LOVE WITH BITTER TEARS
EPISODE 6
As she drove home from the hospital that evening, what the doctor told her kept reverberating in her mind.
Dr. Wilson: “Madam, I told you to take things slow, keep yourself happy so your heart don’t further deteriorate but you didn’t seem to have heeded to my advice, why?” he asked looking intently at her. She felt his eyes boring holes into her.
Rebecca: “I don’t get it. But I am happy, what is happening doctor?”
Dr. Wilson: “By now, it’s your husband I am supposed to be talking to, where is he?”
Rebecca: “I am yet to tell him” she didn’t dare look him in the eyes as she said this.
Dr Wilson: “Oh good! Very good! Why didn’t you?”
Rebecca: “I haven’t gotten the opportunity to, he keeps writing me off each time I try talking to him about I and the pregnancy” she said fighting back tears.
Dr Wilson: “Okay at least you have siblings? Someone whom you could be coming with at least till further notice?”
Rebecca: “No there’s no such person. My parents are late and I was their only surviving child. The rest of my siblings had died of one illness on the other. My husband and son are the only people I call family”
Dr Wilson: “I am sorry to hear about that madam. But you have not improved at all and it pains me so much. plea-se try telling your husband and refrain from anything that will make your heart skip beats. That is, don’t put pressure on your heart, you nee-d to start doing things that would keep your mind off your worries, your health is still very very important” he emphasized on his earlier point.
She was brou-ght back to reality by a loud honking of horns of different peeved drivers. Many of whom rained curses on her for being so careless on the wheels. She re-adjusted on the seat and realised she was almost at Costain bus st©p. She decided to br@nch to the national theatre so as to clear her mind a bit. She nee-ded to heed to the doctor’s advice. “That place is quite serene, will st©p there for a moment and get my worries behind me” she said to herself and drove into the gate of the Lagos state National Theatre.
===
Richa-rd and Opha sat opposite each other on the lawn right in front of the theatre. Lovers, families, friend sat clvstered on the lawn with picnic baskets. Some gisted and laughed while some busied themselves with taking pictures trying to capture the beautiful sculpture of a man ri-ding a horse with their snapsh0ts.
Rebecca walked around just revelling in the euphoria of the love she felt in the atmosphere. She admired the couples there who were busy pla-ying love, she wished it was she and Richa-rd all alone in such beautiful environment. She quic-kly checked herself when she realised she was drifting away from her purpose of going there which was to find some peace and tranquillity in the midst of her chaotic life.
Opha turned back and placed her head on his l@ps gently, not knowing how to broach the t©pic to him.
Richa-rd : “Is anything wrong love?” he asked when he noticed her discomfiture.
Opha: “Nothing really. I just wanted to tell you I am re-ady now” her cheeks flu-shed bright red
Richa-rd : “re-ady for what?”
Opha: “To finally have S-x with you”
Richa-rd : “Hey babe! You don’t nee-d to feel pressured about this okay? I am not in a hurry at all”
Opha: “I know you are not pressuring me at all and that’s why I want to do this. I don’t think I have ever been this nervous before in my entire life”
Richa-rd : “But why are you nervous exactly? Is it that you’ve never had S-x before or what?”
Opha: “No ooo I have had S-x several times before just that it’s been very long I had S-x last so I might not be as good as I am supposed to be”
Richa-rd : ‘Well you’ve got nothing to worry about at all. I will help you throu-gh but why did you st©p having S-x? Did something happen?”
Opha: “Well my b©yfri£ndwhom I loved so much broke my heart and cos of that I swore never to have anything to do with any man again till I am fully sure he is the one for me”
Richa-rd : “and baby, I love you so much. Thanks for counting me worthy. I promise never to disappoint you” he said, bent his head and gave her a long lingering k!sson thel-ips just then he heard a faint “Richa-rd ” he looked up and saw his wife looming over them with her protruding stomach k!ss!ngthe sunset.
Rebecca: “Richa-rd … how could you do this to me? How?”
Richa-rd : “What are you doing here? plea-se go back home” he said as Opha sat up.
Rebecca: “Why? Why? She repeated weakly and slumped down on the floor.
Richa-rd : “Oh God! quic-kly help me, let’s get her to the hospital” he said emotionlessly to no one in p@rticular as people gathered around to know what was going on.
##########
Sammy sat in his room wondering why his parents were not back by that time of the night. He felt sleepy and tired after a long day at school for their weekend training pending the inter-house sport but he knew he had to wait for them. They had never left all alone by himself like that especially when his nanny was on leave. He felt jittery with fear. The horror movies he used to watch went haunting him like a terrible nightmare. He had to hide himself un-der the blanket, yet he felt like the haunted ghost of the wizard was un-der the blanket with him. He closed his eyes ti-ghtly and imagine how it would be like when his sister arrives. That thought brou-ght a smile to his face and he forgot about his parents and the ghosts for a moment. Just as he started drifting off to sleep, he heard the blaring of his dad’s car horn, sprang to his feet and sprinted for the door and waited there for him to step into the house.
Sammy: “Daddy…” he ran and embr@ced his dad as soon as he had stepped in.
Richa-rd : “Hey little Champ! Aren’t you slee-ping yet? You should be on be-d by now” he said holding him by the hand as they stepped into the living room which la-id juxtaposed to the main be-droom.
Sammy: “Where is mum?” he asked ignoring his dad’s rhetoric
Richa-rd : “Sammy I will nee-d you to be strong. Remember you are a strong boy? Ghosts don’t scare you anymore right?”
Sammy: “Dad where is mum? Is my mum okay?” he asked like an adult intolerant of people who beat around the bush.
Richa-rd : “Hmm… “ he sighed
Sammy: “Dad, what do you mean?”
Richa-rd : “Ok, tell you what? Your mum is not coming home tonight” he said looking down at his feet.
Sammy: “What do you mean by mum is not coming home tonight? She always comes back home. Where is she? Take me to her plea-se!” he wept.
Richa-rd : “Sam, I told you to be strong, didn’t i? I told you men should be strong and you are a man”
Sammy: “Why do you keep telling me to be strong? I cannot be strong without mum so take me to her daddy or ask her to come home. Daddy plea-se?”
Richa-rd : “Hmmm….” He sighed again
Richa-rd : “Your mum is in the hospital, that’s why she wouldn’t be able to come back today”
Sammy: “Hospital? Is she okay? Is it time for her to get delivered of my sister? But she told me it will be due in two months’ time?” he said with eyes blazing with tears.
Richa-rd : “She suddenly fell ill. But she will be fine, doctor said she will be fine”
Sammy: “When do I see her? Tomorrow right?”
Richa-rd : “Yeah sure! I will take you to her tomorrow. Go back to sleep now okay? And don’t worry, your mother will be fine”
Sammy: “How about you? Will you be fine? Just know that if anything happens to my mum, it will be your fault. Your fault” he said and ran off while his dad watched from where he stood with mouth agape. He could not believe he was aware of all the happenings in the house. He raked his f!ngersthrou-gh his neatly kept afro hair and sighed heavily.
He walked slowly to the room he had shared with her for years, the room that had both good and bad, happy and sad memories they shared together in it. He looked around and saw the hvge mirror at the side of room, the place she sat first thing in the morning to tend to her face and every night to do same. The wardrobe still had some of his things in it, he saw a bag at one corner of the closet, opened it and saw it contained baby things. Cute little girl cloths and he realised how much he had missed out. How much he had neglected her despite her apologies to him. At that moment he knew he had to make things right, he knew he had to make amends if she will forgive him. He still loved her.
That night he sle-pt in the main be-droom, pretending to have her wra-pped in his arms and whispering sweet somethings into her ears. His sleep was filled with dreams of her.
At the hospital the next morning, Sammy watched as the doctor and his nurses ran to and fro his mum’s ward. He knew something was definitely amiss. He looked at his dad and noticed he was pacing up and down the hospital hallway restlessly.
Sammy: “Daddy what is happening to mum?”
Richa-rd : “Sammy I am not in the mood to answer any of your numerous questions now. I am really really tired so pardon me for now plea-se?” he replied and continued pacing around.
Sammy: “He could have just answered the question rather that all those he just said. What a waste” he muttered to himself.
The doctor appeared at the hallway and beckoned for Richa-rd to follow him.
Richa-rd : “Wait for me here. Don’t move from that sp©t okay?” he said to his son.
Sammy: “Okay daddy” he admired the retreating figure of the doctor with his labcoat flying in the air behind him till they disappeared into another hallway leading to the consulting rooms.
Dr Wilson: “I am very disappointed in you Richa-rd . There’s no way id lie to you about this. I have known you guys for quite some time now and I can’t say you don’t have your own faults in the conflicts between you and your wife. She made a mistake and she apologised to you with the last drop of her blood but this is how you paid her back?” he said as soon as he entered his consulting room and shut the door behind them. There were mirage of people in the hallway.
Richa-rd : “What is going on? What are you talking about?”
Dr Wilson: “To cut the whole story short, your wife is suffering from a heart disorder called perip@rtum cardiomyopathy. I am sure you have heard of it before since she didn’t just develop it?”
Richa-rd : “$h!t! $h!t!! $h!t!!! I am damned. She did not fv¢king tell me all these while?”
Dr Wilson: “She said she tried telling you countless times but you kept shutting her out. Saying you don’t wanna hear anything about her and the baby. What kind of a man, husband and father says such to his pregnant wife?”
Richa-rd : “Oh my God! I had no idea. I really had no idea. Wow!” he paced around the office aggressively.
Dr Wilson: “We have to operate her in order to at least save the baby. The baby is in danger as we talk, your wife’s heartbeat is alre-ady too faint, it can cease anytime. So I nee-d your permission to carry out the CS?”
Richa-rd : “’What do you mean by that? Can’t you go on and treat her of the illness? Why are you giving up on a woman who is not dead yet?”
Dr Wilson: “Her heart has shrunk beyond measure. It was alre-ady in its late stage, the only person who could have been able to keep her alive longer was you but you decided to neglect her, cast her away”
Richa-rd : “plea-se you have to do something to save her life. For the sake of Sammy. plea-se doctor. I will pay any amount you want just don’t give up on her, plea-se” he pleaded desperately clasping the doctors hand in his two hands and kneeling before him.
Dr Wilson: “I guess I have your permission to carry out the operation then? Hopefully, she will live. Be rest as-sured that I will try my best” he said pushing a paper to him to sign on which he did with a shaking hand.
Richa-rd : “it’s a promise right? That you will save her” he said tearfully but the doctor said nothing and just walked out hurriedly, urging him to follow suite.
To be continued…