"Hello, Ms. Valera!" A second medical staff passed by the first staff and saw Rayne.
Rayne waved at the resident medical technologist. Then she frowned a little when the staff member was not so discreetly looking for someone behind her. There may have been someone waiting for their results, and she was slow.
"Oh, sorry! I was wondering if your boyfriend was with you."
"Huh? Boyfriend?" Rayne frowned at her.
The first staff rolled his eyes. "Brenda has a crush on the guy you were with and was saying she was jealous of you for having such a hot partner."
Realization dawned on her. "Ohh…" She nearly forgot that Harold had accompanied her to the hospital. "He isn't my boyfriend, but he is my boy friend." She said dryly.
Brenda was confused while the male staff was chuckling behind her. "Ah well, you're a lucky woman, Ms. Valera." She said.
"Right," Rayne muttered. "Thanks for the results. I'm glad I'm not going to die anytime soon."
The male staff, whose name on the ID showed Kevin Acosta, RMT, nodded. "Yeah, it's one of the few things we are happy about in this pandemic." He said. "Take care of yourself, ma'am."
Rayne waved at them and mainly left, relieved that she was still alive but slightly annoyed that strangers assumed that she and Harold were a couple. Gah, why would people believe that we're an item? I'm hardly partner material.
Crushing that idea, she walked out of the hospital and proceeded to an eatery a few distances away; she was craving a lechong kawali rice meal.
"You have the entire period to finish the quiz, so I don't want anyone to hear any complaints that I didn't give you enough time, got it?" Harold said as he eyed his class intently.
"Yes, sir." The students said in unison.
Harold smiled at them, and he heard some soft titters from some of the female students. He sighed internally. He was back at work teaching and dealing with his so-called fan club. It was a relief that they were up to speed with the lessons Jasper and Agatha had provided in his absence, so it was not hard to continue from where they left off.
Silence filled the classroom, which broke with the occasional sounds of paper being lifted and turned or a sigh coming from a student or two. From time to time, he would make a sweeping gaze at the class, checking if they were cheating or not. He trusted his students to be honest in their work, but a few would attempt to cheat. They can try, and they would know how painful failure would be.
Harold then looked at the pile of papers in front of him. These were from his other classes, and he had barely started checking on these papers. As he was studying, his mind drifted to Rayne. He wondered if she had already gotten her test results and what she was currently up to. He was confident that her results would be negative since she had recovered from pneumonia and the city health office did not pick her up for hospitalization.
Caring for Rayne was quite an experience as she turned out to be a compliant patient and pretty independent in her movements. It must be because she was used to being alone, so having someone around was unusual for her. She was sometimes stubborn, which had them arguing about what she should and should not do when she was sick.
Harold stopped checking papers and briefly glanced at his smartphone. He set aside the pieces, unlocked his phone, and began browsing through an online shopping app. He had been so engrossed with his browsing that he had not heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.
"Sir?"
Harold looked up and saw a dark-haired girl eyeing him closely. He smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry, Grace, you're done."
Grace nodded as she handed her paper. "Are we allowed to leave the class?"
"Yes, you can go once you're finished with the quiz," Harold said.
Grace smiled and walked out of the classroom. Harold observed her. Grace was one of the few female students who had never shown any interest in him and was very focused on his lessons. Sometimes, she was the one who would quell the noise the other girls had caused during class.
Other students followed Grace's lead and submitted their papers, with a few complaints about how hard it was. Harold just gave them a playful smile. There were more students left in the room still answering the quiz. He resumed his browsing on the app.
Harold was frowning at the picture he was looking at. It was not because of the price, this was barely a drop from his finances, but he was not sure if Rayne would like it. Based on what he knew about her, she was a no-nonsense woman, and practicality is her middle name, except when it comes to food.
"Sir, that would be a good purchase." An amused male voice said.
Harold knew who it was instantly. Marco de la Rosa may be one of the students on the dean's list, but he was also a goofball. "You bought one for your girl?"
"I would if she exists," Marco said as he handed his paper to him.
"Right, right. Maybe it's time to meet an actual girl instead of spending your time with a night elf." Harold said dryly.
Marco laughed. "I'll keep that in mind, sir." He waved at him and left. Harold then heard him talking to another person, and he knew who it was. Marco has a friend from another college who he has seen around from time to time. Next to him, Clive Alcantara was the source of screams from the female population in the college of natural sciences.
Harold looked at the picture again and then at the shopping cart icon. He immediately tapped on the icon and checked the item out. He set the phone aside and resumed checking the students' papers.
When he got home later that evening, he decided to visit Rayne. She greeted him happily, waving a sheet of paper at him. He took it, and he smiled widely. "Congrats! You're negative." He said and, without thinking, hugged her.
What surprised him more was the fact she returned his hug. It was one of the happiest moments in his life; the rush of happiness and thrill he felt was almost similar to when he obtained his Ph.D. degree. However, this particular hug had him think about other things as well.
Rayne was what one would call significant, or if one was being lovely, voluptuous. As was common in curvier women, she felt soft in his arms. Beyond that, Harold felt relaxed and calm, like her presence was a balm for his soul.
"Ahem, can you let me go? I can't breathe." Rayne's voice broke through his thoughts.
"Ah, sorry!" Harold said as he instantly released her, but he had his hands on her shoulders. "Well, good thing then. So what are you up to now?"
Rayne waved her smartphone at him.
"Oh, hell no. Gimme." Harold snatched the phone from her and placed it in the back pocket of his slacks. "No deliveries until further notice."
"HEY! Give my phone back!" She said as she tried to reach for her phone.
Harold gave her a sly smile. "Sure, come and get it." He patted his back pocket.
Rayne let out a growl and crossed her hands over her chest. "I refuse to touch that part of your body."
That earned a laugh from Harold. "I'll give your phone back to you later. I got something in mind to celebrate your recovery, and it won't involve a food delivery app. So stop looking at me like you're going to flay me alive."
Rayne was confused at first; then, minutes later, as she was sitting on a bar stool in the kitchen, it turned out that Harold was making pizza.
"You have done so much for me in the past two weeks. I feel like you have become my chef." She had protested.
"That's the idea," Harold said playfully.
"Keep that up, and I will rely on you for my meals."
"Sounds like a good idea. But you also have to cook for me from time to time."
"Deal. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, your towel is still with me in the laundry basket-!"
"I'll get it eventually. That towel won't go anywhere, so no worries."
"Fine. By the way, did you add pineapples to the pizza?"
"No, can't stand those things."
Rayne gasped. "Oh my, you're a man after my own heart!"
"You don't like them?"
"On pizza or any savory dishes, no. As a fruit, dessert, and drink, yes, I love it. I want my food to be savory and sweet but not simultaneously."
"Ah," Harold said while putting the pizza inside the oven. "Since you have no chicken and potatoes, I'll just pop in briefly at my place and be back with said food group."
"Okay, I'll keep an eye on the oven. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it won't blow up."
"Harhar. I'll be right back. Hey, Bubbles, no, I don't. Go bug your mom for your dinner."
"Meow."
Harold left the apartment, and Bubbles jumped on the counter in front of Rayne, his green eyes staring at her. She hugged the cat and kissed the top of his head, outraged the feline.
"He's a good man, isn't he?" Rayne told the cat.
Bubbles just stared at her and then blinked slowly at her. Rayne smiled and hugged him again. "If he keeps being this good to me, I might start to feel something I would regret later on." She murmured.
The cat bumped his head against her chin. She sighed. If things turn out the way they should not, she will always have this fluffy void in her arms.