Took them off

" It's impossible to stay here. As you can see this isn't a big hospital, it's a small clinic and there aren't many resources in here. We normally transfer critical patients after consultation to bigger hospitals therefore we don't admit any patients to spend the night here.

And, am sure you realised that there are no admittance wards where patients get to rest for an extended period of time. This is a private clinic and it operates more like a pharmacy. I hope you understand as to why I can't leave you in here for the night."

Nodding her head, Dada fiddled with her hair.

Thirteen minutes passed by as silence ensued within the room. No one spoke a word and soon it turned awkward.

Dada: "...."

Rex: "...."

krrr, krrr'

The loud ringing of the desk phone broke the silence. Rex got up leaving the quiet Dada behind.

" Send them to my inbox. I will review them later." He said unto the mouthpiece and hung up the call. He turned to address the woman behind him.

" Come on, you must be hungry so I will bring you out for food. I will drive you and will send someone to come fetch your car." Saying so, Rex walked over to help her up.

The whole process from the office to the parking lot was slow and a bit painful for Dada.

*****

The charcoal black Mazda came to a halt in front of a duplex apartment. In one corner of the villa was a wooden outdoor structure.

" Here we are." Rex opened the car door and alighted before going over to help Dada.

" Where is this?" Confusion filled Dada's eyes as they darted to and from.

" My parent's house. My dad went away on a vacation and only my mother is home."

Seeing the frown on her face, Rex assured her,

" Don't worry, my mother is an understanding and loving woman, so there is no need to be nervous."

*****

The two people standing outside the house heard cheerful laughter coming from the inside. The door was opened slightly making the individuals outside curiously walk over.

Inside the house, a man sat on the black couch facing away from the door. His relaxed face indicated his happy mood. Taking small sips from the juice glass placed on the coffee table, he nodded his head occasionally in agreement to what the other party was saying.

*****

" You mean Oldman Lucas who runs the shoe shop?" The man asked in a mild suprised tone.

The elderly woman sitting on the chair across him laughed at his question. She asked him in return,

" Why? Isn't he suited for marriage? Your grandpa did the same too with your grandma so there is nothing surprising about this."

" There is a big difference there. Grandpa and grandma were just renewing their wedding vows and by that time they already had a bunch of kids so that's wasn't jaw dropping. But, for Oldman Lucas, he still has no kids. Not even a baby on the way, mother, or maybe am wrong. Anyway, age is just a number these days and it's not that surprising to hear such news." The man answered back taking another sip from his drink.

" So when is Rex coming back from work? If am not mistaken, he is about to knock off work."

" He usually comes late even when he is working half day." The mother, Sarah Chase replied. She was middle aged woman with black shoulder length hair. Fine wrinkles graced the edges of her eyes.

Her eyes lingered on his face for sometime before looking away.

" Am not used to seeing you without those eye shades on. It's been a long time that I forgot the colour of your eyes. Why should you put on those glasses when you have a pair of such beautiful eyes. Such a waste, tsk tsk."

A smile decorated her face upon completion of her sentence, and the tiny wrinkles around her eyes became more visible.

" Is that you Atty?" Rex asked from behind as he took hurried steps in while Dada followed behind him.

He stood before the other man as he surveyed him from head to toe. Suprise and happiness showed on his face one after the other.

" It's really you! I wasn't expecting to find you here."

" Yeah, it's me. I wanted to suprise you, so I didn't tell you that am coming and even mom didn't know." Atlas became amused at Rex's reaction.

Atlas Ford were his birth names but Rex preferred to address him as ' Atty' which is short for 'Atlas'.

" Wow! Indeed this is a suprise. What about those glasses that are always stuck to your face?" Rex asked taking a seat on the armrest his brother sat on. He surveyed Atlas's face, more especially his eyes.

" I took them off today for a change. I wanted to look at the world without any hindrance." Atlas spoke and looked in the door's direction.

There, a young woman stood motionless. Her eyes widened like those anime characters. She stared at him without breaking eye contact.

" Ah! I almost forgot. She is a patient slash my guest, and I don't think you would mind her presence. She can use the spare guest room. I will explain all this later." Noticing the gaze Atlas was giving the woman at the door, Rex hurried to explain.

Mrs Chase who was sitting across from Atlas saw the young woman too. She had a shocked expression on her face.

" Isn't this the young lady from earlier? You are the girl I met at the bus stop, aren't you?"

A weird expression appeared on Dada's face. She answered in a low voice.

" Yeah, the one who was asking for directions to the clinic. And you are the ' bottled water' lady!"

Mrs Chase laughed at Dada's answer. " Yes, am the one. Now come on in and have a sit, don't just stand there."

With her hands, Mrs Chase gestured for Dada to come forth into the room. Her smile reached her ears.

" Thanks." With a meek tone, Dada replied while she walked in. She sat by the couch next to Mrs Chase, coming face to face with Atlas. The man was sitting calmly on his seat. As she looked at him from such a close distance, she finally got to take a good look at his facial features.