Love and Sickness 3

Home Remedy

After hearing Nell was staying home due to a cold, Hetty decided to pay her a visit to drop off some home cooked soup, and then she saw how sick Nell really was.

'It's just a few chills and sniffles. I'll be fine!' Nell insisted, and then threw up in the bowl next to her.

'I'm not going to leave you in this condition, being this sick and alone is really depressing.' Hetty insisted.

'But I don't want to risk you catching my germs! I know that at your age, that getting ill can be risky...'

'I'll be fine. I'm careful around germs, and I've basically had just about any minor illness there is. Now, if you're feeling up to it, I'll go and boil this home made soup.'

The rest of the day, Hetty made sure Nell was comfortable, held her hair when she puked, and even cleaned up her kitchen because she didn't like seeing it so unorganized.

'I called Owen, and told him I'd be staying here tonight. And before you say no, it's just to make sure you get through tonight without much problem.' Hetty said.

'You really don't have to. With how I'm feeling, I'll probably sleep through the whole night.' Nell replied.

'I know, but I want to.'

'You know, this kind of reminds me of how my mother used to take care of me when I was young. Did your mom take care of you like this when you were young?'

Smiling. 'She did. No mater how miserable I felt, she still stuck around to make sure I was okay.'

'That's very sweet.'

The next morning.

'How is she doing?' Granger asked when he called.

'Not great. She woke up after midnight to throw up, and it shook her up. Took a half hour to get her back to sleep. And she woke up grumpy with not much of an appetite.' Hetty replied.

'Can't say I blame her. I'd be really frustrated too Is she being aggressive towards you?'

'A bit. She's just upset because she doesn't want to feel weak. Which is very understandable.'

When she hung up, she went to check on Nell, who was slumping in bed.

'Sorry for snapping at you this morning. I know you're just trying to help.' Nell muttered.

'1 of the things Owen and I have in common is, we both don't like being laid up and having to rely on others to take care of us. This 1 time he got ill, he drove me crazy with his grouchiness and his stubborness! Kept on insisting that he didn't need help and so on. But, I stuck by him until he got better anyways. Because I know that he'd do the same for me if I was ill.' Hetty replied.

'That's incredible! That takes a lot of dedication and love.'

'It does. (smiling). It does.'

'Is it okay if I call you Mom, just this once? Because you've felt like such a mom to me these past 2 days and well. (chuckle).'

Hetty felt so touched she had to sit down.

'Did I say something wrong?' Nell asked, concerned.

'No! No, (sniff). I never had kids of my own, and Jennifer Kim is the closest I'll ever have to a biological daughter. But, you've always felt like, the daughter I never got to have. You remind me of myself when I was young, and you're a very sweet person, and... Can I just hug you right now?!' Hetty blubbered.

Then the 2 ladies hugged.

'I love you as well, Hetty.'

'Oh! I think I'm going to cry! (chuckle).'