Roger paced the floor back and forth nervously. Miss Ginny wasn't in his room like usual - she'd brought him breakfast and gave him 'good morning hugs', but then she said she was going to fetch a special visitor. She left the room. Of course she was smiling and seemed very excited. Roger however felt extremely nervous; he ran down a list of people that could be coming to see him. Jack? No, he was just here two weeks ago. Another doctor? God, I hope not. Papa? …I'd take the doctor over him.
Roger continued pacing.
His fingers starting itching for something to do, so he picked up 'the thing' and stroked it gently. He looked all around him. Miss Ginny had given him a good, long, hot bath the night before, and made sure he brushed his teeth extra carefully that morning. He wondered why. Who was so important that he had to look perfect? Didn't they know he was so far from perfect it was painful?
The door clicked open. Roger stopped pacing.
He stood dead-still right where he was and watched as the door revealed his visitor. Miss Ginny stepped in first, flashing Roger a big smile that just seemed so full of excitement. She beckoned to someone outside the room. "Come in - he's waiting for you." she whispered to the person. Roger backed up slowly. He kept his eyes focused on the doorframe the whole time. Someone began walking inside, and Roger saw Miss Ginny extend her hands to them. She wrapped her arms around the arm of the visitor. "Roger, this is Charles. My boyfriend." she said.
The man wasn't bad looking at all. He was tall, had light-brown hair, green eyes, and his facial features appeared gentle. He looked kind, just like Miss Ginny. Charles stepped forward and extended a hand towards Roger, bending down a bit to get to his height. "So you're little Roger?" he asked softly. Roger instantly sensed that he was a very caring person. Still, instinctually, he hugged himself and let out a child-like whimper. He never took his eyes off that man. Charles turned to Miss Ginny, who gave him an encouraging nod. He looked back at the small boy. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so many wonderful things." he continued. Roger looked from him to his nurse uneasily. She smiled and nodded. The boy uncurled himself from the tight stance he was in. Both adults seemed to relax a bit more as well. "There you go," Charles said with a gentle grin.
The man looked to his right at the neat little bed. "Hey, I recognize this little guy." he said as he stood up and scooped up the teddy bear. Roger gasped and extended his arms for it immediately. He didn't want anyone ruining his favorite toy. Charles put it into Roger's grasp. The boy yanked it close and gave it a protective hug. Miss Ginny went to Charles. "Charles was there when I picked the bear out for you. He helped me decide which one to choose." she explained. Roger knew this man wouldn't ever do anything to hurt him, but he had always struggled with trust issues. New people just frightened him.
Charles sat down on the bed when Miss Ginny guided him to do so. Roger sat on the floor directly in front of them (he didn't know why, but he just plopped down) and stared in awe. A long silence passed. After a while, Miss Ginny giggled. "What are you so intrigued with, baby?" she asked her patient. The dark-haired boy shrugged. "Y-You two look so happy together," he said. Charles grinned wide again. "Roger, that's so good. That's great. You did it," he commented. Miss Ginny too was smiling. The boy realized: he'd just come out and said a full sentence without hesitation to a stranger. He looked a bit surprised with himself, then let a ghost of a smile pass over his lips.
Miss Ginny got Roger to sit near Charles on the bed. The two got to talking a little bit, very short sentences and conversations, which absolutely thrilled her. She watched her two men get to know each other with loving eyes and a hopeful heart. For several days in a row, Charles kept coming back to see Roger. It was the only constant visitor the boy had. He would arrive in the morning, and usually leave before work in the afternoons. He'd eat lunch with Miss Ginny and Roger, something that they all began to look forward to. The dark-haired boy had really grown to like the man - they got to be good friends. Miss Ginny adored this. She knew it made her feel good, but her a patient a millions times better.
Roger was perched on his bed cross-legged in front of Charles, who was sitting the same way. Miss Ginny was cleaning up the lunch dishes. Every day that Charles was there, he'd do whatever Roger wanted - whether it was playing with 'the thing' and teddy bear or reading a book. That day, Roger had wanted to draw. So Charles and the boy took to coloring on separate sheets of paper with a box of crayons between them. They talked a bit sometimes, laughing as well. Music to Miss Ginny's ears. Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door and it opened. A sour-looking nurse stuck her head in. Roger stopped mid-sentence and gave a low growl upon seeing her. Charles was fascinated by this, the nurse, not too happy. She sneered at Roger and muttered "Little savage," under her breath. Roger bared his teeth. "Virginia," the nurse said, ending the little war between them. "Meeting in the conference room." Miss Ginny straightened her apron. "Oh, alright. I'll be there in just a minute. Don't let them start without me." she replied quickly. The nurse rolled her eyes and shut the door.
Miss Ginny went to the two artists and kissed the top of their heads. "I'll be back in an hour or two, alright? Apparently there's a meeting today that I didn't know about. Baby, Charles is going to stay here with you, alright? He'll be here the whole time - he doesn't have work today. So you be good until I get back, alright? I love the both of you very much." she assured. Charles squeezed her hand with a smile as she left the room. Roger cheerfully bid her goodbye.
Once the door shut, they went back to coloring. "I like Miss Ginny a lot," Roger said openly. Charles grinned. "I like Miss Ginny a lot too."
"Do you love her?"
"Of course I do. Why?"
"I was wondering. She loves you too."
"Yes, I know. We tell each other often."
"She talks about you all the time. Tells me how wonderful you are - you cook such delicious dinners for her, you buy her the prettiest jewelry, you respect her so much; all of that stuff. She always tells me. Always."
"Well I'm glad to hear that, Roger."
"Do you think you'll ever marry her?"
Charles paused and cocked his head. He put his red crayon down. "What made you think of that?" he asked. Roger shrugged, still coloring. "I had a dream a little while ago. I was at a wedding. I don't know whose it was or anything, but I do remember that it was lovely. Haven't been able to get it out of my mind since. And I think Miss Ginny would be a wonderful wife."
"Has she talked to you about it at all?"
"Oh yes. She says she really wants to get married someday. She told me once that she wants to have children too, but isn't sure if she'll be able to or not. Something about it running in her family. I don't know who runs in her family, but she's never said anything about races or anything, so it must not be her."
"Oh, you mean like genetics."
"I suppose. I didn't understand that part too well. But I do know that she loves you so much. She said she'd do absolutely anything for you. She'd be such a good wife. Are you going to marry her?"
"…Well…I…I've always been afraid to ask. I wasn't ever too sure if she loved me that much - you know, to spend the rest of her life with me."
"Trust me, she does. Will you ask her?"
"…I'll tell you what. We're going to keep a secret, alright? You can't tell her what I'm going to say to you now. Understand? Can you keep a secret?"
Roger felt a chill pass over him. He shuddered. "You don't even know," he murmured solemnly. Charles took his hands. Something made him realize that Roger was gravely telling the truth. "I'm going to surprise her, alright? I'll get a ring and I'll propose to her here. Right in front of you! So you can be there to watch, since you're so interested in love. But you can't tell her, or give any hints, alright? It has to be a pure surprise. Does that sound good?"
"Wonderful! When will you do it?"
"Sometime soon…but I have to get a ring fitted and everything. I'll give you a heads up beforehand, alright?"
Roger stopped coloring and looked up at the man. In his eyes were pools of hope, happiness, and admiration. He nodded. "Thank you," he whispered. "You're making both of us very happy." Charles smiled back at him gently. Suddenly, the little boy flung himself across the bed into his arms. The pair of bones that wrapped around his neck told Charles that he was being enveloped in a rare Roger-hug. He grinned as tears came to his eyes. He very gingerly hugged the small frame back. There was something about this boy that he'd come to love and be fascinated with. He found himself wanting to make both special people in his life happy.
Roger let himself go and be hugged by Charles. He felt so incredibly happy and relaxed that he was willing to express the emotion that he felt without even thinking about it - love. He didn't know why he liked Charles so much, and even though he knew he loved Miss Ginny, he didn't know where this new enchantment with relationships came from; why he wanted to see people come together and be happy. Perhaps it was because he never had that present in his life. Perhaps it was the absence of any real parent-figures in his life. Perhaps it was because he was abandoned without a scrap of love for so long, and now he was getting his fill. Whatever it was, he decided, he knew he wanted the two adults in his present life to be happy. Because to him, it felt like they were all one little family.