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After all, they were about to go through the formalities. There
was no need anymore.
However, seeing Ellsworth’s unhappy gaze fixed on her, Harriet avoided his eyes and explained, “You’re usually very
busy, so I thought I wouldn’t bother you.”
Every word, even the punctuation, was full of distance.
Ellsworth’s gaze grew even colder.
Staring at Harriet with a blank expression for a while, Ellsworth said coldly, “I’m going outside for a smoke.”‘
Only then did Harriet look at him again. “Okay.”
Ellsworth got up and left. Harriet’s gaze lingered at the door for
a while before she looked away.
After closing the door, Ellsworth walked a bit farther down the hall before lazily leaning against the corridor wall and lighting
a cigarette.
Blowing out a heavy ring of smoke, Ellsworth noticed the ring
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on his ring finger.
His right hand hung in midair as he stared intently at the ring.
It wasn’t until the cigarette burned down and singed his fingers
that he snapped out of it and quickly stubbed the butt out in the
nearby trash can.
After tossing the cigarette, Ellsworth glanced at Ralph’s hospital
room. He didn’t go in, nor did he go to Kelsey’s room, but instead
sat down on a bench in the corridor.
His long legs casually crossed and stretched out, his whole body
lazily slouched on the bench, both hands resting on the
backrest, looking like a model straight out of a magazine.
For some reason, Harriet’s coldness and obvious dislike for him
left him feeling rather unsettled.
She hadn’t been like this before. If he so much as glanced at her,
or came back to Auburn Heights, she would be overjoyed.
After sitting in the corridor for quite a while, Ellsworth turned
to look at the hospital room again.
Staring at the door for a moment, he finally got up and walked
over.
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When he reached the door and saw Harriet still sitting by
Ralph’s bedside, Ellsworth quietly pushed open the door and sat
back down in the same chair as before.
In the days that followed, Ralph remained in the hospital for
observation.
Harriet put her work aside for the time being and stayed at the hospital to keep Ralph company.
Ellsworth also came by frequently these days, chatting with
Ralph and playing chess with him, which made Ralph quite
happy.
However, Harriet remained very polite toward him. Although
she asked about his meals and drinks just as she did for Ralph,
there was a clear sense of distance and formality.
It wasn’t like before.
That afternoon, while the grandfather and granddaughter
were in the hospital room, Ralph reclined on the bed and looked
at Harriet, asking, “Hara, I’ve noticed you haven’t been very warm to Ells these days, and you’re especially polite to him. Did something happen?”
Handing the peeled apple to Ralph, Harriet said, “Nothing
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happened, Grandpa. Don’t overthink it. I’ve always respected
him.”
Ralph didn’t believe her. “I can tell something’s up just by the
way you act.”
Harriet couldn’t help but laugh, pushing the apple into the old
man’s hand. “There’s nothing going on. Besides, since we’re
planning to get divorced, why should we be so close anymore?”
Ralph didn’t eat the apple Harriet handed him. Instead, he put it
back in the bowl on the nightstand and looked at Harriet with
utmost seriousness.
Feeling guilty under Ralph’s gaze, Harriet looked away and
said, “Grandpa, please don’t ask. I can handle my own affairs.”
She didn’t want to say too much to Ralph, afraid it would upset
him.
But Ralph still looked at Harriet with a serious expression and
said earnestly, “Hara, your parents are both gone. I’m your only
family. If you don’t talk to Grandpa when something happens,
who else can you talk to?”
When Ralph mentioned her parents, Harriet lowered her head
and fell silent.
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After thinking for a long time, weighing her options, and not wanting Ralph to jump to conclusions, Harriet finally looked up at him and said softly, “He said I was something he didn’t want.”
When Harriet finished speaking, Ralph was stunned.
He stared wide-eyed at Harriet, even straightening his back
against the bed, looking utterly incredulous, as if he couldn’t
believe what he’d just heard.
But after watching Harriet for a long time, seeing that she
didn’t take back her words and quietly avoided his gaze, Ralph
said nothing, his eyes turning red.
After that, the hospital room fell into a long silence.
After a long time, and much thought, Ralph let out a long sigh.
“Then just get divorced.”
Harriet nodded. “Mm.”
That evening, Ellsworth came by again.
Harriet, meanwhile, had been sent by Ralph to fetch some
things.
So, only he and Ellsworth were left in the hospital room.
The two of them played chess at the table.
