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The car’s interior was very comfortable, and the ambient
lighting was especially soft.
When he looked at Harriet again, Ellsworth asked her, “Did you
go for a follow–up on your leg? What did the doctor say?”
After a long silence, Ellsworth suddenly spoke to her, and
Harriet quickly snapped out of her thoughts, turning to look at
him.
She said, “I did. The doctor said it’s healing well, just need to be
careful when walking.”
“Oh,” Ellsworth responded blandly.
During the days Harriet was hospitalized, he had stayed with her
at the hospital, taking care of her.
He even stayed overnight at the hospital to look after her.
It was the day before Harriet was discharged that they had an
argument, and after that, he stopped going to the hospital.
It wasn’t intentional neglect; he just didn’t want things to get
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worse between them.
After the brief conversation, the car fell silent again, with only
the sound of the vehicle moving.
After a moment, Ellsworth suddenly asked Harriet, “Are you
taking Ralph to the hospital for a check–up tomorrow?”
Harriet turned to him again and replied softly, “Yes.”
At this, Ellsworth said gently, “I’ll come pick you and Ralph up
tomorrow.”
Seeing Ellsworth’s politeness, Harriet looked at his face and
replied softly, “That’s not necessary. It’s just a routine check–up,
I can…”
Before Harriet could finish, Ellsworth interrupted her, speaking
calmly, “Harriet, even if we didn’t have this relationship, even
just for the sake of the friendship between our grandfathers,
this is something I should do.”
With Ellsworth saying this much, Harriet said nothing more.
At this moment, Harriet couldn’t deny that over the years, the Townsend family had indeed taken good care of her and her grandfather.
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Besides being good friends with Kathie, both Kenneth and
Ellsworth had always looked after her and her grandfather.
Every time Kenneth came back from the army, he would visit
her home to see her grandfather and play chess with him.
Before they got married, Ellsworth used to visit her home very
frequently, as if it were his own, treating both grandfathers.
almost no differently.
In the summer, he even napped in her family’s yard to cool off.
Back then, they would put two lounge chairs together, each
sleeping on one. He was never shy about making himself at
home.
But after they got married, he stopped coming over.
Without responding to Ellsworth, Harriet simply turned her face
away again, looking out at the night scenery.
Ellsworth didn’t say anything more either, quietly driving.
The car was moving much slower than usual, but Harriet didn’t
urge him.
It was past ten when the car stopped downstairs at Harriet’s
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building, and only then did she realize she hadn’t told Ellsworth
her address.
But Ellsworth already knew.
Unfastening her seatbelt, Harriet hadn’t even gotten out of the
car before Ellsworth swiftly got out first.
After opening the passenger door for Harriet, he also opened
the back door to get her crutch.
Then, helping Harriet out of the car and handing her the crutch,
Harriet politely said, “Thank you.”
At some point, Harriet had become especially polite with
Ellsworth.
Supporting Harriet and waiting for her to stand steadily with her
crutch, Ellsworth finally said, “Call or text me when you get
home.”
Even without Harriet saying anything, Ellsworth knew she didn’t
want him to walk her upstairs.
So, he didn’t make things difficult for her.
Hearing Ellsworth’s instructions, Harriet replied, “Okay.”
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After agreeing, she walked toward the building with her crutch.
Ellsworth didn’t get back in the car right away. With his hands in
his pockets, he watched Harriet walk away.
In his memory, Harriet had always run toward him.
But by the time he came to his senses, by the time he wanted to
let go of the past and live well, he found that every time he saw
Harriet now, she was always walking away from him.
She was always leaving.
Watching Harriet enter the building, Ellsworth didn’t leave
immediately. He was waiting for her message that she had
arrived safely.
Inside the elevator.
Harriet pressed the button and walked in. The fact that
Ellsworth didn’t walk her upstairs made her feel relieved.
Soon, the elevator stopped at her floor. She opened the door
and entered her apartment, set her crutch by the door, and sent
Ellsworth a text: “I’m home.”
She didn’t message Ellsworth on WhatsApp, because he had
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blocked her there before.
It was only after he called her that she realized her phone
number had been unblocked.
But as for other ways of contact, she neither asked nor tried.
By the Maybach downstairs, Ellsworth heard the sound of a text
message and calmly picked up his phone.
Seeing Harriet’s message, Ellsworth replied, “Okay, I’ll come
pick you up tomorrow.”
On the other end, Harriet didn’t reply again. Ellsworth got in the
car and drove back to Auburn Heights.
But without Harriet, Auburn Heights felt much more desolate.
Much colder and lonelier.
***
The next morning, not long after Harriet got up, she received a
text from Ellsworth: “I’m already downstairs. Come down when
you’re ready.”
Harriet looked at his message and replied, Okay.
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She just hadn’t expected him to come so early.
Not long after, once Harriet was ready, she went downstairs
with her crutch.
By then, Ellsworth was already waiting outside the car. When he
saw Harriet come out, he quickly tossed away his cigarette and
stubbed it out, then went over to help her and took her bag.
Seeing this, Harriet said politely, “Thank you.”
When they reached the car, Ellsworth opened the door for her.
After Harriet got in, he bent down to fasten her seatbelt, put her
crutch in place, and only then walked around to the driver’s
seat.
The car started, and the two of them first went to the Chavez’s
mansion.
Seeing Harriet come to pick him up, Ralph frowned and said,
“Deloris is really something, insisting on a check–up for no
reason. It’s hot in the summer, isn’t it normal to have a bit less
appetite?”
“Hara already hurt her leg, why make her run around?”
After saying this, Ralph noticed Ellsworth was there too, so he
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greeted him, “Ells, you’re here too.”
With that, Ralph still followed the young couple and went to the
hospital for the check–up.
After the examination, aside from his old ailments, Ralph had no
major issues. The doctor said, “For someone in his seventies
who went through a lot when he was young, his health is
already quite good.”
“At this age, it’s normal for bodily functions to decline. Just take
it in stride.”
Harriet understood what the doctor meant, but she still hoped
Ralph could be healthier and live longer.
After Ralph returned to the convalescent ward, Harriet stayed in
the doctor’s office for a while longer, asking some detailed
questions before returning to Ralph’s room with her crutch.
***
Meanwhile, over at Ralph’s side.
While Harriet was still in the doctor’s office, Ellsworth stayed
behind to keep Ralph company.
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At that moment, only the two of them were in the ward.
Seeing that Harriet and Ellsworth had been separated for some
time and that Harriet had already moved out of Auburn Heights,
though the paperwork wasn’t done yet, Ralph couldn’t help but
ask.
He asked, “Ells, what’s going on between you and Hara now? |
heard Hara is handling the paperwork. By the usual process,
you two should have gotten the certificate by now, right?”
At Ralph’s question, Ellsworth smiled and said honestly, “Ralph,
I never intended to divorce Hara.”
Ralph was surprised and looked at Ellsworth, asking, “You didn’t
plan to divorce? But didn’t the lawyer draft the agreement?
Didn’t you divide your assets for Hara? Why aren’t you divorcing
now?”
Ellsworth replied calmly, “The agreement was for Hara to see. I
thought if she really took that step, she might soften, might not
want to leave.”
Ellsworth thought Harriet would hesitate, thought she wouldn’t
want to leave, after all, they’d known each other for so many
years.
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After all, there were definitely feelings between them.
At this point, Ellsworth smiled again and said, “What I gave Hara
wasn’t a divorce settlement. Divorce doesn’t come with such
good terms. That was her betrothal gift.”
Could a divorce really take away more than half his fortune?
Ellsworth wasn’t that easygoing, nor would he give anyone such a big benefit.
When Ellsworth said it was a betrothal gift, Ralph was at a loss
for words for a while.
After a long pause, he finally said, “Since you never planned to
divorce, why didn’t you just live well together before?”
Ellsworth replied without changing his expression, “I had some misunderstandings about Hara before. From now on, I’ll take
good care of her.”
Outside the door, Harriet’s footsteps lingered for a long time, her breathing slowed, and her expression darkened.
She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on Ellsworth, but somehow, she always managed to overhear his conversations at the most
inopportune times.
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