It was a sunny afternoon. Lisa was seated in the bar within her compound. Sammy brought her phone to her.
“Jerry took it to play games,” the young lad said and dropped the phone on her lap.
“Jerry is a chicken. I barely realized I wasn’t with my phone,” Lisa said and patted Sammy on the head. The young boy smiled satisfactorily.
Lisa flipped her phone open and realized she had missed Patrick’s calls. She clicked on her dialler and redialled Patrick’s number.
“Hello Patrick, I missed your calls. What’s up? It’s been a while.” Lisa said. “Yeah, nice you called back. When was the last time you heard from Jane? I’ve been trying to reach her but she isn’t picking up. Can you possibly check on her?”
“Seriously? Sure, I will,” Lisa responded and hung up.
She put a call through to Jane immediately but no one picked up. After countless trials, she got her car keys and drove down to Jane’s house.
She banged hard at the door but no one responded. She remembered she had a bunch of extra keys that were Jane’s. She racked through her purse and found them.
She clicked the doors open and let herself in.
She searched the living room but Jane wasn’t there. She called her name repeatedly and bumped into her bedroom.
Jane was in bed. She laid on her back and a duvet was drawn up to her shoulders.
“Jane?” Lisa called but there was no response.
She walked to her bedside and tried to shake her awake. Lisa withdrew her hands immediately. Jane was burning up. She looked pale and seemed unconscious.
Lisa wasted no time. She pulled her up and lifted her on her back. She placed her in the car and drove down to the hospital.
Jane was resuscitated and admitted. She could barely speak but she managed to tell Lisa not to inform her father about her condition.
Lisa returned home towards the evening. She explained Jane’s health status to Patrick and pleaded that he should keep it a secret from Jane’s father.
“What is it about Jane? Is she sick?” Alex asked. He was busy with Benny and he overheard Lisa on the phone.
“I don’t really know what went wrong but she locked herself in and did not visit the hospital. I am glad Patrick called before things got out of hand. She is being treated now,” Lisa said.
“Too bad! You failed to notice your friend’s absence,” Alex lambasted.
Benny felt uneasy about the piece of information but he continued with his business. When he was through he made a bow and left.
Lisa was surprised at Benny’s coldness. Asking about Jane’s welfare wouldn’t hurt, she thought.
Benny got into his car and pulled out of the compound but he couldn’t leave. He came to a screeching stop and pulled over.
“Ben?” Alex called out. He was surprised to see him again. “I thought you had left.”
” Yes I had… Please ma’am, which hospital is she admitted to?” Benny asked Lisa.
“Who?” Lisa asked, feigning ignorance.
“I meant Jane,” Benny said.
“Oh, I took her down to Anthony medical center.” “Thanks ma’am,” Benny bowed and made his way out.
Benny sat down quietly beside Jane and watched her sleep. She looked pale and weak, she was a shadow of herself.
“What the hell happened to you?” Benny muttered and held her hand in his.
Jane’s eyes flung open and she blinked hard as she tried to recognize the man sitting by her bedside. “Jeff?” She called out.
Benny remained silent and looked calmly into her eyes. Jane withdrew her hand immediately and realized it was Benny. “Why are you here? l am sure you know you are the last person I wanna see.” Jane said slowly and weakly.
“It’s the same for me but here I am… I just couldn’t turn a blind eye. What the heck happened to you?” Benny questioned. Jane blinked hard and remained mute.
“l am sorry about the other day. I should have heard you out. But what did you expect me to do? Jealousy took over me. I am sorry,” Benny apologized but at a closer look, he realized Jane was fast asleep.
*****
Jeff beamed with joy as he watched the news. Evans Mechanics made a grand come back. Alex stood tall and beside him was his PA.
“l caught on to a big fish after all,” Jeff muttered to himself and his greediness spiked. He walked closer to the screen and fastened his gaze on Benny.
“Alexander’s PA? He seems familiar..” he wondered aloud. “Isn’t he Jane’s friend? He was with her at good times..” Jeff muttered as realization dawned on him.
“This is not too good… How did he become friends with Jane? What is the connection?” These and a lot more questions ran through his head.
*****
“Did you tell Jeff about me? He was here last night,” Jane muttered.
“Silly girl. You took Benny for Jeff. Ben was here last night,” Lisa scolded Jane. She had arrived early to check on her.
“Ben?” Jane asked. “Yes it was Ben. He overheard me when I told Alex about you. And Jeff? Has he come visiting?” Lisa questioned.
Jane looked away. “I didn’t inform him… We broke up,” she said dryly.
“What!? A break up? How come? What …” Lisa’s voice trailed off and she realized the reason for all of Jane’s drama. She remained silent and put the matter to rest.
“I need to get outta here. It’s stuffy, I hate the smell,” Jane complained. “Well, you are lucky. I just saw your doctor before coming in, he said you could be discharged but on one condition, you will be staying at my place.”
“Why?”
“The doctor advised that you shouldn’t stay alone for now,” Lisa responded.
*****
Making shifts between two part time jobs wasn’t as easy as Shaggy had thought. He had just found out that the rumors of meeting big wigs at eateries and restaurants wasn’t necessarily true.
Of course such outlets were visited by the elite but they are cocky enough to trample over small fries like himself.
Gender was also of uttermost importance. His gender was disadvantageous. He had seen them drooling over his female colleagues. Randy bar was more promising. He gets tips and handouts from the regulars regularly.
Shaggy nodded as he changed into his uniform at Good Times’ changing room. It was work as usual.
“I’ve got to pay the bills,” he whistled his favorite song and walked out to meet his first customer. “I have got your ass,’ he said to himself as he proceeded towards a patron with a warm smile.
He fixed orders and was on standby when Jeff walked into Good Times.
Shaggy gave a second look to ensure he saw clearly. “What the heck? Why is he always everywhere I go? We must have had an ill-fated intercourse in our previous lives,”Shaggy muttered.
He picked up his phone and flipped on his phone’s camera. “I could earn some dough for this little business,” he said to himself and switched off his phone’s shutter sound and flash light.
Although it was night and darkness had closed in, shaggy was sure the illumination in the eatery would do the job. He positioned himself carefully and took shots at different angles and positions. He wasn’t pleased until the last one, it gave a clearer picture of Jeff’s facial features.
Jeff felt uncomfortable on his seat. It was the first time he would have such feelings at Good Times. Without much ado, he retracted his steps and walked out of the eatery.
*****
Patrick’s phone beeped around 5am. It was an unidentified number. “Who the hell is it?” He stretched out his muscles and picked up the call.
“Hello there, it’s your boy. Your informant from Randy bar. I have the picture of the man already,” Shaggy said.
“Hello? Are you the waiter from Randy bar?” Patrick asked and sat up immediately.
“Yes, it’s Shaggy the waiter from Randy bar.” “Oh, you mean you have a picture of the man we are looking for?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t come for free.”
“Oh! Alright, I will send you 50 dollars, forward your account details,” Patrick responded without allowing him to name his price.