Chapter 8 Grandma's Accident

• The two tacitly ended the topic and entered the restaurant. While following Lewis to the private room, a sudden, inexplicable nervousness surged within Tia and caused her to tug on his sleeves, asking, "Um, isn't it a little rude for me to come empty-handed?"
• An unconcerned Lewis shook his head in response. "Don't worry. They don't really care for that."
• With that, he continued walking ahead.
• Tia said nothing more when Lewis had already described it like that, for it was also too late even if she wanted to get some gifts now.
• Lewis' parents were already waiting inside the room when the two entered. Tia had thought there would be a table full of people since Lewis booked a big room, but to her surprise, only his parents were seated at that massive round table.
• Sebastian was dressed in a formal suit and his gray hair was styled sleek. It was obvious that Lewis shared his looks and temperament upon closer look. On the other hand, Whitney—sitting next to her husband—looked petite and elegant in a black dress with golden embroidery that was complemented with light makeup. The corner of her eyes crinkled with her warm smile, subtly revealing her age, yet it did nothing to diminish her beauty.
• After closing the door, Lewis went up and naturally wrapped his arm around Tia's waist as he announced to his parents, "Mom, Dad, this is Tia."
• Tia, however, felt somewhat uncomfortable about the arm around her waist, but she did not let her feelings show and instead smiled at his parents and greeted, "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Harvey."
• Sebastian nodded in reply, looking stern with barely a smile while Whitney was more amiable. After dipping her head at Tia, she turned to Lewis. "Lewis, why don't you tell the servers that we're ready to eat?"
• Lewis nodded at that, then told Tia to take a seat as he asked the servers outside to serve their dishes, which all came in no time. However, the feast was a little too much for just the four of them, or at least, Tia thought.
• She had been nervous for nothing. Although Sebastian might look stern, he did not give her a hard time; Whitney, on the other hand, kept a friendly smile the whole time and she had only vaguely asked Tia about her home and job.
• Judging from Whitney's words and deeds, Tia could tell that the Harveys were no ordinary family. It surprised her that Lewis would resort to blind dating when he had such a background, despite being divorced once.
• While she was musing, Whitney put a piece of fish on her plate. "Tia, you should try this fish. It's really fresh."
• Tia turned a little awkward as she looked at the addition to her plate. It would be rude if she refused, as Lewis' mom had kindly offered her. If she were to eat it, she was afraid her instinctual response toward fish would show. She was terrified of fish!
• But just as she was deliberating, a fork reached for her plate and took that piece of fish away. Tia's gaze followed the fork to find Lewis—who sat beside her—had put the piece of fish into his mouth while reeling her. "Tia's allergic to fish," he explained while she was still processing what just happened.
• Whitney nodded in response, then offered her something else. "Have some meat and vegetables then."
• "Thank you, Mrs. Harvey." Tia thanked with a smile and glanced sideways at Lewis to find him completely composed, having no sense of guilt toward his lie.
• Tia thought it was a rather pleasant dinner. If overlooking Sebastian's straight face, that is.
• When they exited the restaurant, a car was already waiting at the door for the Harveys. Before getting in, Whitney held Tia's hand and reassured, "Tia, Lewis’ father and I don't stay around here, so please take good care of him after you two marry. He isn't much of a talker, but he has a good heart. Though he might not be a romantic, he's someone you can spend the rest of your life with."
• Though Tia did not know what her life with Lewis would be like after, she still nodded and promised when Whitney had specifically asked. "I will, Mrs. Harvey."
• "You silly girl, don't you think you should stop calling me that?" Whitney asked with a giggle.
• It stumped Tia for a split second, and she blushed bashfully.
• Seeing that she was a shy one, Whitney no longer gave her a hard time and patted her hand before getting into the car.
• Then, Tia and Lewis stood by the entrance and watched the car drive away, slowly engulfed by the darkness.
• After the car was gone from their sight, Tia turned to Lewis. "Where are your parents heading? Are they rushing back overnight?"
• "They’ve got somewhere to be," Lewis replied as he turned to where he had parked his Jeep.
• He knew his parents had not deliberately come to meet Tia just because of his marriage, but that this was probably just a detour from work.
• Tia, on the other hand, asked no more when she could tell he had no intentions of letting on more.
• While Lewis drove her home, she received a call from Shannon, whom she assumed did so because Shannon had finally cooled off. Coming as a complete surprise, it was the news of her grandmother fainting at home. Shannon said Elizabeth had been taken to the hospital and that Tia should head there too.
• The second after the call ended, Tia had Lewis change the course. "Quick, take me to the hospital."
• The sudden horror made her so anxious that she shuddered involuntarily.
• "What happened?" Lewis asked as he prepared to make a U-turn at the next turning.
• Tia shook her head in response, feeling on edge. "I don't know. Shannon said Grandma passed out at home. She has a heart condition…"
• After making the U-turn, Lewis reached his left hand out to grab her right, seeing that she had worry and fear written all over her face. "Don't worry, Grandma will be okay," he comforted her while patting her hand.
• Tia leaned her back against the seat after taking a gander at him but locked her brows into a tight furrow.
• How could she not worry when her grandmother was the only family she had left now? The two of them had been sharing their lives with each other for over eighteen years.
• After pulling over at the hospital entrance, Tia immediately hopped off the car and dashed toward the ER, where she found a similarly anxious Shannon waiting right by the door. She practically reeled over to Shannon and grabbed her shoulders. "Shannon, how is Grandma now? What did the doctors say?"
• "The doctors are still resuscitating her. Don't worry, she'll be fine. Don't freak yourself out for nothing," Shannon reassured her, but she was just as agitated, shaking and worrying.
• She had initially gone to Tia's to retrieve her luggage, also to see if she could dissuade Tia from treating her marriage like child's play. Even if she genuinely was scared of love, she should at least find someone that actually loved her. No one would have blamed her for being selfish.
• However, it was only after arriving that she learned from Elizabeth that Tia was meeting her fiancé's parents for dinner. After a chat with Elizabeth, Shannon was ready to grab her luggage and head home. Just as Elizabeth was about to stand up to see Shannon off, she faltered and held her chest in pain. Remembering Elizabeth had a heart condition, Shannon wasted no time and called the ambulance. It was not until she got into the vehicle that she called Tia, telling her to head to the hospital.
• "How can I not freak out?! That's my grandmother in there!" Tia cried out with eyes red-rimmed from oncoming tears.