By Haron Wachira
Terry’s phone rang.
“Hi, Auntie,” Terry said after quickly answering the phone.
“Where are you?” Lina asked. Terry couldn’t tell what she was reading in her auntie’s tone. Urgency? Danger?
“I am at home; I just came back from Tharaka-Nithi, Auntie. Why?”
“Are you alone?”
“I am at home with Jim. Why, auntie, is something the matter?”
“Nothing we cannot ride over,” Lina said calmly. “Can you and Jim please come to my place?”
It was an order, clearly, her calm delivery, notwithstanding. She hung up the phone, dread wrapping itself around her like a weighted blanket. Something was wrong.
***
When they got to Lina’s place, they found her shaken and in the company of Timothy, the man who had given her dry red roses, and his wife Grace.
“Your mum is in hospital,” Timothy explained delicately. They took little time to react, as Grace got into Lina’s car and Timothy into Jim and Terry’s, speeding to the hospital.
When Terry walked into the High Dependency Unit (HDU) and saw the state in which her mother lay, she screamed in anguish and disbelief. Her mother’s eyes, which just the other day, during her wedding, shone and danced with vigor, were now closed, her face bearing the marks of pain and trauma. Tubes and wires surrounded her, connecting her to various machines that monitored her vital signs.
Terry’s heart sank as she took in the sight of her mother in a coma: a stark contrast to the vibrant, strong-willed woman she knew, now lying unconscious and vulnerable in the hospital bed. Terry, overwhelmed, collapsed, but before she could hit the ground, Tim and Jim’s swift hands reached out, catching her and gently guiding her into a nearby chair.
Terry came to, her mind still whirling, her heart pounding and sending blood rushing throughout her body, causing her temperature to shoot up. The antiseptic scent in the hospital assaulted her senses, but it paled in comparison to the dread tightening her chest as she watched her mother’s unconscious form on the hospital bed. Seeing the faint rising and falling of her mother’s chest, even though proof she was still breathing, only intensified her anxiety – unsure of whether she’d ever regain consciousness. The steady beeping of the heart monitor piercing the air, dominated the entire room, serving as a cruel reminder of her mother’s fragile state.
“I’m here, Mom,” Terry whispered, her voice barely a whisper against the hushed atmosphere of the room. “Please, wake up. Please…” she begged, as she kept her eyes steady on her mother’s face, searching for a reaction.
But her mother remained still, trapped in the depths of unconsciousness. Terry’s heart ached with anguish as she struggled to comprehend the reality of the situation. How could life be so cruel, to snatch away her mother in but an instant?
Fighting back tears, Terry rose from her seat, came closer, and sank into a chair beside the bed, her emotions a raging tempest within her. She longed to hear her mother’s voice again, to feel the reassuring embrace of her arms, but all her mother represented was an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the relentless rhythmical beeping of the machines keeping her alive.
Although surrounded by the company of her husband, Grace, Tim, and Lina, Terry felt terribly alone, trapped within a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. Despair threatened to consume her, leaving her stranded in a world devoid of light and warmth as she fought back tears.
“What happened?” Terry asked when at last she could speak, turning her attention elsewhere. “Someone please tell me what happened!?”
Tim explained, “No one knows for sure. All we know is that she had been at the bank, and the car went out of control as she was leaving the parking lot. Someone from the bank called an ambulance.”
“And now she can’t talk!” Terry lamented, her eyes stinging with tears as she whirled around to face the others.
“She will, Terry. We are praying,” Grace said comfortingly.
Terry held on to Grace’s words, hoping and praying that she was right, her attention still on them. And then something occurred to her: “Where is Dad?” she asked.
“He isn’t answering his phone,” Lina said as she gestured to her phone, concern and confusion coloring her voice.
“Let’s go find him,” she said to Jim, her tone suggesting that this was not up for debate. Jim readily agreed, slowly supporting her weight against his as they walked out of the hospital and to their car. Terry was still shaken, and the last thing Jim wanted was his new wife ending up on the floor and hurting herself.
The car drive there was quiet. Terry had nothing to say, and Jim, knowing his wife well, decided to not say anything. To let her remain in her thoughts. They arrived at Terry’s childhood home with heavy hearts, anxious about Terry’s father, not knowing what to expect, or the unexpected scene of disappointment and despair that awaited them.
As they entered the dimly lit living room, the sharp smell of alcohol assaulted their senses, hanging heavy in the air. Dan was slouched in his favourite armchair, … his gaze unfocused and his words muddled by intoxication.
“Dad, Dad!” Terry cried, her heart broken at the sight as she sank to her knees in front of him. She held his gaze, her eyes pleading for him to break free from the grasp of alcohol and take note of his surroundings.
Dan gazed at her with bleary eyes, a flicker of recognition crossing his face, but his mind remained lost in the thick haze of inebriation.
“Terry, my girl…” he mumbled, placing his hands clumsily over hers, which were tightly gripping his knees.
“Dad, how can you be drinking when Mom is lying unconscious in the hospital?” her voice cracked with desperation, tears threatening to spill out.
“Unconscious?” Dan said, his words slurred as his brows furrowed in confusion.
“Yes!” Terry cried out, her frustration boiling over. “And she needs you!”
He blinked, silent as though needing time to understand what Terry had just said. A few seconds went by, and the gravity of the situation finally seemed to dawn on Dan as he struggled to focus through the fog of alcohol. His expression slowly shifted from confused to one of shock, a glimmer of understanding flashing in his eyes as they rounded into large circles.
“I… I didn’t know,” he muttered, “Honest!”
Terry’s heart ached in response. Torn between anger and compassion, she watched as her father tried to grapple with the weight of his actions, who, as far as she could tell, remained unwilling to do the right thing.
“Terry, let me handle this, please,” Jim offered, stepping forward with an air of authority, clearly intent on liberating his wife from the clutches of desperation. Terry nodded silently, letting him take control of the situation. Terry, on the other hand, chose to retreat to their car, where she broke down in tears, crying until Jim emerged from the house.
It’s a sad state of affairs having to watch both parents struggle with different, yet difficult and related realities. And yet, we can’t help but wonder if Dan will pull himself together and go to his Wife’s aid.
What do you think will happen? Do you think Jim managed to talk some sense into Dan? Or maybe, Jim walking out of the house was a clear indication that he was unwilling to stand by his wife’ side. Could this be the end of their marriage?
Stay tuned to find out, and leave a comment on what you think will happen! If you missed the first installment, here you go: Terry’s Intrigue Over the Dry Flowers Part 1
Disclaimer: All characters, locations, and events depicted in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or actual events or locales, is purely coincidental. This work is created for entertainment purposes only and does not intend to portray real individuals, organizations, or occurrences.
Haron Wachira 