Miriam swallowed hard. Her mind went blank for a moment. She knew it wasn't a confirmed scan for her dad, but she couldn't shake off that feeling rising up in her chest at that moment. She dreaded the fact that her dad was sick and was hiding it from them. It was a normal thing for humans to fall sick sometimes, well not like it's a good thing. So why would he hide it? And if their assumptions about the scan ended up being true, then it meant he was not only suffering with such a condition, but also suffering for having to keep this whole thing to himself. She wondered why he would do that.
In their own small family, they were all there for each other. Supporting each other in times of need. They loved each other and understood themselves in their own ways. So this whole hiding thing was a bit surprising to her. She was especially worried about how her mother would take this. Not to talk of the overprotective Lordy. She sighed, darting her eyes back and forth in nervousness.
Robert rubbed her back to calm her down without saying a word. He could understand her worry. The report was a scary one, even to him. Knowing almost nothing could be done at that stage, and the possibility of her father dying even if they tried to intervene by surgery was the most painful part of this whole issue.
"Let's not be pessimistic about this. It may turn out not being his report." Roland said after some time, and Miriam sighed, saying nothing. "You'll have to talk to him for us to see. If he confirms then we would have to work as fast as possible to find a solution."
"If he's hiding it then he will deny it. That I'm very sure." Miriam uttered in a sorrowful voice.
"You'd still need to talk to him. You can call him." Roland said and checked the time on his wrist watch. "Maybe tomorrow. It's quite late now." He added when he saw it was almost 30 minutes past 9pm. But he saw Miriam shaking her head.
"No. I won't call him. I'll see him personally. I need to be there to pick on every single expression on his face when I talk to him. That way I would easily find out if he's really hiding something."
"That is a good idea. But it should be sooner than later."
"I'll go there tomorrow. I don't have to go to work on Sundays anyway so that's fine."
"That's good." Roland replied but later frowned. "So... that means... our plan for tomorrow is cancelled, perhaps?"
Miriam frown as well, not understanding what he was talking about. What plan for tomorrow was he...
"Oh, you mean the lunch? Honestly I forgot about it. I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. There's a lot on your plate, I understand." Roland said with a smile, but Miriam felt he was being sarcastic.
"Roland you know it's not my fault, right?"
"I didn't say anything." He laughed. "Don't worry, I understand. But you can't turn me down next time."
"I won't. Thanks a lot for your help, Roland."
"That's what friends do." Roland replied with a smile. "But I can come and pick you up tomorrow and send you..."
"No, Roland." Miriam was quick to cut him short, knowing where the conversation was heading to. "I can do this on my own. Don't worry." She smiled and Roland could only nod. She knew he had a lot to do as a doctor. She didn't want to bother him, although he kept telling him helping her wasn't a bother. She was just too stubborn.
They stayed for sometimes, with Miriam mostly brooding over the report and Roland trying to distract her. At the end, she was successfully distracted when Roland asked about her new recipes and other work related stuff. A few minutes to 10pm, they were on their way to Miriam's apartment. After thanking him once again, they parted ways and Miriam went inside.
When she opened the door, the strong smell of alcohol greeted her. She scrunched up her face at the smell and headed to the one place she knew it could be coming from, Jane's room.
She got to her door and raised her hand to knock but decided against it, and instead, leaned against the door to listen for any sound. Maybe she had company, which wasn't a new thing since she sometimes brought guys in. She didn't hear any sound, so she presumed she was asleep. She gently knocked on the door several times. When she got no response, she turned the knob and it opened.
Peeking in, the first thing that caught her attention was an empty but messy bed. Her eyes swept across the room and she saw scattered clothes and shoes and empty bottles of wine.
She frowned.
What was wrong with this girl? She though, as she stepped over some items as she entered the room. She called out her name, thinking she was in the bathroom, but there was silence. She went ahead to check but she wasn't there either. Turning around, she scanned the room once more, feeling disgusted by the mess. Her OCD kicked in slowly nd she itched. Trying to control herself, she decided to leave the room when her eyes fell on a note on her dresser. She picked it up and read.
'I'm out having fun. Don't worry, I'm okay. Don't forget to lock the door. I love you.'
Miriam scoffed. Don't forget to lock the door? Oh so she wasn't coming back tonight. That was what she meant by don't forget to lock the door. This girl, why the sudden change? Miriam thought she had overcome that kind of lifestyle. It's been a while since she saw this side of her. What had gotten into her now?
Shaking her head, she turned to leave, only to slip by accidentally stepping on one of the empty bottles. She quickly controlled her stance and was able to save her butt from the cold her floor. She cursed, and looked around the room again, and finally, her OCD took over and she started putting the place in order. She organised everything and threw all her scattered clothes into her laundry basket and straightened the sheets on the bed. She swept the whole room and arranged all the misplaced stuffs before taking the trash out.
She sighed, more in satisfaction than in relief. Oh, how she hated disorganised places. It was like an eyesore. She quickly went to her room, straight into the shower she went. She couldn't afford to mess around in the dirt she had on herself after the tedious work.
After the long shower, she fell limply on her bed and was only able to fall asleep when it was almost morning, thinking of her conversation with Roland. She woke up with a headache, but as thoughts of her dad came up, fear of the unknown surged through her veins, making her spring up quickly to freshen up and prepare to go visit her parents. She needed to find out the truth about her dad's condition, if it was true. She hoped it was not, but deep down she was afraid it was true. And that only almost set her in a panic mode. But she took deep breaths to calm herself down and got ready.
She did some quick cleaning around the house. Well, sometimes it didn't seem like necessary, but as the clean freak that she was, she always had the thought that as long as the doors to the apartment are opened, even for just a moment, dirt finds a way in. After cleaning around, she went and made a simple breakfast of sandwich and her favourite cranberry juice. Janet was still not back, so she also left a note and left for her parents' place.
On her way, she decided to call her dad, but changed her mind and called her mom instead.
"Hi, mom."
"Mimie, how're you doing?"
"I'm doing well, mom. How are you? And dad?"
"We're both fine... Well, I'm fine, your dad looks pale. I think he is still not fine." Miriam's heart skipped a beat as she stilled in the cab. "I talked him into seeing a doctor and he went for a check up. Gladly, they said it was stress and that he needs enough rest." Gerry went on, not minding the silence at the other end.
"Mom, I think dad is really sick. I think there's more to it that just stress." Miriam chipped in. Her gut feelings were almost coming true and she panicked.
"You think so?"
"Yes!" Miriam replied. "Where's dad?"
"He went for a walk. We just finished having breakfast and he said he needed to take a short walk around the house."
"Listen, I am on my way home now. I have a bad feeling about dad's health. And I also got some information I need you to see."
"Miriam, is everything okay? What happened?" Gerry asked, sounding a bit panicky.
"Don't worry mom. I'll be there in less than half an hour."
"Alright dear. I'll be waiting. Have you had breakfast yet?"
"Yes mom."
"Alright. Safe journey." Gerry said and soon after, the call ended. She slowly brought the phone down from her ear.
No. Hopefully, her fears and nightmares were not going to happen, right? Dominic was fine, right?