Rough Path to Bliss

Chapter 2

Michelle sat on the hospital chair in the lobby, she leaned her head against the chair, lost in thought. If her mum doesn’t make it, she won’t be able to forgive herself. She replayed the event that transpired between she and her mum, and she wished she had adopted another approach rather than vehemently refusing the marriage proposal. She felt she would have been diplomatic about it, just that her mum could be stubborn sometimes. She thought it was just about time she made it clear to her that she wasn’t even interested in marriage at the moment. But then, she couldn’t turn back the hands of time. She said a little prayer in her mind, and hoped for the best.

Bryan had helped her rush her mum to the hospital, and kept assuring her that everything would be fine.

Bryan was her childhood friend, they literally grew up together, though he was four years older than her. He was like a big brother, waded bullies off her, helped her with her assignments in school, thought her how to play an instrument, was there to guide her through life, she was the only male figure she could confide in, as she was very young when her father left.

Bryan had consoled her and suggested that she call anyone who could be of help. Mr. Damian was the only person that came to her mind, but she was reluctant to call him, as she knew it might make matters worse for her. But she knew that his presence would help her mum, she didn’t have enough money to settle the bills, and she knew that her mum would blame her if she didn’t call him. She wished there was a way to avoid him totally, but at the moment, there wasn’t. Her mum’s brother was not in the country, he visited once in a blue moon. It will be stupid to call her boss. She found out that she barely had friends or knew people. She only had two friends, Chloe and Bryan, the rest were acquaintances, they weren’t close enough to be called friends. Chloe was not in town and Bryan was with her, he always was. She thought to herself that she needed to be more outgoing, she knew who exactly would help her with that. It would sound like sweet music to the ears of Chloe who insisted on making her go out with every opportunity she got. Maybe she would resume going to the karaoke bar, but then she knew she was just bad at making friends, she hardly connected with anyone, and she was quite choosy with friends.

After much hesitation, she called Mr. Damian, she told him her mum was at O’Brien’s city Hospital.

She sat at the lobby and resumed her thoughts. When her mum wakes up as she hopes, she would try to bring up the topic again, and it could even be worse if Mr. Damian is present. It was slowly beginning to dawn on her that she might have no choice than to help make her mum live.

She stayed with Bryan in the lobby for more than an hour till Damian arrived.

Damian walked into the hospital premises accompanied by two young men who looked his guards. Seeing Michelle, he walked towards her.

"What happened?" He asked keeping a stern look

"Last night, we were talking about…."

As Michelle tried to explain what transpired, Damian cut her up abruptly

"Your mum didn’t teach you how to greet?" he interrupted Michelle

"Well, you asked what happened," Michelle retorted

"Good morning Mr. Damian," Michelle greeted politely

"There seem to be nothing good about the morning" Damian said

"Is there?" He asked looking straight at Michelle, his eyes almost popping out of its socket.

"So, what happened?" He asked again

As Michelle was still trying to explain that her mum had a seizure last night, Damian asked which room she was, completely ignoring what she was saying.

"Take me to the room where she is," he demanded

Michelle exhaled deeply; she couldn’t believe this was the kind of man her mum wanted her to marry.

She led him to the room where her mum was, and to her utmost relief, she was awake

"Oh, thank God, you’re awake" she said, reaching out to feel her pulse, as she held her hand.

"How do you feel now" Michelle enquired?

"Just a slight headache, nothing else"

Mabel seeing Damian, lit her face with a cheerful smile

"Welcome Damian," Mabel said, "thank you for coming. I guess my daughter called you."

"Yes, she did," Damian replied

"I told you she will come along," Mabel continued

"Michy, you have done well," she said smiling broadly and tapping her daughters back.

Michelle was finding the conversation a little bit uncomfortable, and she knew it wouldn’t take much time before her mother told her plainly about marrying Damian, and this time, she wouldn’t want to say no. she excused herself, and went to meet Bryan at the lobby. She hated the smell of drugs and the general scent of hospitals.

"She is awake now," Michelle told Bryan

"Oh, that is nice" Bryan retorted, "I told you she would be fine."

"By the way, who was that man?" Bryan asked

"My husband to be," Michelle said smiling

"Husband to be? You didn’t tell me about your engagement till now?" Bryan asked looking unpleased.

"Well, I am not engaged, and I was only informed that he was my husband last night," Michelle continued, smiling broadly.

"I don’t understand, Bryan said," confusion written all over his face.

"I don’t expect you to understand, I don’t even understand myself." And she went on to tell him what transpired between herself and her mum last night, and the exact reason she had the seizure. The smiles on her face had now given way to a sorrowful expression, as the likelihood of marrying Mr. Damian now looks like a forbidden reality she would have to accept. She wouldn’t want to see her mum in that state again, moreover, she would always feel guilty whenever her mum needed her routine checkup and she won’t be able to pay the bills. She couldn’t afford to lose her mum now. Her father was as good as dead, her mum was the only family she had, this would be a huge sacrifice, but she knew she had to make it. All her life, she had longed for a beautiful marriage, she had been a sucker for love and romance, she had dreamt of her husband sweeping her off her feet on their wedding night, dancing to the rhythmic lyrics of romantic music in a candle lit setting, crooned in delightful bliss, exchanging tender gestures while savoring sumptuous meal for dinner, then taking it off to the shower, been cuddled up in the dead of the night, and waking up with kisses in the arms of that special someone.

Why did she want love so bad she thought to herself? Maybe because everyone wants what they could not have. Her mum was barely home while growing up, she was always at work, and she always felt neglected, she recounted how many times she would be at Bryan’s house waiting for her mum to come back home. She would leave early the next morning and barely had time for her. She grew up in solitude and kept to herself a lot. She didn’t have a father figure; her companion was Bryan and best friend Chloe. somehow, she felt that her father’s absence and her mum’s unavailability was a major tendency to why she sought for love that much. But now, she would be getting married to a man she doesn’t even like. Judging from his action’s minutes earlier, he would treat her like trash. Tears welled up her eyes, her reality was quite a harsh one and a direct opposite of her wishes, she sobbed gently as she tried to wipe the tears off her cheeks.

Bryan, with a clear understanding of what she was going through, consoled her. This was what he was used to doing, playing the big brother role, he was the shoulder she could cry on, and he was always there for her. she leaned onto him, and it seemed their hearts could communicate what she felt. She hugged Bryan so tightly, hoping to let all her emotions drain.

"It’s okay, Michy, everything will be fine," Bryan said, looking straight into her eyes with an encouraging smile. Michelle looked blankly into his face, and felt some sort of abstract relief. He held her by the cheeks looking straight into her eyes.

Their hearts paused a minute, it seemed like a spark rattled through the confines of their heart, Bryan had always been there for her, and he mostly understood how she felt, they looked keenly at each other for few seconds, their lips drawing closer, and close enough for a kiss, she felt the soft lips of Bryan against hers, and she heard a voice.

"Michelle," Damian called out angrily.