Talk To Me

47. Like a father

Wale was chatting with Cherry's parents in the waiting room when Frank arrived. They'd planned to meet at the hospital, and Cherry's parents had just told him the surgery was a success—the baby was healthy and already resting in the nursery. Wale was relieved and eager to see his child, but he knew Kind had stayed behind to check on Cherry after Frank delivered some rather blunt news to her.

"Young master, apologies for the wait," Frank began, "but your former fiancée caused quite the stir after reading your note."

"Is she alright? I hope you went easy on her, Frank..."

"Only as you asked, sir. My nephew, Kind, stayed back with her—he was holding the baby when I left, and a nurse came in to help calm Cherry down. Kind took the baby to a private nursery; you're welcome to see them both. Just a heads-up, though—only two visitors at a time in the nursery. Hope that's alright."

"Perfect, as long as Kind's with her." Wale nodded, feeling reassured.

"What's the baby's gender?" Cherry's mother asked. She and her husband had been waiting for hours, talking through Wale's legal guardianship over the child. Frank had quickly drawn up a proposal to ensure Cherry's parents would remain active grandparents, with Wale as the primary guardian.

Cherry's parents were thankful for Wale's decision, given Cherry's instability during pregnancy—often threatening to harm the child or put it up for adoption. They knew she wasn't in a state to raise a child, and as much as they loved her, they wanted their grandchild safe from Cherry's anger. Wale had always seemed like a good man to them; they'd never blamed him for his decision to end things with their daughter.

"I didn't get the chance to ask," Frank said, "but Kind will know by now. If you like, I can take you both to the nursery." He glanced at Wale, who nodded, giving them the go-ahead.

Wale took a deep breath, sitting down as the weight of everything hit him. It was a relief to know the child was healthy and that Cherry was stable, but he was still reeling from her last-minute dramatics. He hadn't wanted to take the child from her forcefully, but she'd left him no choice. And now, Kind was upset. Would it come down to choosing between him and the child?

"You should be smiling, you're a father now," a voice said behind him, tapping his shoulder. He turned to see Swalha grinning at him. "You must feel like you're on house arrest, stuck here until Cherry is discharged. But your daughter's beautiful, if that helps."

"Daughter?" Wale asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Yes—hasn't anyone told you?" Swalha seemed surprised.

Wale looked down, feeling a warmth well up inside him, a mix of joy and relief that made him want to hide the tears gathering in his eyes. Of course, Swalha noticed and seized the moment to tease him.

"Well, well! I must be a dragon to make the famous Wale shed a tear. This is historical! Not even Cherry got to see you cry."

"Quit it, Swalha..." he said, wiping his eyes, but the tears kept coming.

She handed him a handkerchief from her bag, rubbing his back as she smirked. "That handkerchief wasn't cheap, mind you, so consider this a loan."

"Oh? How much will this 'loan' cost me?"

"I'll settle for three wishes. For the first one, I want to be her godmother."

They both laughed, and Wale couldn't help but feel a bit lighter. He'd half-expected her to make some outlandish demands.

"That's an easy one. Once everything's sorted after Cherry's discharged, I'll make it official."

"I'm being way too nice, huh?" she teased, grinning. "Alright, for my second wish, I want to name your daughter—since Cherry hasn't picked one."