Chapter 19 Father and Daughter

• The next morning, after Ben freshened himself up and took his breakfast, he went to the hospital to see the little girl.
• It was a promise Ben made to Vincy. Ben felt responsible towards that little girl. She had already called him her father. Ben thought he needed to do something for the little girl even though they weren't related. Moreover, the little girl liked him so much.
• Vincy was not at the hospital when Ben arrived. She had gone to work. But the little girl was so happy to see Ben. She looked better than the last time Ben saw her. After a conversation with her caregiver, Ben learned that the little girl's condition was unstable. It can only be suppressed, not cured. She had been going in and out of the hospital these two years. She would be admitted once she had a fever, then discharged when she got better. She should be staying in the hospital for good, but Vincy did not want her daughter to live through that, so she brought her back home when she was better so that she could accompany her more often and make her feel happy and comfortable at home.
• Now known to the hospital staff as the little girl's father, Ben eventually found the doctor in charge of the little girl. After he got a detailed explanation from the doctor about the little girl's condition, he took out his phone and called Vincy.
• "Hello, Ben," Vincy answered the phone politely. She was at work.
• "Are you at work?"
• "Yes. Work has been busy these few days."
• "I'm at the hospital."
• "Thank you for keeping your promise."
• "I've heard from the doctor and the caregiver that you plan to bring Annie home this afternoon."
• "Yes. Her sickness is under control at the moment. There is no use for her to stay at the hospital any longer. I want to bring her home so that she'll feel happier. Even a day is worth it." Vincy choked.
• "Annie wants me to bring her to the amusement park."
• Vincy did not know how to answer Ben. So she said, "She's always wished for her father to bring her to the amusement park like the other kids' fathers do. This has always been her dream."
• "I'm free this morning."
• "But… But I… I have something important to do here. I can't just leave."
• "It's alright. I will bring her to the amusement park if you let me take her out today. I will send her back to the hospital after we are done."
• Vincy was silent for a moment. Then she said, "Thank you."
• "Great. Then I shall take her then. Don't worry. I will take good care of her." Ben hung up as soon as he finished speaking.
• "Come on, Annie. Daddy's bringing you to the amusement park today. You can play with whatever you want, and we will only go home when you feel like it." After the phone call, Ben stretched out his hand toward the little girl in the ward.
• "Yay! Daddy is the best! Long live Daddy! Daddy I love you!" The girl jumped up from her hospital bed and onto Ben. Ben quickly reached out and hugged the girl. Before Ben knew it, the little girl wrapped her arms around Ben's neck and kissed his cheek hard.
• "Come, sit on Daddy's shoulders. We shall go to the amusement park now." Ben held the little girl up high above his head. The little girl sat on his shoulders. Then he carried the little girl out just like that. Annie's caregiver quickly took the little girl's water bottle, clothes and coat. Then she followed Ben.
• "A tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow basket. I wrote a letter to my friend, and on the way I dropped it." Ben hummed.
• "Wait, that's wrong, Dad. It's a blue and yellow basket."
• "Is it blue and yellow?"
• "Yes, my teacher taught me that."
• "Well, my teacher told me it was a green and yellow basket."
• "Hahaha! Green and yellow? That's wrong. It's blue and yellow."
• "Alright then. Blue and yellow it shall be, then. A little boy picked it up and put it in his pocket..…."
• "Hahaha. Daddy, did you sing wrongly again?"
• "Which part was I wrong about?"
• "A little girl picked it up and put it in her pocket'…"
• Both of them laughed as they chatted all the way. The little girl sat on Ben's shoulders. She was incredibly joyous.
• The caregiver behind could not help but cry when she saw this scene. The caregiver was a simple middle-aged woman. She had been working for Vincy since Annie was born. She had witnessed the little girl growing up. She had almost the same amount of affection Vincy had for Annie too. When she saw the little girl's joyful demeanor, she could not help but shed happy tears. She took out her phone and started taking photos and videos secretly. Then, she sent them to Vincy.
• "All of you should know the company's performance this quarter. We…" Just as Vincy was having a presentation at the meeting, her phone kept ringing. Vincy picked it up and looked at its notifications. When she saw the photos and videos the caregiver sent her, she could not help but cry.
• She tried hard to stop them, then stood up and said, "I'm sorry. Please excuse me for a while. Mr. Tyler, please help me preside over the meeting.
• Vincy took her phone and headed out of the meeting room towards the toilet. She closed the toilet door and wailed painfully.
• Ben brought the little girl around the amusement park. They both had so much fun that the girl smiled more than she ever had over the years. When it was finally noon, Ben brought the little girl for food. The little girl wanted to have McDonald's but was stopped by the caregiver. Vincy had made it clear that junk food was never to be taken. But in the end, Ben smiled at the caregiver and tried to convince her, saying that it would just be for today. Then he brought her to Mcdonald's. The girl ate happily with Ben and the caregiver. Of course, Ben paid for all expenses for this trip. When the caregiver insisted on paying Ben, Ben refused her.
• It was already afternoon when they finished eating their Mcdonald's. Ben needed to go to work again, so he dropped the little girl at the hospital. The little girl fell asleep on Ben's lap back to the hospital. Ben held her for the entire journey until he carried her to her hospital bed. After he made sure that the little girl was sleeping soundly and having sweet dreams, he left the hospital. He took a bus and headed to her old house.
• Ben received Jamie Novak's phone call at the bus.
• "Hello, Jamie. What's wrong? Do you want to treat me to a meal again? However, I regret to inform you that I can't make it. We can have lunch tomorrow, though." Ben laughed.
• "What great imagination you have. Ben, why didn't you go to the airport this morning?"
• "Go to the airport? What for?" Ben was surprised.