Chapter 42: Chapter 42

"A friend of mine mentioned that the ice cream in this shop tastes good."

"Dr. Calvin, we—"

"Hmm? Do you want to buy strawberry-flavored ice cream? Sure. Since you are my favorite patient, I will buy all of your favorites for the whole day."

"No. What I want is—"

"Ah, right. How can I forget? You want to put a lot of toppings on your ice cream. Do you want me to add chocolate chips and marshmallows to your ice cream?"

"I am not talking about—"

"Of course. We will also put a few wafer sticks on your ice cream and chocolate sauce too."

"Dr. Calvin, listen to me—"

"But that will be too much, right? What if you get a toothache later? Then I should only let you eat two scoops of ice cream with your favorite toppings—"

"Ya! I said listen to me!"

"..."

"..."

"...Pfft."

Dr. Calvin cannot stop himself from laughing. Rhianne is obviously annoyed by him right now. Her puffed cheeks and her furrowed eyes are the signs that Rhianne is starting to get mad at him. The doctor coughed first before he put his hand on Rhianne's head.

"Why are you so mad? Are you not satisfied with the ice cream I ordered for you?" Dr. Calvin asked with a smile.

"You kidnapped me again!" Rhianne yelled at him.

Yes. Again.

This doctor does not really know how to properly ask permission if he wants to bring her outside. Instead of getting mad at her, Dr. Calvin just laughed at her again while denying her accusations. In her frustrations, Rhianne hit the doctor's arms but that only makes him laugh harder.

Earlier, Rhianne was relaxing in their house while reading the book that she picked up from their library. She has no other plans because today is the weekend. Her brother is not at home because he is busy doing his group project. Her father is on a business trip while her mother is meeting up with her high school friends.

Aside from their housekeepers, Rhianne is the only one left in their house. When she tried to ask Keith if he wants to hang out today, he told her that he is busy this morning but they can meet up this afternoon. So Rhianne decided that she will use her time this morning to take a rest while reading a book in peace.

But her plan was ruined when Dr. Calvin visited their house out of nowhere. There are only two reasons why Dr. Calvin needs to visit their house. Either he made a plan with her brother or he needs to conduct her monthly check-up. But her brother is busy today and she just finished her monthly check-up a week ago.

But before Rhianne can ask the reason for his visit, Dr. Calvin suddenly carries her and puts her inside his car. He moves so fast that Rhianne realized what had just happened when she was already sitting in the passenger seat while Dr. Calvin was driving the car with a smile on his face. When she asked what is this all about, Dr. Calvin shamelessly told her that they are going on a date today just like the last time.

Dr. Calvin brought her to the ice cream parlor near the hospital where he is working. Rhianne called her mother a while ago to complain about her kidnapper. But it turns out Dr. Calvin had already asked for her mother's permission in advance to bring her outside since today is the weekend. Carmie agreed to it because she does not want her daughter to feel bored inside their house today.

"You can just tell me that my mom sends you to bring me outside instead of acting like a child abductor." Rhianne scolded the doctor.

"That will be boring though. Why don't we put some action in our life, right?"

"Dr. Calvin, our life is not like an action movie."

"Oh. I thought you will appreciate my joke because you want to be a movie director." Calvin said with a shrug.

"It does not mean we need to confuse reality with fiction!"

Calvin laughed again seeing her outburst.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Next time, I will not barge in your house, carry you out of nowhere, and put you inside the car." Dr. Calvin said and raised her left hand.

"...You might as well promise me that you will start acting like a normal person instead of randomly bringing me anywhere you want." Rhianne said with a sigh. "And you should raise your right hand and not the left."

"Oh. No promises on that part then." Dr. Calvin replied with a smile.

"You are still planning to kidnap me in the future!"

"Wow. How did you know that? You must be a mind reader."

Before Rhianne can complain again, their orders finally arrived. Dr. Calvin ordered himself a scoop of coffee ice cream while Rhianne has a medium cup filled with strawberry ice cream, candy toppings, and chocolate sauce. Although Rhianne is a bit irritated with her companion, she still thanked him for treating her to such a delicious dessert.

"Dr. Calvin—"

"Brother Calvin."

"Huh?"

"Call me that. Come on, try it."

"...What are you planning this time?" Rhianne cautiously asked.

"Nothing. I just want you to call me brother." Calvin said with an innocent smile that can definitely deceive a small child. "There is nothing wrong with it, right? Francis and I are good friends so you can also consider me as your brother."

"Suspicious."

"You are hurting my heart again, Princess Rhianne. You should know by now that I want a little sister, right? But I only have Tristan as my brother. Did you know that I always envy Francis for having you as his sister? If only we can swap you with Tristan."

Then to complete his acting, Dr. Calvin makes a great show of dabbing at the corner of his eyes with a tissue before looking at Rhianne with a pair of pitiful eyes.

"I really want a little sister that I can spoil a lot, you know."

"..."

"Well... Can you now call me brother now?"

"...I really have to appreciate my brother more." Rhianne said.

Rhianne told herself that once she sees Francis later, she will tell him how thankful she is once again that he is her brother. Maybe she can ask her mother later to teach her how to bake some cookies and give them to her brother as an appreciation gift.

"Hmm? Are you now considering my request?"

Rhianne let out a sigh and stares at her ice cream. Aside from Dr. Calvin's shamelessness and abnormal pranks, she can still confidently say that he is a good person. A good person who has a questionable personality.

"Brother Calvin." Rhianne finally said.

Calvin stares at Rhianne for a few seconds before he slowly covers his mouth with his left hand and places his right hand on his chest.

"Ah. My heart! I finally made you call me brother. Welcome to our family, Rhianne. From now on, I am going to be the best brother that you can ever have." Calvin said while wiping his non-existent tears.

"Are you planning to adopt me? My family will never allow it." Rhianne said.

"Oh, not that. I am not planning to adopt you. If I really dare to do that, four people will surely curse my name at the same time."

"Four?" Rhianne asked.

"Yes. Four people will try to kill me if I suddenly declare that I want to adopt you into our family." Calvin said. "But forget that for a moment. Let us commemorate this day by taking a picture!"

"Huh? Wait—"

"Alright. Look at the camera and show me your pretty smile!"

Before Rhianne can react, Calvin had already pulled her near him and click the shutter of his phone. In the picture, Calvin is smiling widely at the camera while Rhianne has a confused look on her face.

"Oh. Look at that. I am still handsome even in this picture." Calvin said while staring at the picture.

"Delete it." Rhianne said. "I look stupid in that picture."

"Nah. You only look like a cute but confused squirrel in the picture. Now eat your ice cream while I am finishing the preparation in my ultimate magic trick."

"Huh?"

"With this picture, I can summon a person here in just a few minutes." Calvin said in a meaningful voice. "Anyway. Eat your ice cream first. Once you finish that, we can go to the arcade station to play some games."

"Are you not busy today?" Rhianne asked instead.

"My shift will start at ten in the evening. I really gave you my free time today to bring you out for a date."

"What date? You kidnapped me."

"But I asked Auntie Carmie for permission to bring you out."

"You did not ask for my permission."

"Still the same."

"What are you—Umm!"

"Delicious, right?" Calvin asked after feeding Rhianne a spoonful of ice cream. "Now behave there and eat your ice cream. As for me, I am going to be your handsome and reliable cupid for today."