A burst of commotion followed, and the nurses on duty on the first floor rushed over to help. The woman was moved onto a hospital bed, escorted to the emergency department for a brief examination. Then, they tidied up the elderly man's IV stand to prevent any injuries. After about four or five minutes of bustling, the situation was finally sorted out.
Renly and Paul exchanged glances, looking at the sweat glistening on each other's foreheads, and both burst into a chuckle.
"Indeed, some exercise warms you up instantly. Suddenly, the cold doesn't feel so biting," Paul joked half-heartedly, causing Renly's smile to widen a bit more.
"Renly, thank you for just now." Kelly Patton hurried over, a faint smile on her face that couldn't hide her weariness. "It's a good thing you guys helped. Otherwise, who knows what would have happened."
"The woman just now, she came because her son couldn't stop hiccupping. They brought her in for a check-up, not expecting it could be meningitis. And the elderly man is the child's grandfather-in-law, undergoing dialysis due to kidney failure." Kelly briefly summarized the chaotic scene with just a few sentences, but she couldn't encompass the entire life of their family, leaving one feeling nostalgic.
"Is the woman alright?" Paul asked with concern.
Kelly shook her head. "For now, it seems to be anemia, a lack of sugar." Her words were somewhat awkwardly cut short, as though there should have been a "but" following. But Kelly didn't say it, and Paul didn't press further.
"You should head upstairs quickly; there's a surprise waiting." Kelly said mysteriously, then shook her head with a self-satisfied air and walked away.
Paul turned his head to Renly, curious. "Do you come here often?"
"When I have time," Renly shrugged. Although they had just experienced the chaos, this was a hospital, where life and death farewells were experienced every day, every moment. The faint sorrow was forever unshakeable. They needed to learn to face it calmly. "But due to work, I'm always running around irresponsibly."
The self-deprecating remark earned a light laugh from Paul.
As the two quietly conversed, they reached the upper floor. The nurses stationed there greeted them, and Renly's eyes caught sight of the New Year's decorations hanging by the side—red and green embellishments, lavishly adorned. In the center were various pictures, and upon closer inspection, they were photos of the hospital's Christmas and New Year's parties.
Among the photos, Renly indeed recognized several familiar faces. The smiling faces that had blossomed due to the New Year's spirit caused Renly's lips to involuntarily curl upwards.
"Is this you?" Paul lightly nudged Renly with his shoulder and pointed to a photo in the bottom right corner. Renly turned to look.
It was a small cutout, and it was indeed his photo. However, only his head was visible, with three cat whiskers drawn on each side of his cheeks. He wore a small crown on his head, looking rather comical and irresistibly funny.
Renly shrugged his shoulders, teasingly saying, "It seems I'm the king of the animal kingdom."
Paul stood by, chuckling to himself, his gaze falling on the text next to the caricature. He read it out loud, "Persist in pure self, stay true to oneself. Who said this?"
However, Renly was taken aback. This was a line from the chorus of "Your Bones", performed only once on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He hadn't expected it to appear here. Could it be just a coincidence?
"That was written by Hazel," Anita Tunisia entered the nurses' station, explaining with a cheerful smile. "From that episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she watched it six times, from the live broadcast to the reruns. Even Alex, Annie, and the kids gathered to watch it."
So, this was the surprise Kelly had mentioned. It wasn't the show, but this lyric recorded by Hazel. Did that mean Hazel's rehabilitation progress had been good recently?
"Good thing it's a morning talk show," Renly's response prompted Anita to burst into laughter joyfully, her hearty laughter echoing like a buzzing in the ears.
"Anita! My ears hurt!" came a childish voice from the side. Turning his head, Renly could see Annie Seliman, that little girl, wrinkling her nose, puffing out her cheeks into a pout, making a funny face. Then she raised both her hands high, dramatically covering her ears, her mischievous spirit evident on her face.
Renly's gaze fell on Annie, pausing slightly. Her tiny frame seemed to have never grown, just as frail and small as when he first met her. Though Renly knew Annie's metabolic disorder affected her physical development, seeing it with his own eyes still brought forth a tinge of bitterness.
"Annie! Did you finish your task for today?" Renly put on a stern face, playfully as if scolding her, assuming a serious posture.
But Annie didn't take him seriously at all; she stuck her tongue out at Renly. "The first thing I did when I woke up this morning! Hehe!" With that, she dashed away like a streak of lightning, rushing like a gust of wind, her silver-bell-like laughter echoing through the spacious and long hospital corridor.
Renly turned his head and saw Anita's helpless expression. "Don't look at me, I can't catch up. Don't try to make me move my butt." Anita's plump, pear-shaped figure indeed bore a considerable burden, and running was truly too challenging for her.
Renly could only shake his head and then tiptoe, taking big strides to catch up. "No running! No running in the hospital!"
Paul was instantly left behind, his face still sporting a broad smile. Yet, he was unabashed and voluntarily extended his right hand to Anita. "I'm Paul, and I have an emergency medical technician certification. Is there anything I can help with?"
"Oh, you're a friend of Renly?" Anita's face also lit up with delight. "Great, this morning, a group of kids gathered to draw together, and we're short of a supervisor. You can help out."
"Drawing...?" Paul's smile immediately froze, but Anita paid no mind to it, gesturing for Paul to follow as she headed toward the activity room. Paul hurriedly caught up. "But I'm not very good at drawing. Otherwise, physical labor, yes, I'm definitely up for it. Or maybe moving heavy objects."
"Drawing, believe me, no child cares if you're good at it or not." Anita was completely unconcerned, saying with a cheerful smile.
Paul felt like crying.
In this short morning, both Paul and Renly were so busy that they barely had a moment to catch their breath, let alone talk. It wasn't until lunchtime that they finally had a chance to meet in the hospital cafeteria.
Gazing at the streaks of oil paint on Paul's forehead and chin, along with his disheveled hair, Renly could hardly contain his amusement. One could easily imagine how much torment Paul had gone through.
"...Is he always like this? My goodness, I feel like my stamina can't keep up anymore." Paul was sharing the morning's anecdotes with Renly, a grin evident between his brows, showing that he was someone who enjoyed being around kids. At that moment, Anita placed her tray to the side, sat down, and complained, "Why do you both have chicken legs, and I don't?"
"Are you sure it's not because Jon's worried about your weight and deliberately didn't give you one?" Renly's retort earned him a playful eyeroll from Anita, causing both Renly and Paul to burst into laughter. "Oh, Anita, is Hazel not feeling well today? I went to her room twice, and she was sleeping both times."
So Renly refrained from disturbing her and simply left both times.
"No, she's just feeling sad," Anita shrugged, her words carrying a touch of melancholy, inevitable under the circumstances. "Ellie's fallen ill, with a cold, high fever, and some signs of pneumonia. To avoid infecting Hazel, Ellie hasn't been to the hospital for nearly two weeks. Derek promised Hazel to take her out to a movie today, but his work suddenly came up."
Anita glanced at Renly. "Hazel's a big girl. She wasn't angry. Derek came to see her before he went to work. She even got up and walked Derek to the door of the room, letting her dad go to work with peace of mind. But..."
Anita didn't finish her sentence, but Renly understood. Nonetheless, Hazel was still a child. She understood her father's hardships and her mother's struggles. She couldn't help but feel sad, upset, and dejected.
"How's Ellie doing?" Renly remembered Ellie, the one who reminded him of Diane.
"She'll get better; it just takes time." Anita didn't elaborate further, but that statement was sufficient.
Paul was completely out of the loop, sending a questioning gaze, though refraining from speaking up.
Renly caught Paul's gaze, but there was no time to answer. After a thoughtful pause, he turned to Anita with an inquiring look. "What do you think if Paul and I take her out to a movie?" As the words left his mouth, Renly realized he might have acted rashly. "I know, it's probably reckless of me to suggest this, but I just thought..."
Renly understood how Hazel felt.
As patients, they understood their parents' difficulties, knew their own conditions, and were aware of the hospital's considerations. They were smarter and more mature than anyone could imagine, but they were powerless.
They could only stay where they were, passively accepting all outcomes. Sometimes, they wanted to be capricious, but the cost was more than they could bear. They were the ones left behind at the starting point, lonely, isolated, helpless, confused, even stripped of the right to resist.
Anita hesitated for a moment, her reflex being to refuse. After all, Renly wasn't Hazel's immediate family. But upon second thought, she swallowed the refusal that was about to leave her lips. "Hazel's been making good progress in her rehabilitation lately. Going outside to breathe some fresh air is a good thing. But the weather in New York these days has been really awful..." Anita hesitated further, "Renly, I'm not sure, I really don't know. Maybe you can call Derek and ask for his opinion?"
"Of course, of course, no problem at all, that's necessary, very necessary." Renly nodded vigorously, a happy smile gracing his face. "I'll call Derek in a bit."