Dana was headed to the kitchen to get something to drink when she saw her father on the staircase with his head resting against the rails. It's 2:00 am in the morning and she is having one of those sleepless nights where her parents will quarrel and argue till dawn. But this night was not like every other night, Dana had heard the quarrels, just that it ended almost as soon as it began.
"Dad? Are you ok?" Dana inquired coming down a few steps to meet up with her father.
"I don't know D, I think I'm having a heart attack". Raymond responded, holding on to his left breast and slightly tilting his head upwards to catch a glimpse of his daughter. His tone was breathy which stirred up panic in Dana.
"Omg! Dad? Where is mom? Is she aware of your situation?"
Raymond was obviously struggling as he could barely speak. Without waiting for a response, Dana dashed to her parents room and saw her mother all dressed up and making their bed. She was taken aback and startled to see her mom joyfully making the bed and even humming to one of her favourite hymns.
"Mom! Dad is having a heart attack, he needs to be taken to the hospital". Dana who was already turning red from the tears and frustration yelled at her mom who seemed unbothered.
"I know dear." Cynthia responded with a smile as she slowly ran her hand through the laid sheets to straighten it out.
"You know? So take him to the hospital already". Dana attacked.
"Oh dear, you know that I never leave the house with our bed undressed."
"Mom! This is dad! He's dying, do something! Anything, but please don't dress the bed while daddy struggles with his life, please mom! I'm begging you. He needs to be at the hospital right now! Please mom! Time is of the essence". Dana broke down in tears, holding her mother's leg as she wept profusely. An action which seemed to have touched Cynthia. She held Dana by the shoulder and gently lifted her up.
"Go get the car keys, I'm coming down let me grab my purse." Cynthia instructed Dana in her usual calm soothing voice. Dana ran downstairs to the shelf to pick up the car key, while Cynthia turned to her wardrobe to get her purse which contained her credit cards. Just as Cynthia was checking through the purse to be sure that all the cards were right in it, she heard Dana scream, calling out to her. Her heart flew and the purse dropped from her hands. She immediately rushed down stairs to see Raymond lifeless in Dana's arms.
Quickly, she rushed to where they were and lifted Raymond's right hand on her shoulders while urging Dana to lift the other of Raymond's hand on hers. Raymond was stiff and heavy as hell but both mother and child silently hoped for a miracle. They gathered all the strength that they could and when they got to the car, Dana remembered she couldn't get to the shelf for the keys. The moment she came out of her mother's room down the staircase, she saw her father lying lifeless on the floor. He seemed to have lost consciousness and rolled down the stairs.
"Here, I'd hold onto your father, quickly go bring the keys," Cynthia ordered Dana, taking Raymond's hands from Dana's shoulders. Like the speed of light, it seemed Dana took just two leaps to get inside the house, get the keys and come out again. Both Ladies helped Raymond into the back of the car while Cynthia drove with Dana by her side.
It was just 3 hours gone by but it felt like eternity for both mother and child. The ride to the hospital was a reckless one because Cynthia drove way above the speed limit. Like the heavens was on her side, the road was cop and vehicle free. Although she was caught by some security cameras, that was the least of her problems because she was hell bent on saving Raymond. Or at least to satisfy her conscience that she made efforts to get him help.
On reaching the hospital, Dana didn't wait for her mother to park before doing a risky jump from the car that was gradually coming to a halt. Again, like the speed of light, she ran into the hospital screaming for the nurses and doctors or anyone who could help. Staying true to their profession, the medical team after listening to Dana’s mumble and her yelling my dad is dying, quickly rolled out a stretcher and followed Dana to where her mother was parked.
Rex was brought out by the team and quickly rolled to the emergency unit. Unfortunately, after all careful examination and procedures, Rex was declared dead on arrival.
Both women stood on the emergency walkway waiting for a miracle. Unfortunately, each step that they watched the doctor take while walking up to them gave off the vibration of doom. Dana immediately senses that her dad was no more causing her to scream a deafening No.
Cynthia at her end couldn't process all what was going on. At first, she felt it was a prank by Raymond to escape their usual fights and quarrels.
Seeing them in the hospital and the doctor walking up to them, she felt it was a dream and as the doctor broke the news of Raymond's death, she kept pinching herself to wake up.
"Doctor, it can't be. I know my husband Raymond, he just wants to get me off his shoulders so I will stop reminding him of his infidelity.
Don't worry, he will come around, just give him some time." Cynthia said to the doctor in an unusually calm and composed manner, wearing her confident smiles.
Dana at her end was already on the floor with her head bowed down and her hands resting on her head.
Weeping profusely, she could hear her mom casually dismiss the doctor's report like her father didn't just die. In that rage, remembering the role that her mother played while her father struggled with his attack, she matched to where her mother was, yelling aggressively, “you murderer! You killed dad! You knew his condition, you knew his recovery process was slow but you kept using his infidelity against him.
He relapsed mom, dad had a heart attack again and he was dying. What did you do? You knew time is of the essence but that didn't matter to you.
Mom dad was struggling and you were straightening out the sheet?? How heartless and cold blooded can you be mom?
You killed dad and I will never forgive you.”
Dana walked really close to her mother and shoved her to the wall, causing Cynthia to stagger and fall. It seemed that the push gave Cynthia a reality check because she just sat on the floor with her eyes widened and her mouth slightly opened watching Dana run out of the hospital weeping.
"Buuu... But... Raymond and I were just having an argument, how could he be dead?" Cynthia questioned.
She looked around to be sure she didn't just rush Raymond's lifeless body to the hospital.
She looked around to be sure she's still in her bedroom having the argument with Raymond. She wished she had just let Raymond's infidelity slide. Surely she was hurt and still hurt that Raymond had an affair with her best friend.
An affair that led him to a heart attack right in Cynthia's bestfriend apartment. It was one betrayal that Cynthia just couldn't look past and despite nursing Raymond, no day passes by where she doesn't constantly remind him of his betrayal.
On the night Raymond had relapsed and died, Cynthia had requested for a divorce because it seemed the humiliation was too much for her to bear. While she waited for a response from him, Raymond was quiet and when he finally spoke, he told Cynthia that he was having a heart attack.
Cynthia felt he was just playing smart and casually told him to go wait for her downstairs why she gets ready to take him to the hospital.
As Cynthia sat on her back, resting on the wall, she could not process the right emotions to bring tears from her eyes. Rather than cry, she mentally slipped into the past remembering how she was with Raymond.
She remembered how they were so happy and Raymond kept the show of the perfect husband till his affair blew open and became a topic for public opinions. Cynthia is a woman who has carried herself with Grace. Unfortunately for her, her husband's affair dragged her to the mud and she was the one feeling the heat.
The life she knew, the respect and admiration she once had and saw in the eyes of her neighbours plus work colleagues, now turned to mockery and scorn.
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Ok, noted.