Rosie and I got to the hospital and the doctor immediately informed us that my mum needs to conduct her surgery as soon as possible. No matter what has happened to me between last night and this morning I am still grateful that I got that gig and I have money for mum's surgery. I rush to pay for the surgery and mum is prepared for surgery and immediately taken to the Operating theatre.
The whole time Rosie is with me as we wait for the surgery to be over. Hoping for only the best. Rosie goes ahead to inform the studio where I work that I won't be coming in for some time. And my boss, being a nice person, accepts and sends his support. Calls have equally come in from my colleagues and she has been the one in charge of answering all the calls on my behalf. When God put her in my life he knew what he was doing because having her here supporting me all through has been wholesome and I am grateful.
Three hours and some minutes later the doctor comes out and I rush towards him "Doctor how's my mother", he smiles at my question. "She's fine, please follow me to my office", Rosie and I move at his word as he leads us towards his office, we enter and take our seats " The surgery was successful and your mother is doing fine. She'll be discharged next tomorrow and asides that everything is fine. I just want to inform you that since she just had the surgery there are certain things you'll need to know to be able to take care of her properly", he hands me a paper with written instructions on things she might need and how to tend to her. "The note is self explanatory, she shouldn't be given hard food for now, avoid touching the operated spot with water and so on and so forth, just things you should be aware of. If you have any questions you can ask. I have also prescribed some pain killers for her and some other drugs since she's diabetic. That's basically it." He handed over the other paper with the prescription. "Can we see her?" I ask and he responds. " sure but she's asleep and I'll advise you to allow her to rest. She's in the female ward, room 15".
We thank him and leave his office heading straight to where mum is. The room is quiet with only the machine beeping rhythmically. None of us utter a word as we stay with my mum till it gets really late and we both head home.
The moment I enter my house I know something is off. I switch on the light in our living area and I am face to face with the man I owe money, Crazy Patrick. "Hello there sweet peas.., it took you a while to get home, where have you been?, you've been whoring about haven't ya?" He smiled sinisterly at me.. His goons stood behind him and stared straight at me with a stoic expression. "You know I saw you that night looking so glorious in the back dress that accentuated your fine figure, all I wanted to do was grab you and make you all mine but I said to myself now, now, Patrick that's not the way to treat a lady who is trying to pay her dues, so.., I let you be, but damn! You sure looked inviting… I bet those rich bastards couldn't get their eyes off you. Tell me Sweet peas… were you able to get one of those rich bastards or you had all of them hmmm…. I would have been there to watch you work but I had a little business to attend to so I couldn't watch you my dear sweet peas". My skin crawled at his words. I was both scared and disgusted. Scared that he could hurt me at any moment when his soul delights and the fact that he was aware of what's going on in my life. Disgusted that he thinks I'm a prostitute of some sort when I'm just a simple girl trying to get an honest living. "Look Sweet Peas you fascinate me", he grins "and I take my time to look at things that fascinates me.. anyway how's mama doing, word on the street is she is done with her surgery and she'll be back home soon yay..". He says with the sinister smile still plastered on his face. The horror on my face is clear as he laughs heavily with his head thrown backwards. " Isn't my Sweet Peas so adorable?" he asks his goons and they just grunt in response. See…, they agree you are adorable. I know all I need to know about you sweet Peas.
Enough of my silliness I came here for my money Pay up". I don't need to be told twice as I quickly open my bag giving him what's left of the money I made from the gig. I was going to give him the money tomorrow but I guess the mountain has come to me. As I hand the money to him with shaky hands he grabs my hand rubbing it tenderly before letting it go. He smiles again, his constant smiling is freaking me out but what can I do?, I just stand scared. "My money isn't complete Denise don't test my patience" he roars as he stands up, my reflex kicks in and I back away as fast as I can. He laughs at my reaction. "Rufus little Denise is scared" he gestures to me with glee. His blue eyes are shining with excitement. "It's.. it's mo… more than half the money I.. I owe you". I stammer. "I don't care, it ain't complete, do I look like a joke to you?. Oh you think I'm playing" he gives me a resounding slap. Black dot clouds my vision as he slapped me. "Now my complete money you slimy bitch". He hits me on the face again, " I'm going to mess up your face real bad this time. I didn't do it last time but this time I will". He hit me again and again till my face was bloodied up. " The next time I come visiting my money should be complete or else". He steps away from me and leaves the house with his goons behind him. "See you later sweet peas my regards to mum".
I crawl to the bathroom. I can't even cry properly because my tears are stinging my newly acquired injuries. With all the courage left in me I clean my face up and apply first aid. "Why is my life so pitiful, no single moment of peace. Just when I thought I could finally breathe in peace Patrick shows up and destroys it''. My inner self chides. I need to get the complete money fast before he comes back and not just hurts me but maybe mum or even Rosie. As it is, he's already losing his patience with me. I take a good look at my face in the mirror and my lips are busted, my nose broken, my left eye swollen, blood stains in my right eye, injuries on different spots on my face. I shake my head at the sight "I'll have to do a proper check up at the hospital tomorrow, if anybody asks I'll just say I got into a fight or something, but I don't think I'll be able to hide this situation from Rosie and mum. I proceed to clean myself up before going to bed.