Chapter 460 Generational Relic
For a long time, Courtney sat there chatting with Scott, telling him about her volunteer work on the battlefield and her study tour experience during these past five years. For his sake, she left out most of the dangerous bits and embellished most of the interesting ones.
As evening approached, a nurse came around with dinner.
“Oh—is it dinner time already? It’s so late.” Courtney glanced down at her watch before letting out an embarrassed chuckle. “I’m so talkative these days.”
Placing the meal on the mobile hospital table, the nurse pushed it up to the bed before asking with familiarity, “Did you know each other previously, Dr. Hunter and Mr. Duncan?”
Before Courtney could speak, Scott nodded. “We’ve known each other for a long time. She was nearly my granddaughter-in-law.”
“Granddaughter-in-law?” The nurse pepped up instantly. “Really?”
“Of course I am.” Scott sounded somewhat lamenting as he muttered, “What would be the point in joking with you about this?”
With a thrilled look on her face, the nurse dashed off after leaving him with his meal, no doubt about to gossip with her coworkers.
Although Courtney was somewhat exasperated, now was hardly the time to be chasing after random nurses to offer unneeded explanations. Ultimately, Scott was telling the truth, so she simply decided to leave matters be. “Go on and eat, then. Hospital food is very ordinary.” She passed a fork and a spoon to him as she teased, “It will taste worse once it’s cold, and then you’ll have even more of an excuse not to eat.”
Sheepishly, Scott admitted, “I’m so old I don’t care much about what I eat. I just don’t wish to remain in the hospital.”
“Well, you have to see a doctor when you’re sick. No one would send you to a hospital if you were healthy, would they?”
“This illness of mine is the same no matter where I have it. They only had to prescribe me some medication to take at home; why throw a fuss about it?”
“It’s not a good habit to try and act brave in front of your doctor.” Courtney then pushed a bowl of soup up to him. “Have some soup to moisten your throat.”
Magnanimously, Scott nodded and commented, “You haven’t eaten yet, though. You should go and eat. Don’t mind me.”
“I’m your primary care physician now. Hospital regulations require me to watch you finish your meal first.”
“Is there such a regulation?”
“Of course!”
Likely because he was in a good mood due to Courtney, Scott ate much more than he usually did, surprising the nurse who came to clean up after dinner.
“Now, I’ve finished eating and I imagine your shift is over. You should go eat.”
“It’s not time for me to get off work yet. I’m working the night shift today,” Courtney clarified with a small smile before continuing, “It’s just as well since I have something to discuss with you anyway.”
“Go on.”
“Won’t you consider surgery?”
Though the hospital generally recommended conservative treatment for the elderly, Courtney had read through both his case file and medical certificate to find that he was in a different situation.
There wasn’t much Scott’s heart could handle now, and he would need to have a cardiac surgeon by his side 24/7 in case of emergencies if he didn’t have a bypass surgery as soon as possible even if he continued to take medication. Even then, the odds of him being able to live for longer than three years were extremely slim.
At the mention of the surgery, Scott froze slightly. “You know about all of this?”
“Jordan told me about it. He said there were a lot of things you couldn’t let go of and that you wouldn’t agree to the surgery because you were afraid the risk would be so great you wouldn’t leave the operating table alive.”
“You’ve seen Jordan?” Scott seemingly didn’t care about his condition as he pressed, “What about Alexander?”
After a pause, Courtney nodded. “I’ve seen him as well.”
Giving her a conflicted look, Scott continued, “Did he say anything to you when you saw him?”
“It was only a chance encounter, so we simply chatted for a bit before parting ways.”
After all, she and Alexander were both the ones to make their elders uneasy all those years ago, and it would be inappropriate for her to reveal the facts that they had kept hidden now. Neither did she feel inclined to overshare—that would surely only add to Scott’s list of worries.
The light in Scott’s eyes dulled, as if he was disappointed by her words.
“You must consider the surgery,” Courtney urged. “If not for yourself, then for your family. Oliver hasn’t married or started a family yet, has he? I have no doubt that when he does, he would want you to be there to meet his children as well.”
Upon hearing that, Scott sighed wistfully. “I’m old. There are some things I can’t wait for any longer.”
And while Courtney didn’t understand what he meant, she did not press.
As the night shift rolled around, she left to assist at the desk outside. However, before she could clock out from her day shift, a nurse brought her something from Scott.
“Mr. Duncan from VIP Ward 1 told me to bring this to you.”
“Oh? Thank you.”
Accepting the box, Courtney said her thanks and went off to busy herself with the patients she had to receive. It wasn’t until her evening shift ended and she returned home that she could rummage through her bag for the item once again.
By now, it was so late in the night that the younger children were asleep. The only sounds in the apartment were the sounds of video gaming and keyboard typing coming from Angie’s room, particularly audible even through the closed door.
Having worked for the whole day, Courtney didn’t even have the energy to turn on the main lights and only curled up on the couch before flicking on the floor lamp beside her. The dim glow lent an especially gentle air to the purple suede box.
The box that Scott gave her was heavy and she didn’t know what it contained. Once she opened it, however, she could not help but widen her eyes.
Inside was the necklace she had had Cameron bring back to the country to return to Alexander five years ago—the only token that she took from Alexander when she left Melrose City eleven years ago.
After all the trips it took, it somehow still ended up in her hands again.
In the middle of a circle of diamonds was an emerald glimmering faintly underneath the dim light. Somehow, it felt warm to the touch. After staring at the necklace for a long time, she finally put it away, intending to return it to Scott at the hospital tomorrow.
Like Alexander, he wasn’t one to be prone to effusiveness, but his meaning in giving her the necklace was evident. It was what he was leaving behind for her—a relic, to be passed down from generation to generation; daughter-in-law to granddaughter-in-law. By giving her this necklace, he was making it clear to her that he hoped she and Alexander could rebuild their relationship.
Later on, as Courtney was almost about to fall asleep, her cell phone suddenly rang by her bedside and startled her awake. At first, she thought it was a hospital emergency, only to be greeted by a lively and familiar voice upon answering the phone.
“I’m coming back to the country and will be reaching Melrose City the day after tomorrow, sis. Will you be free? Can you pick me up at the airport?”
Exhaustedly, Courtney glanced at the caller ID to confirm that it was indeed Shay before lying back down. Shutting her eyes, she muttered with a yawn, “What’s wrong with you? Your manager, your assistant, Casey, and Casey’s assistant could all go and pick you up. Why are you bothering me for this?”
“I’m recording a show and you can be my special guest in this episode.”
“What?” Upon hearing that, Courtney was instantly awake. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. I’ve thought about it. The other guests in this episode are all doing a family theme and if I want to do the same theme, I can only do it with your family. I don’t have any other family.”
The words were so pitiful that it sent a pang through Courtney’s heart. “How long will filming take?”
