Chapter : 497
Two days later, just around noon, Charlene Ross and Gaylord Hearst were on their way to the cafeteria for lunch when her phone suddenly rang.
It was a call from Thorne Henderson.
Charlene glanced at the screen, hesitated for a moment, then answered. “Hello?”
“Grandma’s awake.”
A wave of relief swept over Charlene. “I’ll head over right now.”
“Alright.”
After hanging up, Charlene turned to Gaylord, who had paused beside her, waiting. “Sorry, something’s come up. I’ll have to skip lunch.”
Gaylord caught a glimpse of the number flashing on her phone and could tell it was urgent. “No worries,” he said.
Charlene gave a quick nod and hurried off.
By the time she arrived at the hospital, Thorne, Jasmine Henderson, Tiffany Henderson, Claudia, Lloyd Henderson, and a few others were already gathered there.
As soon as Charlene walked in, Jasmine rushed into her arms. Thorne glanced over at them, then turned back to the elderly woman in the bed and said gently, “Grandma, Charlene’s here.”
At the mention of Charlene’s arrival, Irma Henderson’s face lit up with a faint smile, and she tried to turn her head toward the doorway.
Charlene stepped forward and took the old woman’s hand. “Grandma.”
Irma patted her hand softly, wanting to speak, but before she could get a word out, her eyelids fluttered closed and she drifted back to sleep.
Panic flickered across Charlene’s face. “Grandma-
Thorne placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “She just woke up. The doctors said her condition’s still unstable, and she’s low on energy. They said it’s perfectly normal, so don’t worry.”
Charlene finally let out a long breath. Still, seeing Irma so pale and frail, she couldn’t help but worry this might be a final rally. “But… is she really going to be alright?”
Thorne nodded. “The doctors said her condition isn’t completely stable yet, but she should recover slowly over time.”
At last, Charlene’s tightly wound nerves began to relax.
After a short while, so as not to disturb Irma’s rest, everyone quietly filed out of the hospital room.
Most of them-Tiffany, Thorne, and the others had received news of Irma waking up while they were on their way to lunch. None of them had eaten yet.
Lloyd, always busy with work, had only managed to visit Irma twice since she’d been hospitalized and unconscious. This time he’d taken couple of extra days off. Seeing that everyone was here and no one had eaten, he turned to Charlene and suggested, “Since you’re back, why don’t you join us for lunch?” s
Charlene hadn’t seen much of Lloyd over the years-whether before or after her marriage to Thorne-but he’d always treated her decently, ever since she was a
kid.
Claudia and Tiffany didn’t say a word, but their silence clearly meant they had no objections.
In all the years Charlene and Thorne had been married, she could count on one hand the number of times she’d eaten out with the Henderson family-probably not even three times.
Thinking back, it all felt like a lifetime ago.
But now that she and Thorne were preparing for divorce, she didn’t see the point in inserting herself into a family lunch. “I can’t, I’ve got some things to handle at the office Maybe next time,” she said politely. s
Everyone could tell she was just making an excuse.
Lloyd paused, glancing at Thorne.
Before Thorne could say anything, Jasmine hung her head, fiddling with the stuffed animal in her arms.
Thorne didn’t try to stop Charlene from leaving. He simply said, “Let me walk you out.”
Charlene knew he probably wanted to talk. “Thanks,” she replied.
Thorne turned to Jasmine. “Minnie, go play with Uncle Terence for a bit. Daddy will be right back.”
“Okay.” Jasmine said, though her
eyes clung to Charlene, full of
longing. Charlene caught her gazez
hesitated, then reached out and
When have
ruffled Jasmine’s hair Whên
some free time, I’ll take you out for a
day, alright?”
s
Jasmine’s face lit up at last. She clung to Charlene’s hand and beamed.
“Promise!”