“Umm, Ben?” Zachary coldly stared at him.
“I dare not.” Ben hurriedly bowed his head in apology, somewhat reluctantly.
Sensing its victory, Fifi shook its hips triumphantly, fluttered its wings, and flew over once more to Ben’s head. Raking his hair with its claws and treating his head as its nest, it promptly perched down after a while.
Such a flaunting display of arrogance and dominance – coming from a mere parrot!
Ben’s face darkened, unhappy to be defeated by a mere bird. He rolled his eyes upward and stared at the blasted bird perched comfortably on his head, wishing to throw it into a nice pot of hot stew…
Witnessing the whole episode in front of his eyes, Bruce could barely contain his guffaw, and let loose his laughter with a loud snort. “Bwahahaha! This little parrot is quite a human. Hahahaha!”
“One of these days…” Before Ben could finish grumbling, Fifi perked up and postured itself to squawk a complaint once more.
Taking a deep breath, Ben had no other choice but to swallow his pride and his gripe. No matter what, the blasted bird was now his master.
Better not mess with it!
After changing into their isolation gown, Zachary and the children stepped out of the decontamination chamber into the isolation ward.
“I’m already fully awake. Why am I still locked in this accursed ward? Just transfer me out, stat! I’m not that vulnerable, you hear?”
Just as they stepped in, they heard the unhappy complaint of old Henry.
Although he had not been fully healed from his serious illness yet, and his voice was not as energetic as before, he was still filled with quite the vigor.
The doctor and the health specialist standing next to him hurriedly comforted, “Don’t worry, Mr. Nacht. We’ve already done a full-body detailed scan on you this morning. When the results of the scan come out, as long as all the parameters are okay, I assure you we will immediately transfer you to the general ward.”
“Why bother with all the troubles. Now listen, y’all, when I said I want to get transferred, I expect y’all to get it done right away…”
“Grandpa!” Little Ellie’s cute voice rang out, interrupting Henry’s sentence halfway.
Old Henry was jolted from his grumbling. Turning to look, he was overjoyed at the pleasant sight. “Ellie! Robbie! Jamie!…”
“Grandpa!”
“Grandpa!”
The trio shoved Zachary’s hands away and rushed over excitedly to Henry’s side.
“Grandpa, you’re finally awake…” Robbie’s eyes were red and he nearly choked with tears. “Every time we dropped by to see you, you were always sleeping. We’re so anxious and really hoped for you to wake up soon.”
“I’m awake. I’m awake. Dear old me ain’t be sleeping no more.” Shaking Robbie’s hand excitedly, the old man said, “It’s a glad ol’ thing to see y’all the first thing I wake up!”
“Grandpa, you promised to take me to play soccer last time.” Jamie’s eyes were red, but he had a big and bright smile on his face. “Now that you’re awake, you’ll fulfill your promise, yes?”
“Of course,” the old man uttered with a smile as he asked, “How’s your tiny foot doing? Better?”
“Almost healed,” Jamie raised up his leg to show the old man. “The cast has been removed, along with the splint. I’m healed enough to climb the stairs unassisted.”
“Hahaha, awesome!” Old Henry laughed heartily. “The moment I’m discharged from this blasted place, I’ll take Jamie along for some ball-kicking.”
“Hey, Grandpa! You’ve said you’re going to take me to Disneyland to see the princesses.” Not wanting to be left out, Ellie grabbed old Henry’s hand and squeaked childishly. “Your words still count, yes?”
“Hohoho! Of course, my dear!” Old Henry nodded repeatedly. “The minute I’m outta’ here, I’ll whisk dear Ellie away to the good ol’ magical world of Disneyland in a jiffy!”
“Thanks, Grandpa…” Ellie said as she raised up her chubby small hands and cheered, “All hail Grandpa! Long live Grandpa!”
“Hahaha. If I were to live a thousand years wouldn’t I end up an old geezer later, aye?” old Henry remarked in a jocular fashion.
“Naw, Grandpa won’t be an old geezer. Grandpa will always be the best! Hip hurray!” Tilting her head, Ellie said with a serious face, “Grandpa must watch us grow up, okay? We still want to honor you for years to come!”
“Good, good! Good kids, y’all are!” old Henry nodded joyously, feeling his eyes slightly wet.
Due to aging, or perhaps having gone through life and near-death experiences, he had become a more sentimental person. Whenever he would see children, he would be easily touched. I’ve become a big ol’ softie, haven’t I?
“Gee, grandpa. Playing favorites now, are you?” Zachary sourly noted before continuing in feigned jealousy, “The moment you have great-grandchildren, you don’t care about your grandson anymore!”
