Chapter 189: Borrowing a Private Jet

The interlude before the painted wall did not affect everyone's mood for the meal. Paul Mellon made no further comment on the painting; perhaps he had seen many young people like Henry who sought to attract attention.

Henry certainly would not dwell on it; perhaps it was just a different method of aging. Besides, even if he had truly found a bargain, the owner would not let him take the painting away. In fact, after voicing his doubts, he felt slightly regretful.

Old money like Paul Mellon and Rachel Lambert could not be compared to a brat like Tony Stark. Having caused someone to lose face publicly, he hoped it would not bring any variables to Lady He Ben's affairs.

However, Givenchy made no comment; his conversation with the Mellons remained relaxed and natural. Henry continued to play the role of his invisible self, executing the table manners he had learned to a perfection that left no room for criticism.

He did not even need to trouble himself to praise the deliciousness of the food; although it was indeed delicious, no one cared about his opinion.

To put it plainly, his ability to sit at the guest's table today was due to the privilege of Lady Audrey He Ben. Without the halo of acting as that lady's proxy, he would likely have been seated at a table with the other Mellons' servants.

So Henry was happy to enjoy this meal quietly.

Amidst the casual chatter during the meal, Givenchy stated his destination for the day. He said, "I came to visit today for the sake of Lady Audrey He Ben."

"I heard Lady He Ben was hospitalized. Is everything alright?" Paul Mellon asked.

Rachel Lambert answered first: "The surgery has been performed, and everything went smoothly. Right, Henry?"

Putting down the soup spoon, Henry wiped his mouth and replied, "Yes, Lady."

"Then is there anything we can do to help?" Paul Mellon asked again.

Givenchy said, "Paul, in fact, I wish to borrow your private passenger jet from you to send Lady Audrey back to her home in Switzerland for Christmas. I have already visited her; her condition is the weakness typical of post-operative recovery."

"If she takes a regular commercial flight, even in first class, it might be uncomfortable, and there are concerns regarding her physical recovery. If we book a medical charter with an airline, it is not only troublesome but also requires us to accommodate the airline's schedule."

"That is why I thought of you two, hoping you could help. Otherwise, Lady Audrey will have to stay in Los Angeles until her physical condition recovers enough to allow for a long-haul flight before she can return home."

"May I ask about the details of Lady He Ben's surgery?" Paul Mellon asked.

Since the meal had reached its end and the soup served was a light mushroom soup, which theoretically would not affect others' appetites, Henry still asked one more question: "Is it convenient to discuss this now?"

"Please speak."

"Very well." Henry organized his words and said, "Lady Audrey He Ben has a rare form of appendiceal cancer with signs of metastasis. It is classified as stage two cancer, still in a state where surgical treatment is possible."

"Therefore, an open abdominal surgery was performed two days ago at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The incision was approximately fifteen centimeters, lasting about two hours, and the surgery was successful."

"Post-operative follow-up and chemotherapy are still required. It is scheduled that three days from now, doctors at Cedars-Sinai will conduct the first follow-up visit. As long as the post-operative recovery proceeds smoothly, she will be transferred from her current ward to the convalescent area."

"However, compared to simple convalescent care, Lady He Ben prefers to return to her home in Switzerland, where life is simpler. The doctors at Cedars-Sinai also hold an optimistic view regarding the lady's post-operative recovery."

In this era, there were no such things as minimally invasive surgeries. To perform surgery over a certain area, one needed a surgical field of that size.

If it were just a common case of appendicitis, the surgical wound would be between five and ten centimeters. But Lady Audrey He Ben also had part of her intestine, where cancer cells had spread, removed, so the wound was larger."

At the age of the Mellons, with their focus on health and wellness, even without professional medical knowledge, they still knew some common surgical facts and post-operative conditions."

So Henry did not need to show photos to prove and explain; they could roughly imagine the situation. Especially given that the lady was naturally of a slender and weak build, her post-operative weakness would not be easy to recover from."

The couple exchanged a glance; Paul Mellon nodded slightly, and Rachel Lambert smiled at her friend and said, "My husband and I currently have no plans to travel or use the plane, so we agree to lend the plane for Lady He Ben's use."

"Considering Lady He Ben's post-operative condition, the plane might need a certain degree of modification to meet medical purposes. Regarding the modification costs and flight expenses, we will bear them all."

"You can tell Lady He Ben not to worry about these small matters and to focus on taking care of herself. Once she has recovered, she can come to Oak Spring here, and we can have a proper chat."

Givenchy said happily, "Lady, we are deeply honored by your permission. On behalf of Audrey, I express our gratitude to you."

"I heard that in recent years she has been dedicated to the charitable activities of UNICEF, helping many impoverished children around the world. What we can do is merely a trivial matter. Please do not mind." Rachel Lambert replied.

Paul Mellon added, "Let us raise our glasses, —" Everyone raised their red wine glasses with him, "—to wish Lady Audrey He Ben a speedy recovery."

"Wish for a speedy recovery." Having said that, everyone took a sip of wine according to their own capacity. Some took more, some less.

But generally speaking, the rule was not to let the host put down their glass while the guests were still gulping down drink after drink. It was not that the hosts feared the guests drinking, but it simply looked unsightly.

The purpose of today's trip could be said to have been successfully and completely accomplished. This made Givenchy even happier; his face flushed red, and he wished he could fly back to Los Angeles immediately to deliver this good news.

Seeing Givenchy eager to move, Rachel Lambert said, "Haha, good friend, stay for the night. It is rare for you to come, and we haven't had a proper chat."

"Moreover, Paul has acquired many new collections recently and wants to hear your evaluation as a master of the fashion world. If you just run off like this, he will have no one to show off to, and I will be in trouble again."

Actually, seeing Givenchy's attitude of wanting to leave, even Henry looked helplessly at the wine glass in his hand, which still contained some leftover wine.

A Kryptonian's constitution would not get drunk on such ordinary alcoholic beverages. Drinking this stuff, Henry treated it like drinking water. But others did not know that.

Givenchy said helplessly, "Boy, drink freely. We are not leaving today; we will stay overnight here. This is a treatment ordinary guests do not have; cherish it well."

"Yes, thank you, Mr., Lady." Henry replied.

(End of this chapter)