Tracy’s flight had one more hour to arrive, and time was tight. So as soon as Mrs. Waters entered the hospital room, Nana left.
“Mrs. Waters, my mom is almost here. I have to hurry to the airport. Carl is in your hands,” Nana said, glancing at Mrs. Waters before hastily leaving.
Before Mrs. Waters could reply, Nana had already disappeared.
“She just left like that?! How rude!” Mrs. Waters complained to herself. She already had grievances against Nana and now she felt even more upset.
She couldn’t understand why her son would fall for someone like Nana, someone who wasn’t particularly attractive or from a good family background, especially when he was a big star with so many women vying for his attention.
Not only was she older than Carl by several years but she also caused him harm in his current state of health.
After Nana left, Mrs. Waters fumed with anger and scolded her harshly behind her back.
If it weren’t for the fact that she was carrying Carl’s child, Mrs. Waters wouldn’t want to see Nana again at all!
Sitting by the bed side, she checked the heart rate monitor which showed stable readings before looking over at Carl and noticing soup stains on his pillowcase which made her touch it with disgust, “Still sticky?”
She then saw a thermos on the bedside table and understood what happened, “This girl! She keeps saying how much she cares about Carl but look at this mess! She doesn’t even know how to change a pillowcase?”
“All talk and no action!”
Nana was truly misunderstood. It was not that she didn’t change the pillowcase, but rather she had been constantly worried about Carl’s condition, completely disregarding these minor details.
…
Airport.
Nana waited at the arrival gate for a while until she saw her mother, Tracy.
“Mom, over here!” Nana’s heart filled with joy as she spotted Tracy and quickly waved her hand.
Tracy looked surprised seeing how haggard-looking her daughter appeared while walking up towards her quickly asking concernedly, “Nana, why do you look so tired? And have you lost weight?”
“I didn’t get enough rest in hospital plus I’m not wearing any makeup right now so naturally I don’t look great.” Trying hard not to show any signs of worry or fatigue, Nana said casually shrugging it off.
“You’re not alone anymore; take care of yourself properly,” Tracy said lovingly while worrying about Nan’s condition as an expectant mother.
Nan pushed Tracy outwards while replying half-heartedly, “Yes yes yes, I know.”
Upon arriving outside at the airport, Nana waved for a taxi while Tracy looked displeased.
“You came alone? The Waters family didn’t send anyone?” Tracy asked.
“Carl’s dad is busy and her mom is taking care of him in the hospital, so they couldn’t come,” Nana replied.
“They didn’t even tell the driver to pick you up? You’re carrying their child and I’m his future mother-in-law now. They should have at least welcomed me properly,” Tracy complained with a furrowed brow.
As they spoke, a taxi pulled up and Nana helped her mother into it. “Mom, you came too suddenly and I didn’t have time to let them know beforehand. That’s why everything wasn’t planned out perfectly. The car is here now so let’s get in quickly.”
During the ride, Tracy held onto Nana’s hand with concern. “You’ve lost so much weight!”
“I’m pregnant now so my body type has changed. Even if I eat more, I won’t gain weight easily,” Nana reassured her mother.
“But you’re my flesh and blood! How can I not worry?” Tracy said with affectionate words throughout their journey.
Nana was now regretting asking Carl’s mother to look after Carl instead of hiring a nurse.
She realized that Carl’s mother was already unhappy with her because of Carl’s situation, and now her mother was also becoming dissatisfied with the Waters family. It seemed like they were headed for a confrontation.
Nana started to have a headache.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Nana and Tracy entered the ward together.
Mrs. Waters didn’t greet them with a smile, but she maintained the appropriate etiquette.
Ignoring personal feelings, even if Mrs. Waters disliked Nana, they still needed her to stabilize Carl’s condition, so they couldn’t make her too uncomfortable.
“Tracy, you’re here.”
“Yes, I came specifically to see Carl. I really care about him.”
“Come, have a seat. There are fruits here. Help yourself,” Mrs. Waters pretends to be polite.
Although she said to have some fruits, she showed no real concern and didn’t even bother to wash them, making it difficult for anyone to eat.
“How is Carl doing? What did the doctor say?” Tracy asked politely.
The two in-laws exchanged polite conversation, discussing how Nana had fed Carl and given him plain congee today.
Mrs. Waters pointed to the pillow, “Nana, the pillowcase is dirty. While I support Carl, could you change it?”
“Okay, I’ll go take a look,” Nana nodded and agreed.
Nana went to the balcony and looked outside before returning to say, “Mrs. Waters, the pillowcase has been washed but it’s not dry yet. We’ll have to wait a bit.”
“But we can’t let Carl sleep on a dirty pillow like this,” Mrs. Waters was very unhappy.
“I’ll use some towels to cushion it for him,” Nana said as she went to the bathroom and brought out two towels. She carefully placed them under Carl’s head.
Tracy was not happy that her precious daughter was being treated this way. Her daughter was not here to be ordered around; she was here to take care of the patient! And on top of that, she was pregnant!
She had already been upset that they didn’t pick her up from the airport today, but now seeing how her daughter was being treated… she couldn’t stand it anymore.
How could such an excellent child like Carl have a mother like this?!
Mrs. Waters saw Tracy’s expression and thought: My son became like this because of your jinxed child you gave birth! And she can’t even take care of him properly; all she does is sweet words for him! And now you’re unhappy?!”
What’s wrong with taking care of my son? Your daughter owes us – the Waters family! Letting my son sleep on dirty pillows… really…
The two elders were silently competing against each other while Carl lay unconscious in bed and Nana worked busily without thinking too much about their conflict.
After cushioning the pillows with towels, Nana looked up at both unhappy faces and finally understood what had happened. She opened her mouth as if wanting to say something but then closed it again; she didn’t know what to say or do except regret bringing Carl’s mother over today.
Tracy spoke slowly, “Nana, why are you working so hard lately? You’re pregnant; make sure you take good care of yourself.”
Pausing briefly before continuing when seeing Mrs. Waters’ displeased face, “If things don’t improve soon enough for you tonight, then just go home where we will love and cherish you instead of making us worry about you.”