Ria

Episode 13

THEME: ALONE WITH IAN BRYANT!?

AUTHOR’S POV ??
Ian looked wonderful as he got out of the car and came up to Ria front door though – casual and comfortable in a fitting pair of pencil black jeans and a body hugging round neck top that hugged his broad shoulders and well sculpted chest.

“Miss Ria! Sir Ian is here!” Mrs Elise said excitedly “he came with a Bentley” she whispered before rushing to the door. Ria opted in for a black pants and white turtle neck top to hide her body. She doesn’t like the idea of any man stopping to stare at her. Ria has a beautiful glowing skin.. Mrs Elsie has once said that any man would stop to stare at her if they were too exposed..her beauty and full b—-t is enough to stop every car on the highway. So Ria would always wear long clothes to avoid such things anytime she was heading out. When Mrs Elise said Ian came with a Bentley… Ria hoped none of her neighbours were around to see the car that pulled up in the front of her house at exactly 8 in the morning. It would cause no end talk and she didn’t relish being the subject of neighbourhood gossip any more than she already had been as the resident blind lady
“Good Morning Mrs Elise” Ian greeted the moment Mrs Elise opened the door
“Oh Mr Ian Good Morning.. Please come in” Ria rose to her feet with her hands locked. She tried to relax just like the day she had when Mr Griffin was here

“Miss Ria..Mr Ian is here”
“Good morning” she greeted trying all her best to put on a good smile on her face. Ian looked at her taking in her good features. No matter how she had tried to hide herself and look so old fashioned.. She still looked beautiful. But to say she was beautiful was an understatement…she was actually gorgeous. He knew that there was some inexplicable something about Ria that he couldn’t explain
“Good Morning Ria” he looked at Mrs Elise who was now beside Ria

“Introduce yourself” she gestured to him and Ian moved closed a bit
“I am Ian Bryant.. It nice to meet you again” he eyed Mrs Elise to see if it was fine for him to shake Ria..but she already stretched her hand even before Mrs Elise could reply

“Ria Robert” Ian took her hand in his “nice to meet you too”
And then she withdrew quickly
“Miss Ria is ready to go with you Sir”
“Aren’t you coming with us?”
Ria asked

“Ah..no remember we have dresses to sew..so I will stay back and face them”
Ria moved away like she wanted to get something.. But she was only trying to let air refill her lungs. It being long since she had a contact with a man…and she had succeeded in calming herself and controlling her body that Ian wasn’t a man like Lucas. After the inhaling process she went in search for her walk stick

“Do you need anything Miss Ria?”
“Yes..my walk stick”
“You don’t need that..Mr Ian will lead and guide you”

“Mrs Elise just tell me where it is?”
“Okay” Mrs Elise picked the stick from the couch

She was hoping that Ria wouldn’t need the stick since Ian will be there to hold her. She was supposed to go with them but Mrs Elise decided that it would be best for them to be alone together
“Here” she gave the stick to Ria
“Thank You”

“Doctor Hawn called me a while ago and said that an optician is ready at the hospital to attend to you”

“Okay”
“Shall we Mrs Elise?”
“Yeah..sure..lemme go with you to the car”
“My purse Mrs Elise”
“Here you go” she gave Ria the black purse under her armpit. They walked out of the house to the car with Mrs Elise guiding Ria’s steps. Ian was ahead of them
“If the children come back before me..please make sure that they do their home works Mrs Elise before doing the dresses”
“Okay Miss Ria”

Ian was now waiting with the car door opened
“Take care Miss Ria” she kissed her cheeks before Ian helped Ria into the car
“Thank You” she said to him and he moved to the other side after shutting the door
“Bye Miss Ria” Ria turned and waved blindly at Mrs Elise before Ian wined up the glass and drove away

“Which hospital are we heading?..Mrs Elise didn’t give me a specific name”
“Ainsley Hospital where we met the second -”

“Yes I know” she cuts him off
“You were at the hospital that day for a check up right?”
“No” she replied sharply
The last thing Ria wanted to do was having a conversation with man
“So for what? if I may ask”
“Phoebe ate shrimps at school during Lunch…she didn’t know that she was allergic to shrimps. So her teacher called to inform us about it”
“Okay… Mrs Elise said that you adopted them”

“Yes”
“And what about their parents?”
She didn’t respond. Ian realized that he was pushing her too much to have this conversation. So it was to just let her be
“It fine if you don’t want to have any conversation with me” he said even though he was dying to know many things about her. Ria was glad he said that but a little voice at the back of her mind said “that’s so unfair”. She shook her head instead
“Their mom left their dad 3years ago and he also did the same months back”

“Why….is that?”
“Mr Lawson didn’t have a good job to take care of his children. He dropped a note and said they were a burden to him” she tried to be brief
“So he left because of that?”
“Yes”

“And so you took them in?”
“Yes..since they’d rather die of starvation than go the the children centre..and I don’t want them to get hurt so I had no choice but to take them in”
Ian looked at her for a second before focusing his attention on the road ahead. Ria held her phone and purse to her chest with her walk stick in between her thighs. They lapsed into silence for about a minute before Ian spoke up
“I’d like to know about your health problems..Doctor Hawn asked for the cause of your blindness but I couldn’t give him any”
“I was born blind”
“Yes..I told him that..”
“And I’m like this because of the cataracts on my lenses..”
“Cataracts?” Ian recalled that Doctor Hawn had mentioned something like that
“Yes..that why you see the patch over my lens..instead of the usual eye color”
Ian wondered what would have been her initial eyes color without the cataracts in them
“When last did you check into an eye clinic?”

“I haven’t checked in since the last four months”

“Why?” He looked at Ria whose purse was now paying on her laps but her phone still in her hands

“Nothing” she responded but Ian knew there was more to the nothing
“Is it because of money?” She didn’t rely then he knew it was because of money. Ria spoke up before Ian could say anything
“Not that..I don’t have the money to check into an eye clinic…”

“Then why?”
“I used whatever money I make on the children..not all but I still have to pay some bills..their fees and also buy things for them” Ian heart went out to her. She neglected her health and focused on the kids
“What about Mrs Elise?..she doesn’t help in paying any bills?”

“Raising the kids was my decision. And we all rely on my sewing business. Also Mrs Elise works as a nanny during weekend but it doesn’t pay well”
“Do you pay her?”

“Yes..she refused my payment but I had to convince her to accept it… Cause I know she has to pay bills too”

“Okay” he looked away from her and focused on the drive. The rest of the drive to the hospital was silent.
♦♦♦
♣AINSLEY HOSPITAL ♣
IAN POV?
I pulled up in front of the hospital where a man in uniform directed me to park in to the driveway. I stopped the car and got out to help Ria but she was already out before I came to her side. Now how do I lead her in when she doesn’t want me to touch her?. Ria stood waiting for me to make a move.. But I wasn’t sure of how to lead her in
“Why aren’t we going in?” She asked me. I swallowed hard

“I don’t know if you want me to hold you?”

“It fine..” She said in a low tone
“Okay..” I moved closer and put my arm in hers that she leaned closed to me. I felt her trembled a bit and then she relaxed
“Are you okay?”
“Yes I’m fine”
We moved to the glass entrance and walked in. We were welcomed by Doctor Hawn who was waiting at the reception.

“Good morning CEO Ian”
“morning doctor”
“Morning Miss” She smiled a bit at him
“Ria Robert”
“Doctor Hawn”
“Well Mr Ian..the optician is waiting at the eye centre”

“What gender?” I whispered
“Pardon?”

“I mean can we get a female optician instead of a male”

I simply don’t want Ria to feel comfortable during test

“The eye doctor is a female”
“Okay”
“And Doctor Alisa is waiting for you”
“Please lead the way” he led is to the eye centre

“Mr Ian meet Doctor Alisa” The doctor smiled and we exchanged pleasantries
“Ian Bryant and she is Ria Robert”
“Good to have you here…please seat”
We settled in the chairs facing her directly
“Firstly,Miss Ria I’d like to know your conditions..I mean the defects”
“I was born blind”
“What’s the cause?”
“Cataracts”

“And when last did you check in to an eye centre”

“It been a while”
“Doctor please can you tell me what cataracts means?”
“Mr Ian Cataracts is a condition in which a part of the eye (called the lens) becomes cloudy”

“Miss Ria can you see anything?” Doctor Hawn asked
“Just..darkness”
“So doctor what’s actually the cause of the cataract?”
“It is a result of tissues breakdown and protein clumping. Cataract affects the centre of the lens that why you can see the patch on her lenses”
“Do we get an eye test done today?”
“Not really since we already know the cause. Now we just have to discuss the solutions and run test later”
“So what the remedy?”
“Surgery is the only means to treating cataracts. We have to extract the cloudy lenses and replace them with artificial Lenses called ” Intraocular Lens” and after that she will use eye drops containing Lanosterol to clean the vision”

“Aside extracting the cataracts and fixing artificial lenses… What other option do we have? We need a permanent solution so she doesn’t have to change lenses all the time”
“There is another way Mr Ian but it expensive and too experimental”
“Doctor I don’t care about the price of the surgery…we’ll go for it if we have the assurance that she will see again”
“Okay then Stem cell transplant is the best solution”
“And how does that works?”
“Cataracts can be cured by using a patients own stem cells to regrow a “living Lens” in their eye,restoring sight in just three months or before that. Holoclar is currently the only clinically approved stem cell treatment for the eye. It restores vision to patients with damaged Corneas which is the clear uttermost part of the eyes by transplanting Lab grown limbal stem cells into the areas of the eye lacking cells. This therapy could cure certain types of blindness and it the latest therapy in China. It is advisable to get the surgery done in China”
“We have to travel to China?”
“Yes Mr Ian”
“So how much will the surgery cost?”
“$80,000”
“What?! That’s a lot of money” Ria said loudly

“Yes it is..but I recommend it for you Miss Ria”

“So how do we go about it?”
“I will refer her to the centre in China” Doctor Alisa Answered
“I can help in contacting a Doctor friend of mine at the centre. Doctor Lui is the stem cell specialist and director of the centre”
“Then we just have to prepare for the flight and medical bills”
“Yes”
“I will go for the artificial lens surgery since it -”

“Ria we don’t have to go for a temporary solution.. Let’s go for the permanent one”
“It expensive.. I can get the lenses here and live with it but talking of going to China for a surgery..the flight,the bills and -”
“It not too much Ria..this is about your health so let’s take care of it once and for all. Remember I agreed to pay the bills…I’m not changing my mind on that”
She didn’t say a word after that
“So doctor what else do we have to do?”
“A check up for a day or two so I can be able to mail it to the centre”
“When can we leave for China after all that is done?”
“I will let you know…”
“What are the side effects of the treatment?”
“She will go through conditioning treatment which may include chemotherapy/ radiation.. Mouth sore,nausea,vomiting,diarrhea,fatigue,dry mouth,hair loss and breathing problems.. But she can scale through all of that if she heals fast”

“I suggest we do a check up today,tomorrow and the next and probably you should be able to leave the country by Saturday or next week Monday” Doctor Hawn suggested

“Okay”
“Then I’ll be right back”
Doctor Alisa excused herself
“I will go to my office and put a call through Doctor Lui”
“Okay” Doctor Hawn too left the room
“Are you alright?”
“Yes I’m fine but..I think we need to talk”
“You don’t have have to worry the side effects.. You won’t go through all that”
“It not about that..it about the bills”
“I will pay for it”
“Well initially I planned to the a loan from the bank next week..” She paused
“So I will refund your money… Just like I loaned it”

“No Ria I don’t want you to refund it. I’m offering to help you without a pay back”
“I’m sorry but i can’t let you do that..Like they say..life is about give and take”
“No Ria..life is not always about that..I’m doing this because I want to and I won’t ask for anything in return. I want to do it because.. I care”

“You care?”
“Yes I care and I feel concerned that’s why I want to help. Ria you’re skilful and no one will believe someone like you can do a work normal people can..it extraordinary and I like that fact about you that’s why I want to help”

“Thank You but I don’t think it a good idea for you to pay all the bills”
“Why not Ria? I have more than enough to -”

“I will refund your money.. And I’m not changing my mind Mr Ian”

“Just call me Ian” the door opened and doctor Alisa walked in

“Sorry for keeping you waiting” she apologized

“No problem”
“Please let move to the lab”
“Okay”
I helped Ria to the lab

♦♦
MINUTES LATER

“What the condition now?”
“I don’t think artificial lenses is suitable for her eyes. I’d rather suggest that she go for the stem cell transplant which will heal every damaged cell of the eyes”
“Can we go make it to China in two days time?”

“Yes..if you are ready. For us we know what the problem is…so you have to bring her to the hospital tomorrow afternoon”
“Thank You” Doctor Alisa
We stood up. I shake hands with her before walking out with Ria

“We’re not done with our discussion” Ria said when we settled in the Car “I want you refund whatever you will spend on this surgery”

“How do you intend to pay it back?”
“If I can see Mr Ian everything will work out fine for me. I’m sure of that”

“Okay..then I will prepare the paperwork on how you will payback”

“Thank You”

I don’t want a refund but since she insist then I have to accept it. Her reason for wanting to payback is best known to her and there is absolutely no way on how to convince Ria since her mind was made up.

♦♦
RIA APARTMENT
“Mommy!Mommy!” The kids ran down the stairs to meet Ria. A smile formed on her lips immediately as she open her arms wide to accommodate them. We were stuck in traffic for hours that I’d thought we won’t make it back home. A fully loaded truck broke down on the highway so it had taken them hours to moved it.

“How are you doing?” Ria asked
“Fine mom” they chorused
“What took you so long mom?” Phoenix asked

“We got stuck in the traffic”
Mrs Elise joined us
“Welcome back” I nodded at her
“I’ll go ahead now” I said
“Thanks for today Mr Ian” Mrs Elise said but I only responded with a smile. Ria turned away from the kids and faced me

“Thank You”
“You’re welcome”
“Mom, Mrs Elise promised to attend our PTA meeting” Phoebe said
“Yes and that was why we came home early..we closed by 1:00 cause meeting starts by 2:30” I looked at my watch the time was 2:00
“Okay..let’s go in and talk about what happened at school today”

“Yes!” Phoenix screamed as they led Ria back to the house. A little voice whispered at the back of my mind as I watched her with the Kids “she will make a good mother”. A smile formed on my lips as I watched her walk away. Mrs Elise cleared her throat..I totally forgot she was still here.

” I will take my leave now” I walked to my car and waved at Mrs Elise before entering the car. What had Ria done to me? That I can’t stop thinking about her..what’s this feeling?.

♪♪♪♪♪♪♪

“You’ll be my beast then maybe I will your beauty

Are you the one who’s gonna rescue me?
Tell me is it you?

Come and rescue
Will you rescue me baby?”

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