Forrest — Chapter 43 A Cup of Tea

FORREST

BILL WAS still in the hospital. I found out he drowned himself with work to prove that the project was viable. I felt like an arsehole for pushing him too hard. He wanted to show his self-worth to me, just like he promised when he agreed to see a therapist after I took him in. Thankfully, he woke up because I couldn’t forgive myself, and I had a lot of guilt that could last a lifetime.

“Don’t do that again. You can always say no to me. You don’t have to prove anything to me. You’ve already proven your worth to the company.”

“I know.” He looked down. “It wasn’t your fault. I have to admit, I forgot the world outside the lab for a few days after our conference call.”

“That was weeks ago. You haven’t been to your flat, haven’t been showered, and changed clothes. Then you ate take out food and injected yourself with insulin. That’s not healthy, Bill.”

His face lit up. “Is that your way of telling me that I look like shit?”

I chuckled. “Exactly. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t able to come right away.”

“Because you thought became a junkie again? It’s alright, and I know you’re a busy person.”

“Still, I’m so sorry. It’s not an excuse on my part. I promised to take care of you, not as your employer, but as a friend.” Guilt twisted my gut because he was right on that part. “And I have a few issues left in States.”

“I’ve been there. It was hell on earth, but I love this job. And as I told you before, I wanna do something, man. If I ever break your trust, no one will accept me and give me the same opportunity you handed to me in a silver platter. I owe you a great outcome.”

“But you don’t have to kill yourself with work. It wasn’t exactly handed to you in a silver platter. You worked hard for it, and I’m glad you’re okay. Take a few days rest before you go back to work. Go and visit some places, get laid, and do whatever you want, as long as it doesn’t involve you ending in this bed again.”

He shook his head and grinned. “You know I can’t do that until I finish what I started. We’re already behind the schedule.”

“That’s not a request. That’s an order. Just stay out of trouble, okay? I mean it, Bill.”

A few minutes later, we were laughing.

I loved his new idea. I’d never been excited about the new updates and he promised to be ready in a few months. The Advanced Implant Glucose Monitor System with Insulin Automated Delivery System for Diabetic Type II.

Using a Nanotechnology, once the patient was diagnosed, it would be implanted in his arm or his abdomen. One of our developers was currently creating a phone app and Atto Tech watch of AIGMS-IADS to monitor the glucose level in one click.

“The patient can monitor his sugar level without pricking himself every now and then. If the patient develops low sugar, the sensor will send the result to the mainframe. It would be lesser work for the medical and clinical staff as well. I hope the Endocrinology and Diabetes Center will give this a chance,” Bill said proudly. “You can ask doc, just don’t tell him you already knew the details.”

“I know you all won’t let this company down, Bill.”

“Thanks for the trust, man.”

I took him in with me after I graduated from MIT. He fell off the wagon and dropped out of college when he was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, but I knew he had a brilliant mind, and I believed someone could change with proper encouragement and moral support.

***

I slept like a baby, and probably the longest slept I had in years, without interrupted by nightmares. I still ended up waking empty though, and that was depressing.

In the afternoon, I spent with Mama with a cup of tea at the back of the manor. For over the century, this had been with Kentworthry’s.

“Father would be proud of what you did to this place.”

The landscape was spectacular, and I knew the old man loved this part of the thousands of acres, other than his other assets. I still remembered how we practiced fencing in this very space. I missed him so much, even if he wasn’t my real father. For me, he was the perfect father I never had.

“I swore to him to maintain and not to touch everything unless it’s necessary. This land meant so much to your father, Forrest. I wish I can do something more about this place. This is where he treated me like a woman. He respected me and loved me despite my shortcomings. And if Megan can’t see that and cannot accept you of who you are, then she’s not good enough for you.”

I smiled at her and ignored the pain in my chest. “You sound like her mother.”

Mama looked at me with interest. “Your therapist, right? Yet you’ve never known she’s Megan’s mother.”

“No.” I shook my head. My mind went back to how disgusted she looked at me after I admitted that I punched that arsehole Asher who slapped her. “Megan had been through a lot, and I figured out why she doesn’t trust her heart so easily to someone. Especially to someone like me, who she thinks she doesn’t know anything about me. I don’t know how she lost her father, but I think that’s the reason why she doesn’t invest in relationships. Because she thinks if she loves someone, she ends up losing them.”

“I saw the pain in her eyes when Meadow kissed you. That day, I knew you unintentionally hurt her.”

“Jeez, Mama. Thank you.” I sipped my tea. My chest constricted. When I confessed, she accepted me and made me promise to come back to her, yet she was the one who left first.

“I was just telling you that she was hurt. Why do people get hurt, Forrest?”

“Yet she threw me out of her life without hesitation.” I sighed deeply, looking at the large greenery space surround us. I was visualizing us playing hide and seek in this yard, then we were going to have a picnic, drunk wine, and after that, we would be making love.

“I know you came back because of me. You can always do your obligations in our businesses without being here. That ring is not a symbol of nobility anyway. There are Oirdheirc members all over the world. Even in States. You don’t have to settle here, Forrest. Go back and win her back.”

“I know, Mama. This is Father’s, and by wearing this, it means I promised him to keep his legacy and the fortune he entrusted in us.”

“You’re doing great keeping his businesses running in States.”

“You don’t like me being here, do you? Am I a burden?”

“You sound ridiculous.” Mama was about to sip her tea when she looked at me sadly. She placed down her teacup and squeezed my hand. “I love you so much that never a day I didn’t think of you, but you are old enough that I can’t see myself babysitting you. I know one day, you eventually have to look for your own life, and I’d been preparing myself for that moment to come. I’m good and healthy if that’s what you’re worried about. I want you to be happy, Ellery Forrest. Since you arrived yesterday, I could feel the sadness in your chest, in your eyes, it’s deep in your veins. I want to take that off from you, but sadly, I can’t help you with that. It’s you only. You’re the only one who can make yourself happy. And you know how to remedy that.”

“I think love moves in mysterious ways, huh?” I mumbled.

Mama shifted her gaze behind me and smiled.