Henry with tears in his eyes responded with a smile,
” You are my mother and the only family I have left, therefore I can do anything for you mom”.
His mother hugged him and closed her eyes so that she could have some rest in her dreamland.
Henry using the blanket at the feet of her bed covered her well and left her room closing the door behind him.
The moment Henry entered his room, his attention and thoughts were directed to the beautiful lady he had met at the hospital, with such a loving heart towards her fellow beings.
“How can someone be so beautiful in and out?”, Henry asked himself as he walked across his room smiling like a little kid who had been promised candy.
Henry was thinking about Eva all day long and he could not explain why he felt that way for her.
” I hope I get to see her again soon”, he whispered alone going into his bathroom to shower.
His cell phone rang on and on and the persistent ringing from it made him wonder who was calling him repeatedly.
He divided to finish taking his shower before he could go out to check on who was calling that much.
Duke had no answer from his friend yet, so he decided to visit Bethany so as to know how her mother was fairing but he could not call her as he did not have her contact number.
“Will going to see her mother unannounced cause a problem?”, he asked in complication as he could not have an answer.
Duke decided to act as a man and head to Bethany’s house but first, he had to stop by the supermarket to get some fruits and vegetables for the patient.
Bethany and her friend had already gotten the groceries and they were on their way to the pharmacy to buy the drugs that were needed.
Bethany got silent as she walked with her friend and she noticed it and asked her what the problem was but Bethany said nothing because she did not want to disturb her friend with her numerous problems as she had done enough for her already.
” Friend, I might not have enough to help you out with your problems but you know that you can count on me anytime and anyway”, Eva spoke to her friend in the most way possible.
Bethany knew that her friend probably thought that she could not handle herself but she was also aware that she was just being caring as always as she was more than a sister to her.
Sitting on a bench that was by the roadside, Bethany walked to it and sat down and her friend joined her on it.
Bethany had been crying in silence while they were walking but she was preventing her voice from being heard by Eva.
Betty darling, stop crying and trust me when I say that your mother will not die.
Bethany raiding her head with red eyes asked in anger how that was going to be possible when she does not have enough money to buy drugs.
She spoke as she took the remaining money from her purse showing it to her friend saying,
“This is not even enough to buy up to two of the drugs prescribed in this ordinance, and you tell me that my mom will not die?”, she cried out bitterly on the road and everyone passing by looked at her with pity.
Eva could not bear to see her friend in such a state and her heartfelt terrible as she heard her speak those words.
Betty, she said searching her bag and taking out some cash that she had left and handing it over to her friend, she said that it was her last cash for the week as she had to use it to buy some groceries for the house and also to fix the kitchen door, but her mother’s drugs were more important.
Bethany who was speechless and did not know what to say rejected the money and told Eva that she needed it too just as she needs it now.
Eva’s smile in that difficult situation was very encouraging to her friend as she opened up her hands and dropped the money in them.
” How can I ever repay you for being such a wonderful ally to me Eva?”, Bethany raised a question as she saw the amount that her friend had given her and it was going to be helpful in the acquisition of her mom’s drugs.
Eva stood up and with her playful manner of doing things, she spoke up taking her shoulders up and carving her face to be like that of a clown and she proclaimed,
“You will name your daughter after this beautiful and kind-hearted young lady that is standing here beside you”, laughing as she pulls up her friend from the bench pressing her feet to the ground so as to have the stability that she needs in other for them not to fall to the ground.
Bethany got up from the bench and wiping up her tears as she has a supportive and understanding friend, she followed Eva and they both continued their journey to the pharmacy before they spent all day on the road.
Henry, who had finished taking his bath, came out wiping his body with his cleaned white towel and walking to his bed to check who it was that had been calling him.
” Duke left me so many missed calls, I just hope that everything is okay with him and his family”, Henry spoke out in fear of the unknown.
He tried sailing his friend’s number but to no avail as he was not picking up his calls either.
Henry was panic-stricken as he began to imagine the worst but he had to calm down as he could not ascertain the reason for his numerous phone calls.
Henry delicately oiled his body and slipped into a pair of nickers he had bought from his trip to the islands when he was on a vacation that helped him forget about his workload at the office.
Also, his company was facing some additional charges filed by its clients for producing intoxicated milk for consumption that landed most of the population in the hospital as well as his company losing a lot of clients and funds.
That experience was a sad one as he could never forget the damage it caused his family publicly until it was made known by a staff that he overheard his colleague talking over the phone with the companies competitors.
Henry could not believe how some people could be so heartless as to sell their conscience for money.
Taking harmful materials and adding them into the manufactured product just to help the competitive company to sabotage a company where you work in putting the lives of innocent people in danger.
Well, it is said that Karma knows no limits and that was what happened to the traitor as his family suffered from the poison that he was busy giving to others.
He decided to call his friend again to know the reason why he called.
Before he could dial Duke’s number twice, he had picked up his call and responded.
“Bro, I tried catching up with you but you were busy I suppose?”, Duke asked entering his car.
Henry asking what the matter was held his chest not to get a piece of bad news from Duke as he was depleted of earshot bad news these past few days.
” Nothing is wrong Henry, I just called because I was thinking of coming to see your mother as I returned from the office early today”, he narrated starting his car.
Henry felt relieved getting to know that everything was fine. He further asked his friend where he was to ask the maids to cook something for him before he arrives.
Well, Duke had his other plans so he told his friend not to bother himself as he was heading somewhere else at the moment.
Henry, who was getting bored from staying at home all day, and who could go out for a beer or two, asked his friend where he was going so that he could meet him there.
Duke laughing out so hard as he did not know how his firm was going to take what he was about to say, said that he was heading to Bethany’s house to see her mother and wish her a speedy recovery as she was discharged.
Henry who had been giving attention to his friend while searching for his wallet to go join him, exploded in laughter asking Duke,
“Are you sure that you are going there to meet Mrs. Marvin or you just want to see that lady who makes your heartbeat?”, Henry raised a question whistling as though he had not said anything.
” Why are you always like this you joke?”, Duke let out as he stopped his car engine.
His friend laughed some more and wished him all the best as he goes to see the woman who makes his heart skip a million times.
Duke told him to get some rest rather than wanting to go get bottles of beer as he hung up his phone.
Henry smiled as he was happy that his friend had finally found someone that makes his heartbeat.
Duke drove to Bethany’s housekeeping in mind the resemblance of the streets but was certain that once he was in front of her house, he was going to make it out.
Bethany and Eva were done from the drugstore so they set out on their way back home as Bethany had to make a delicious meal for dinner which is also her mom’s favorite porridge.
“Bryan, where is your sister?”, Mrs. Marvin asked her son as she aided herself to the living room.
Bryan on seeing his mother struggling to get to the parlor, got up smartly a raising a question to her why she had not called out for his help.
His mother gave her a had to knock ok his head, recounted how she had been shouting his name to reduce the volume of his video game, but he was too busy to even hear a thing about what she was saying.
” I am sorry mom, it will not happen again I promise”, he said, seating his mother down.
“So now tell me, where is Betty?”, she inquired furthermore with a worried face.
Bryan scratching his head, explained to his mother that Bethany had left the house to go get some groceries from the mini supermarket down the street and to also buy your drugs.
Ms. Marvin could not stop but feel happy and grateful for having such a wonderful daughter. Making a sign with her hand, she instructed Bryan to get into the kitchen and get her a glass of water as she felt her throat dry.
Bryan went and brought her a glass of water as she had asked and handing it over to her he inquired,
” Mom you should have stayed in bed, you need all the rest you can get”, he said gently to his mom.
“I have been lying down for some days now and I cannot continue being in that position”, His mother explained.
Bryan taking in a deep breath, could not argue his mother’s decision as she was as stubborn as his elder sisters.
All he asked was whether she needed something else or liked him to do something for her so that she does not get bored, but his mother was fine just sitting on the sofa and having to bear the sound of the cars passing outside.
Just when Bryan had returned to his seat to begin again with his video games, the horn of a car was heard outside as the engine was stopped at their entrance.
Mrs. Marvin wondering if she had heard right, asked her son who had heard the same thing to go check who was outside.
” Mom, I do not think that the sound of the car was heard in front of their home as they had no one to visit them”, he said, continuing his game, but his mother insisted that he goes to check who it was.
Bryan got from his chair and walked out of the house to check out who it was and he could not believe his eyes when he saw Duke outside with paper bags.
“Is that not Bethany’s boss that I saw at the hospital?”, he asked thinking that he was not seeing well.
Just when Bryan was about to get back into the house, he heard him calling out to him and he turned again.
Duke with a smile on his face, asked Bryan if he could give him a helping hand as the bags were kind of many in his car and the ones in his hands had to be taken.
Bryan went to him apologizing for his behavior and saying that he had not recognized him at first as he had seen him just once at the hospital when his sister was hospitalized from the fire incident.
” It is no big deal Bryan and I understand perfectly well what the situation was like back then at the hospital”, Duke gently spoke to Bryan.
Bryan, helping him with the bags of groceries was very happy as he had brought so much food for him and his family.
“Are all these for us sir?”, he asked Duke as he led the way to the house.
With a happy face, Duke responded positively as he followed the boy into their home.
Bryan was super excited and he related how his mother has been asking over Duke since the last time that they split up ways at the hospital.
” I have been worried about your mother too, so tell me how is she holding on with her Predicament?”, Duke asked all concerned as he entered the house behind Bryan.
As Bryan was planning to respond to him, he heard his mother from the living room asking who it was and why he had taken so much time to check on who was at the door.
Bryan packing up the groceries in the kitchen, took Duke to the living room to meet his mother who was sitting on the sofa waiting for Bethany to return.
Mrs. Marvin could not understand how Duke had located where she lived so with a friendly smile she asked him how he git to know her house and responded to how he accompanied Bethany and Eva back home during the period when she was hospitalised.
Bethany’s mother was touched knowing that he could come to visit her despite the behavior that her daughter had out up towards him.
She had a sorrowful face thinking of how her daughter had behaved towards him when she was at the hospital after the hotel incident and she apologized to Duke and also thanking him for taking care of the hospital bills at the infirmary.
“It was nothing as she was one if my staffs Mrs. Marvin, and that was the last I could do for her”, he responded with a smile and simplicity that made her like him even more.
It was a big joy for Bethany’s mom when she saw Duke walking to her and a smile could be seen on her lips immediately.
Duke humbling himself, greeted Mrs. Marvin in the most polite way that he could, and his joy was overflowing just from seeing her again.
“You are welcome Mr. Duke”, Bethany’s mom said as she tried getting up on her feet.
Duke holding her by the shoulders sat her down slowly, pleading with her not to address him as Mr. but instead by just calling her name normally.
She was delighted to hear those words from his mouth, she felt fine with him.
Duke sat down and Mrs. Marvin asked Bryan to offer him something but he declined the offer saying that he was fine and that he came to visit her as he was informed at the hospital that she was suffering from heart disease.
Lowering her gaze with tears in her eyes, she confirmed what Duke had just said and she added that she knew deep down in her that she did not have much time to live again.
” No do not give up on life Mrs. Marvin, as miracles do happen every day and yours is not different from others”, he tried convincing her to look at the brighter side of life, as he held her hands and wiping off her tears.
But she was convinced that she was going to die soon as there was no hope left for them to save up any money or to fine any donor to do the transplant.
Bryan interrupted their conversation as he came telling his mother about all the food and beverages that Duka had borough for them, saying that Bethany was going to be happy seeing that.
Mrs. Marvins looking at him with gratitude thanked him so much for his kind gestures.
Duke accepting her appreciation, took out an envelope from his pocket and handing it over to her, told her to use that to buy her drugs and to take care of her children and the house.
Bethany’s mother was speechless in front of what was happening and Bryan could not believe his eyes.
“Thank you so much sir we appreciate your kindness”, he jumped up with joy as he was seeing the food and the money.
Bethany’s mother was not a little girl anymore so she could understand why Duke was doing all that he was doing but the problem that was going to oppose them was going to be her daughter as she is headstrong to relationships.
Duke kept on looking around the house, using his eyes to look at every corner of the room.