A Talk with Hazel

Neil Mo placed the sleeping girl carefully on her bed and stepped back. His gaze stayed at the little girl's face as he thought back about the words she uttered before she had fallen deep in sleep in the car.

He had not paid too much attention when he promised that he was going to come to her kindergarten to pick her up, but apparently, Hazel remembered. While he was having dinner and entertaining the boards of directors, Hazel was waiting for him.

A frown appeared on his face when something crossed his mind. He had heard from Nanny Ann that Hazel had stayed awake to wait for her parents when they received news of her parents' accident.

While he was having his dinner, Hazel was waiting for him with worry.

As these thoughts ran through his head, Neil was suddenly overcome with guilt.

Suddenly, Neil wondered how the little girl would feel if her teacher had allowed for his assistant to pick her up. Would the little girl be disappointed?

Would it mean that he had broken his promise to her if others had showed up instead of him?

Hazel was just a little kid. She had recently lost her parents and had no one but him, her uncle, at her side. Neil had promised to give a try and look after Hazel. Now, the little girl was relying on him.

Neil realized that once he had broken his promise with her, the little girl would be saddened and soon, it would be hard for her to trust him again. At this time, Neil was suddenly worried about how his action and decision would soon affect the way Hazel would grow up.

For Neil, his work would always be his priority. Ever since his father was hospitalized due to his poor health, Neil has worked hard to look over the company that he has no time to think of other things. He would come to the office and work in the morning and go out to entertain his clients almost every night. He often returned to his apartment when it was really late.

But it seemed that he has to change this habit. It seemed that now that Hazel was now staying with him, Neil had a lot to ponder about. He needed to change his lifestyle.

…

When Hazel walked down the stairs, she was surprised upon seeing the breakfast item on the dining table. Hazel had thought that she would be having a bowl of cereal for breakfast that morning, but surprisingly, her uncle had prepared some toast and a sunny side up.

"Come on," Neil waved his hand to the little girl. "Sit down and have your breakfast. Although I don't know how to cook many things, I can at least do something as simple as these."

Hazel walked around the dining table with her eyes wide. She put down her school bag beside her and pulled the chair to sit down. Smelling the aroma of the buttered toast, Hazel started to feel her stomach grumbling.

Last night, she did not eat too much. She was waiting for her uncle to come over to pick her up from the kindergarten and because it was too late, her teacher had offered her to eat some bread for her dinner.

Because she did not want to trouble her teacher, Hazel only had one piece of that strawberry-flavored bun and had not asked for more even though she was still hungry. By the time her uncle came to pick her up, she was already asleep.

Hazel stood on her knees and picked up the fork and knife on the table.

When Neil came back to her side with a mug of warm milk, he happened to see the way Hazel eat her breakfast and frowned. He then made a note to himself to get a suitable chair for his niece.

Neil slid into an empty seat across the little girl and picked up his mug of coffee. Then, he looked up at the little girl. "Hazel, let's talk."

The little girl stared at her uncle for a few seconds and nodded.

Neil rapped his fingers on the table as he wondered how he should start this conversation. He was used to striking a conversation to discuss a business deal. However, at this time, Neil suddenly realized that talking to a child can be more difficult.

Hazel munched at her toast as she continued to stare at her uncle. She then drank the warm milk from her mug and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Uncle, you can talk to me. I promise I won't get angry."

Neil paused when he heard her words. He suddenly realized that he had said the same thing to her last night when she was too scared to sleep alone.

Suddenly, his lips curved into a soft smile. "Alright." He watched as the little girl continued to eat her breakfast and finally spoke, "Hazel, do you remember that I have promised to come over and pick you up from kindergarten yesterday?"

"Un." she nodded.

"If I did not come to pick you up yesterday, would you be angry?"

Hazel did not answer, but Neil could see how her movement had slowed down.

Seeing this, Neil let out a helpless sigh. "I'm sorry. Yesterday, I almost forgot that I have promised to come and pick you up."

Hazel continued to eat her breakfast silently.

"This is what I wanted to talk to you about. There are some days that I won't be able to come over and pick you up from the kindergarten."

The toast she was holding paused midair and her expression paled as she heard his words. "Are you going to leave me?"

"No," Neil quickly shook his head. When he saw the look on her face, Neil was glad that he chose to explain his situation to the little girl lest she would misunderstand when he did not show up. "I am not going to leave you. But there are some days that I get too busy at work, that I cannot come over to pick you up. When that day comes, I will send over my assistant, Uncle Shawn to pick you up, and then, he will send you over to Nanny Ann's place. You remember Uncle Shawn, right?"

Hazel nodded slowly.

"When I was done with my work, I will come over and pick you up from Nanny Ann's place," Neil said. He continued to watch the little girl's expression and wonder what was going through her mind when she did not answer. "Is that okay?"

"Okay."