Alejandra was dressed in her night clothes and lied down on her bed. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but couldn't. She stretched her phone and got her phone which was on the bedside table. She checked the time on her phone and saw it wasn't midnight yet.
Alejandra dropped her phone on the bed, removed the blanket on her and got out of bed. She opened the door and left the room barefooted. She walked to the kitchen. She turned on the lights and went straight to the fridge-freezer. She opened it and brought out a jug of water.
She got a glass from the dish rack and poured some water in it. She stood close to the worktop. She held up the glass close to her mouth, ready to drink it but had a sudden thought. She kept the glass on the worktop and focused her gaze on the sink. She wasn't looking at anything in particular and was lost in thoughts.
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"Doctor, how is she? Is my mum going to be all right?" Alejandra asked the cardiologist worriedly.
The cardiologist had his eyes on the test results on his desk.
"According to the test results here," The cardiologist said as he placed one paper in front of the order,
"Your mother's heart is slowly giving up. She needs a transplant as soon as possible in order to save her life."
He kept the papers back in the folders.
"But you told me the transplant wouldn't be necessary. You had assured me that she will get better through the medication you prescribed." Alejandra said, almost tearing up.
"I thought so too but things have changed. Miss Ortega,we need to perform surgery on your mother otherwise you may say your last goodbye to her." He said plainly and removed the stethoscope he had hung on his neck.
"Even with the surgery will she be okay?" Alejandra asked tearfully.
"There is a fifty percent chance of her surviving the surgery and a fifty percent chance of not. If her body doesn't reject the new heart after the transplant, then she will be fine." He said, keeping a straight face.
"And if it does?" Alejandra asked doubtfully, hoping for a positive response.
"If it does," The cardiologist said and heaved,
"Then your mum will die."
There was a knock on the door and a nurse came in.
"Sorry to interrupt you, doctor but you're currently needed at the Emergency Room." The female nurse said.
"Okay,Betty! I'll be with you shortly!" The cardiologist replied.
She nodded and left his office. The cardiologist stood up from his chair and grabbed his stethoscope scope which was lying on the desk.
"Please, excuse me!" The cardiologist said and walked to the door.
Alejandra managed to hold back her tears from leaking until she heard the door bang.
The other incidents bothered her as well.
"Don't try to act all innocent with me. I know you know exactly what I mean. Women like you do extra jobs to earn a living. Besides,any man would pay a fortune just to have you in his bed."
"Sorry Mr Gracia but I'm not that kind of woman whom you speak of."
"Quit pretending to be a saint,I know you..."
The slap Alejandra had given him snapped her out of the trance. She looked at the glass of water and picked it up. She drank a little of it and kept it back on the worktop. She placed her hands on her face and slowly moved it above her eyes and raked her hands with it.
"...I'm sorry Miss Ortega, but I can't approve your loan."
"I'm running a business here and not a charity organization..."
She didn't finish the water in the glass and left the kitchen. She went back to her room and leant on back against the door. She got to the floor slowly and sat down with her knees up and her hands holding the other.
"I'm not falling for your stupid tricks again. I've had it up to here with you...I'm giving you the end of today to pay up or else,I'll throw you and your things out on the street."
"Oh Lord, when will all this end? It feels like my problems are getting worse everyday. I just don't know what else to do. I'm fed up with all this. Whenever I try to solve one problem, another shows up." Alejandra said inwardly,
"I'm losing my mind and I don't know what to do anymore."
"Please show me a way out of this. Otherwise, I might go insane." She added.
Alejandra remembered her conversation with Nicolas and stood up from the floor. She walked to the wardrobe where she had hung her bag. She took it out,about to unsnap it when the power's gone down.
"Great!" Alejandra said ironically,
"Just when I thought my problems couldn't be more complicated. Where did I keep my phone?"
She searched for her phone in the dark and groped the bed until she found it.
"Found you!" Alejandra said as she deactivated the screen's time-out.
She swiped down and activated the torch. She went back to the wardrobe and removed Nicolas' card from her handbag. She keyed in the digits on the card.
"Should I call him?" Alejandra said to herself.
"No! It's late and he could be asleep! He might just yell at me if I do." She said after a rethink and cleared the number on the keypad.
"Maybe, I should send him a text message instead."
Alejandra retyped the digits on the keypad and tapped on the send message option.
"Dear Mr Nicolas, can we meet at the café we were in today, tomorrow? I want to talk to you."
Alejandra read what she had typed and cleared the text she wrote. She kept her phone bag back in the wardrobe and closed the door.
"It will reveal how desperate I am. But I don't want him to know that. Besides, what if all this is just a prank? Did he actually mean what he said? What if it's only a political gimmick?" Alejandra said in disbelief,
"C'mon Alejandra, don't be a fool! You've got to use your six sense. If that doesn't work, then, I'll come up with something else."
Alejandra removed the phone case and kept his card in it. She put it back on her phone. She yawned and kept the phone on top of the bedside table. She walked over to the window and opened it. She pulled the venetian blinds up a bit and went back to bed.
Morning came and Alejandra was up. The power was back on by then. She had walked out of the bathroom, dressed in a plain white dressing robe and heard her phone ringing. She walked to where she had kept it and saw the caller's ID. She quickly accepted the call.
"Hello, Maurice!" Alejandra said and sat down at the dressing table.
"Alejandra, how are you? Sorry, I didn't call you. I was exhausted from my flight and was focused on my grandfather's health." Maurice said frankly.
"It's okay! I'm good and you? How is your grandfather? Is he okay?" She said as she stood up from the chair.
Alejandra walked over to the wardrobe and opened the door with one hand while she held onto her phone with the other.
"I'm okay and my grandfather is okay. He is still in the hospital. The doctor wants to make sure he didn't break any other bone in his body." He said.
"Oh,okay!" She replied and supported her phone to her ear using her right shoulder while she looked for what she was going to wear.
"He will be discharged today and I'll be taking care of him. Unfortunately,my aunt had travelled before the accident and won't be coming back soon. I guess I'll be here for a while. Probably longer than I had planned." Maurice said.
"The important thing is to take care of your grandfather. He will be fine." Alejandra said convincingly as she picked out a plaid dress from the clothes rails.
"Thank you, Ale! I always feel comfortable and relieved talking to you about my problems. It's almost like you know the right words to make me feel better." He said.
"You're always there when I need someone to talk to or vent my anger on. The least I could do is be by your side during this difficult moment." She said as she laid the dress on the bed and held on to her phone using her hand again.
"Alejandra, I want to tell you something. I've already watched to tell you this but chicken out at the last minute. I don't know how to say it tho'." Maurice said with a little shyness in his voice.
"Say what? You can tell me anything, you know." Alejandra said and sat down on the bed, close to her dress.
"Here it goes, I-I-." He said but the connection was poor from his end.
"Maurice, are you still there?" Alejandra asked, unable to hear him clearly.
"Hello?"
The call ended. Alejandra shrugged and went to the dressing table. She plugged in her hairdryer and dried her wet hair. She unplugged it when she was done and put on her dress. She dressed her wavy hair and was styling it to a bun when she heard a knock on the door.
"Yes! Come in!" Alejandra said.
She looked at her reflection while she applied the lip gloss she was holding.
Judy opened the door ajar and came in.
"Ale, you have a visitor!" Judy said plainly.
"Who is it?" Alejandra asked, looking at her through the mirror.
"It's best if you see the person yourself." Judy said and quickly left the room.
Alejandra was confused on who the visitor was. She kept her lip gloss in her sponge bag which she converted it to as her make-up purse. She grabbed her handbag and put it on. She left the room and went to the living room. She was surprised to see Pilar and Judy as well as Ms. Diana and two men in the living room.
Pilar sat together with Judy on the sofa while Ms. Diana on the arm with the two men standing, each standing on both sides of the chair. Alejandra wasn't expecting her landlady to come to her flat again.
"Good morning, Ms. Diana! What brings you here?" Alejandra asked nervously.
Diana stood up from her seat and glared at her. Alejandra swallowed and walked to where her family was seated.
"I came to collect my rent." Diana said coldly.
"Ms. Diana, I-I-I don't have it yet!" Alejandra said nervously.
"What do you mean by that? You've been taking advantage of my quietness. Haven't I been patient enough with you? Haven't I?" Diana snarled.
"You have Ms. Diana and we really appreciate that." Alejandra replied.
"Well, I guess my patience just ran out. I'm tired of having tenants like you. You don't pay when your rent is due and make me stress myself coming all the way here." Diana said,
"I'm not here to hear your pathetic pleas. I want you out of my flat now."
"Please, Ms. Diana! Be a little patient with us. We'll surely pay." Pilar stood up and pleaded.
"I'm sick and tired of that! I warned you, didn't I? Now,it's either you leave my flat right now or do it the hard way." Diana threatened.
Alejandra looked at her sister, her mother and then Diana. The two men came forward and cracked their knuckles.
"Please, Ms. Diana! You're a woman just like me and a mother too. Please, I'm begging you! Don't throw us out!" Pilar pleaded and held her by the leg,
"Please, have mercy on us! We'll give you our rent."
"I don't show mercy to broke people like you." Diana said and broke Pilar's grip on her leg.
She pushed her with her leg as she walked further into the room.
"I guess it's the hard way then!" Diana said proudly,
"Boys!"
"You can't possibly do that. This is still our flat!" Judy protested.
"For your information, this is my building. I own this flat and every other flats in this building. Don't get it twisted. I'm the one who rented it to you and I can as well, throw you out." Diana sneered.
The men went into their rooms and brought out their belongings. They threw it outside the flat. In front of the entrance of their flat.
"Stop it!" Alejandra said as she dragged her clothes with one of the men.
Judy did the same with the other as he wanted to throw her suitcase. He elbowed her and Judy fell down. She scratched her forearm on the edge of the wooden table which was in the centre of the rug in between the chairs.
Pilar stood there watching and tried her best to help but felt a sharp pain in her heart. She placed her hand on her chest and moaned in pain inwardly. She had difficulty breathing and tried to get the attention of either of her daughters. She tried yelling out their names but it came out as whispers.
Alejandra was pushed on the sofa and her bun loosened during the struggle of her belongings. She removed her hair from her face and caught a glimpse of Pilar. She was lying on the floor and was unconscious.
"Mum?"
She quickly rushed over to her.