Melissa chuckled. “Oh, you two are jealous. Well, whatever! By the way, Monique, isn’t your birthday the day after tomorrow? Tell me what you would like as a gift.”
From the side, Pollard interjected, “Can you afford what Monique wants? Don’t we have Brucille to take care of it?”
However, Monique appeared to be very calm. She replied indifferently, “I’m an old woman, not a young girl. I’ll be a year older after my birthday. How terrifying!”
When Melissa heard that, she was upset. “Just shut up. What do you mean you’re an old woman? Mom is sitting right there! Look at her, she’s like an 18-year-old girl. There may be handsome young men who still flirt with her when she goes out.”
Sabrina almost spat out her drink when she heard that. “Are you trying to choke me to death? Why are you talking about other handsome young men? You have been married to Pollard for several years! Tell me, when are you going to have a child? And you too, Monique. People usually become pregnant after a month into their marriage. If they take their time, maybe it’ll be two or three months. But in any case, they always end up with children soon.”
“Your father and I have been hoping so long for grandchildren, but neither of you are heading in that direction. Melissa, what are you thinking? Haven’t you had enough fun? Are you going to give birth to a child only when you’re 50?” Sabrina questioned.
Childbirth was a difficult topic for Melissa.
Although there were two doctors in her family, she wasn’t really sure how to initiate the conversation about it. At that moment, Pollard’s face turned gloomy, and Brucille noticed that.
After dinner, Brucille sent Pollard and his wife off. Right before they left, Brucille put his hand on Pollard’s wrist. Almost instantly, he managed to figure out what was wrong.
“Pollard, the dampness in your body has been a little high recently. I’ll give you a prescription tomorrow night. I assure you that you’ll fully recover after taking it,” Brucille told him.
Pollard stared at Brucille while Brucille winked at him. It was only then that Pollard realized what was happening. Therefore, he whispered, “Is there really a way?”
“Trust me, there’s no way I can be wrong.”
In an uncharacteristic action, Pollard suddenly stopped in his steps and hugged Brucille tightly, proclaiming, “You’re truly my brother.”
Melissa was shocked by his shout. Even the other family members in the room quickly ran out, thinking that Pollard was drunk.
Brucille whispered back to him, “You will be a father by this time next year.”
Pollard viewed Brucille in a completely different light. In his excitement, Melissa was completely confused. After all, both men were never close with each other, as though there was an invisible barrier between them. Why were they acting so intimately?
Monique felt that there was something wrong with Brucille. Pollard had always looked down on him, so she did not expect him to treat him suddenly like a brother.
Later that night, Monique told her parents to go to bed first. She was cleaning up in the kitchen, which was an activity she usually would not be keen to do. Putting on an apron, Brucille volunteered from behind her, “Honey, save your hands for the operating table, leave the cleaning to me.”
“No, these hands can wash dishes and also perform surgery. I’m not a pampered young lady. When I was younger, I used to plant seedlings in the field,” Monique retorted.
“Hm, I remember that piece of land belonged to my family,” he mused. “You were as timid as a mouse back then. I recall you being frightened by a little loach and screaming.”
Monique protested angrily, “I thought it was a snake! Hey, it was because of you…”
“How could you blame me? In order to save you, I ended up covered in mud. You even kissed me when I got up.”
Instantly, the plate in her hands fell to the floor and shattered as Monique fled.
…
Right at that moment, Brucille could remember things from many years ago.
Laying on her bed, Monique could not fall asleep that night. In her head, there was an image of a kind father, Mr. Yip, who looked very similar to the current Brucille.
The taste of the crayfish that they had back then was still fresh in her memory. If they hadn’t become husband and wife, they might have been the best of friends.
However, their marriage became the biggest obstacle to their relationship. Threatening to sever their ties, Tyrion had locked her in that prison of marriage.
However, she already had a man in her heart since the beginning, and he was her Prince Charming.
Therefore, she didn’t even dare to tell anyone about her marriage. Even some of her good friends didn’t know that she was married.
Brucille probably didn’t know that the big bouquet of roses she had received on her previous birthday was evidence of where her heart lied.
In just two days, it would be her birthday. She really looked forward to receiving a surprise gift.
The night was unusually long. Somehow, she found herself caught between the two men in her dreams. The man in her dream lived in her memories, but she had to face her husband, who was living by her side. It was an extraordinary reality.
On the second day of Tyrion’s job, he brought his daughter along to perform a complex chest surgery, and once again he proved his excellent medical prowess.
Meanwhile, Monique had the opportunity to personally witness the magnificent skills of her father in performing surgery. When he was operating on the chest, he knew the details of internal organ structure like the back of his hand. He could operate accurately under the microscope.
The whole operation lasted for more than three hours. Apart from his kind fatherly image, she saw in him a tenacious and dutiful doctor, and it made her proud.
When they exited the operating room, the assistant dean, Fredrick, shook Tyrion’s hand affectionately, “Tyrion, I know that you are very experienced. You completed such a complex surgery just right after you report working here. It must have been very hard.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Tyrion replied. “Well, I may be old, but I have more knowledge and experience precisely because of that.”
The two old colleagues inevitably chatted a little longer, and Monique did not interrupt them.
It had been a long time since she had seen her father laugh so happily. He was a doctor, thus he should be in a place that needed his profession. Saving the dead and healing the injured was his greatest dream.
However, she still didn’t know what tricks Brucille had used to persuade Donald. The reason he had given her was not credible at all.
The clock by the windowsill kept ticking. When it was about six, Monique and Tyrion left the hospital together and drove to the beach by the Superior Bay Hotel.
Tyrion was in high spirits. Clad in a casual attire, even the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes seemed to have faded.
Monique was elated for him. She approached him and commented, “Dad, you seem to be in better spirits these days.”
“Monique, although I don’t know what Brucille’s tricks were, I know Donald very well. There is no way he would have invited me back unless he had no other choice. Please be good to Brucille. Really, he has been working hard to change lately. It’s obvious to everyone.”
“Treat him like a seed you’ve planted in the ground. It first needs to grow so that it can bear fruit. When it’s mature, you can eat it. However, don’t set your expectations too high as we all don’t have a full understanding of him. After all, he grew up in an environment different from ours. Give him more time; I believe that he’s not a bad person by nature…”