It has been twenty-four hours since Chloe received the blood transfusion, and there have been no signs of acute reactions. She was awake last night, just to groan and lazily sweep the room with her green eyes before her gaze stopped at my face. I rushed to sit next to her and held her hand, the one which wasn't wrapped in gypsum. Not long after that, her eyelids began to drop again. She had a mild fever after midnight, but the nurse said it was a common reaction and it would resolve by itself, and it did.
Chloe is doing much better today. She's longer awake, more responsive, and begins to take her fluid orally. Even though the time goes excruciatingly slow at the moment, I won't dare to push my luck. Her steady progress is all I ask for, and it becomes my strength to go through the day.
Sitting on Chloe's balcony, mom and I spend our late afternoon drinking tea while keeping an eye on Chloe and Diana conversing inside the hospital room. My daughter's plump lips curl up into a weak smile now and then as her eyes beam at her cousin's blabber.
"Have you heard from her father?" asks Mom, half whispering so that the kids can't hear us through the slightly open door. Ever since she met Chloe's biological father, I can tell that she's been dying to learn more about him. It's a good thing that my mom is way less impulsive than I am.
"No." I shake my head. "I promised I would let him know when there was a drastic change in her condition."
"Well, she's awake and the transfusion went well. Isn't it drastic enough?"
"What I mean by drastic is if her condition is dropping, or when she's discharged from the hospital. You know what I mean." I chew my bottom lip, starting to doubt my own answer. "I mean, he's a busy man, I don't need to report to him every hour."
"Hmm. I think he would appreciate it nonetheless. She's his daughter after all."
"I just told him about his daughter yesterday, Mom. I don't think he has the 'I am the daddy' mentality yet. Also, if he really is curious about Chl... her progress, he could have called me and asked, but he didn't." Glancing at the kids who are now savoring every page of the latest pre-teenage magazine, I grab the bottled water from the small table that separates us. I take a few sips from it. "I believe he just needs time to process it. He got bombarded by wild facts that will change his life forever. I'm going to let him deal with it at his own pace. He knows where to find us when he's ready."
"He didn't seem to have trouble accepting the fact that he was her dad." Mom lowers her tone, almost whispering.
"I wouldn't say that. He had a hard time taking this but he was good at hiding it. It's a skill required in his job: poker face."
"He was pretty concerned about you two yesterday. He even came to the cafeteria to make sure you had something to eat." A faint smirk grows in the corner of her lips.
I scoff, knowing where Mom is getting at. Gosh, how can this man charm people around him so effortlessly? "No, you're wrong there. He has a girlfriend, kinda." As I say it, the image of the red-haired woman pops up in my head, followed by jealousy creeping in.
No, I can't have feelings for him because he's Chloe's dad. Messing around with a random hot guy is a thing, but not if it risks my job, and more to it, if it affects Chloe. Between Ashton and I, it will be strictly about co-parenting, if he wants to be in Chloe's life. I can't add more drama to it.
"Oh? I wonder how his girlfriend will take this."
I shrug. "I don't know, and I don't care."
Mom keeps her gaze on me for a few more seconds and I hate it when she does that. It feels like she can see right through me. I'm just so naked and defenseless under her scrutinizing eyes.
"How are you going to break this news to Chloe?" When she realizes she mentions the name by accident she bites her lip while quickly glancing at the pair. Luckily, the two girls are oblivious.
"Don't know. First, we're going to wait for the DNA result, then we see where we go from there."
"Fair enough, even though anyone with eyes can see that she is his kid," Mom mumbles. "Give him an update. Maybe he's just clueless about how to be a father all of a sudden, but here is your part to help him. For your daughter's sake."
Mom's words bug me for the rest of the day. Maybe she's right about it. Maybe Ashton is just clueless and doesn't know how to handle this situation. Sending him a small update about Chloe doesn't hurt anyone, does it?
Me: The blood transfusion went well. And she is awake.
After two minutes of waiting and still not getting a response, I slip my phone back into my bag and head to the family room where patients can meet their visitors outside their rooms. It's also where other parents spend their evening until bedtime. Right now, talking with people over coffee sounds more appealing than watching Chloe asleep while pondering about her dad.
What do I expect? Of course, he doesn't check his phone. He's probably with Diandra now, in a romantic candlelight dinner, fixing the damage I created.
It's past breakfast time when I'm busy replying to emails from work, with Chloe's soft snoring in the background. Despite progressing well, she still dozes off a lot due to the painkiller for her healing wound. She's also forced to stay put in bed because she can't walk yet, which makes her fall asleep more often out of boredom.
Ashton replied to my text message two nights ago with a simple "that's good", and I hit a road end, clueless about what I should do afterward. But since I had to focus on my daughter's recovery, I've decided to let him be. I stand corrected in my opinion that he knows when to find us when he's ready.
Apparently, this is the day. When I'm about to click the 'Send' button on my email for my client, my phone vibrates.
Knight, Asston: Can I see her?
In the next second, another message comes through.
Ethan: Hey, how are you holding up and how is your little girl doing? Is she allowed to have a visitor yet?
How did the messages from Chloe's ghost daddy and living daddy arrive at the same time? Smiling, I reply to them with the same message: Chloe's room number, and the visiting hours, hoping that they won't show up on the same day and at the same time.
But of course, they do.
On the next day, the two men show up at Chloe's door, wearing the same color suits, with identical balloons in their hands. Sandy, who is also visiting Chloe, almost chokes on her drink at the view.
The four of us stare at each other for a few seconds until Chloe squeals, "Are those for me?" Her eyes are twinkling at the pink get-well-soon balloons in Pony shape.
"Yes," Ashton and Ethan reply in unison before glaring at each other.
I quickly stand up with the huge grin I can muster. "Do come in and have a seat! What a nice surprise to see you both visit Chloe," I say cheerfully as I take the balloons from them. Groaning under my breath, I tie up the ropes to the hospital bed frame.
Sandy gets up and greets everyone before arranging two seats next to Chloe's bed. And such a good friend she is, she then scoots over to the other side of the bed, making sure she gets the best spot to enjoy the show.
"So, how is my little girl doing? I heard she survived the big crash boom bang last Monday," Ethan starts.
"Yes, I heard the bang! But I didn't see what happened, because I was already here when I woke up." Chloe smiles from ear to ear before glancing at Ashton and sheepishly greeting, "Hello, sir boss."
"Uh, Chloe," I interrupt. "You can just call him sir, or Mr. Knight."
"Call me Ashton," Ashton corrects me.
Chloe's eyes widen. "But you're Mama's big big boss!"
"Yeah, and?"
"I can get Mama in trouble if I'm not polite to her bosses," Chloe says, half whispering at Ashton. I still have no clue where she got this idea. She never gave me clear answers to it.
"Well, right now I'm not her boss. We are not at the office, right?"
Chloe tilts her head. "So, are you here because you're Mama's friend now?"
Ashton nods. "Something like that, and your friend, too, of course," he replies, earning a frown from Ethan.
"Ah, okay. I do call Mama's friends by their first name, except Nolan." Chloe looks at Ethan as she smiles brightly at him.
Ashton raises his eyebrow, looking intrigued. "Oh, why is that?"
"Because I don't like his first name."
Oh boy.
"Why not?"
"He has the same name as my father's." The smile disappears from Chloe's face.
"Chloe, sweetie, you haven't drunk enough since you woke up. Why don't you drink a bit?" I interject, then nervously turn my head to the two men. "And I'm going to grab some coffee. Anyone wants some?"
Every pair of eyes is on me, except Ashton's.
"And may I know what your father's name is?"
"Ethan. Ethan Watkins."
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