Carl had just woken up and was still feeling weak, but when he saw Nana’s haggard face, he couldn’t help but feel even more heartbroken. He lifted his right hand and ran his fingers over Nana’s face, almost as if caressing her.
Nana had been sleeping lightly during this time and could clearly feel someone touching her. She woke up groggily and looked up to meet Carl’s eyes.
When Carl saw that Nana was awake, he gently smiled at her. Nana was stunned for a moment, with an expression of disbelief on her face. As if to prove something to herself, she rubbed her eyes and gradually focused on the reality in front of her. A surprised smile appeared on her face as she realized that everything wasn’t just a dream after all; even the sound of her voice trembled with emotion.
“Carl… Carl! It really is you! You’re finally awake! That’s great!” Nana felt both excited and happy at the same time. She had been waiting for this day when Carl would wake up from his coma for so long now; however mixed emotions were swirling inside of herself making it difficult for words to come out properly. Her eyes turned red as tears welled up in them; she covered mouth tightly so that no sobs escaped.
“I’m awake,” said Carl softly nodding his head slightly before adding, “I’m sorry I made you worry about me.” He wanted to reach out and wipe away Nana’s tears but he was too weak at the moment to lift his arm very high.
He continued speaking gently, “Nana… I’m fine now… Please don’t cry anymore… You’ve lost weight since last time I saw you.”
Nana quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Seeing this, Carl couldn’t help but smile, though his face remained pale. Despite being in a coma for such a long time, he was different from a vegetative state. Sometimes, he could hear what people were saying, but he couldn’t fully wake up mentally.
For instance, he had heard Nana mention wanting to marry him.
Carl decided to confirm it himself. He looked at Nana and gestured for her to sit beside him. Fumbling, he reached out to hold the back of her hand and slowly asked, “Nana… When I was in a coma, I actually heard you talking. I heard you say that if I woke up, you would marry me. Is that true?”
Nana was taken aback. She hadn’t expected Carl to have heard those words. Although she had no intention of going back on her words, after everything they had been through, she couldn’t simply admit to it right away.
Nana paused, feeling conflicted. She gently turned her face away and wiped away the imaginary tears from her face with the back of her hand.
“I… I was just saying it casually. Who said I absolutely have to marry you?”
Although she said that, Carl wasn’t angry at all. He had liked Nana for a long time and could tell which of her words were true and which were false.
“Nana, I’m so happy you agreed to my proposal. Don’t worry, after I’m discharged from the hospital, I will give you a grand wedding and make you the happiest woman in the world. What kind of wedding do you want?”
Carl swore that this was the best news he had heard since waking up from his coma. He started imagining what his wedding with Nana would look like right away, as if afraid she might change her mind.
But Nana still seemed uncomfortable with such a scene. Although she had decided to keep her promise, she needed time to fully accept or fall in love with Carl.
“You… you should rest well first and recover completely before we talk about this again. You know I need time to accept this, right? But don’t worry; I won’t back out,” Nana finally spoke after much deliberation while tucking in Carl’s blanket.
Carl nodded gently; he understood where Nana was coming from. Besides, since he would eventually marry her anyway, waiting a little longer wouldn’t hurt anyone.
Mrs. Waters heard voices inside as soon as she reached the door and pushed it open just in time to see Carl finish talking with Nana. She couldn’t believe what she saw; tears welled up quickly in her eyes, and almost dropped soup on floor due excitement.
“Carl? Is it really you? You’re awake?” Mrs. Waters walked quickly towards his bed without even considering any prejudice against Nana.
Carl turned around when he heard someone speak, his gaze met Mrs. Waters’ eyes, and nodded slightly.
“Mom, I’m awake.”
After days of worrying, Mrs. Waters finally let out a sigh of relief, but then came excitement followed by sadness. She couldn’t help but cry loudly.
“You silly boy! You scared me so much!” She sobbed while trying hard not to lose control over herself. After calming down, she smiled through tears, “It’s okay now. You’re awake. That’s all that matters.”
After only a short while, Tracy arrived at the hospital room. Although she felt sorry for her daughter being looked down upon by Mrs. Waters, she still liked Carl very much.
As soon as she walked in, Tracy saw Mrs. Waters sitting next to Carl who had already shown signs of waking up. Tracy was surprised for a moment but quickly smiled and walked over with relief on her face.
“Carl, Carl you’re awake? That’s great news! Now that you’re awake, my daughter can finally have some rest. You don’t know how hard she’s been working these past few days for you.”
Tracy was about to mention how Mrs. Waters treated Nana poorly when Nana frowned at her, obviously signaling not to bring it up.
Tracy thought about it and decided not to cause any trouble for Carl right now. Mrs. Waters choked on Tracy’s words earlier but didn’t say anything else since her son had woken up; they should give the family some respect and avoid any unnecessary conflict.
“Mrs. Lawson, I know that these past few days… have been tough on Nana.”
Every time Carl spoke he couldn’t help but look at Nana with tender eyes.
Seeing this made Tracy feel more confident; no matter how domineering his mother was, her son still loved her daughter so much!
While they were chatting away, suddenly Nana’s phone rang in her pocket; she took out the phone quietly gesturing towards both mothers and Carl before leaving the room to answer it privately.
As soon as she closed the door behind herself and answered “Hello? Who is this?” there was silence from the other end of the line which made Nana frown in confusion. Who could be calling from an unknown number like this?