QUARANTINED EPISODE EIGHT

Blood of My Blood

It was around 1 am, fire was still blazing as Rose, Jane and Grace hopelessly watched. The two police officers endeavored to put it off but it was too wild. Soon, a series of sirens were heard from a distance. A fast moving fire brigade truck made its way into the police station. It was followed by two more huge fire fighting trucks. The fire men hurriedly came off and began to put off the fire which at this time had taken down three quarters of the building. John had already driven to Nairobi Hospital trying to salvage his boss’s life which was in the Holy Heavens at that moment. The two police officers walked towards the direction where the three ladies were standing. 

Rose held Jane’s both hands and looked in her eyes. “I am sorry Jane. I know this is all because of me. We are all innocent but I will not allow you and your sister to endure any anguish out of my own superciliousness. I will plead guilty for the death of Brian when we appear in court!”  Rose said as her voice grew heavier and weaker.

 “No Jane, I will not let you obscure yourself in this mystifying torment alone. You will be subjecting yourself to a  long deep delta of turmoil that will throttle you with water. Listen, you, Grace and I are in this together to the end.” Jane answered with deep pain which was openly envisaged in her eyes. 

‘We are in this together,” the three ladies said as they turned to face the two police officers who were staring at them. “You are free to go home!” said one of the police officers. These six words sounded eccentric and outlandish to the three ladies. The news hit them with glorious joy like that of Nairobian men being told that the curfew had been lifted and all pubs were free to operate. “Are you sure of this sir?” Asked Jane. “I mean why release us, yet…” interrupted Grace, but she was silenced by Rose. “Yes, you are free to go. We will drop you off at your respective homes.” Said the second officer. 

Rose was enthralled with joy. She knelt down and thanked God for that gracious gesture. Jane on the other side was engrossed with excitement as she hugged Grace. But then, their joy was short-lived. Brian was no more and they had no idea where James and Princess were. They did  not have any clue whether they were both alive or they had received the higher calling.

Rose went to one of the officers, “what about my boyfriend’s body sir. Please help us drop it at the morgue.” The officers tried to evade being part of the case. The plot was thickening; the story was rapidly evolving and taking a dangerous direction they both could not tag along. They had bitten enough, and they could chew no more. 

“Your car is behind that tree on your left. Use it to drop the body at the mortuary.” Answered the officer as he walked away. Rose dashed to Brian’s car ,which was packed below a tree, the door was open and lucky enough, the key was still at the ignition pot. She quickly reversed as Grace and Jane tried to carry Brian’s body out of the police vehicle. However, as Grace tried to uncurl Brian’s neck, she felt a pulse. “Wait!” she shouted. “He’s alive.” Rose loped out of the car and held Brian’s hands. “Brian, sweetheart I am here. Please tap my hand once if you can hear me.” 

Rose was desperate. She never wanted that night to act as an innuendo to Brian’s crescendo on earth. She wanted him alive. She wanted him to be present as she put to bed and make him a father. Jane watched with intense bewilderment as Brian’s fingers tapped twice on Rose’s palm. He was alive. Their horrendous nightmare was turning into a glorious and sensational phenomenon. Grace held his legs and the three girls helped Brian get into the car. They drove off, leaving the two officers behind and the fire brigade team.

“Let’s take him to Aga Khan Hospital.”Suggested Jane. “No, Nairobi Hospital is closer.” Said Rose as she took the left turn to negotiate along Haille Sellasie Avenue. They approached the Uhuru Highway roundabout, the same spot where they had found Mr. Alfred and Constable John and headed straight to Upper Hill. They arrived at the hospital and went to the emergency area where Brian was received with the nurses on standby and dashed to the operation room. Rose and the other two were left at the waiting launch, restless and frantically waiting to hear from the doctors. Every time the door leading to the operation room opened, they all rose up presuming it was the doctor.

After a few hours, the doctor came out holding a blue file in his left hand. “Who is with Brian?” the doctor asked as she stared at the three ladies. They all dashed to the doctor who revealed to them that Brian had lost a lot of  blood due to the beatings. He suffered severe internal and external hemorrhage and he needed immediate blood transfusion. “I can donate mine. Please begin the process immediately.” Said Rose as she moved closer to the doctor. All the three girls volunteered to donate their blood. Coincidentally, their blood group was 0+ which meant they could safely donate to Brian who was 0-. 

Morning was approaching and Rose was still at the hospital. They were advised by the doctor to return home and have rest. They reluctantly left but insisted on coming back later in the afternoon to check on Brian. As they were heading towards the reception, they bumped into James. He was alive but with few scratches on his forehead. “James, where is my daughter?” asked Jane while she hugged him tightly. Jane felt an enormous and thrilling relief that made her draw out the hug. “Our daughter is in the HDU ward, I just finished donating my blood to her. I have been here since midnight. We were involved in a grisly accident at Jogoo Road.” James explained as the three ladies gaped at him with contrite faces. Rose also explained the predicaments that had befallen them as they headed to the ward to visit Princess. 

James narrated how he tried to dodge knocking down a cow along Jogoo Road near City Stadium only for him to hit on an electricity post and found himself in the hospital.“I thought I had lost your James. We came looking for you but the unfortunate happened. I promise, I will never let off you. I love you so much darling!” Confessed Jane as she opened the door leading to the ward where Princess was nursing her injuries too.

“Hey honey, I came as fast as I heard you were here. You got me worried sweetheart!” Those were unforeseen words from Victoria, James’ rightful and legal wife and a senior news anchor in one of the leading media house. James stood at the door, conjectured what and how to react in that sticky situation. His reflexes were not functional at the moment. He stood there, looked at Jane who at the moment was confirming the status quo of her daughter but carefully following the conversation, turned and looked at Rose and finalized with Victoria who was still hugging him. 

“James, who are these people, are they your workmates?” Victoria innocently asked as she held James’ hand and stood on his left side as Jane came and stood on the right side. The room was filled with tension. This is the moment James wished Christ to return for the rapture. The only sound that was heard in the ward room at that moment was the ventilator machines that were helping Princess to breath.

For 30 seconds, no one was talking, they were all crucified in bewilderment. Rose moved closer to James and asked him if she could have a word with him secretly but Jane insisted that any talk would be done in their presence. “James, what’s happening here. I thought we were coming to see Princess our daughter. Who is this lady?” asked Jane. Rose could not believe James had a secret wife. She was subdued by anger, she flashbacked the ghastly and horrendous quandary they had gone through the previous night because of their quest in search of him. But now, an incredibly worrying disclosure had manifested itself before them. She wondered if James comprehended the magnanimous series of psychological torture they had experienced. To her, this was an expensive joke. She went to the bedside, kissed Princess on her right hand and left the room. 

Grace looked around and knew she was not going to be part of the next conversation. She left, leaving the titans to face each other. “So you have a child James?” asked Victoria. “You have a secret wife?” interrupted Jane. James was rendered speechless. He looked at them as they continued to ask questions. Their words reflected in his eardrum with a throbbing echo that made him sit beside his daughter to find solace. After a long contemplation, James stood up, looked at Jane and Victoria.

“I am sorry I never told you that I have a daughter. I knew how you would react. Furthermore, I happened to bump into your little romantic expedition with the governor who has been spoiling you with exotic and glamorous gifts. Tell me Victoria, your monthly salary is a Kshs.150,000 yet you drive a Range Rover and own an executive beauty palour and spa. I also came across the divorce documents you were preparing with your legal adviser, which intrigued me more.” 

James turned to Jane and continued, “And to you Jane, why do you rebuke me? Why do you mock me when you pushed me off because of Brian. You asked me to leave your house and forget about us. You genuinely asked me to forget that nothing ever happened between us. Well, I forgot about us. And that’s why as I head for my surgery for my heart transplant tomorrow, I wanted to spend my last moments with my daughter. Do any of you have anything else to say, because I want to spend my remaining time in this world with my daughter!”

The two ladies stood there, speechless, confused, shackled in shame as they melted in anguish without hope or despair. They were the alpha and omega of their impasses. They couldn’t try imposing blame on anyone. Then, Jane had a down pat and conceded to the fact that ‘what kills a man begins as an appetite.’ Her game of adventure in pursuit of a perfect husband began jokingly but then, it grew into a huge appetite. It had engulfed her and barricaded her life with hooks of shame. Victoria knew James was right. She wanted to live big, drive expensive German machines to maintain her public image. To achieve this, she had to devise new ways by going out with a politician she occasionally interviewed on her show on television and gave him extreme political mileage, but in return he had to give back to Cesar. Victoria accepted her sealed fate and left without a word. Jane walked to James, knelt down and asked him to give a second chance. It was hard for James.

“I am going for surgery tomorrow Jane. I don’t know if I will make it. I am not worthy of you. You need to find a healthy man who will take care of you. Even if I make it through the surgery, I won’t be strong enough to satisfy your needs again. Please, you made your point the last time I came over to your house. You have Brian whom, I am sure loves you and adores you all heartedly. He is the right man you need Jane. James is nothing but a dying man. But promise me that you will take care of my daughter.” James said as tears splashed out and fell on Jane’s forehead. 

“You are not going to die James. I am here and I will always be by your side never to leave you. We will raise our daughter together. Please, give me a second chance honey. Let bygones be bygones. Do not allow my yesterday to destroy our today’s endeavor.”  Cried out Jane. James had grown to love Jane. That is why he had already made arrangements to divorce Victoria whom he had evidence that she was cheating on him. But his love for her was shrouded when she chose Brian over him. His heart was shredded into pieces and he vowed never to love again but concentrate on his daughter. Jane had gambled wrongly and lost. Nature had performed its critical course. It had opened its arms and ushered her in the faculty of disaster management. 

“Just one last chance James, please,” she pleaded. James felt the genuineness in Jane’s plea.  He stood up, walked to the door and looked back at her. “How much do you love me Jane?” he asked as he shut the door which had been left open by Victoria. “My love for you is beyond any scale of measure James. I never realized how much I love you till the moment I thought you were no more. You are my pride and my treasure. God bless the day I met you. Come here.” She affirmed as she dashed to James and kissed him. 

“Mommy, why are biting my daddy’s mouth?” Princess asked as she tried to wake up. “Shhhh!” Jane and James calmed her. “Mommy is showing daddy how much she loves him.” Said Jane as she tried to help Princes lay back on the bed. “Yes sweetheart and you need to rest. Jane let me call the doctor.” James ran out and came back with the doctor who asked to talk to James but Jane insisted to be involved in the conversation since she was Princess’ biological mother. But the doctor was particular. He needed to speak to James only. So James followed the doctor to his office only to be slapped with some sorry news. The blood he had donated to his daughter did not match. This meant one thing; that James was not the biological father to Princess. It was going to be a long day!