"How long till the grand opening date?" Hayden asked, half teasingly.
I knew that he was quite serious about it, though. Before I knew it, Hayden’s presence had become reassuring and supportive.
"Maybe in a few months’ time?" I voiced my best guess.
"That long?" Hayden asked skeptically.
"Well, the designs are not even done, and the refurbishing hasn’t even started...so...yeah..." I replied hesitantly.
Hayden will probably urge for me to rush things just like he always does. Guess that is part of how he tried to motivate me and keep on my feet. Slacking off on this wasn’t going to be an option.
"Are you free now?" he asked.
"I can be. Is there somewhere that you want to go?" I asked.
The last time he asked me out we went to see options for my art galleries, so I couldn’t help but wonder where we were going to this time. I had a feeling that he wasn’t just asking me out on a random brunch date.
"I do. There’s something I want to show you," Hayden replied with a little smile.
I wondered what he was referring to, but I knew that rather than asking, I should wait and see.
To my surprise, we ended up in his private jet instead of driving. Hayden had not disclosed any details about where he was taking me or what he wanted to show me. I felt a strange mixture of unease and excitement as I sat next to him on the plane.
The flight was a short one. After around one hour on the plane, we landed at our destination. One look out of the window told me that we were in a very remote place. The endless tall grass field stretched far and wide on the landscape and there were no large or tall buildings around.
Where are we? Somewhere in the countryside?
"Are we in the countryside or something?" I asked.
"It’s not our new house, unfortunately," Hayden teased as if he could read my mind.
Something heavy plopped onto my head and I realized that Hayden had just placed the construction safety helmet on top of my head before he clicked close the clasp underneath my chin. He smiled a little at me before he patted the top of the helmet instead of my head.
"Care to explain?" I requested as I stared up into his face.
"Well...this is going to be a hospital..." Hayden said before he turned to smile at me.
"A hospital?" I exclaimed.
He’s building a hospital here?
"Come. We can walk around a little, although there’s not much for you to see just yet," Hayden urged for me to follow him.
He held my hand in his, so it wasn’t like I had an option but to follow after him. Hayden led me slowly closer to the building. Although it was far from complete, the main structure and walls seemed to be in place already.
"Why are you building a hospital here?" I asked curiously.
Shouldn’t hospitals be in the middle of the city?
"Hospitals in the city are for the rich. This one is for the less fortunate," Hayden explained simply.
My eyes widened at his words and my feet were glued to the spot. Is this what he had in mind all along? How long had he been building this massive building?
"Hayden..." I called his name softly, but I knew that he could hear me.
"Hmm?" he turned to face me when he realized that I wasn’t following him.
"Is this...what you want to do?" I asked.
--To be continued...