How was your week and
how's the weekend going for you?
I had a pretty hectic
week but I'm glad the weekend is here.
Enjoy today's post.
Ciao!!
***********************************************************************
Ivan stepped out of the
shower with his thoughts drifting to the events from the previous night. He
planned to get some work done before heading to the hospital to see Pelumi
later in the day. He got home after midnight and his head felt foggy, like he had
a hangover.
Pelumi had remained
unconscious throughout the time he was with her in the hospital. The doctors
and nurses had worked quickly to clean up her head injury and stop the
bleeding. She had suffered some injuries to her hands and feet as well.
Sitting on his bed with a
towel wrapped around his mid-section, Ivan picked up his cell phone and called
Doctor Bajulaye. Doctor Bajulaye was the chief medical practitioner at The
Healer's Place. He had been their family doctor for years while he worked at the
Lagos State University Teaching Hospital. He went on to establish
The Healer's Place about twenty years ago. The Healer’s Place was renowned for
medical excellence.
“She's conscious now and
sleeping soundly. I told you she would be alright.”
Ivan heaved a sigh of
relief. “Thank you Doc. I'll be there later today.”
He ended the call and
walked into his closet. He selected a blue Nautica Polo shirt and wore it after spraying on his cologne.
Picking up his laptop from
where it lay on his bed, he read through his emails. He had gotten some work
done when he heard his stomach growl. “Yeah, stomach, I hear ya!”
He was hungry. He hadn’t
eaten anything since he ate lunch with Alistair,
Walking into the kitchen,
Ivan poured himself some of the coffee he had just brewed and quickly made
omelets. Akpan was off for the day and besides, he had never had a problem
fixing himself a good breakfast.
An hour later, Ivan was in
a phone conversation with a client but his mind was practically at the
hospital.
"You said?" Ivan
asked the client. He heard the client sigh and hesitate. This was
the third time he was asking the client to repeat himself in five minutes. His
mind was all over the place. He didn't know why but he was longing to see
Pelumi and make sure she was doing okay.
*********************************************************************************
"Chimo! I'm in
trouble!" Ada Opara yelled on receiving Itoro's call.
“Pelumi? Accident? How did
it happen? How's my daughter?”
Itoro exhaled. “She's
stable now. She suffered a blow to her head when the car hit her.”
“My God! Ada's hands shook
while she tried to prevent the phone from falling.”
“When she didn't come home
last night, I became very troubled. I called her phone so many times without a
response. I had planned on going to the office inquire about her when one of
her co-workers gave me a call today.”
“Ah, Chineke!”
“Eh! My daughter o.”
“Mummy, calm down. Pelumi
will be okay.”
“Itoro, daalu. I will head
for Lagos now. Please text the address of the hospital.” Ada paced around the
sitting room in her house.
Steeling herself, she
wiped her tears and walked into her husband’s bedroom.
“Emeka, I am leaving for
Lagos. Pelumi was involved in an accident.” Her voice shook.
Emeka frowned. “I will
come with you.” Ada kept quiet.
“Please, let me come with
you.” Her husband pleaded.
“Okay.” Ada replied. She
called out for her two children and informed them that she and their dad were
heading to Lagos.
*********************************************************************************
Pelumi tried moving but
pain coursed through her body. She moaned, feeling restricted. Like someone had
chained her hands.
Her throat felt dry and
parched. She opened her eyes but everything looked hazy. She shut her eyes and
tried opening them again. Her head hurt and she groaned.
Someone was peering at
her. She made out the face looking at her. It was Remi.
"Hey you!" He
said to her with a small smile on his face. "Thank God you are awake.
You pulled a stunt on us all. We didn’t see this coming at all.” Pelumi
looked into his eyes.
"I was shocked and
scared when I heard about the accident. I'm so glad you are awake. I'm sure you
are going to be brand new in no time. Remi held her hands and she held on to it
like her life depended on his reassurance.
“I was told you became
unconscious last night. You must have hit your head hard after the car hit
you.”
“Hmm.” Pelumi touched her
head that moment and realized that there was a bandage around it. She winced
from the pain jabbing at her side.
Remi’s heart reached out
to her. “Poor you. Itoro came around to see you in the morning but you were
asleep. She says she'll come around this evening on her way from work. I
couldn’t sit still after I heard the news this morning and since this hospital
isn’t too far away from work, I dashed out of the office as soon as I could.”
“Thank you, Remi.”
“Anytime, Princess.”
Pelumi chuckled slightly.
She wondered how long Remi had been at her bedside.
"Water." She
gesticulated with her hand. Her voice sounded husky in her ears.
*********************************************************************************
Celeste was sited at the
lobby area when Liyel saw her. He was going to walk in the other direction when
he saw that Celeste's gaze was directed at him.
He scowled and walked
towards her.
“What are you doing here?”
“Hi!” Celeste replied him.
“What are you doing here?”
Liyel asked again. He didn’t have time for small talk.
“I came to see your
brother. I wanted to surprise him but I was told he hasn't come to the office
today.”
Liyel laughed. His voice
was filled with scorn.
“Celeste, we now live in a
jet age. We don't live in the primitive times anymore. What happened to picking
up your phone and giving Ivan a call?”
Celeste bit her lips. She
looked at the ground defeated.
“Liyel, please. Can't we
put the past behind us? I have apologized, can't you let things go?” Her voice
broke.
“Take a hike Celeste, I
know what you are trying to do and it won't work. Run along now and stop
parading yourself around here.” Liyel barked at her.
*********************************************************************************
The sound of voices
filtered into her sleep. Pelumi woke up and opened her eyes to see Ivan and a
doctor discussing.
The doctor walked out of
the room leaving her and Ivan alone. Her heart raced. What was he doing here?
Was she going to lose her job?
Then the events from the
previous night came flashing through her mind and she felt embarrassed for
being in such a vulnerable position. She should have ensured the road was clear
of vehicles before attempting to cross.
Remi had told her that
Alistair and the CEO brought her to the hospital the previous night.
"Hey!" Ivan's
baritone voice seemed to echo in the room.
“Hi!” Pelumi answered in a
small voice.
“How are we doing today?”
Ivan asked with a smile on his face. Pelumi shrugged a little. Her body
was still in pain.
"Thank you for last
night. Heard you brought me here."
“It’s nothing! I would
have done it for anyone.”
“Have you had anything to
eat”? I stopped at the Supermarket and got you these. He took the Lucozade and
Ribena drinks out of the plastic bags. I hope you like these? I wasn’t sure
what else to bring along with me.
Pelumi smiled. “Thank you
for your thoughtfulness.”
“My pleasure Ms Jacobs.”
“Pelumi” she corrected
him.
“Well, of course Madame!
Oh shoot! Pelumi.” He winked at her.
“Do you need anything?”
Ivan asked.
“Yes, my cell phone
please.”
“Okay, I remember putting
your handbag right here last night. Let’s hope it’s in there.” Ivan reached for
her handbag and handed it over to her. Pelumi fiddled inside it slowly and let
out a sigh when she saw all the missed calls. Ten from Itoro and another ten
from her mother. There were others from her friends.
Doctor Bajulaye walked in
with two nurses.
“Young lady, I’d suggest
you put the phone away. It’s a miracle that you recovered from the comatose
state you were in very quickly. You suffered a concussion last night and those
bright lights from your phone can make matters worse.” The doctor explained.
“We got an X-ray of your
head done last night. We might still need one more scan just to err on the side
of caution.”
Pelumi tried moving her
body where she laid on the bed and flinched. The doctor noticed her discomfort.
“Where does it hurt?”
“The left side of my arm.”
Pelumi replied.
“Your hand looks swollen.”
He carried out some basic tests right there and then.
“We’d have to put your arm
in a sling.”
He touched the other arm
and examined it. “This one looks normal. Is there anywhere else you feel pain?”
She indicated and the
doctor took down notes.
“Nurse Fae, please give
her some medicine. We have to put her hand in a sling right away.” Doctor
Bajulaye adjusted Pelumi’s bed when he noticed her awkward position.
She shut her eyes trying
hard not to believe that this entire situation was happening to
her. When she opened it, she locked eyes with Ivan before lowering
her gaze. His eyes looked like they were filled with concern as she held back a
tear. Oh, how she hated hospitals!
When the doctor left, she
got Ivan to help call her mother and Itoro.
*********************************************************************************
“Nengi, so you know, I
have to make another quick trip to Austria. I got a lot of new customers after
the Danjuma wedding.” Tamuno told her sister excitedly. Her business was
thriving and this year alone, she had made such huge profits that left her in a
pure state of unbelief.
“Tamuno, how’s Ibifubara?”
“You mean my husband?”
Nengi looked at her sister
waiting for a response.
“Oh, he’s fine o.”
“What about Ebiyalefa?”
“You know he’s in school
in Germany.”
Nengi nodded. Ebiyalefa
was Tamuno’s only son who was currently studying in Germany for his first
degree. Nkoyo had been complaining lately that something was off with him. She
could feel it too.
It now took ages before he
replied to her messages. At first, she had blamed it on his schedule. Maybe he
was extremely busy. Maybe he was trying to focus hard on his
studies. Then Nkoyo had come complaining and stating how he looked
odd in pictures she saw on Instagram.
“Wait o, Nengi, what is it
with these probing questions?” Tamuno asked her sister sneering.
“Tamuno, have you taken a
close look at Onajite lately?”
“My daughter?”
Nengi almost rolled over
with laughter. It was either her sister had started taking ‘kai-kai’ with her
exaggerated expressions this evening or something else was up with her.
“Have you noticed the deep
sadness etched in her eyes?”
“My own Najite?” Tamuno
gestured with her hands.
“Tamuno, it’s good to
travel the world doing business. You have done it fantastically well all these
years but maybe you need to pay a little more attention to your family. Try
calling Ebiyalefa from time to time or even go to Germany and pay him a visit.”
Nengi held her peace. She
didn’t want to say more.
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