Chapter 29
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In mid–November, the flu was going around school. If one kid caught a cold, the whole class would likely follow suit since children have weaker immune systems.
Winifred was worried that Rosalind might get sick, especially since her heart wasn’t very strong. If she got infected, it could turn into a real problem, so she decided to take her daughter out of school for a week.
But unexpectedly, Winifred ended up getting a fever first.
Not wanting to pass anything to Ruby or Rosalind, she made Ruby wear a mask. After all, kids and the elderly are weaker.
Ruby teased her, saying, “Honestly, your health isn’t as good as mine or Rosalind’s.”
Winifred took a leave and spent three days getting IV fluids at a nearby clinic, but she didn’t feel any better. The fever kept coming back.
Ruby came over around noon to bring her lunch and urged her to go to a larger hospital for a blood test.
She had planned to wait until tomorrow, as she felt completely drained from the fever.
But seeing her daughter standing at the doorway with worried red eyes made Winifred want to go over and hug her. However, she feared passing any germs to her.
Winifred had never seen her own mother. She had only been 21 when she gave birth to Rosalind. She didn’t know how to be a mom.
But Rosalind was like a beautiful little angel.
When she was three or four years old, there was a leak in the attic. It was raining, and no repair worker showed up. The leak was right over the living room. Winifred grabbed a plastic basin to catch the rain.
Rosalind had looked at her with all the seriousness of an adult she’d seen on TV and said, “Mom, I’m going to buy you a really big house where you can live all by yourself.”
At the hospital, Winifred walked in wearing a double–layer mask. The waiting room was packed with people: adults, the elderly, and kids.
When she finally got her turn, she found a place to sit.
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In such a crowded space, she felt dizzy. The air was stuffy and filled with the noise of kids making a racket and coughing.
She pulled out a peppermint candy from her bag and sucked on it, silently hoping to get her IV done quickly so she could go home.
She closed her eyes for a moment to rest and then opened them to check the IV bottle, which was still mostly full.
The nurse mentioned she would need four bags of fluids.
Time dragged on, minute by minute.
“Humbert, I have such a bad headache. There are no seats left. Can I rest in your break room?”
a woman’s voice said.
“No, the hospital has rules. Sorry,” Humbert replied, his tone cold.
The woman’s voice sounded familiar and a bit whiny. Winifred wondered if she was imagining things and opened her eyes.
‘How could I be hearing Humbert and Sylvia?‘ she thought.
In the sea of people, Humbert’s tall, lanky form stood out. He wasn’t in a white coat but wearing a brown velvet casual jacket, helping Sylvia carry her IV stand.
Sylvia looked sickly and small, standing close to him and seeming very much like a little bird leaning on him.
He glanced around, seeing that the IV room was full. With the flu spreading, there wasn’t anywhere to sit.
Nearby, an older woman with her grandson finally got up, looking relieved to leave.
Winifred thought, ‘No way!‘
But a second later, her hand moved faster than her brain. She quickly put on her hood.
Wearing a black windbreaker with a hood and a mask, she covered almost her entire face.
There was no way Humbert or Sylvia would recognize her. Even if Ruby and Rosalind searched through the crowd, they probably wouldn’t spot Winifred.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Sylvia and Humbert sat down right next to her.
Winifred’s previously foggy mind instantly cleared. She lowered her head, tucking her chin into her windbreaker and turning her face away.
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In the originally stale air, Humbert’s cool scent tightened the nerves in Winifred’s body like an invisible thread.
She felt stuffy in her nose and pain in her throat, but suddenly could smell Humbert’s scent. It was as if her body was strangely sensitive to everything about him.
Winifred looked up at the IV bag, silently hoping it would finish quickly.
But because of her headache, the nurse made the new bag drip slowly.
Humbert glanced down at his phone. Margaret had sent him a message asking how Sylvia was doing.
That morning, Sylvia had come with Lorraine to visit Margaret, who had been home, sick with the flu, fever, and a sore throat. Despite having a cold, a lot of people were visiting her.
Not long after arriving, Sylvia started feeling unwell, and Margaret thought she might have passed the sickness to her. Since Humbert was on the night shift tonight, he brought Sylvia to the hospital.
He told Margaret not to worry and to rest at home.
“Sorry, Humbert, I was supposed to visit Margaret today, but I didn’t expect to catch a cold myself,” Sylvia said.
Humbert replied, “Be sure to drink a lot of water and rest well after your IV is done.”
“Thanks, Humbert,” Sylvia said.
In front of Humbert, Sylvia acted cute and sweet, completely different from her usual demeanor at work. And the Linton family and the Pierce family were quite the match in
status.
Winifred had overheard Linda and the others gossiping at work, thinking that Sylvia might soon have a boyfriend.
Time seemed to crawl by for Winifred. She subtly turned her head, stealing glances at him. He was sitting right next to her.
Coincidentally, he was also wearing a black windbreaker today, which made him look particularly cold and distant.
But the quality of the fabric was worlds apart. Winifred’s windbreaker had been bought on sale for cheap, while Humbert’s had to have cost thousands.
Winifred slowly withdrew her gaze. She had always been aware of the gap between them.
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To her left, a woman with her daughter finished their IV treatment and called a nurse to remove the needle.
“Could you take mine out too?” Winifred said, her voice hoarse, prompting Rosalind to joke that she sounded like a duck. Hearing her own voice made her laugh a little.
This round of flu seemed to specifically target throats.
The nurse glanced at her. “You haven’t had enough fluids yet. If we take the needle out now, it’ll just waste time, and the treatment won’t be effective.”
Winifred just wanted to leave. She stubbornly said, “I have something urgent at home.”
“What’s so urgent? You’ve only had a little bit of fluid in. Are you planning to get home, faint, and have an ambulance bring you back?” A familiar cold male voice rang out.
Winifred wasn’t sure if he was talking to her. She felt a little dazed.
She never thought Humbert would recognize her. She didn’t look in his direction, just kept her gaze fixed on the floor.
She thought, ‘I covered my entire face. How could he possibly recognize me? Is his eyesight like an X–ray?‘
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
