"Will he live? Answer my question! Just answer my question! How hard can it be?"
"Mrs., please calm down. Your husband will be fine. There's no damage to his internal organs."
"Doctor, is our father going to die?"
"We will monitor him, but overall, the prognosis is favourable."
"So, he'll live? Everett cannot die, you know that don't you?" Wilhelmina asked, grabbing the doctor by the shoulders, and bringing him closer and closer to her. "You are lying to me now, aren't you? You don't want to tell the whole truth in front of the children?"
"No. I assure you; your husband will be fine."
"You promise?"
"It's medicine. It's human health. What kind of promise is that? But I assure you, you don't have to worry so much."
"Doctor! How is he? Is he all right?"
Jasper's wife, Dominique, pounced on him with a frantic look, asking the same thing as Wilhelmina.
"How did it happen? How had he been in the accident? He had always been so careful on the road, after all. It must have been that man's fault. Is he still alive?" Dominique asked, looking at Everett, who was lying in another corner of that spacious room.
"What did you say? Did you just wish my husband dead?"
"My husband has always driven carefully. He never once broke a traffic law in his entire life. He's never had a single ticket. He's a good driver even when he's drunk. Of course, it's all his fault!"
"So, you're saying it's all my husband's fault? For your information, he's never broken the rules either! Besides, the officer said it was your husband who crashed into my husband's car."
"Please don't make any noise in here. Let's go into my office."
"Dr Orwell, there's someone waiting for you in room 11."
"What's that? Is he dying?!" Dominique exclaimed, suddenly running towards the bed on which Jasper's seemingly lifeless body lay.
"He's not dying. He is in a stable condition."
"And when will he regain consciousness?"
"We must wait and hope that all will be well."
"What are you saying?"
Dr Orwell looked at the two women. He even thought they were sisters. The same beehive-like hairstyles, the same height, only the dresses were different colours. But the fact that one was wearing a white dress and the other a black one struck him as too funny and even a fateful sign.
"Dr Orwell?" Wilhelmina said his name, noticing that he was suddenly thinking, blushing.
"Come into my office."
No sooner had he closed the door and taken his seat at the desk, Dominique and Wilhelmina began to ask questions, which turned into a real argument.
"I'm going to sue your husband. I'm sure he's been drinking."
"When my husband wakes up, I will do everything I can to prove that it wasn't his fault."
"If he dies, his death will be on your daughters' conscience."
"What did you say? Don't you dare talk about my daughters!"
"What are you going to do? Hit me?!"
"Please, calm down!" Dr Orwell exclaimed, even throwing a heavy book on the table to create more noise. "Your husbands will be fine. They're going to live. No one is going to die. But you must fear something more than death. When your husbands wake up, they may not remember you. They have a concussion. They hit their heads hard. So badly that they might not remember anything. Especially you."
Looking at them a little gloatingly, Dr Orwell smiled in the back of his mind as he noticed that these women had finally fallen silent.
"I don't want to frighten you. But I must warn you."
"Are you saying that when Everett wakes up, he won't recognize me?"
"That's a possibility."
"Is there a cure? I don't want a husband who doesn't remember his wife."
"Yes, it can be cured. But be prepared for a lot of patience to be required of you soon. When they wake up, you must not shout at them. Speak calmly. They must not be stressed."
"I won't let him forget about me. I've wasted so many years of my life on him. He can't just forget me," Wilhelmina said, pounding her fist on the table.
"Your husband is unlucky to have you. Surely, he'll be happy he doesn't remember a woman like you."
"What did you say?"
"Let go!"
Grabbing Dominique by the hair, Wilhelmina didn't even notice the three young doctors who entered the office.
"Let go! Doctor, call the police!"
"What's going on here?"
With a forceful grip on Dominique's beehive, Everett's wife kept pulling her like gum and when she finally pulled out all her hairpins, she let her go.
"Did you see that? I'll sue you!"
"If you don't calm down now, I'll give you an injection to calm you down! Now leave my office. I have many more patients who need my attention."
"Who are these strange women?" the tall nurse asked, holding their hands, and almost lifting them up.