Bab 18: Like Father, Like Son
"Sammy, let's eat. If you don't eat then when will you get better?" Ben coaxed his nephew to eat.
Sammy shook his head with a still pale face, the little guy was focused on the hospital's large television screen in front of him.
"Did your room's cooler die so you had to sit on the terrace all night?"
"No..."
"Then why are you sitting outside by yourself?" Ben asked again. He wanted to hear what his nephew was feeling.
But Sammy just shrugged, looking at Ben sitting by the bed with a bowl of porridge in his hand.
"You'd better go to the office, Uncle." Sammy shooed Ben away.
"You're sick and won't eat, how could I go? Your Dad's not back here yet either, is he?" Ben refused.
"I'm sick, Uncle. Don't argue with me," Sammy replied lazily.
Ben rubbed his chest lightly, 'Be patient, Ben... Be patient. You know that Sammy is a photocopy of your stubborn-as-a-stone brother, right?'
Ben muttered to himself, realizing that Sammy was harder to persuade than Joe. But he didn't want to give up, "So, you still don't want to eat this?"
Ignoring his uncle's question, Sammy lay down, pulling the blanket up to his chest, "Uncle, my mom is beautiful, right?"
Sammy's question made Ben turn his head, the man smiled, "Yes, your mommy is very beautiful," he replied.
"How about I stay with Mom? Is that okay?"
"What do you mean? Don't joke, Sammy, it's not funny at all." Ben began to reprimand his nephew. Even though it was just a 9-year-old saying it, Ben knew Sammy's words were serious.
"I'm just asking, Uncle. Don't get mad at me, I'm sick, right?" replied the little guy as he turned his back to his uncle.
"Why haven't you eaten yet?" asked Joe, who had just arrived after talking to the doctor who had treated Sammy earlier.
"No, I haven't. I don't want to eat."
"Do you want to eat something else? I'll order the chef at home to make you your favorite food," Joe tried to persuade.
"I want Aunt Bee,"
Joe exhaled heavily as he glanced at Ben, 'Viona again...' he thought.
"She's gone, I'll find you a new nanny, one a thousand times better than her," Joe coaxed again, but more firmly this time.
"I just want Aunt Bee,"
Ben furrowed his brow. His confidence was growing, about Sammy liking Viona.
"She doesn't want to be with us, Sammy. Please understand," Joe said, trying to get his son's understanding.
"Aunt Bee left because you scolded her, right, Dad? Grandma, too. That's why Aunt Bee doesn't want to live in our house," Sammy replied, this time sitting facing his father.
"It's not like that-,"
"Anyway, I won't eat until Aunt Bee comes. I just want Aunt Bee, Dad!" he continued angrily and lay back down again, covering his body with the blanket.
"Sammy, please don't be like this," Joe sighed at his son's behavior. Then he turned to Ben who looked calmer, "What are you doing?"
"Didn't you see me finishing your son's porridge?" Ben replied indifferently.
"That's not it. What I'm asking is, what are you doing here? What time is it, huh? You didn't go to the office?" Joe asked annoyed.
"I'm too lazy to go to the office. I want to be here looking after Sammy," Ben replied casually.
"I'll look after Sammy, I brought my laptop here. The office will be a mess without one of us. And you, how many times have you not been to the office this week?"
"Just five days..."
"Good, add six days and get ready to be shipped off to Africa. I'll contact my secretary to arrange your departure," Joe replied casually, but Ben knew it was a threat that gave him goosebumps.
"You're boring. All right, I'm going to the office," Ben replied irritably, getting up from his seat and rushing to get dressed.
"I'm going to the office, Sammy. Get well soon!" he said to Sammy.
"Take care, Uncle. When you go home, please bring my Aunt Bee too!" the little guy said lightly without opening his blanket to look at Ben.
"Do you think Viona's food is something I can buy and bring from a store on the side of the road?" Ben was not to be outdone, he also replied carelessly.
'Father and son are the same. Both like to say whatever they want,' he grumbled to himself and walked out of Sammy's hospital room, leaving behind the stubborn father and son.
"Eat your breakfast or you won't get out of this hospital, Sammy," Joe, who had started to work on his laptop on the sofa, continued to order his son to eat.
However, the little guy still did not open the blanket that covered him.
"Tell Aunt Bee to come here, then I'll eat,"
The handsome widower sighed tiredly again, since finding out Viona left, that was all Sammy had told him. Joe now picked up his cell phone and spoke to someone.
"Find a woman named Viona, I'll send you her photo,"
Sammy who heard his father's words immediately removed the blanket slowly. He began to sit up and watch his father who now looked focused on his laptop screen.
The little guy knew that his father had a lot of work to do, but since he was sick, his father had to bring his work to the hospital like this.
"Is Aunt Bee coming here?" Sammy asked quietly.
"Looking for her," Joe replied briefly as he turned to his son before glancing back at his laptop. His attitude was as if this time he was the one who was upset with Sammy, "Eat your breakfast," he continued to say, and it clearly showed concern.
However, the term 'like father like son' is true. Both were stubborn and neither would budge.
"I'll eat after Aunt Bee comes," replied Sammy who lay back down and pretended to be asleep.
Joe sighed, "Then what if she doesn't come? Are you not going to eat forever?"
"Maybe, yes," Sammy said from under the covers.
This time Joe relented. He got up from the sofa and went to Sammy. He sat beside his son's bed and asked more calmly.
"Why are you being like this, Sammy? You're not going to get better if you don't eat and take your medicine."
"I'll do all that after seeing Aunt Bee, Dad."
"So you want to stay sick like this?"
"If by me being sick you will find Aunt Bee and bring her here, I'm willing to be sick every day,"
"Watch your talk, Sammy. That's not good, you know that!" Joe was again annoyed by Sammy's words.
"Then what am I supposed to do when I miss Mommy, who may not be alive anymore? I can only wait for Aunt Bee, right?" said Sammy who chose to close his eyes and stop arguing with his father. The little guy chose to hide his tears under the blanket.
But Joe knew that his son was currently crying sadly. The movement of Sammy's body under the blanket could not be ignored by Joe who also felt his son's sadness.
'Longing is sad, Sammy. I know that very well. But what if the woman you miss is the one who goes away from us, son?' Joe said silently. He no longer knew how to persuade Sammy to eat.
Joe chose to sit back on the sofa and try to focus on his work again, even though it would be very difficult.
***
In a different place, in Shine's office - Viona's brother.
"From the examination at the crime scene, officers reported that there were at least two dozen men dead with gunshot wounds on their bodies, including Jansen and Major General Kenneth."
"One of them has also been identified and his identity is well known. Albert aka Nino Alfonso was the target of an arrest for alleged fraud and forgery of scrap metal sale documents. Several people have reported being victims of this Nino Alfonso,"
"So that man is dead?" Viona commented on her brother's explanation, "That means the Major General has settled his grudge,"
"What grudge, Clover?" Shine asked this time.
"A personal grudge, and finally Major General Kenneth paid off his grudge. He died without remorse and could face his wife and daughter with a smile," Viona answered and then explained the story of Major General Kenneth's revenge to Albert aka Nino Alfonso.
But Viona's smile looked pathetic in Shine's eyes. The one-star general now approached and wiped away the tears on his sister's face.
"I'm glad his death was not in vain. He was a great officer, he was a good man who taught kindness, I'm glad that he died without owing anything more to the family he loved,"
"But..." Viona started to cry, "But why did he bring Jansen with him? Then who's going to keep me company here and what should I tell Uncle Lily if he finds out I can't look after his nephew, bro?"
"You have nothing to regret, dear. How could I scold my beautiful girl? I would have been killed by your mom, Clover,"
A man over 60 years old stood at the door of Shine's study. His warm smile stunned Shine and Viona.
"Uncle Lily?" the two wondered.
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