Never Truly Mine

"I was standing in the hospital hallway when Dr. Mensah stopped me. He was holding a piece of paper and he did not look happy. "Eighty-four thousand dollars, Ava, " he said. "We need a fifty percent deposit before we can schedule the surgery for your dad." I took the paper from his hand. My fingers started shaking. The numbers on the paper looked like eighty-four thousand dollars. I felt like I was going to be sick. "Is there any way?" I asked Dr. Mensah. I was holding the paper tightly. "Can we do a payment plan? I can sign a form promising to pay a bit every month. I have a job at the pharmacy. I can work hours." Dr. Mensah. I looked down at his chart. "The hospital board does not allow payment plans for cardiac surgeries Ava " he said. "The equipment and the specialist teams cost a lot of money. We need the cash deposit up front. I am sorry Ava. I wish I could change the rules for you." I told Dr. Mensah that forty-two thousand dollars is more money than I make in a year. My voice cracked. "There has to be something we can do, " I said. "Can I talk to the hospital director?" Dr. Mensah said that the hospital director will tell me the thing. "We have people waiting for surgeries every day " he said. "It comes down to the clearance. Your dads heart is failing. If he does not get this bypass by tomorrow morning he will die. It is a blockage." I stared at the paper. I felt sick. My bank account only had forty-two dollars in it. My pharmacy job did not pay enough to cover a bill like this. My family used to have money. Everything changed after my mom died. I told Dr. Mensah that my stepmother has all the money. "She controls the bank accounts, " I said. "I will ask her now." The door to my dads room. My stepmother Lillian walked out into the hallway. She was talking on her phone. She was arguing with her fashion designer about a delivery. She hung up the phone. Dropped it into her purse. She did not look through the glass window at my dad. He was lying in the bed with tubes in his nose. "Lillian, wait " I said. I ran over to her. Held out the paper. "Dr. Mensah says Dad needs surgery by tomorrow morning. His heart is going to fail. We need eighty-four thousand dollars for the deposit." Lillian did not look shocked. She did not cry. She took the paper from my hand. Folded it into a small square. She handed it back to Dr. Mensah. "We cannot afford that, " Lillian said. Her voice was calm. I asked her what she meant. "Dad has a savings account, " I said. "You sold his business shares this month. Sign the authorization form for the hospital." Lillian adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "That money is locked in an investment account for the quarter Ava, " she said. "I am not breaking the account. Paying massive penalty fees. It is not smart." I was getting angry. "He is going to die if he does not get this surgery!" I said. I stepped in front of her. My chest felt so tight I could barely breathe. "You are his wife. How can you say no to this?" Lillian looked at me with eyes. She walked past me. Went to the nurses desk. She grabbed a form from the counter. "I am his wife, Ava, " Lillian said. She picked up a pen. "The law gives me the power to make his decisions. I am signing this proxy form now." I asked her what form it was. My heart started to beat "It transfers your father to the public hospital assistance waitlist " Lillian said. She signed her name with sharp lines. She dropped the pen on the counter. "The government will pay for the surgery." Dr. Mensah stepped in. He looked angry. "Mrs. Hart, the waitlist for a bypass surgery is fourteen months long, " he said. "Your husband does not have fourteen days." Lillian did not care. She turned around. I walked toward the elevators. The sound of her heels faded down the hallway. She left me there. She cut me off from the family wealth. I stood in the hallway and realized I was entirely alone. Nobody was going to help me. Lillian had been stealing my dads money for four years. Now she was letting him die so she could keep it all. I walked back into my dads room. He looked pale against the sheets. The heart monitor beeped slowly. I walked over to the side of the bed. I looked at his face. He had lines around his eyes from working in the sun for so many years. He spent his life trying to give me a good future and now he was stuck in this bed because of his heart. I whispered to him. "I will save you Dad " I said. I touched his hand. His fingers did not move. "I promise I will find the money. I am going to fix this. Lillian is not going to win." My phone vibrated in my hand. I knew I had to move. Time was running out. Every second I wasted was a second closer to tomorrow morning. I opened my contacts. Found the number for Maya. She was the floor manager at The Onyx, a luxury club downtown. I had filled out an application there this week because I was desperate but I had been too scared to take a shift. I called her. She picked up after two rings. I could hear loud music playing in the background. "Maya, it is Ava Hart, " I said. "Do you still have an opening for a hostess? I need a shift tonight. Now." Maya said I was lucky. "A hostess walked out five minutes ago because a customer yelled at her, " she said. "The shift starts in fifteen minutes Ava. If you are late I will give the job to someone." I told her I was on my way. I ran out of the hospital doors. I did not take a taxi because I could not afford it. I waited at the bus stop for five minutes. My hands were freezing. When the bus arrived I climbed the steps. Sat near the back. I looked out the window at the city lights. My mind was spinning. Eighty-four thousand dollars was an amount of money. I needed a miracle. Working a regular job at the pharmacy was not going to save my dad. The Onyx was my choice. The bus dropped me off two blocks away from the club. I walked fast down the sidewalk. The front of The Onyx had lines of people waiting to get inside. Security guards stood by the doors checking IDs. I did not go to the entrance. I walked down the side alley. Knocked on the metal employee door. A guard opened it. Let me inside. The hallway was narrow and smelled like laundry and alcohol. I walked to the manager's office. Maya was standing there looking at a clipboard. She looked up when she saw me. "You made it with two minutes to spare " Maya said. She handed me a locker key. "Locker twelve. Your uniform is inside. Change quickly. The club is packed tonight. The VIP clients are already arriving." I thanked Maya. Went into the employee locker room. It was empty and quiet. I unlocked locker twelve. Pulled out the uniform. It was a black dress with a silver name tag that said Ava. I took off my jeans and my old jacket. I put on the dress. It felt strange and tight against my skin. I looked in the mirror. I did not look like a pharmacy worker anymore. I looked like someone who belonged in a luxury club. I put my phone in my pocket. I took a breath and walked back out into the hallway. Maya was waiting for me. She had a silver serving tray in her hands. The loud bass from the dance floor downstairs was shaking the walls. It made my ears thrum. "Listen to me carefully Ava " Maya said. She leaned close so I could hear her over the music. "The upstairs lounge is, for the billionaires. The men there do not like mistakes. They do not want you to look them in the eye. They do not want you to make conversation. You do your job. Disappear." I told Maya I understood. My heart started to hammer against my ribs Maya handed me the silver tray. She looked at her clipboard one time. "I am putting you on table four upstairs " Maya said. Her voice was dead serious. "It is a high-stakes VIP table. The men sitting there are making a multi-billion dollar deal tonight. If you mess up their orders we both get fired. Do not lose your focus." I gripped the edges of the tray until my fingers hurt. I looked toward the stairs that led to the forbidden upstairs lounge. This was it. There was no turning.