The Lullaby Nights

♥ 8

NEIL

I promised Nina that I would take care of Harley, and because of that, I found myself in the chief physician's office. I was here to implore for the Lullaby Nights to be approved. They had to comply with the hospital standards.

Walter, the chief physician, looked at Gina and me over the rim of his half-moon glasses. He didn't like the idea. He claimed it'd put Nina at risk if she came in touch with more germs. Harley was more than likely to spread them by bringing all the items he'd chosen.

Harley, however, had already made a promise to his girlfriend. I knew he would implement the idea, regardless of what Walter's decision would be. He'd only asked for permission because he didn't want to cause us trouble. Gina and I took responsibility not only for Nina, but also for the hospital's reputation. It was considerate of Harley to ask first.

'Mr Briggs,' Gina began. 'Nina can die at any moment. Nine days is just an estimation. A very optimistic one, in fact.' She cast a sad look towards the man. 'Plus, it's Wendy's son we're talking about. You know how much love and devotion she's always brought to this place.'

At the sound of Wendy's name, something within Walter thawed. His eyes, marked with many wrinkles, creased at the corners whilst he let himself ponder.

A prolonged breath stalled in his lungs. He pulled at his white moustache and exhaled with force. He took off his glasses and placed them on the table, steepling his fingers afterwards.

'Fine,' he said at last. 'But...' He lifted his hand to let us know he wasn't finished. 'You've got to make sure he disinfects everything before bringing it in. I don't want him to make it too obvious, either. Tell him to pack his stuff into boxes. I don't need the CEO to pay me a visit. We all want to keep our jobs, am I right?'

Gina and I glanced at each other, beaming. We nodded our heads in comprehension, stifling the urge to fist-pump. After being dismissed, we rushed to Harley, who'd been waiting in the corridor.

He lifted his eyes and braced himself for the verdict.

'All good.' I gave him a thumbs up.

He stared at us for a second, as if making sure he wasn't hallucinating. His eyes widened in sheer disbelief, and he broke into tears, relieved. It was only then when I realised how much Nina really mattered to him. I'd never seen love as pure as his.

'It's okay,' I said, taking a seat beside him. 'You can do it. You can make your girl happy.' My smile was honest, though my heart was breaking. His tears weren't quiet. They were a convulsive stream of relief and pain combined. He was losing the love of his life.

The love of his life. The words echoed in my head. It was unusual to come across a man who, at such a young age, was certain he'd found the one. Love like theirs was hard to find, but leukaemia had shown how easy it was to take it away.

I placed my hand on Harley's bony shoulder and patted it in encouragement. 'Take a deep breath, son, blot the tears and head home. You've got a lot to do.' My words were meant to distract him from crying, but also, they were one hundred percent true. He had a lot of preparations ahead of him.

Harley dragged in a deep, shaky breath. 'Okay,' he said, slapping his hands onto his thighs. 'Okay, let's do it.' He leaped up from the chair with a new wave of determination streaking through his body. He dashed through the corridor, disappearing behind the corner, but had returned just as fast.

'Thank you,' he said, grateful, and vanished again.

He was all over the place.