Adir held his father’s hand, curious but also a little worried. He was excited to finally et the grandfather he had only heard about in stories, but there was a nervous flutter in his stomach. His father didn’t look too pleased about bringing him along, and that made Adir uneasy.
He had a lot of questions—about who his grandfather was, what he was like, and why they had never visited before—but he kept them to himself. He just walked quietly, staying close to his father’s side.
As they stepped out of the elevator, his father suddenly stopped and turned to him. "You know you’re not supposed to answer any questions about where you lived, or anything like that, right?"
Adir nodded quickly.
"Good," his father said, and they continued walking down the hallway.
The closer they got to the door, the more unsure Adir began to feel. Sothing about the mont made him slow down. By the ti they reached the entrance and his father opened the door, Adir had drifted just far enough behind that he was nearly hidden behind his father’s legs.
He heard his father call out into the room, "Father, I’ve brought Adir."
A deep voice responded from sowhere inside. "Where is he? Bring him to ."
Adir peeped out from behind his father’s legs. His small hand clutched the fabric of his father’s trousers for a mont, but then he let go and took a cautious step forward. He saw the old man seated lying in a raised bed near the window, watching him.
Adir raised his hand and gave a small wave. "Hello," he said.
Sir Robert Collins beckoned him forward with a slight tilt of his fingers. "Co here, boy. Let see you properly."
Adir hesitated only a second before walking over, looking up as he approached. When he stood in front of him, he gave a smile and said, "Hello, big father."
Sir Collins blinked once, then let out a short laugh. "Big father, eh? That’s a new one."
Adir stood with his hands behind his back, rocking on his heels. "That’s what I decided to call you. Father said that you are my grandfather, but calling you that is so boring."
"Well, Bit father is very fine thinking boy." Sir Collins said already looking pleased with the little boy, as he extended his hand and patted his head," You look just like ."
Adir’s eyes went wide. He took a step back and made a face. "Big father! I’m not that old!"
Sir Collins chuckled at the look of horror on the little face, "I ant when I was a little boy."
Adir blinked, his head tilting. "Were you also a little kid?"
"Yes," Sir Collins said, his tone softening. "A long ti ago."
Adir looked unconvinced for a second, then nodded slowly. "Okay... but I don’t think I’ll ever be that old."
"You’d be surprised," Sir Collins replied with a knowing smile.
Behind them, Adir’s father stayed silent, watching the exchange with an unreadable expression. Adir glanced back at him, then turned again to Sir Collins.
"Did you have toys?" he asked, his curiosity breaking through.
Sir Collins nodded. "Not like the ones you have now. But yes. A wooden horse. A slingshot. And a cricket bat that was too big for ."
Adir grinned. "I have a drone."
Sir Collins raised an eyebrow. "You’ll have to show how that works."
"I will," Adir said, then took a step closer and looked up again. "Can I sit with you? Father says that I should sit with you and spend more ti to make up for the last four years when you’ve missed ."
Sir Robert patted the side of his bed and nodded as he sent a pleased look towards his ’older’ son and then turned to watch his youngest son climb up and sit next to him.
Just then, a nurse entered the door with a perfunctory knock.
Just then, a nurse entered the room with a perfunctory knock, clipboard in hand.
"Good afternoon, Sir Collins," she said in a neutral tone. "It’s ti for your injection and dication."
Before Sir Collins could respond, Patrick stepped forward. "I’ll handle the dicines. You can go ahead and give him the injection through the IV line."
The nurse gave a brief nod, used to such arrangents. "Alright."
Patrick walked to the cabinet at the side of the room, opened it, and pulled out a few blister packs and bottles. He set them down on a small tray and carefully popped out the pills, arranging them carefully. Just then, Adir jumped off the bed and ran to his father, grinning up at him, "I’ll give them to Big Father."
Patrick paused for a mont, then nodded. "Alright. Be careful. Don’t spill them."
He handed Adir the tray, along with a glass of water. The little boy took them carefully, holding the tray steady with both hand and walked over to the bed.
He handed Adir the tray, along with a glass of water. The little boy took them carefully, holding the tray steady with both hands. He walked over to the bed, his eyes focused and serious.
"Here you go, Big Father," he said, setting the tray gently on the bedside table. He picked up the glass of water and held it out while Sir Collins reached for the pills.
The nurse glanced over and stepped closer, inspecting the tray. Her brow furrowed slightly as her eyes moved over the number of pills—just for a second. She seed about to say sothing, but at that exact mont, her pager buzzed sharply at her waist. She looked down, pressed a button to read the ssage, and sighed.
"I need to step out," she said quickly. "But I’ll check back in a while. Please make sure he finishes everything."
Patrick nodded. "He will."
The nurse nodded at that and stepped out then, with a frown on her face, as if she was missing out sothing.
Adir,on the other hand, looked pleased with himself and returned the glass to the tray once the old man had taken the pulls as he asked, "Did I do it right?"
Sir Collins gave a weak smile and patted the boy’s arm. "You did just fine." He then cast a look and made a request to his son," Bring my assistant. I want to have a word with him. And when is Spencer returning? Call him and ask."
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