Reiner - Time Together

Just like he had requested, every staff related to Natalia’s case was aware that he was her personal butler and would be taking care of her. He had told them to keep this a secret from Natalia and to act as if he wasn’t there. Confused but without any other options left at their disposal, they had reluctantly agreed to play along.

Wordlessly, Reiner unlocked the breaks on Natalia’s wheelchair before he started to wheel her out of the doctor’s room. Unfortunately, the VVIP floor and Natalia’s room was quite a distance away from the doctor’s room which was located in the common part of the hospital. It wasn’t a problem for him, but he was worried about Natalia running into other people, especially if it happened to be someone who knew her or recognized her.

Of course, he avoided interacting directly with her as much as possible. Opting to use Laura or the nurses to help him execute his tasks. He also never spoke to her.

“Umm…excuse me...is the weather nice today?” Natalia spoke up suddenly. She seemed hesitant to ask and that was probably because she didn’t know which nurse was with her.

Reiner knew that sooner or later the situation would arise where he would need to communicate with Natalia. It wasn’t like he could avoid talking to her forever and for events like these, he was well prepared. Reaching for and adjusting the voice changer that he had prepared; he chose a young man’s voice.

“The weather is quite nice outside today, Miss Natalia,” he replied smoothly in a young man’s voice that sounded polite and a little cheerful.

“Oh…sorry, I had assumed that you were a woman. Sorry, I didn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with you being a man…or anything like that…” Natalia said as she laughed a little to cover up for her shyness.

“That’s not a problem at all,” Reiner replied.

Natalia was silent for a moment as if she was thinking about what she was about to say next. Reiner waited patiently as he continued to push her wheelchair forward slowly.

“Since the weather is nice outside today…do you think…it would be possible for me to go outside?”

Natalia asked hesitantly.

Reiner stopped walking, surprised at her sudden request. It wasn’t like he couldn’t take her out, but he wasn’t sure if that would get in the way of her recovery. The doctor did say that she should rest, and he wasn’t sure if it was fine for her to be outside…

Natalia took his silence for another meaning entirely.

“Oh…umm…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in a tight spot like that. I guess, you must have other work to do and that you’re very busy. I guess…you don’t have the time to…” Natalia began apologizing for her request immediately.

“I’ll take you outside…” Reiner said firmly.

“…huh? Really?” Natalia replied. She seemed happy although slightly surprised.

“Yes. I can’t take you out for long because you’re still recovering but there’s a garden on the fourth floor of the building where patients can go out for a stroll or to get a breath of fresh air. If you’re fine with that then…” Reiner suggested.

“Yes! Please…please take me there,” Natalia readily agreed. She was clearly excited to go out for once in a while.

“Ok, Miss,” Reiner said.

It was a short walk and a ride on the elevator down to the fourth floor of the building before they arrived at the garden. Although the weather was decently pleasant, there were very few patients with their nurses in the garden.

“We’ve arrived, Miss,” Reiner said politely as he brought Natalia’s wheelchair to a spot in the garden.

Now that she was outside, she could feel the wind blowing against her face and through her hair. She felt the warmth of the sunlight on her skin.

“It definitely feels better to be outside compared to being in the hospital room all the time,” Natalia said before breathing in the air deeply.

“I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling better,” Reiner said before he smiled adoringly down at her.

“Of course. This makes me feel so much better already. Thank you very much for bringing me out here.

I never knew that this hospital had a garden here like this…” Natalia said as she smiled as well.

“I’m sure that you’ll recovery completely in no time. Please keep up your optimism and be sure to rest well,” Reiner said, trying to sound like a good nurse.

“Ok. I’ll try my best to do that. Umm…if you don’t mind…can you describe to me what the garden looks like? Sorry but…I can’t see anything right now…” Natalia requested shyly.

“I see. Sure, that’s not a problem…” Reiner said.

Reiner began describing the garden to Natalia, pointing out the structure of the layout and the various trees, plants and flowers that were present in the garden. He could name some of the flowers and some trees for her as well. In addition, he began describing the other people who were also in the garden such as the other patients with their nurses or relatives.

“Wow…I see. I guess the garden must be beautiful. I’ll make sure to check this place out when these eyepatches are removed from my eyes. What about the sky? You can see the sky from here, right?

Can you tell me what the sky looks like right now?” Natalia asked, excitedly.

“Yes, you can see the sky very well from here, Miss Natalia,” Reiner said.

Reiner then proceeded to describe the peaceful blue sky with white clouds. It was indeed a pleasant day, and the sky was beautifully a mix of blue and white clouds. The sun was high in the sky, showing that it was around midday.

“It would be great…if I can see the sunset here…” Natalia mumbled as if talking to herself.

“I haven’t seen the sunset here myself but I’m sure that it will look very pretty,” Reiner said, picking up on her words.

After a while, Reiner judged that Natalia should have had enough time outdoors. He then suggested that they head back inside so that he could take her to her room. Once inside of her hospital room, Natalia quickly began to thank her nurse.

--To be continued…