Apart from the beeps of the cardiograph and the indistinct chatter in the distance, the room possessed an enviable amount of silence. Outside the door to the room he occupied, it was a beehive of activity. Cindy sat on the visitors' bench down the hall waiting for the visiting time bell to ding. Anxiety made the sole hour seem like days. The lack of answers to her questions offered her the greatest torment. Chief being whether he was okay or not. It only took a moment for her to turn from angry and depressed to sympathy and remorse. Now she sat in the last place she would have wanted to sit. The hospital. Thoughts of her departed mother sat with her and offered her unwanted company that needed not her permission to stay. She began to relive the moment when the Grim Reaper mercilessly tore her world apart. She envisioned the blood on the hands and face of her motionless mother and it felt so real as if it was happening all over again. The tears threatened to spill like floodgates holding back water to a lake already too full. Jade sat beside her, the ever present shoulder she could lean on. Their minds were so focused on their own issues that they were oblivious to the activity going on around them.
The door opened and a couple of nurses came in. One held a clipboard and a pen while the other held a pair of liquid IV pouches and some medicine bottles. They smiled at Jake and the one with the IV pouches rushed to the side of his bed and started replacing the one already there. Jake looked up at her and said, "Am I going to be okay ma'am"? She smiled at him and turned to face him, reached for his arm and replied, "You're okay dear. We'll take good care of you". With the injection of confidence, Jake went on to fashion a smile of his own which lasted for a micro second. The door swung open violently. All hail her boisterous, malevolent highness Elizabeth! She looked expensive as usual with the Louis Vuitton handbag, the designer clothes wrapping her magnificently shaped frame, and glimmering from every angle courtesy of the jewels that were on her wrists, fingers and around her neck. "Jacob, here we are again", she said as she stepped into the room. Jake's face changed in an instant. The scorn on his face was so clear that even one devoid of sight could feel it. "Who called you here Elizabeth? Can't you just stay away or find places where you are actually wanted? Like hell", Jake shot back then looked away. Elizabeth continued towards his bed and the nurse with the clipboard recovered from her shock and enquired, "Excuse me ma'am but who are you? You shouldn't be here before visiting time". Elizabeth continued until she reached her destination. She pulled the chair beside his bed and threw herself into it. The nurse moved in the same direction intent on getting answers to her questions. Elizabeth dropped her handbag to the ground, crossed her legs and then folded her arms. She began tossing the leg on top up and down, looked at the nurse who was now standing just in front of her and with a loud pitched voice shouted, "I am his wife and also the woman you don't want to mess with darling". Everyone in the room went quiet as she seethed with her stare reaching deep into the nurse's eyes and tearing down her attempt at a fight. "You best be careful how you tread this ground because there is thin ice underneath", she added. Jake noticed the distress in the nurses' fresh demeanour and sought to come to their rescue. "Everything always has to be a fight with you doesn't it darling?" he quizzed. "I got a suggestion, why don't you call whoever called you and thank them but also tell them that this is a place where you are not needed". Elizabeth must have missed the gist of Jake's message completely. Instead, she picked sarcasm which made her smile. She leaned towards Jake to kiss him on his forehead but he moved away just in time. His cheeks in the end became collateral damage.
Cindy rested her head on Jade's thighs and annoyingly fidgeted from side to side. The wait was making her very uncomfortable. Eventually Jade gently held her down and whispered into her ear, "You have to pick a spot honey and occupy it". Cindy looked at her watch for the umpteenth time, the hour would soon be upon them. As it grew more and more imminent, the hands on the clock seemed to engage snail speed. They, unlike her, were in no rush. Jade began to stroke her hair and each time she ran her fingers through, Cindy got momentary respite from reality. The world was so cruel to her and always found a way to take from her every good thing that dared come close to her. Except Jade. But then again maybe her time to leave would come. Finally! It was 5 o' clock and the hospital bell rang to signal the commencement of visiting hour. Cindy leapt to her feet and with potent doses of injected purpose strode away from the bench. Jade followed her from a distance. Bit by bit the activity in the hallway increased as people flocked to ward doors to see the patients. As the journey grew closer to completion, her steps became heavier. Uncertainty was taking the throne and she was his subject.
The tension in the air was seeking total domination. At the present moment, that reality wasn't too far off. The nurses upon completion of their tasks had vacated the room and left Jake to fend off the beast by himself. The only weapon in his arsenal was silence. This was a game she was happy to indulge him in given she had nothing but time at her disposal. She questioned her intentions in the room and failed to explain them to her own self. When she cast glances at his handsome face, she realized he still owned substantial real estate in her largely incredulous heart. She had grown up in abundance but the time she had spent with this lowly boy from the upper eastern high density suburbs where the highlight of her life. But she had thrown it all away when she sought to control him like she had grown up doing to everything and everyone else. That was the curse that held back the rest of the world from her. She too longed to be a wanted part of society but her background wasn't kind in that respect. Occasionally, when the silence got too loud, she got up and went around the room wherein her husband, technically, was imprisoned. She waited on the doctor to deliver the results of the multiple tests they had run. The hospital had called her given she was still the emergency contact registered with the medical aid company. Jake intended to change that but a lack of hospitalization had postponed that mission indefinitely till now, a move he would rue. Seeing her only made him worse. The pictures began to come into his head. The memory awaken and in a panoramic view began to play in his mind. The beeps on the cardiograph grew in frequency. Bit by bit he became livid. When he could not contain himself any longer, he burst out "Who called you here Elizabeth? I thought I made it clear that I never wanted to see you again. But here you are showing up at my house, my work. Why won't you just leave me alone? Go be with him". When he spoke, she stopped dead in her tracks and turned her upper body till it had given him its full attention. She transformed from ice queen to susceptible little princess in an instance. He had just struck a nerve. She wasn't strong enough to bear it. Just then, a tear escaped from her eyes and ran down her face till it got suspended on her chin. He was so charming, but he could be cruel. "Jake, how many times do I have to say I'm sorry? It was a big mistake and I learnt from it. I'll never do that to you again". He rose from where he lay, leveraging with arms that rested on the base of the mattress propelling him upward. "You will never do that to me again because you no longer exist Liz", he replied. The contempt on his face spoke louder than the words he had shouted at her. His forehead was crinkled. On the other end of the room Elizabeth's high horse was tumbling to the floor and soon she would kiss the ground. Defeat wasn't a concept she was all too familiar with. As he hissed these words, her mood changed. She lifted her hand and her index finger wiped the tear that hung on the precipice that is her chin, about to escape to freedom. Her thumb followed and swept away the evidence of others that had gone before it. She looked straight into his eyes, the sinister look had returned from its short lived break. Now the world had to wait for another blue moon for her to portray weakness and vulnerability. "Listen here Jakie boy, don't forget I still pay the bills here. It is my money. So I'd watch what I say if I were you because all this…" she said as she waved her finger in the air in circular motion, "I'll burn it to the ground and leave you to feed off the ashes". She went on, "Your lowlife of a love interest, where is she now?" As she spoke the door slowly swung open and caught both their attention…
She knew he was in room 23A, and she knew which side it was but that couldn't stop her from checking all the doors she was going past. She grew more and more anxious as she neared the door. Her heart somehow too heavy, as solid rock. Her chest struggled to keep it in its proper place. Jade caught up with her and threw her arm around her then with an assuring look urged her on. His room was located on a cul-de-sac, at the end of the hall. Along the way, they passed by nurses and other visitors and a couple of stretchers whereon lay incoming casualty patients. The uncertainty of where she was going was accompanied by the memory the last time she saw her mother. It unleashed a pandemonium of thoughts in her mind. It was absolute chaos. She garnered all the strength she could muster and allotted it to her weary feet. Though slowly, it was important she keep going. As she came to the door, she heard silence. She stopped outside and began weaving up a speech. She hoped there could have been someone else inside. Maybe then it would be less awkward, but she had to carry all the weight as she sought to atone for her friend's sin which ultimately rested on her. She cursed her lack of luck. The day had kicked of beautifully and it had seemed the Great Wall of China that surrounded them, impregnable, would keep them safely entwined in their cocoon but just the appearance of that despicable woman had changed it into the walls of Jericho. And she was Humpty-Dumpty in this story. As she took deep breaths, she heard voices inside. Oh! So there were people in there after all? But why were they quiet. She reached for the door handle but hesitated to open the door. She came closer and directed all her listening facilities towards the conversation inside the room. It was pretty tense. She made out Jake's voice but was failing to make out the other one. A female voice. She spoke gently and softly and appeared to cry, then seemed to turn choleric. She moved closer and planted her ear by the door. As she listened further, a string of words prompted her to open the door and push it open. As it opened and revealed them that were inside, she stepped in and said, "The lowlife is right here Jake. She is right here, for you".