Bella had received a fervent plea from Bob: to identify the dead body of George as his, so that he could emerge out of the dangers and threats that circled that name. Bella, although reluctant and unyielding at first, wavered at what Bob offered her in return: he convinced her that he would never try to find Collin.
"Are you telling the truth?" she asked taking the first step toward consenting to do as he was saying. "I won't leave you alone if you're lying."
Bob talked Bella into his plan and she gave in to the conditions profiting for both of them. "Okay! now all I have to do is to identify him as my ex-husband, which means you."
After hanging up the call, Bella went inside the hospital and approached the same desk, asking for an alteration in the documents stamped by her. "The body belongs to my ex-husband Bob Hastings," she changed her claim from the one she made previously.
The nurse at the reception was suspicious when she saw Bella flipping from her words, "Mam, didn't you say that you didn't know the deceased, and also that the identity card doesn't belong to him?" she asked, expressing her doubts on her actions.
Bella became flustered and grazed her neck slightly scratching it, "I... did say that. But," she rambled while thinking of a coherent excuse. "What do you think a lady will do after finding out that her ex-husband is dead, not only that but he also has a daughter whose age same as my son." she pointed towards Oriel. "I didn't want to accept that the man is dead after fooling me for years."
She squinted her eyes to force some moisture out them but it remained dry under her eyes. When Bella took note of the expressions on the nurse's face, who was still not convinced and carefully looked at the identity card with no picture. "It's a small formality but I will have to reassure the identity of the deceased. I'm sorry but you will have to wait until it's done."
The nurse picked up the receiver of the phone, putting in a number that seemed unfavorable to Bella. She casually slipped her hand inside the bag hanging on her shoulder and took out a thick stack of new and crease-free dollar bills. She used the bundle to replace the receiver of the phone.
The nurse's eyes were shining with the green notes reflecting in them. She coughed her excitement out to appear normal and reached for the stack to hide inside her shirt. "I will get you a new form to fill, so that you can register the death of your ex-husband." Bella smiled at the sorcery that she had just performed.
Meanwhile, Oriel fiddled with the wallet and the watch given to her. She opened and closed the wallet, more than a few times; she tried to wear the bulky watch on her skinny wrist but it always slipped off as one side of a strap was missing. She stroked its surface and treasured it, thinking of it as her father's. She had comprehended the meaning of death even when no one spelled it out for her. She now knew that he was not going to come back and that realization made her feel for the belongings that according to her, her dad had left in this world.
A few minutes later, Bella came to find her sitting on the bench outside in the small garden, "Hey! do you have any idea how long I have been looking for you?" she was hostile to Oriel. "Now let's go. Collin must be looking for me by now."
Bella took her and rode back home. When they walked in through the door to her house, Collin was already waiting for them while keeping the main door in his sight. "Oh, darling! did you miss mommy?" she asked spreading her arms for him.
However, Collin marched toward Oriel holding Bob's belongings, "Did you get to see your father?" He put the question that he had been waiting to ask her for a while.
Bella felt ignored and overlooked by Collin. And she saw him adorably taking care of Oriel, "Phew! at least my son will make a good husband."
Collin's eyes fell upon the stuff of his dad that Oriel clutched tightly in her hands. He was perplexed looking at her carrying it. "Why do you have it?" he asked.
"My dad's wallet," she raised the hand that she was holding the wallet with. "And also his watch," she showed him the ragged watch.
"No Oriel, you are wrong," Collin began to tell her the truth when suddenly Bella came interrupting him in the middle, "Oriel! you must be hungry. Why don't you go inside and ask Mr. Watson to cook you something?"
Oriel heard what Bella told her to do, and she went running to the kitchen. Collin had presumed that she was deliberately hiding something from him. "Mom, what happened there? Why does Oriel have dad's stuff?" interrogated Collin.
"I let her believe that it belongs to her father," she confessed with a straight face. "It would be best if she believes that. She is so gullible that she will never question anything."
"But why are you deceiving her?" he asked on hearing Bella's harsh words.
"If you want to protect your father then you will have to do this as well," she told. "It would be better if he is known dead; he would be able to start a new life."
Bella knew how much Collin cared for his father and that he would never do anything that might cause him trouble. Even when he felt bad for lying to Oriel about her father, he couldn't replace the top priority that was to ensure the safety of Bob. "I understand!" he said and headed upstairs with disappointment in himself.