Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 4
Bola stood at the door of the hospital ward as tears streamed down her face. Her lips shook wildly and she made no effort to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. She walked slowly into the room, staring at the hospital bed, just a few steps away. Her bloodshot eyes were blind to the two other occupants of the room, as she walked like a zombie towards the bed that held her interest. She got to the bed and stared through streaming eyes at the frail form of her son lying on the bed, unconscious. She ran her eyes over his pale innocent face as tears made a fast trek down her hot cheeks. No! She couldnât accept this. Never in her wildest dreams and nightmares did she even imagine that her son would be a candidate of an hospital ward, looking like a complete shadow of himself. Leukemia⊠Cancer of the blood⊠The doctorâs words echoed in her ears, causing her chest to squeeze painfully until she was sure she could hardly breathe.
Bola took a deep breath and eased herself onto the bed beside Timothy, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest. She lightly ran her hand over his short hair as tear drops fell onto the top of her blouse. âMummy is hereâ she said in uneven broken voice as her lips shook from the force of holding her tears back. âMummy is here now, my sonâ. She bent and kissed the top of Timothyâs head lingeringly, her tears disappearing into his hair.
Bola straightened and wiped at her tears. âNothing⊠nothing would happen to you, Timothyâ she murmured as she stared at Timothyâs face. âI promiseâ. Her lips shook as despite her struggle, tears ran down her eyes again. âI promise you, my sonâ she cried, running her shaking fingers around Timothyâs hair.
Footsteps approached and Bola lifted her eyes to George. He looked completely shattered, looking every bit his age and more. Lines of worry and beads of perspiration shone on his forehead and his lips were tightly drawn against his teeth. Bola had left George with the doctor when she hadnât been able to stand what he was saying anymore. She realized now that she shouldnât have. George looked on the verge of tears and the only thing that kept him hanging there was probably his fierce male pride.
âGeorgeâ she cried as she stood and held on to him like her life depended on it. She cried onto his chest as her tears created a damp patch on her husbandâs shirt. âOh GeorgeâŠâ
âShhhhhhâ George held Bola so close, they could hardly draw a descent breath. Pain tore at his heart as he held his crying wife in his arms staring at his son, lying on the bed. It was all he could do not to burst into tears. âHush nowâ he murmured into Bolaâs hair, feeling the dampness of his shirt seer the shattered pieces of his heart. He could not accept it! He would not accept it.
George stared hard at Timothy. He knew just what cancer was and knew without a doubt that the survival rate was incredibly slim. But he could not accept it. His son couldnât have leukemia. He couldnât open his eyes wide and watch while his first fruit faded before his very eyes. Tears burned at the back of his eyes as he stared at Timothyâs pale body. He blinked back his tears furiously as his arms tightened around Bola.
âThat report is a lieâ Bola muttered amidst tears. âMy son cannot have cancer. I refuse to believe itâ
George swallowed and pulled back enough to look into Bolaâs eyes. He didnât disprove or approve her claim because he had the strong feeling that the report was accurate.
âEverything would be fine. I promiseâ
Bola blinked, sending the tears on her lashes flowing down. âIâm afraid this is a promise you wonât be able to keep, Georgeâ her lips shook. âNothing would be okay from now onwardsâ
George swallowed. âDonât say that, Bola. Everything is possible with God, if I have to climb every mountain in this country to pray for my son, I will. Timothy would be fineâ
Bola stared at George and nodded. She swallowed as he wiped at her face. Bola turned back and sat on the bed, watching Timothy like a hawk.
âThe doctor said we can take Timothy home tonight and bring him back in two days.â George said.
Bola turned. âHow are we going to do that? If Timothy would be admitted here, what about the children? This place is too far from home, the car has been at the mechanics for weeks with no money to repair it.â Bola continued blabbing as thoughts kept pouring in her head, making their situation more precarious. Worry took over her features. âHow would we foot the hospital bills, George? Iâve spent almost all my capital on drugs. My God, what are we going to do?â
George swallowed, taking a deep breath. âIâll take care of it.â
Loveth watched her siblings play in the veranda of Aunty Elizabethâs apartment. It seemed a century ago since she saw the bit of excitement. Loveth smiled, feeling like a child again, for the first time in days. She was so young but felt so old already. She had always loved to be called a big girl. She hated being called a child that she wanted to grow up so bad. She wanted to do the things adults did, feel what adults feel. But now, she wasnât sure anymoreâŠ
She had seen the pain in her parentsâ eyes, seen their excessive worry over Timothy, she had seen tears on her motherâs cheeks when she thought no one was looking. If thatâs what it took to be an adult, Loveth didnât think she wanted to grow up just yet. If only she could play like a kid again⊠If only she could be as naive as her younger ones, maybe she wouldnât worry so much about Timothy.
Something crossed Lovethâs mind and she straightened, jumping to her feet instantly as she walked into the house. the tension at home had been so much the past few days, Loveth wanted to do something to alleviate it, and if what she had in mind worked, she was sure they would be little laughter in the house today. She had told Timothy that she would cook rice and beans, he would be in for a good surprise when he arrives, Loveth thought, smiling to herself.
âFinally, you are smilingâ
Elizabeth approached Loveth with a smile. âWhere are you going?â
âIâm going homeâ
Elizabeth frowned. âTo do what?â
âI want to cookâ Loveth grinned, looking all confident.
Elizabeth chuckled. âYou⊠Cookâ she shook her head. âcan you cook? Can you even light a stone to boil water? â
âAhan, Yes nowâ Loveth lied. âI can cook very well. I can cook riceâ
âEhenâ Lizzy folded her hands beneath her bosom. âSo what do you want to cook now?â
Loveth could see that Lizzy was making fun of her but she didnât care. She was so excited, thinking of the expression on her brother and parentsâ face when they discovered she made their meal. âRice and beansâ
âTogether?â Loveth nodded. âSounds delicious already. Unfortunately, I canât let you do this. What if you burn the house down or hurt yourself. No. You are too small to cookâ
Loveth looked crestfallen. âNo, but I canâ she whined. âI told T.boy that I would make rice and beans but he said I couldnât. I want to prove him wrong⊠and it would make him laughâ
Elizabeth stared at Loveth as her face took on that sober pout that always won her over.
âYou can come watch me if you want, butâŠâ she raised her finger in warning. ââŠdonât tell me what to doâ she grinned. âI want to cook the food myselfâ
Elizabeth shook her head in wonder and laughed. âOkay, you winâ
âYesâ Loveth hopped excitedly and Lizzy was glad she agreed to it. It had been a while she saw the child in Loveth. It was a relief to see.
âYou be careful, okay?â she warned sternly and Loveth made a cross over her heart. âGo on now. Be careful putting on the stove, okay. Iâll watch your siblings for a while then come check on you. Dont add too much saltâ
Loveth skipped out of the house and down the stairs, wearing a king-sized smile. She was as excited as a child who just got her first gift. She yanked open the door to their apartment and skipped all the way to the kitchen. âRice and beansâ she muttered to herself. Now that she was in the kitchen, she felt completely clueless. But nothing ever stopped her from achieving her goal, it wasnât about to start now.
Bringing out the pot, she rinsed and set it aside. Filled the pot halfway with clean water, lit the stove and put the pot on it. Loveth stared at the pot on fire, wondering what would go in first. Would she put the rice and beans together at once? No. She vaguely knew that her mum always put one before the other. She smiled. âRice and beansâ Loveth muttered as she brought out the rice. She took a sizeable amount, washed it and poured it in the pot. She poured beans onto a flat tray and settled down to pick it. When Iâm done picking out the dirt, the rice would be soft, so I can put the beans, Loveth said to herself, smiling happily. She pictures Timothyâs face and wished he would get back faster. Today, he would eat rice and beans made by me. Loveth grinned excitedly.
Bola hugged her children so tight, she wanted to infuse them into herself. She wanted their distinct childlike scent to wash away her fears, wash away the awful news she got today. It was very dark when they arrived home and nothing gave her more joy than seeing her children, alive and well. She put a strained smile on her face for the sake of the children. They shouldnât see her sad, they shouldnât know that something was gravely wrong â especially Timothy. He couldnât know; Bola couldnât bear the thought of telling him he had cancer.
Timothy sat with them now, beside George in the sitting room as Loveth hopped beside him, wearing a suspiciously wide grin as she talked endlessly to Tim. Timothy smiled and answered Lovethâs numerous questions. Bola squatted before her children, inspecting them much more than she usually did. She couldnât help it. âHow are you? Did you enjoy yourselves at Aunty Lizzyâs place today?â
Tessy and Jerry bobbed their heads. âYes mummy, we ate spaghetti and fishâ Tessy said.
Bola smiled. She didnât think she would be able to thank Elizabeth enough for taking care of her children in her absence. âDid you now? It was sweet, right?â They nodded.
Tessy turned suddenly with a big smile. âLoveth cooked rice and beansâ
âWhat?â George and Bola echoed as their eyes flashed to Loveth.
âYou didnâtâ Timothy muttered, his eyes wide.
âI didâ Loveth grinned at him.
âWhen did she start cooking?â George asked Bola, looking astounded.
Loveth looked at the priceless expression on Timâs face and grinned so widely, her mouth engulfed her entire face. She gave him the âI-told-you-I-would-do-itâ look.
âYou cooked rice and beansâ he echoed, looking bewildered.
âYes, I made dinnerâ Loveth had never been more proud in her life.
Bola sat on the edge of her seat. âWould you stop smiling, young lady? Who asked you to cook anything? Did you tell Aunty Lizzy before doing this?â
âYes, and she let meâ
For the first time since they arrived, George was smiling mischievously. Loveth surely took that trait from him. Bola couldnât see what George was smiling about. What if Loveth had hurt herself with her little cooking experiment? God knew she couldnât stand any more source of worry. âTell me, lady chef, how did you cook it?â George asked.
Loveth looked uncertain now, as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. âI put the rice on fire. When the rice was soft, I put beans. I put salt, oil, pepper, crayfish and Maggi. I did not know how many Maggi I should put but I put fourâ she stared at their faces, trying to justify herself. âThe food is very sweet oooâŠâ she pointed out and blinked, looking at her fingers as her shoulders fell, ââŠbut, the beans is not very softâ.
The was a brief silence, then everyone busted into laughter. Loveth didnât like that one bit that they were making jest of her âhard workâ but she never felt happier. Timothy and her parents was laughing so hard. It had been such a long time since she saw that.
âOf course, the beans canât be soft.â Bola muttered laughing. âYou should have cooked the beans firstâ
It was the same thing Aunty Lizzy had said. Loveth sighed in defeat. âI thought, since it is ârice and beansâ, I would cook the rice first.â she explained.
George shook his head with a smile. âYou are something elseâ he muttered with a grin. He adjusted on his seat. âOh well, I am very hungry now. Why donât you serve us this delicacy, Lovethâ
Loveth smiled widely, flashing her tiny white teeth as she stared at Timothy with a victorious look on her face. Timothy shook his head, unable to stop himself from smiling as Loveth marched into the kitchen with her shoulders high.
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