“What did the doctor say?” He questioned when he noticed that she had stopped sobbing.
“He said it’s stress, I’m tired.” She lamented and he pulled her into a side hug, stroking her hair tenderly.
***
Jack sat on one of the chairs in the hospital room, his head buried in his hands as he tried to rest a little. The doctor had just left the room less than thirty minutes ago after he had carried out some check up on his father. The doctor had confirmed that the old Mr Antonio was very dehydrated and had low blood pressure which resulted in a low heart rate which led to his collapse. After administering fludrocorstisone to help raise his blood volume and midodrine to boost his blood pressure, he had instructed they let him rest and after lying idle on the bed for some minutes, Antonio finally fell asleep again.
His mom was now much calmer now after the doctor had confirmed that he was responding to treatment.
His mother had called him about two hours ago and she was really panicked. His father had collapsed out of the blue and it had left her dazed.
“Come to the hospital right now, your dad just collapsed.” her panic-stricken voice had stated on the call, making him freak out. He immediately stopped the work he was doing and picked up his car keys, before zooming to the hospital. He didn’t have the best of father son relationship with his dad, but he truly loved him nonetheless.
His father was going to get better. That he was sure of. After burying in head in his hands for over fifteen minutes and being unable to catch a sleep, he took out his phone from his pocket and went through some documents on them. Ever since he had ended things with Karen, he had decided to focus solely on his work. The thought of what he had done still lingered on his mind and sometimes, haunted his conscience. The humane side of him always reminded him that he had acted too far, but everytime the thought crept into his mind, he would always push it aside.
“She’s a gold digger. She only dated him for his money. She’s a whore.” He read the vile comments that was trending on social media against her. His heart clenched as he read through the many comments people had dropped against her. He dropped his phone and clenched his eyes shut. Her crying face replayed numerous in his mind, haunting him. He realized he had taken things too far.
After his break up with Karen had gone public, he had avoided public interaction for some days, but at every corner he turned, he found a paparazzi, armed and ready to feed on the juicy story. After some days, the whole isuue had finally died down, though it was still trending in some corners, that was their problem, not his’.
He got up and walked out of the hospital room, his hands tucked deep inside his pockets in the both side of trousers. He took the steps downstairs and while he was on the last step, his eyes caught the back figure of a familiar person. She was dressed in black waist high trousers and a white and blue stripped shirt. He quickened his steps, trying to walk up to her.
“Mr Antonio” a male voice called from the side and he turned to see the doctor walking up to him. He turned back to the door and realized that the figure he was chasing had walked out.
“Good afternoon doctor. Any problem?” He questioned, extending hand to shake the doctor who was now standing in front of him. The doctor smiled at him as he shook hands with him. He was older than Jack, he was in his late forties and has been their family doctor for over fifteen years.
“Are you going somewhere?” The doctor asked and Jack looked towards the door, trying to catch a glimpse of the figure again, and when he couldn’t, he turned disappointedly to the doctor.
“No, I ain’t. ” He responded and the doctor nodded gently.
“In that case, let’s meet in my office, I want to discuss something with you.” The doctor stated and his mind raced widly. “What could the doctor possibly want to talk about?”
They walked into the doctor’s office and the doctor walked to his seat while he took the chair opposite the doctors’. The office was painted with bright colors, like the rest of the hospital. An award hung on the wall over his head, while different medical charts hung on the walls. A laptop and some patients files laid on the table that seperated the doctor from Jack.
Jack drummed his fingers on the table impatiently as he stared at the doctor, waiting for him to say something. He has been seated on the chair for about five minutes, and he was really anxious to know what the doctor had to say.
The doctor cleared his throat and looked up from the file. He had been reading through the file since they got into the office. Jack readjusted his position on the chair, leaning out of the backrest as he continued staring at the doctor. From the look on the doctor’s face, he knew he was in for some bad news.
“According to the laboratory test results, your father’s system is gradually shutting down.” The doctor broke the chilly silence in the room.
“What do you mean, doctor?” he questioned, his heart thumping hard against his chest. What the doctor had said was quite plain and explanatory, but he just hoped somewhere in his mind that he meant something else.
“His vital organs are slowly shutting down. His heartbeat is too slow and low. His kidneys too. It wouldn’t be long until he has a total collapse.” The doctor explained, and he stared at the doctor.
Sweat greased his forehead as he suddenly felt hot from the inside. The doctor pushed the test results to him and he sat there, refusing to move a muscle. He blinked his eye once, and took a quick swipe of the document with his eyes, refusing to touch the document before returning his eyes to look at the doctor.
“How long are you estimating?” He finally asked after finding his voice. His voice was croaked and broken, he was doing a lot of work to stop himself from crying.
“Seven months at month, might be less than that. It all depends on the care he gets.” The doctor responded and he nodded in understanding. His father had about half a year to live.
He got up from his chair and walked towards the door. His hand laid on the knob as he turned to the doctor again.
“Can you do me a favor?”
“Let’s hear it” the doctor replied, staring at his face.
“Don’t tell my family about any of what you just told me.” He stated, his eyes pleading.
“Okay.” The doctor replied and he walked out, closing the door behind him.
***
Karen walked into her house and threw the envelope she held in her hand to the floor. She walked to one of her chairs and took a seat, pulling her high heeled shoes out of her sore feet before burying her head in her hands. She whimpered once, twice before breaking into a sob.
She had just gotten back from the hospital where she got one of the most devasting news of her life. She stopped weeping and wiped the tears that had slided down her, cleaning part of her makeup in the process, but she didn’t care. She walked over to where she had thrown the envelope and picked it up before returning to the seat she had been sitting on.
She opened the envelope slowly, as if she was desperately trying to avoid what ever was it’s content. She took out the single piece of paper from the envelope and skimmed through it before breaking down again when her eyes caught what she had hoped not to see.
She continued sobbing, choking on her sob as she held the paper with her two hands. She was truly pregnant. Already more than a month gone, and Jack was responsible. Fate wasn’t really being fair to her.
When she was finally getting her life back on track, life threw her back on the ground, on a moudy ground this time around.