The House Husband

Wishful

Chloe has been avoiding her friend after their argument. She hated being on bad terms with her, but she was also constantly worried about her dear friend. The Sky Art Gallery grand opening was a widely anticipated event by the people of Crown Crest, Chloe included. She had thought she would finally be able to attend such a glamorous event when Ria got the invitation and even looked forward to it but then her cheat of a boyfriend showed up and Ria didn't think twice before making him her plus one instead. Even though Chloe felt hurt by that, she didn't stop wishing her friend the best.

Getting an invitation to such a high-class event wasn’t an easy fit, but Riannon had been at the right place, at the right time and got lucky too. She had the opportunity of a plus one, and initially she promised to go with Chloe, but when her boyfriend begged to go, she thought it would be a good opportunity to bond and accepted. He made sure she left the invitation card with him so that she didn’t have a change of heart later. In his words, it was to reassure him of her love and she accepted. Her act of love and affection would move him enough to propose to her soon, Ria thought happily. The event was scheduled to begin at ten o’clock, but Ria was already at the venue by nine. The reason was to give him a surprise. He always complained about how she wastes so much time dressing up. Everything was going well, but Richie was yet to arrive despite promising to be there on time. Was she too early? Checking herself in the reflective shop windows one more time, there was no doubt in her heart that her date would come. Maybe she shouldn't have agreed to meeting at the venue, when he suggested it. Ria thought as she paced the entrance of the venue, it was time for the opening and more people had arrived, but Richie wasn't anywhere to be seen. He couldn’t possibly have forgotten it was today, when all they did was talk about it all day yesterday and even made plans on what to do afterward. Whipping out her phone, and placed a call to him.

‘Where are you? It’s about to begin,’ she said anxiously.

‘Almost there, my love.’ he replied almost instantly, and she felt reassured. But by ten o'clock, the event had officially begun, but Richie had still not arrived. Fearing for the worst, she called his number again, and he picked up to complain that there was a little confusion about the venue, although Ria knew that was highly unlikely, they had walked around this street the other day. Not in the mood for further disagreement, Ria only told him to hurry over and hung up.

By eleven thirty, the gallery was packed with guests and the event was in full swing, but there was still no sign of Richie, even if he was crawling from his place, he would already be there by now. “Was there an accident?” She thought worriedly, pacing back and forth in front of the entrance to the venue, twice, the security had told her off, if she doesn't have her IV card, she might as well vacate the premises, but she assured him that she was waiting for her partner. “Could he have gotten into some trouble?” Ria couldn't stop herself from worrying and wondering what the problem was. Although his number was going through, he was no longer picking up or replying to any of his messages.

By one o'clock, Ria had finally lost all hopes of attending as it dawned on her that Richie wasn't coming. Not only had he made a fool of her, but there was nothing to assure her that he would pay back all the money he took from her. Feeling depressed and completely drained, she wondered if it was karma for failing to fulfill the promise she made to Chloe. The trip back home seemed unnecessarily long, because her ride, like her unreliable boyfriend, never came, leaving her the next option of walking to the bus stop, but it suddenly started to pour. Surely her day couldn't get any worse than that. Richie must have known he would not show up, but he didn't think he should tell her.

************

Shawn was rushing from the office because of the message he received from his butler. It was an urgent message and Shawn felt like he would die a sinner if he didn't get there on time. In his haste, he didn't notice the lone lady walking on the sidewalk in the rain without an umbrella, he didn't even notice that he splashed water on her already wet dress. All that mattered was getting to the hospital as fast as he could.

As he drove, he made calls. Joshua assured him that Lucy was already stabilized, but he couldn't rest easy. He needed to see her for himself to ascertain if she was alright. Since the little girl came to stay with him, he remained at a loss. He admitted never knowing how to care for a young child. When he took care of his sister then, it was all trial by error. Marie Anne was slightly older then, she also seemed to understand and go with everything he did, but Lucy was different. She questioned everything, created problems where there was none and craved attention more than any child. If the girl hadn't fainted and rushed to the hospital, Shawn would probably think she was just acting out. But his fear runs deep, he can't lose her, not when he has only just met her.

"How come you didn't know she was hypoglycemic?" Doctor Joshua berated Shawn after the usual pleasantries.

"I am aware she has diabetes," Shawn answered simply. "That was why I forbade her from taking anything sweet or containing carbohydrates." but the doctor only shook his head.

"Who ever told you that was okay should be arrested," The doctor said exasperatedly, "No wonder the poor girl was so weak," he said, "What she has was low blood sugar, Shawn, she needs more sweets and carbohydrates rich in fiber more than anything." after he heard that, he realized he must have heard wrong when he took her for medical examination the first week he arrived to understand her body constitution. Shawn had just thought hypoglycemia and diabetes were one and the same, hence he prohibited her from taking anything sweet and only stuck with other food classes to avoid carbohydrates.

"How is she now?" he asked after a while. He wished there was a way to shed this new responsibility off his shoulders.

"She should be able to go home with you in an hour or two, although, I would recommend that you monitor her food, and bring her in for a regular check-up," the doctor said and went away to give him time to be alone with his niece.