358 The War Between Two Men Part 1 (2/2)
Twain walked in and found that the ward was very neat. There was a bouquet of flowers in the vase on the bedside table. He took a closer look. There were droplets of water on the petals and leaves. He felt the bed; it was still a bit warm.
It looked like Eastwood had not transferred, but… Looking down from the window, Twain soon found his target.
※※※
Freddy Eastwood was taking a stroll in the garden with his wife supporting him by the arm. He was somewhat surprised to see Twain appear in front of him.
”Chief? What are you doing here?” He sounded pleasantly surprised.
”I came to see you, Freddy.” Twain waved the floral bouquet in his hand and then smiled at Freddy's wife. ”Hello, Sabina.”
”Hello, Chief.” The Romani woman addressed Twain in the same way as her husband had.
The three people sat down on a bench by the gravel path.
”Yesterday's game was really exciting!” Eastwood brought up football first. He was referring to the tenth round of the league competition that had just ended. The Forest team faced Middlesbrough at home. The game had garnered much attention due to the grudge between Twain and the Middlesbrough manager, McClaren.
The final score was 4:2. Both sides had waged a fierce battle. With a more incisive offense and a better defense, the Forest team beat Middlesbrough and continued McClaren's record of losing at City Ground stadium.
Twain scratched his head. ”You watched the live broadcast? Didn't the doctor say you'd better not watch the Forest games?”
Twain did not jest even though he really had thought it was a joke when he had first heard the suggestion. After the second operation, Professor Stephen Albert, the chief surgeon for Eastwood's operation, had seriously warned Eastwood that he had better not watch the Forest team games in order for him to recover as soon as possible, lest he hurt his fragile knees again in midst of any emotional excitement.
When people watched the games, it was inevitable to have some body movements in moments of excitement. If the action was considerable, it would not be surprising if he injured the knee that had just been operated on.
Eastwood snickered. Beside him, Sabina pointed to him and said, ”He has watched every single Forest game. He watched them all live.”
”You can't stop me from watching the game,” Eastwood said. ”I can't play football now. I don't know how to pass the time if I can't even watch it.”
Twain glanced at his right knee and hesitated before he asked, ”How's the recovery going this time?”
”I feel pretty good!” The Romani Gypsy answered simply and firmly. ”I think I'll be back at the training ground in two months.”
Unlike what Twain had thought before, the Freddy Eastwood before him was full of hope for the future and did not intend to give up.
Seven months and even a longer recovery period did not crush him. He was as optimistic as before.
”That's good, Freddy. We'll all be waiting for you.” Twain thought that he had worried for nothing. This was better than he had thought. ”Oh, that's right. In the next round of the league games, you don't have to watch live TV. Just come to the City Ground stadium and watch it live.”
Eastwood paused for a moment.
”What's the matter? You can't go?” Twain asked.
”No, Chief. There's no problem. Even walking from here to the City Ground is no issue.”
”No one asked you to walk there!” Twain laughed. ”I want you to watch the game live, but you have to be careful with your knee.”
”Don't worry, Chief. I want to recover sooner than you do! But… Chief, who are our opponents in the next round?”
”Chelsea,” replied Twain.
Eastwood whistled. ”Chelsea, the one with nine wins, one draw, and not a single defeat?”
”Yes, that Chelsea. Which is now ranked first in the league and has twenty-eight points in ten rounds. Why, are you scared, Freddy?”
”Please! What's there to be afraid of?” Freddy retorted loudly, and then whispered, ”It's not as if I'm playing this time.”
The two men laughed.