“In case you were wondering, I can hear you two,” I said, and they both shut up. And then I hear the retreating steps of Alba’s shoes.
“Good morning, sir.” He said.
My back was to him, but even from his voice, I can hear him fidgeting.
“What do you want, Ethan?”
I chose not to talk about what he just said to Alba, and I heard the surprise in his next words, although he tried to mask it.
“Uhm, sir, your parents sent me.” He paused again, but I said nothing, waiting for him to spit it out.
“They are worried about you, sir.”
I finally turned to him and when he took a step back, I raised a brow at him before I made my way out of the workshop in the battery-operated wheelchair. I heard his steps trailing closely beside me.
“Tell them I’m still alive. Against their wishes, of course.”
We round the corner to the living room and I saw something come up on the tv. What I saw on the news stopped me in my tracks. Figuratively.
There’s a picture of Gigi, my ex and a popular NFL star, whom I did not know, holding hands as they walked out of a show together. The headline read they were engaged, and theirs was a whirlwind romance.
I stare in disbelief at the screen, unsure of what to feel. Before the news could say anymore, the tv was turned off, and I turned back to see Ethan had the remote, and he’d turned it off to stop me from hearing anymore.
I turned back to the blank screen as my anger rose. And I figured he was here for the same reason. The only time he came was to pick up a working model or to drop off supplies I had asked him to get. And he’d only come twice in the past month.
My parents had sent him to check on me, fearing that I might not take the news of Gigi’s engagement well.
“Did you come here because of this?” I said to him.
“What? No, sir… I… Uhm–I…
“Don’t lie to me, Ethan!”
“Yes, sir. I came here because of this news. But I also came because you just lost your third nurse and your parents are worried about your health.”
“I’m doing just fine, Ethan. You tell them that. And I care little for you spying on me for them. I am your employer, not them. And if I have to talk to you about where your loyalties lie, then you don’t deserve the job.”
“No, sir. I mean, I’m sorry, sir. Of course, my loyalties lie with you. I’m worried as well. That’s why I’ve just sent out a call for applications for a new nurse. We’ll no longer use the agency since you did not like all three of them.”
“This has nothing to do with any agency, Ethan. I don’t want a fucking nurse. I’m not some child that needs babysitting.”
“With all due respect, sir, you need a nurse. Alba can only do so much, and she’s not a medical practitioner. We need someone here to at least administer first aid in case something goes wrong.”
“Now, you’re just being dramatic.”
When Ethan finally left, I picked up the paper he had brought and mistakenly forgot.
The news of Gigi’s engagement to her latest man is the headline as well, and I stared at it in anger. I thought I was madly in love with this woman and she’d turned out to be a superficial, selfish bitch.
I flung the paper to the other side of the room and the noise it made was loud enough for Alba to come in.
“I’m fine,” I reassured her and she gave a small nod and smiled before walking out.
My phone rang, and I glanced at it to see it was my mother calling. I didn’t pick up the call, allowing it to go to my voicemail.
Most times, my parents were a thorn in my flesh. They trod the line between overbearing and negligence, both at the same time.
My father loved his work, and his company was his life. My mother, on the other hand, used whatever time she had on frivolities, though she started many charity organizations, all three of which were already defunct.