Season: Summer
Weather: Hot, sunshiny. I think.
Day of the week: Saturday
Date: 27th January, 2024
I went to work as usual and then found myself back in the hospital with a frowning Stony Boss by my side. He rubbed his face when he saw me staring at him with confusion.
"I think I've grown more white hairs over the past few days than I have in the last year," he told me, pointing at his sideburns. Sure enough, there were two shiny white hairs there.
"I'm sorry," I said. If I didn't apologise for troubling a boss, what should I do? Why was he here anyway?
"What are you sorry for?" he grumbled. "I'd appreciate it, Miss Brown, if you could take better care of your health."
"Why am I in hospital again?" I asked, trying but failing to remember.
"You fainted at your Saturday morning workplace," he scowled at me. "You'd better give me the number for the place you work nightshift, so that I can call in sick for you."
Yeah. And make me lose that job too.
"No need. I should be fine to go to work once they let me out."
"Give me the number."
His glare was so ferocious that it brought tears to my eyes and I wanted to hide under the blankets.
"I'll lose my job."
"Miss Brown, your health is more important than your job."
"My job is important for money which is important for keeping a roof over my head and paying the bills," I pointed out. "Didn't I explain this to you the other day?"
The man rubbed his face and head all over in obvious frustrated distress.
"Do you realise that the doctors say you've been on the verge of death each time you've fainted? There's obviously a lot going on with your health but you refuse to accept it."
"They said there was nothing wrong with my health."
"You say there's nothing wrong with your health. Your test and scan results say otherwise!" he near shouted, making me jump. His voice immediately softened. Who knows what my expression must have been like. "No, don't cry. Miss Brown, please, don't cry. I don't know what to do when someone cries. Why must you so strongly stick to believing there's nothing wrong with your health?"
"Why are you here?" I asked instead.
"I'm your emergency contact in the hospital records."
"I need to get that changed. I can't keep troubling a boss like you. You're already very busy as it is and..."
"Do you have anyone else to use as an emergency contact?" he asked in a low voice, leaning closer. "Your emergency contact are you parents who live on the other side of the country who are worried about you. They'd come over as well if they weren't wrapped up with your sister and her baby in the hospital over there. It's a life threatening situation."
"Bezel has a baby? How dare she? Who's the guy? I'll kill him!"
I tried to get up only to be struck by darkness the moment I got out of the bed.
Someone was patting my back when I woke up again and wiping my wet eyes. I grabbed the tissue they were holding out to blow my blocked nose. I felt so tired.
"Don't worry," said Stony Boss's voice. "I just got a call from your parents. Your sister is out of danger but the baby's been lost. They asked you to send some money to help pay for the medical expenses. I've sent them some for you. Take it as a loan. You can pay me back when you're better."
"How much?" I turned my heavy eyes toward the man sitting by my bed, feeling myself trembling. "How much?"
The man pressed his lips together and then sighed, obviously not wanting to tell me.
"Ten thousand," he said after a long moment.
"Ten thousand?" my voice went faint and I blacked out again.
Ten thousand? That would take me years to be able to repay. What was I meant to do now? I was indebted to one of my bosses. I didn't deserve this kind of care or attention when I wasn't anything other than a little employee. Why would he be helping me like this? What was I going to do when his compassion ran out. People's compassion always runs out. Their charity only ever goes so far. They don't like to get involved in my personal problems and I had learnt that I should never get people involved in my personal problems if I wanted to keep at least some amiable acquaintances.
I had just barely paid off my last few debts and now there was another one. I didn't even know who was paying my hospital fees right now. It was most likely this boss who had made himself my emergency contact. How could I keep troubling him?
I got myself discharged while Stony Boss wasn't around and the doctors and nurses told me that I needed to get plenty of rest and eat more. I just nodded, went home and went to work.
When I got home in the early hours of the morning, I found a sticky note on my door from Stony Boss telling me to call him. The writing was forceful and looked angry. It was still too early in the morning to call anybody without waking them, so I went to sleep, only waking up when my mobile phone wouldn't stop ringing.
When I picked it up, he told me he was at the front door.
I stumbled and fell a few times on the way to the front door. I hadn't finished waking up and was still feeling dizzy.
When I finally opened the door, the guy looked worried. He had probably heard the sounds of me stumbling my way to the door. He rushed to sit me on the couch and asked me where it hurt. Upon seeing my bruised knees, he flicked me on the forehead.
And then he opened up some food he had brought, insisting that I ate there and then while he was watching me. He left after making sure I had eaten a few mouthfuls.
I kept wanting to ask him why. Why would he treat me like this? I didn't understand. Bosses don't look after their employees like this. Usually there's a very strict line dividing professional work from private life.