Do you remember when one of our neighbors tried to hit on me, and you gave him a piece of your mind? Or when some creep tried to assault me, and you stood up for me and made him have a bloody nose?
"Daddy respected you so much for holding this family together in his absence, and I'm sure he still does wherever he is now. Get well soon, Mom. There's so much I want to tell you. There's Charlotte, who's expecting a baby from a man I detest, and there's Jay… "
She paused, thinking about how kind Jay had always been to her. "...He's a kind person, as Nurse Jane said, but the truth is, I don't see him that way. I value our friendship and respect it a lot. Oh, and there's this difficult boss who doesn't seem to know what he wants. I loathe him so much right now, but at the same time, I…" She bit her lip, holding back the words as tears streamed down her face. She thought about how poorly he treated her, but she didn't understand why her heart still cared so much.
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts, and she turned to see another nurse approaching her. "Good day, miss."
"Good day, Nurse. I suppose my visiting hours are over."
The nurse smiled and frowned. "I'm sorry to interrupt."
"No, don't worry about it! You're just doing your job." She kissed her mother's forehead before leaving the ward. "What about Nurse Jane?"
"She's with another patient right now, but I'll pass along your regards."
"Thank you so much, Nurse…"
"Gina. Nurse Gina." They shook hands before Riele departed.