Humph! Humph!! Humph!!!
A limousine ran on the road at full speed, dangerously overtaking other vehicles. Vehicle owners couldn't help but curse at the long car for such a reckless manoeuvre.
Richard Williams, the chauffeur appeared agitated as he constantly peered on the side mirrors, while refusing to slow down the long car he was driving.
Due to the reduced lighting, he was forced to use his brakes from time to time, which was inconvenient for him.
07:33 pm.
His phone kept ringing and vibrating, but Richard didn't pick it up. He knew the person that was calling him. But he wasn't disturbed by it at all.
As soon as he reached the front of his home, he jumped out of the car and ran towards the duplex house.
"Dad!" Tammy, Richard's daughter ran to him with tears on her face. "Mum is not okay!" She reported, sniffing the snot on her nose.
Richard ignored her and ran to the room, and found his unconscious wife lying on the bed. She lay on the bed in an unnatural position.
Richard gently lifted her and took her to the limousine. He ran to the driver's seat and started the engine almost immediately.
"Dad!" Tammy screamed from the door's entrance. "Hold on baby, I'll be right back. Go back to the house", Richard said with a hurried expression and drove off almost immediately.
To his relief, the traffic was lesser than it was earlier, it cut down the time it took him to reach the hospital in half.
Swiping the beads of sweat from his forehead, he gently lifted his wife and walked fast inside the hospital.
Immediately, the nurses that saw the emergency swarmed in like bees to Richard and took care of his burden.
"We'll take it from here sir", the nurse told Richard as she, with the help of other nurses, placed her on the stretcher and wheeled her to the theatre room.
"I need to follow her inside!" Richard said with exasperation. "No, mister. Stay in the reception area. We'll be back soon", one of the nurses stopped him from approaching the operating room.
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard kept pacing across the empty receptionist room with a troubled expression. He kept mumbling something under his breath.
His phone vibrated for the millionth time. Richard checked the caller ID and saw that it was his boss.
Shit! He forgot to take Kanye home! He was going to get fired, that which he was sure of.
Richard was a chauffeur that drove celebrities. Due to his punctuality and charisma, he was favoured among most of them. Consequently, he was promoted, which was a week ago.
He was supposed to take Kanye home from one of his music tours, but the sudden emergency made him forget this critical task.
But this didn't trouble him that much. All he wanted right now was an assurance that his wife was alright.
After an excruciating two hours, the doctor came out of the theatre room drenched with sweat. Richard sped up to her.
"How is she? Is..,shhe...fine?" Richard asked with an uneasy expression.
The doctor removed her face mask and looked into his eyes. "It was a tough battle, but she and the baby are fine. She was lucky that she was brought here in time".
Richard suddenly frowned. "Baby?" He asked. "Yes. She was seven months pregnant", the doctor verified. "Her condition was a very unique one. Her pregnancy didn't even show in her body, despite being pregnant for that long", she added.
"Can I see her now?" Richard asked impatiently. "Unfortunately, that will be a no. She underwent a C-Section operation, so for now, she is not in the right condition to talk to anyone. We placed her in a medically induced coma right now. You can come back tomorrow to see her", the doctor said.
"Hell no, I would not! I'm staying here ma'am", Richard said excitedly. The experienced doctor smiled gently and informed him that he could only stay in the reception, which Richard immediately accepted.
His phone began buzzing again. Richard irritatedly took out his phone and prepared to shut it down, but noticed that it wasn't his boss calling him this time.
It was his neighbour.
"Hello?" He said.
* * * * * * * * * *
Ten hours later, the visiting hours opened, and Richard, who was sleeping among the chairs woke up with a start and walked to the day shift nurse.
"Where's my wife?" He asked. "Name please?" The nurse asked. "Julie Williams. Her name is Julie Williams", Richard said.
After the nurse typed on her computer, she said; "Ward 052", she announced and took out a book for Richard to sign, but Richard was already gone before she could take out her pen.
Richard raced towards the ward and open the door, and found his wife sleeping on the bed.
Seeing her breathing peacefully, his nerves were able to calm down significantly. "Honeypot", Richard said with a shaky voice as he locked his hands with hers.
Julie stirred a little and opened her eyes weakly. "Richard", she said weakly. "I'm here, I'm here", Richard said with tears streaming down his face.
Julie smiled weakly. "Tammy and Elsa? Where are they?" She asked again. "She's with Ms Betty, don't worry, they're fine", he said and sniffed.
As if on a cue, Tammy and Elsa, Richard's daughters entered the ward, along with a middle-aged woman. Richard walked up to them and hugged them.
"Sorry, daddy left you alone. Mummy needed help", he said with a soothing voice.
Then, a baby's cry could be heard. Richard walked to the basket that contained the baby and took him out and cradled him in his arms.
"He's beautiful", he said with a smile. "Can I carry him?" Tammy said excitedly. "Me too!" Elsa, who didn't want to be left out, said.
"Sure honey", Richard said and gently placed the baby on Tammy's arm. The crying baby stopped as soon as Tammy wrapped her arms around him.
Richard felt full in his heart as he stared at the baby. He has experienced this moment twice, but it appeared that he couldn't get used to it.
He didn't forget his wife, though. Julie was already strong enough to sit up by herself. Richard sat close to her, holding her hands and gazing at her passionately.
"You are more beautiful than ever, honeypot", he said with a huge smile. "Aww, Richard, it's good you see me this way, despite being a huge mess right now", she said, returning the smile.
"What should we name him?" Richard's asked. "I've got a perfect name for him", Julie said.
"Hawking. Hawking Williams", she said, looking at the baby in Tammy's arms. "Hawking. That's a perfect name", Richard said.