LOVE ON THE EDGE

THE INTERVENTION

Blood shot eyes, teary, stressed was how Tom looked, sitting on the balcony of his house, lost in thought. The thought of losing his wife was too much for him to bear, but he could see no way out. The estimate given by the hospital for the surgery and after care was humongous and they had no insurance since they both did not do jobs that qualified them for one.

Tom worked at a cleaning company where they were sent to sanitize people's homes and office spaces, with payment coming in through the company. The company wound them go ahead to pay them as they saw fit.

Marilyn on the other hand worked at a bakery as a kitchen assistant, cleaning, serving and being the other hand. Her salary was also small. Together, they made enough to survive and send their so to school. No spare change for luxuries or cravings.

They both had no family members who could help in any way as they were the ones doing better in their respective families. And as for friends, as the saying goes, "you gather more flies with honey," and since there was no honey, the flies did not gather.

The clock was ticking, every second mattered and Marilyn's life hung in the balance. Getting access to money was one thing, but getting access to money fast enough was a whole ballgame. It was the weekend, the banks were closed and even if they were open, who will lend money to someone with no insurance, collateral and no sure way to repay?

The only answer that came to Tom's mind was the one place he could not go to.

"No," he shouted out loud, refusing to believe that that was his only option. But the more he thought about it, the more he knew that if he really wanted to save his wife, that really was the only option.

"God," he cried out, "is there really no other way?"

Immediately, he set out to what he knew to be "the Lion's den." Taking a loan from a man like Sharp was no small feat, he will be all welcoming at the beginning and even call you brother, but will expect you to pay back with double interest in the shortest possible time.

"M..m..Mr Sharp," Tom stammered as the Lion's boys dropped him on his knees.

"Yes, my dear friend Tom, what can I do for you?" "I..I..I..will li..ke to take a loan Sir." Tom replied.

"Ha ha ha ha" mr Sharp laughed hysterically, "what ever is wrong must really have you at the balls for you to walk in here all jittery." Tom went ahead to explain what had happened to his wife and how her life hung in the balance. He begged for the loan so surgery can take place and Marilyn can live.

"Well, you know you are a brother to me Tom. I'll give it to you. But you have three weeks to pay back with double interest. Failure of which will mean that you'll take your wife's place and be on death row. Understand?" Tom nodded in the affirmative like a frightened child. "I cannot hear you." Mr Sharp Thundered, "Yes, yes I understand," Tom squealed and peed his pants. The Lion and his thugs laughed so hard they had tears in their eyes.

He then ordered his boys to get the money, which they arranged in a black bag and threw at Tom. He picked it up, and ran out of the den with Mr Sharp and his boy's laughter echoing after him.

Tom went straight to the hospital, made the payment for surgery and post- surgical care and informed the doctor who scheduled Marilyn's surgery immediately. She was worked up and had the surgery over the night. By morning, she was lying peacefully in bed, stable, with Tom by her side, holding her hand, his head resting on the bed and fast asleep. He was mentally and physically exhausted. The night before had been long, he could barely sit down while Marilyn was in the theatre. He wished that he could be right in there with her, making sure all went well but he knew next to nothing medically and relatives were not even allowed in the theatre. He paced around, prayed, hoped and just wished everything went well. Finally, he fell asleep on the couch and was woken by the nurse on night shift to tell him that the surgery was over and successful. He ran to the room, hardly waiting for the nurse to finish her statement. He was so happy to see his wife safely in her room, although, she had many tubes coming in and out of different holes on her body.

Marilyn's recovery was fast, seamless and perfect. In no time, she was sitting on the bed, smiling and taking her meals. Tom was happy that he still has her as a companion in this life, but even in those happy moments, he knew that danger loomed, he could feel it around him. He had to get Mr Sharp's money fast if he wanted this to be a "happily ever after" story.