In the movie Red, Valentine hit a dog accidentally. She picked her up, sent her to the hospital, and took her back to the owner. The owner asked Valentine if she did all that because she really cared about the dog, or simply because if she did not do anything, she would feel bad about herself, so whatever she had done was simply for her own good.
I'm sitting in the kitchen. Turning my head and looking out, I can see Calgary tower in the distance, gleaming in the darkness at 6am. I know the sun is not coming out until 8, and it's mostly likely to be a snowy day. It is my 8th day in Calgary. Fred was up earlier from stomach pain, but decided to go back and sleep in. I brewed some coffee, had a big breakfast, and browsed the internet.
Fred planned to come to Taiwan for a visit. It took him a while to make sure everything is fine, but then he booked the ticket, paid for it online on a Tuesday morning, then in the very afternoon, he had a heart attack and was sent to the hospital right away.
From my end, I did not anything about it. Friday morning, I was still chatting with M online, complaining about Fred being out of touch for some days, and just half an hour after we finished the chat, my cell phone rang. I picked up the phone, looked at the number. The number started with 02, so was a land line number of Taipei, and thus not from a telemarketer. I answered it. The voice from the other side said 'Sean? This is Chris, Fred's son....' And I thought Fred had died.
In the book, or movie He's just not that into you, there is a clip when the woman said the guy never called, and her girlfriend comforted her by saying 'maybe he is just out of town, or had a car accident, or just lost your number', etc. But the truth is he's just not that into you. I laughed about it and thought it was so cute, and never realized things like that could actually happened, when someone I cared could possibly leave, and I would be left in the dark, without knowing what could possibly have happened, because we do not have mutual friends, or I would not be in the contact list.
One of the arteries was 100% blocked. The doctor put 2 stents in in few hours, so Fred came to that evening, then called Chris. Chris took a bus and had a long bus ride from Vancouver (15 hours plus few hours waiting for traffic to clear up in the Canadian Rockies). He got here close to noon time on Thursday, met with Fred, then came back to the condo to make the calls, me included.
Bypass surgery is necessary. It is mostly likely scheduled in late January, after medication is probably taken care of. Fred will need to stay in the hospital for another 5 days after the surgery. I feel the need to be here, to be well informed, for whatever may come.
The dog, Rita, was found pregnant at the hospital, and later gave birth to several puppies at the end of the movie. It was a very nice warm scene when the owner put collar on each dog, hence a happy ending for her. The actor and actress found each other in 'He's just not that into you'. Every movie is almost guaranteed a happy ending. I expect a good ending as well, for the surgery and the recovery, and hence a good sailing season for him.
But am I doing all this and wishing all this for my own good because I care, or simply because I'm selfish and want to be well informed and feel good?
As for Chris' call, I only want to get such a call once in my life time.
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