Melissa paced into the hospital and once she caught sight of Lisa Bake under the oxygen mask , she cast a glance at Fanny Luis.
“How is granny doing, father?” she scuttled to the side of Lisa Bake and breathed uneasily upon gazing at her dull, sickly face.
Fanny Luis replied, “I have spent the only two hundred thousand dollars we realized from the cars you sold. Doctor says she has cancer at the fourth stage and chemo will have to commence as soon as possible.”
“What!” she exclaimed and couldn’t stop staring at the stilled face of Lisa Bake, “What is the chances of her survival?” she queried yet further.
“I don’t know yet, daughter.” He swallowed hard, “The tragedy here now is that we have spent all we have on her medical bills. I just pray more bails don’t surface because we are broke now.”
Melissa stroked her long unkempt hair and sat down to ponder over their impending disaster.
“I don’t think more bills will surface further. The two hundred thousand dollars is going to be the last bill we will pay.”
Fanny caught sight of the gloom on her face and redness in her eyes, “You look shabby and beaten. Why didn’t you make your hair? I thought you made mention of making your hair earlier today.”
Melissa dared to speak but let a puzzled look on her face once thought of what she experienced at the salon earlier churned her.
She hesitated and sounded, “Father you wouldn’t believe the figure Brian Patrick has made Clara Roham…”
“Clara Roham?” Fanny Luis dimmed his eyes thoughtfully as he dared to recall, “Who is Clara Roham?” his monolid eyes asked her a million questions as she lowered her gaze and wished Fanny Luis wouldn’t ask further questions about Clara.
She almost transferred her aggression on him “Clara Roham, father, can’t you recall our garbage girl, the poor dirty Clara Roham, who Brian Patrick proposed marriage to in our presence?”
“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” Fanny Luis clicked his fingers repeatedly as he could recall Clara Roham now, “What about her? Did you see her today?” he queried and when Melissa hesitated and wouldn’t give a quick reply, he peered at her, “Melissa?” he beamed.
And Melissa who was swallowed in the valley of her thought was startled, “Yes, father, yes.” She sniffed, snorted and felt warm tears that burned her eyes. Fanny Luis queried, “What were you thinking that you didn’t realize I was asking a question? What did Clara Roham do to you? Did Brian Patrick finally marry her?”
She sighed and shrugged to see if she could fight off thought of the wealthy, influential powerful woman I had made Clara Roham ,and worse of it being that Clara Roham was once their garbage girl.
She shook her head abruptly and her nostrils flared , “Never mind, father. I wouldn’t want to discuss it.” She grinned and fought back the urge to shed tears. This was a huge loss on her face. Right now regret churned her in the head and she wished she could turn back the hands of the clock, retrieve the divorce papers and continue to be my wife whether I was a poor delivery boy or not.
She kept shaking her head, sniffing back tears and was interrupted by the sound of the TV which came on once Fanny Luis switched it on.
The TV channel was showing my wife, Clara Roham amidst tight security as she gave out wads of dollars and packaged food to the poor and needy on the streets.
Fanny Luis pointed at the TV , “Is this not the same Clara Roham, wife to the world richest man, Brian Patrick? Wow! She has changed in looks and right now she was so influential and wealthy. I thought Brian Patrick was bluffing when he proposed marriage to her. I never knew…”
Melissa who couldn’t bear the pain and regret any more let loosed, “Please , please, father, enough of Clara Roham.” She picked up the TV remote and turned it off, “I wouldn’t want us to discuss anything about Clara Roham or Brian Patrick…” When the tears burnt her eyes so much that she couldn’t bear it, she excused herself, went into the toilet, and pretended she was pressed.
But she couldn’t stop weeping quietly. She hated her decision and wished she could find her way back into my life as my wife.
Fanny slammed on the door, “Melissa are you okay? Melissa!” he called and snorted as he gummed his ears on the door to overhear her sob nosily now.
Two days later, the doctor invited them over to the hospital.
There was an emergency1
With anxiety hanging over them and their eyes clouded with nervousness, Fanny Luis and Melissa leaned forward as they paid rapt attention to the doctor.
“Your grandma is on the fourth stage of cancer of the blood. Right now there is need for scrutinous chemo and continuous replacement of oxygen.”
Fanny’s gaze widened; his eyes narrowed before he turned to Melissa to see she had squeezed her eyes and shut them.
“Please doctor we don’t want to lose her. Grandma is just in her early seventies. I have always promised to take care of her until she clocks hundred years. She is everything to us. Please whatever you can do to save her, do it. I believe the money we paid would save her life.”
The doctor interposed him, “I was coming to that Fanny Luis. This is blood cancer on the fourth stage and in dire need of chemo. We could actually save her life, Fanny Luis, only your pocket can determine her fate.”
“What do you mean, doctor?” Melissa’s inspective gaze fell upon the doctor as she swallowed hard and listened on.
“We need more money to save her life. There is urgent need for half a million dollars to save her life. She consumes more oxygen than an average human being and the cancerous hemoglobin are slowly eating her up.”
“No! No! No!” Fanny Luis wept and fell on his knees, “We are broke! We have lost our company, assets, you name it. Where do you expect us to get half a million dollars from right now, uh?”
Melissa wiped her warm tears that burned her cheeks, “Please, doctor, you have to do something to save her life. We are down on our last toes. Poverty can’t even describe our condition right now. Please…”the doctor stood up and sounded, “But you can always borrow from friends and family that are money bags. I hear you have a close relationship with the world richest man. You can always run to him. That amount of money is a chicken feed to him….”
Fanny Luis lowered his gaze and wept bitterly.
Melissa sobbed and masked her face with her hands…