Wale had been conversing with Cherry's parents in the waiting area when Frank showed up. They had agreed to meet at the hospital earlier and as per Cherry's parents' update, the surgery had been successful and the child had been taken to the nursery. The three of them were all eager to see the child but as per Swaha's update, the child was healthy just as the nurses had said.
It had been no surprise that Kind had chosen to remain behind with Cherry after he'd sent Frank to confront her. Wale knew an angry Kind will follow later but presently, it was not the time to worry about that. All he needed to find out was if Cherry had been made aware of where he stood with the child.
"Young master, I apologize for keeping you waiting however, it couldn't be avoided since your former fiancé caused quite a ruckus after seeing your note."
"Is her health in danger? I hope you diplomatically delivered the information, Frank..."
"As you had requested of me, I executed your wishes just as wanted. In the meantime, my nephew has chosen to remain behind with her...it was inevitable since he was holding your child. I only left after the nurses had come to calm her down. My nephew Kind is currently at a private nursery with the child since it started crying so you're free to go see them both. I must warn you though the nurses are strict about allowing two people at a time...I hope you understand young master."
"Not a problem. As long as Kind is where the child is in good hands."
"What's the gender of the baby?"Cherry's mother asked. She and her husband had stayed with Wale upon his arrival and hadn't gotten the chance to find out any more information concerning the progress of Cherry's surgery, which had taken about forty-five minutes. They had been preoccupied with Wale and his lawyer trying to agree on the current circumstances involving the child and their future. Frank had been quick enough to draft a proposal which recognized Cherry's parents as grandparents to the child, however, Wale was to be the legal guardian.
After finding out Wale was still willing to take the child as its father even though it wasn't his, they agreed immediately since oftentimes during Cherry's pregnancy, she had threatened to bring harm to the child or offer it for adoption and they didn't want that. They had accepted Cherry was not in the right state of mind to raise the child and if they were to raise it for her, it will only expose their grandchild to Cherry and her anger towards it. Besides, they had always known Wale to be an upstanding person they never faulted him for ending his relationship with their daughter.
"I apologize, my lady, I barely had time to ask the nurses or anyone else. However, I'm sure my nephew Kind has been updated on its gender. If it pleases you, I can take you both to the nursery as we speak." Frank glanced at Wale who nodded, signalling him to go with them.
Wale sat down, relieved he had managed to save the situation just in time. He was disappointed though that Cherry had pulled this last stunt without giving care to her child's future. He couldn't understand either why she'd acted this way. He hadn't planned to take the child away from her forcefully but she had pushed his hands, which had now put him and Kind in an uncomfortable position. Kind was upset. There was no doubt about that but if he was to choose Kind over the child...who would he pick?
"You should be happy, you're a father now." A voice behind him said while tapping his shoulder. He was even more relieved to find out it was Swalha. "Gosh, you must feel like a prisoner. You can't move beyond the waiting area until she is discharged...sucks to be you, your daughter is beautiful."
"Daughter?"
"Yes...hasn't anyone told you yet?" Swalha seemed surprised at his unawareness.
Wale smiled, he felt a warm feeling overpower him as he bent down his head to hide his tears. After all the hustle and bustle, that revelation brought tears to his eyes and Swalha didn't miss her chance to tease him for it.
"I must be a dragon to see tears in the eyes of the famous unemotional statue known as Wale. This is a sight to behold, I must be the lucky one to ever see you as such. Not even Cherry has ever seen you cry."
"Stop teasing me Swalha..." Wale said as he wiped the tears from his eyes and looked up, hoping to stop the rest from coming out but failed.
Upon seeing his mask develop a crack, Swalha reached inside her handbag and handed him a handkerchief as she rubbed his back to comfort him. "That handkerchief cost me a lot of money so you must know by now nothing from me is free."
"How much do I owe you then?" Wale spoke as he formed a smile on his face. The thought of raising a child was scary but at the same time it felt good...he couldn't understand his emotions but Swalha's teasing somehow made him feel better.
"I want three wishes and the first one is I wish to be the child's godmother."
They both laughed at the idea. Wale thought that Swalha was too lenient with her wishes as always, he'd hoped she'd ask something from out of space or at least something that may demand more from him.
"That is so easy. Once we sort out everything after Cherry has been discharged, I'll happily grant your wish."
"I'm being too lenient with you, right? I should put more effort into my wishes and so I will. How about for my second wish, you let me name your daughter then since Cherry hasn't chosen a name yet?"
Wale stiffed briefly then turned to look at her. That was one wish he may not be able to grant to her. Swalha was anticipating his response but he had already chosen a unisex name for the child beforehand since he'd found out Cherry was pregnant.
"I'm sorry but I already have a name...you might not like it though..." Raising one of his eyebrows, unsure if she would agree with his decision, he added. "I had decided to name the child after Kind whether it was a boy or a girl."
Swalha burst into laughter at Wale's idea. There was no way he was serious and secondly, Kind would never approve of it. Additionally, the way Wale looked at her in confusion made the situation even more hilarious. He couldn't possibly be serious, yet, that was very much predictable coming from him. "Even if Kind is the only person in your world, surely Wale, there are a lot of other names..."
"I thought of combining both our names to Kyle, Wand, Waki, Kiwa, but they all sounded too cheesy...I wasn't satisfied so I settled for Kind instead."
"What about naming them after one of your parents...like your mom or better yet, Cherry's parents!" Swalha said as he tried to control her laughter.
"I thought about that too but I do not wish anyone the misfortune my parents went through and naming my daughter after them would only remind me of my pain. The only person at the moment who gives me meaning in my life is Kind and I can't imagine living life without him so the thought of having two Kinds in my life will surely brighten me up even more"
"Oh my goodness! You've lost it!" Swalha continued laughing as she reached to support herself on Wale's shoulder. Wale joined her a few seconds later after hearing himself voice his thoughts to her. It felt silly but at the same time, he didn't understand why he'd thought that a good idea. He still wanted to stand by it though...as ridiculous as it sounded.
After Swalha's giggles had decreased, she looked at him, wiping away her tears of laughter. "What a pity that you'd choose a name to keep Kind in your life when you already have him...and as romantic as it sounds, you know he will be furious. Kind loves kids but has never wanted one so if you want him to be a part of your daughter's life, let him decide the name of the child instead...at least, Kind looks like he is good with names. He is bound to do better than you and your selfish foolishness."
"That's a good idea," Wale said as he looked up to see Kind approaching them. He seemed happy thankfully, though Wale dreaded the conversation he was to have later with him regarding the infant's identity.
"I could hear you two laughing across the hall. Don't you two know you're in a hospital? Though I must admit I'm curious what have you two all giddy, especially you Wale who hasn't seen your daughter yet."
Standing up, Wale reached to embrace Kind. He hoped that embracing him would simmer him down to forget his anger and as he pulled away, he was surprised to see Kind confused.
"What has gotten you so emotional all of a sudden, I thought you two were laughing moments ago?"
"Oh yes, he did cry K," Swalha said as she stood up too. "I'll go see my goddaughter and be back..."
"Oh, no need for now since Cherry's parents are with her. Maybe you can go in later with Uncle Frank." Turning his gaze towards Wale, he gave him a stern look before adding. "You and I have a lot to talk about but I don't want to since Cherry's parents and my uncle explained everything. Besides, I don't want to ruin such a good day fighting you. I'm hungry and too tired."
Kind walked and sat down, Swalha and Wale following to sit next to him. "It felt good to hold her in my hands...such a precious delicate life. The moment the nurses told me it was a girl, I wanted to protect her all of a sudden... I would have reacted the same had she been a boy but still...I never really had a sister growing up. Wale had always been my brother but a sister...maybe that is why I've always felt protective of Cherry and at the moment, all those instincts are directed towards her daughter now." Looking at Swalha, he meekly added. "Don't be jealous of you, you'll always be my best friend."
"Wait! I was always your best friend! I still am!" Wale complained.
"You're way too greedy Wale. You want everything, best friend, lover, brother..."
"I pick lover then. At least, I'm closer to you than most."
Both Kind and Swalha chuckled at Wale's choice, as if it wasn't already obvious but knowing Wale, he would still want to monopolize him and get jealous whenever he'd give attention to others.
"Anyway, it felt bad to have your daughter given a number so you'll have to gift her a name. If you don't have any, Cherry's parents especially her mom have a couple of names chosen, Cherry too....."
"Oh, Wale has a name alright." Swalha quickly interrupted as she glanced at Wale who was about to burst into laughter. Kind glanced at the two unable to contain his curiosity then asked Wale about it.
"It's not official yet but I wanted you to name her instead...since Swalha here said naming her after you...would be too cheesy..."
Wale stopped when he saw Kind's dumbfounded expression. He should have expected this reaction from him however, he couldn't tell if Kind was repulsed by the idea or not. "Or...we can just ask Cherry's parents instead..."
"No, I...I like it...surprisingly, Cherry had suggested the same."
"What?" Swalha and Wale asked at the same time. Maybe it was the thought that Kind was okay with the naming but Cherry suggested her daughter be named after him. What had those two talked about?
"When Cherry was frantic after my uncle's sudden news and the nurses taking away the baby, I remained behind with her together with one of the nurses...well I couldn't leave since she tightly gripped my hand trying to reach for the baby but thankfully, they took the baby away before any harm could befall her in my arms....anyway, she calmed down afterwards and we had a little chat again. She just kept saying 'I'm sorry...I'm sorry until I requested the nurse to excuse us.
When we were alone, she admitted to a lot of things...some of which I do not wish to discuss with any of you. However, afterwards, she started praising me which felt awkward since Cherry is stingy with her compliments.....I admit I knowingly allowed her to fool me again but then she requested me to make sure you care for her child Wale...even though it looks like she doesn't care." Kind's last statement sounded more like a threat to Wale who simply nodded, but was still in shock over his previous statement.
"She made me promise to follow through which I promised to but she didn't believe me. I'm guessing with the many contracts you've been sighing with her, she needed to make sure I kept my word so she suggested naming her daughter after me which at first, shocked the life out of me. It felt more like a responsibility so I immediately refused...but then, I was swayed by the memory of holding her in my arms, and with Cherry's persistence, she needed proof of my promise...it felt like I was sighing a contract so we finally agreed that my name will be used, but only as a middle name."
Glancing at both Swalha and Wale, he added, "Middle names are often ignored so I can accept that...though, it does make me happy to have someone bearing my first name..... that I almost feel like a dad."