After hearing about what had happened to the man, Tyrion was completely petrified.
He was so emotional that it took quite some time before he responded, his voice nearly breaking with emotion, “Brucille, what are you talking about? Is it true?”
Brucille replied confidently, “Dad, Why would I lie to you? He’s awake.”
The news was so shocking that even after he hung up, Tyrion still couldn’t calm down. He urged Brucille to return so that he could tell him the whole story.
As soon as Brucille reached home, his nose detected the fragrance of stew.
The drool-inducing aroma of the beef stew wafted through the air.
Seeing that he had returned, Tyrion hurriedly rose from the sofa and led him to the dining table. Pointing at the dishes on the table, he said, “Your mother-in-law won’t be back soon while Monique is having lunch at work. Let’s have a drink while you tell me how you cured him.”
A warm sensation engulfed Brucille’s heart. It had only been a short while, but he had prepared lots of good food for him.
The more he ate, the more delicious the food tasted. The pair of in-laws sat opposite each other as they chatted for the entire afternoon. The state of the recovered vegetative patient was not the only thing they discussed.
Brucille listened to many stories about his supposed past, especailly the events that concerned his own father. Apparently, Brucille’s father had saved Tyrion by taking the brunt of a grenade’s shrapnel during a training session. However, he could not quite fully recover after the injury and passed away soon after he retired from the army.
Apart from that, Brucille’s marriage had been decided by Tyrion as Tyrion wanted to repay the kindness of his comrade. Brucille also found out that he had a mother, but she had been missing for many years. She had apparently become crazy before she had gone missing.
He also learned from Tyrion that he had sponsored all of his education expenses over the years. While he had also tried to look for Brucille’s mother, it was to no avail.
After all, Brucille had no other relatives after his uncle died. Recalling his uncle’s wealthy home and prosperous business, he was afraid that those were all in someone else’s hands.
The current “Brucille” had a mother, and he was determined to find her.
He wanted to experience what it was like to have a family member just once.
Chewing the tender beef in his mouth, he could taste its faint fragrance. Not only did it fill his stomach, it also brought back the memory of his mother.
Tears gathered at the corner of his eyes. At that moment, he remembered the scene of a woman making a stew for him when she was still sane. It was “Brucille’s” mother, and now his mother, too.
The boiling and bubbling sound of beef stew in the pot…
Perhaps it had been too long ago, he couldn’t recall his mother’s face clearly.
After helping his Tyrion into his room, he reclined alone on the couch and fell asleep before knowing it.
The creaking sound of the opening door woke him up.
Monique had returned. Although she looked a little tired, her gaze towards Brucille was calm as water as always.
Brucille rose to his feet and took the bag from her so that she could change her shoes. He enquired, “How are you? Are you tired?”
“No, I’m not tired. I’m so bored working at the health service counter.”
She took off her high heels and put on her house slippers. Then, she took the handbag back from him. It sounded to him that she was mocking him for saying that work was the same no matter what company it was.
Brucille knew that it was boring. She had not been accepted by the hospital, after all. He was afraid that she had been suppressing her frustration and he did not want to add fuel to the fire.
Because of the wine he had had with his father-in-law in the afternoon, his mind was still a little muddled.
The old man was quite the drinker. The two of them downed 2 bottles of wine, which was a lot.
He then returned to his room. Even though it was already April, the room still seemed to be exceptionally cold. In his dreams, Brucille watched himself falling into the ocean in his previous life.
At midnight, the phone rang urgently, waking Tyrion and his wife up from their deep slumber.
Ever since he had retired, very few people had ever called him in the middle of the night.
Sabrina turned on the lamp on the nightstand. Upset, she asked, “Tyrion, who’s calling you in the middle of the night?”
The back of Tyrion’s head hurt so much as he sat up with great effort to check his phone.
He was surprised to find that it was Donald, the director of the hospital.
“Why would Donald call me now?”
“You have already retired for several years. What can it be?” she snapped, obviously in a bad mood.
An uneasy feeling settled upon him as he picked up the phone. Before he could speak, Donald quickly told him, “Tyrion, this is Donald. There is a very important patient in the hospital. He needs your help.”
Tyrion was still a little tipsy from alcohol and drowsy from sleep, but when he heard that there was an emergency at the hospital, he was jarred sober and very much awake.
He quickly lifted the quilt, stood up and asked eagerly, “What did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly.”
Donald explained, “Mr. Ann, the founder of Ann Enterprise, is now in our hospital. Brucille cured him after his previous accident. You used to be a staff of our hospital, please get Brucille to come over immediately.”
Tyrion suddenly felt that he was on an emotional roller coaster. Just as his excitement level was just beginning to build, he was thrown into despair.
The call was meant for his son-in-law.
But when had his son-in-law treated someone in the hospital?
“Donald, what do you mean? Don’t you know who Brucille is? How could he possibly treat a patient? Are you trying to frame him?”
He then hung up without giving the other party an opportunity to explain. After all, he had been awakened deep in the night, so initially thought there was something immensely important.
What annoyed him most was Donald using his past identify of a hospital staff as leverage. When Tyrion had been sick for several years after his retirement, Donald did not even bother to call him.
Meanwhile, Donald stood in the corridor outside of the emergency room. The events that had taken place few days ago were still vivid in his mind. The only difference was that the man standing in front of him was not Pedro’s secretary, but Pedro’s son, Kelvin Ann.
After Donald hung up, Kelvin asked anxiously, “How is it, Mr. Chao? Did you manage to contact him? How long will it take for him to come here? Do you want me to send a car over to pick him up?”
Donald was in hot water. Although he was speechless, the unspoken words gargled in his throat like vomit. He had failed to call Brucille over.
He placated awkwardly, “Well, Mr. Ann, the last time was just a fluke. I have already gathered top specialists in this hospital to attend to your father. I have also asked for the assistance of experts from another hospital. Mr. Pedro will be just fine.”
Kelvin threatened gloomily, “Mr. Chao, I hope that you will be responsible for your decision. I will give you another half an hour. If my father’s condition still doesn’t improve, you’ll regret that you are a doctor.”