บท 36: 36
Henry's fingers curled in involuntary revulsion as he recalled his earlier impulse insult to his brother-in-law about buying his new wife with his money. He had said it in the heat of the moment just to shut the little chatterbox up. Nolan had never had anyone to compete with for authority so Henry constantly felt the need to assert himself. His father would have beaten him black and blue if he had heard his son say something so beneath him, but Nolan Chen did hit him where his nerves were raw. He hated himself that he couldn't retain his normal cool control of emotions that he had taken years to master.
Henry closed his eyes feeling the drowsiness from this week's business activities beginning to settle in. He had been all around the city to make preparations for his quick wedding. Madeline, sensing his approaching drowsy spell, jumped into his lap and pushed up against his chest with her warm paws. He petted her and the thumping of her tail against the chair made him sigh. Marriage was anything but simple. He hadn't taken the decision lightly to get involved with Ellie, but the reality of someone so deserving facing life or death made him sick to his stomach. He would prefer that her death was not going to be under his own roof. He wished that she could have been someone else's wife whom with he could have had a cordial friendship with. To have the weight of the responsibility of her life and her legacy was something that left a bitter taste in his mouth. But he had made his bed, so he would have to lie on it.
When he considered Ellie Chen was sleeping upstairs in his house. It made him feel strange. Like his house was haunted by a ghost. She wasn't supposed to exist here at all, but there she was.
He pulled himself out of his brooding to think of the real person sleeping upstairs who was now his charge. He was glad Maud was delighted to have more hour and a raise to serve someone new in the Wong household. The nurse was spunky but good at her job. He had heard from some staff that she wanted to go back to school to get another degree. The incoming checks would, he realized grimly, allow her to do so. At least someone was benefiting from this arrangement.
"Michael," Henry turned to the door where the old retainer appeared with a tray of freshly brewed coffee and something baked. Michael always knew what he needed before he did, a fine quality.
"I'm right here sir." Michael quickly moved over to where Henry was seated and set the tray on the table next to him. "Your mid-morning meal, sir. The chef prepared your usual butterscotch cookies as per usual to your mother's recipe. I tasted them myself to make sure, as you know is our custom."
In truth, Michael stole a bite because he missed his old madam, but Henry didn't mind. It was refreshing that someone in his immediacy loved his mother has much as he did. Most of his extended family had been horrified when his father married her due to her poor background.
"I am as always delighted by his culinary skills. Please give him notice to look into Ellie's dietary needs as her constitution I'm sure will be delicate. Try to see if you can get a note from her physicians. I don't want her to feel any discomfort when she's here." Ellie always looked too thin to him, he wondered if his cook could be enticed by the good hearty food he'd like to feed her.
Michael took out a pad and paper and quickly jotted down the instructions as they came from Henry's mouth. He asked additional questions to clarify some points before tucking everything away with a solemn nod. This assured Henry that Michael understood his concerns regarding the care of Ellie in his home.
Henry massaged his forehead as that stressor was now taken care off by a capable set of hands. He promised himself that he would try to teach his unruly brother-in-law to control his emotions. Maybe that could be undertaken if he could keep his cool himself. He knew it would be impossible to avoid the sprout forever. Nolan's chef problem, Henry decided was that he had no woman or vices with which to cool his nerves. Ellie, although he was devoted to her, was not exactly someone Nolan could vent to about his frustrations. Maybe with his newly acquired cash he could get some. Henry quickly banished the image from his mind of Nolan gambling his hard earned cash with a model curled up in each arm. The horror of in-laws to be take care of.
He was very glad that babysitting his new baby brother was not something he had signed up for.
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