I grabbed the phone tightly in my hands. I closed my eyes and opened them, clearing my throat, I opened up the message.
I rolled my eyes in irritation when I read the name of the sender.
"Hey, Nora. It's Bella. Heard about what happened to your mother. Is she okay now? Oh what a pity. How did you get money for her surgery? I heard it was some huge amount of money?". Come on, tell me".
Isn't this girl just crazy? Why is she showing concern out of a sudden and why should I tell her where the money came from? Goodness! This girl keeps getting on my nerves. Nevertheless, I still replied to her. "Thanks for checking. My mother is fine". I sent her the text and I put the phone to sleep and tossed it off the bed.
I leaned into the sofa, with my hands behind my neck and legs crossed on each other. As I watched the show. It was a rebroadcast. The show is always shown every morning from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM. Two hours duration and since I'm not always home at that time, I do watch the rebroadcast in the evening. Same time as the morning session and as earlier said, I do watch it because of the chef. He does have amazing skills in cooking. What I don't understand is why he does not have a restaurant of his own even though I'm not sure about if he has it or not. However, he has never made mention of owning one in his interviews and that makes me doubt it.
Oh, I forgot to tell you the name of the show. Stupid me. "Wishes come true". Funny as it may seem. "Whatever you wish for, can come true, if you put your mind to it, meaning you can make the best meals if you wish to". That was the simple explanation he gave when he was asked to explain why he had to name his show as such. Well, whoever he is, good for him. He has made it in life.
***
It's Monday and I didn't go to work. I had to take permission from Ms.Madalyn to give me some time off. I needed to make sure my mother was ok before going back to work. And I have been anxiously waiting and checking my phone every second for the past few days, hoping someone could at least text and tell me that; they are the ones who sent the money, but no one did. What exactly was I going to tell my mother, if she asked where I got the money from? I know she was never going to let that slide. She never left any stone unturned and not when it involved money. I just have to think about something to tell her. She must not know the source of the money or else, she was going to get a panic attack and get yet another cardiac arrest and that was not something I wanted to happen.
And I hope Nolan will keep his mouth shut.
Now that I think of it, Nolan has not been home, since our last argument at the hospital. I waited for him to show up at the house that night, but he did not. I got worried, even though we fought. He is my brother and my family will always remain family no matter what. I had to call his friend; Gordon because I knew that was the only place he could be at. When I called, Gordon told me that he was not going to return home, till my mother was back from the hospital. And I know that was one of his tricks to make me forgive him because he knew we were not going to act stupidly in front of our mother as that was uncalled for.
Presently, I was sitting in the living room on a black deck chair, in blue faded jeans, and a black t-shirt over the jeans. My hair which I took out my time yesterday to brush was tied behind my head in a neat chignon. I slid into my purple ballet flats, ready to go to the hospital to get my mother home. I picked up my usual black satchel bag that was on the cemented floor waiting for me. I put it over my shoulders and stepped outside of the house.
"Nora!" When I turned to key the door behind me, someone called my name from behind. I immediately spun around, to see Nolan, standing under the drizzly rain, which didn't seem to stop any time too soon.
"I'm sorry, Nora, please don't push me away". Just the disheveled appearance in which he was, was enough for me to forgive him. His hair was a total mess, locks falling in opposite directions, and his eyes looked swollen. He stood there with hands folded in front of him like a lost child, who was waiting for his parents who seemed not to be coming any time soon. I removed the key from the door and stood with my hands on my waist looking at him, thinking of what possible thing to tell him.
"I know what I said was wrong. Please do not punish me for it. I'm deeply sorry". He was now on his knees, with his eyes not leaving mine and I didn't have the time for all these. He was wasting my time. "Get up Nolan, and make sure not to say such again ". I told him, extending my hand forward for him to take. I was going to forgive him, no matter what. I drag him into a tight hug. "Alright, we have to hurry now. Mother must be waiting for us". We detached from the hug and he hurried inside to have a change of clothes. When he was done, we hired a taxi that took us to the hospital.
***
"Thank you, doctor Mark". My mother thanked him one more time. I smile at her gesture. She looked so alive. Her weight, returning to normal. Her black hair, sleeping silkily on her back. I sent my hand forward and massaged it a little. Her eyes which were usually black were now a shining brown. And for the first time, I let out a sigh of relief given that she was happy.
"You should thank your daughter. She paid the money right on time. If not, we would have not been able to save you". I shook my head in denial, with my hand coming to my forehead to massage it. This man was going to get me into trouble. My mother looked at me, before glancing over at Nolan, who was also looking at me. Making things difficult now.
"That's good". She smiled and I did, but not until she asked "how much? And how did you manage to get it?". Oh boy!