CHAPTER 18
1052 Words
The dull sun rays stole through the blinds, being a bit stingy with its rays.
A portion of its reflection on the mirror adjacent, fell on Naomi’s closed eyelid.
She opened one side of her eye to the sun ray, which hastily, in zero time, sent a sharp sensation through her head. In a reflex, her legs jerked, forcing her to respond, swiftly raising her palm to eye level to block the rays from her eyes.
After a few seconds of mumbling to the uncalled-for discomfort, she stood up from the couch and made for the blinds, stepping across Clara, who was carelessly sprawled on the floor, exposing her cleavage and kissing thighs.
She closed the blinds and made a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn, heading for the couch.
Clara mumbled, turning her body to face Naomi who was now stretched on the couch, applauding her for helping put out the light.
Both scream in unison, jerking up to sit facing each other with their faces losing all expressions!!
“Oh, darn, we are late for work. And have the keys.” She exclaimed and made for her phone, picked it up, only to meet an unhealthy number of missed calls from both clients and her workers.
Her jaw dropped and her eyes popped out.
“Girl, we’re done,” Naomi muttered from what she decoded off Clara’s facial expression.
Both jump into action, simultaneously, bumping into each other, falling to the ground and rolling.
They should have had a good laugh, but nothing came easily funny at this moment where tension spellbound its grip on the moment by the neck.
They stood up again, rushed off in opposite directions, and made for the bathrooms.
Fifteen minutes late felt like a year-long delay. Both ceased five minutes for a shabby bath and the remaining five for dress up.
“Come with the car keys, Naomi.”
Clara voiced loudly from outside the two-bedroom flat bungalow. Now pacing to and fro with little or no patience beside the Sports Utility Vehicle.
Naomi came striding.
“Jump in, ass”.
They mounted the road; the Ten-minute drive was blessed with a deafening silence. On reaching the Spar, their eyes shone in shame for delivering poor customer service. If they had a rating device placed somewhere, they’d bag enough poor ratings, enough to keep them fed up for the next two weeks.
They rushed to tender apologies to their clients whose eyes were red-hot with anger. And a few, with a wry smile. The hot-tempered trio had exited the premises upon learning about the arrival of Naomi and Clara. Those trio? We’d have to dance to their dramas to buy back their trust in us.
****
Everywhere was calm now and every client had been attended to, with an extra delivery of service as an apology–perhaps, a bribe for keeping them waiting.
Naomi walked sluggishly to the spot where Clara was seated, wrecked!
“Adjust, slug head. I need this rest more than you do.”
“I was wrong, I am not as lazy as you, girl. Make me understand how you woke at 8:00 am, sleepwalk to the checkmate the blinds.” she teased below her voice.
Naomi’s facial expression went south when she bent to take a seat. Ignoring their usual bant, but was fully invested in the discussion she had been ready all day long to have.
Thud! She fell on the couch, her eye lens dilating out of sight, and the sclera invaded, taking full charge.
Her arms went weak, and her legs followed suit.
“Naomi!!! Naomi!!! Naomi!! What’s going on?” she screamed. Every other worker came running in the direction of the alarming scream to inspect what had gone south.
At this time, Naomi lay on the couch, helplessly, with visible liquid pellets settling around the tiny pore outlets on her skin's surface.
“Someone should get my car key from the hairdressing machine.”
Together, all five, including the receptionist, lifted Naomi's waist level high. Deposited her body in the vehicle, and off they drove to the hospital.
The hospital Naomi was being bedridden into a ward was a private one, owned by a prominent man who lived in the next city.
Clara kept pacing to and fro, sitting and standing, her heart throbbing, racing. She absorbed the scenario that played out. Naomi felt dead in her palm.
After six long hours, the doctor came to where Clarai was seated halfway into a deep, troubling sleep, giving her a soft tap on the shoulders.
Her eyes opened to the best thing she could ever wish for at the moment. The doctor.
“You brought Naomi, right?” The doctor inquired.
“Yes, sir, sorry. Doc. Yes, I did; she’s my friend. What's the positive report, sir?”
The doctor gave a soul-lifting smile to ease the tension he could clearly perceive in her words and body language.
“First, Naomi’s condition is clearly triggered by stress. And such level of stress that had put her in that condition is clearly not advisable for two months gone.”
“We also noticed traces of c******s, registered in the early stages of her pregnancy.”
Bewildered, when did Naomi begin smoking. A development she has never seen during her stay with her. Like, how?
“One more thing. There are also traces of other toxins. We are not too sure about what it is. But the baby is hugely affected.”
“The baby?”
“Yes, the baby.” The doctor reported, unfaced
“Okay, oh. Okay. Doctor, what’s the way forward? Is he fine?”
“We are still working to ensure she wakes. We are afraid the situation may present very critical options. I mean, save one for the other to survive. We are hoping things don’t pick that path.”
“Keep your hopes alive. One more thing, don’t go too far; she may need a matching blood type soon.”
Uhm.. if you're going to step out for unavoidable stuff. Kindly make an upfront payments to cover certain expenses if the need arises as it looks. Thank you.” The doctor placed comforting dou ble taps on her shoulders and walked away.
Ice touched down her spine. That is not a good sign.
- Writer
