Savory Deceits (16 page)

~CHRIS~

“Please Nena be okay.” I prayed, standing helplessly outside her hospital room, watching the doctor and nurses work on her. Although I was tired and exhausted, from having been there all night, I could not leave her side. I had to make sure that she, and the baby, were all right. I have never been so scared in my life. When the phone went dead last night, I panicked. I could have flipped my car ten times over, going a hundred miles per hour like that, but I did not care. I just wanted to get to her. She was my heart. Now, watching her lie helplessly on that hospital bed like that, I prayed for her to be okay. However, another part of me was angry that she was here in the first place. Tony had better pray that she, and the baby, made it through this. Just the thought of him pissed me off. What was he doing in my apartment anyway? Who in the hell did he think he was, answering my goddamn phone? The only person who could have given him access to my apartment was Naima. Where in the hell was she anyway? Nena and the baby’s life could be in danger, and I must have left her sister a dozen messages, but still no word from Naima.

“Sir,” someone said from behind me, interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes?” I answered, walking towards the man dressed in blue scrubs.

“Hi. I am Doctor Payton. Are you family?” He asked me.

“Yes I am.” I lied.

“Is she going to be all right?” I asked him.

“Well, right now, she’s resting. She suffered a minor stroke.” He told me, and my eyes got bigger. “It’s a good thing you called the paramedics when you did. That is most likely what saved her life. Though her condition is critical, she’s stable.” The doctor explained to me, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“So does this mean that she’s going to be okay? Can she come home?” I asked, hopeful.

“Unfortunately, we cannot release her at this time.” He said to me.

“What? Why?” I asked alarmed.

“She has a severe case of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure, which is what caused her stroke. Unfortunately, this condition is common in most high-risk pregnancies, but can have fatal effects later on in her pregnancy, if not treated. The only way to treat preeclampsia, however, is to induce labor, and deliver the baby. But at her stage in pregnancy, the likelihood of the fetus surviving at just twenty-two weeks, if delivered, is very small. Right now, we have put her on bed rest, and are closely monitoring her condition. I’ll know more in a couple of days, after running some more tests.” He told me.

“Can I see her?” I asked worried.

“Sure, but only for a few minutes, because she needs her rest. Any undue stress can be detrimental to her life, and the baby’s.” The Doctor warned.

“Okay. I understand. Thanks.” I said heading for Nena’s room.

“I’ll be back later to check on her.” The Doctor replied, making his way to the elevators. I slowly opened the door to Nena’s room, and went to her bedside. Then, I sat in the chair near her bed, and took her hand in mine. She looked so peaceful sleeping, that I just wanted to wrap my arms around her, and never let go.

“Nena,” I began, staring at her face. “You gave me quite a scare woman. I almost killed like a dozen people trying to get to you last night.” I joked, hoping to get a response from her. When she remained uncommunicative, I closed my eyes, and tried not to fear the worse. “You mean so much to me, and I am going to be here when you wake up. I will do everything in my power to make sure that you and the baby…our baby…make it through this. I love you so much, and I am so sorry if I was the reason for you stressing much.” I glanced up at the beeping monitors above her, and tried to keep it together. Seeing her lay there helpless struck an emotional chord in me.

“I don’t want to leave you here alone, but I have to go back to work. I am going to try to take leave though, so I can be with you. Get well soon, baby. And you too baby.” I said, lightly placing my hand on her belly. Then, I kissed her hand, and stood up. When I turned to leave, I immediately stopped. Right away, my heart started racing, and I could feel my adrenalin pumping again. There Tony stood, near the door, glaring at me. I wondered how long he had been standing there, and how much of what I just said to Nena, did he hear. Oh well, the cat was out of the bag anyway. I eyed him just the same, and the silence in the air was thick. Granted, what I did to my best friend was wrong, but he did not deserve Nena. He never did. I prepared myself for the worse, as I watched him stand there in silence, seemingly ready to charge me at any moment. I started to say something to him, but stopped, when I heard grumbling coming from behind me. Then, I turned to see Nena opening her eyes, and I quickly took my seat by her bed, willfully aware of Tony’s presence.

“Nena? Can you hear me? It’s me Chris. Please, wake up baby.”

~TONY~

The nerve of that son of a bitch, I thought. All I could think of now, was putting a bullet in my so-called best friend’s head - the man I trusted with everything, even my own life! Loyalty was our code, and he annihilated that. I felt the urge to beat the shit out of Chris right here in the hospital room, but my attention turned to Nena, and the obvious pain she was enduring. Soon, her groans turned into a cry, as she clutched her stomach.

“Oh my God, is she okay?” I asked. Even though I hated her, my heart still ached for her. Chris ignored me, and then rushed out of the room. For a brief moment, I wanted to go to Nena’s bedside, and hold her. Comfort her even. Carefully, I took a step towards her bed, and then immediately stopped, when she said, “Chris.” With her eyes still closed, she called out his name again. Then, within seconds, a doctor and a couple of nurses rushed into the room, with Chris in tow.

“I’m sorry, but you two have to leave.” A nurse said to Chris and me. We then left the room without protest.

“What’s wrong with her?” I asked Chris, as soon as we were in the hall.

“I should be asking you that.” He replied, with hostility in his tone.

“What?” I asked defensively.

“She calls me crying and shit, telling me that you all pissed off, and then she blacks out over the phone! I get over there, and she’s passed the fuck out, and you are nowhere to be found!” He said seething.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up. I know you not trying to step to me with this shit! I find out you been fucking my wife, and you got the nerve to stand there and question me, like that is your girl laying up in there? Dude, I should drop you where you stand!” I threatened, ready to knock him on his ass.

“I’d like to see you try.” Chris replied taking a step towards me. I balled my fists ready to swing on him, when a nurse quickly rushed over to where we stood.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you both to leave.” She said.

“What! That’s my wife in there!” I protested.

“Well then Sir, please go to the waiting room, and the doctor will be with you shortly.” She said to me. Scathingly, I looked back at Chris, and then slowly nodded my head at him. For I knew, that he knew, it meant that this was not over. Seeing red, I had to walk away, before I ended up going to jail today.

~CHRIS~

              After Tony retreated, the doctor emerged from Nena’s room, and came straight to me.

“How is she?” I asked, as soon as he approached.

“She’s under sedation right now, but if her condition does not improve, we’re going to have to deliver the baby.” He said.

“What? No! You said the baby might not survive!” I reminded him, in a state of panic.

“I know, and that’s still a possibility, but our concern right now is for the mother. This can kill both she and the baby, if we do not deliver him, should her condition worsen. It’s better to save at least one of them, rather than lose them both.” The Doctor explained.

“Him?” I questioned.

“Yes him. It’s a boy.” The Doctor replied with an encouraging smile. “We’re monitoring her around the clock. I promise we will do everything we can to make sure that she and the baby make it through this okay.” He assured me.

“Thanks doc.” I said, turning to watch Nena, through the glass window on the door, as she slept. I started for the elevators, but then stopped, and headed for the waiting area instead. Tony quickly stood, when he saw me enter the waiting room. Then, I stopped short in front of him, and said, “Do you know where Nai is? I’ve been trying to reach her, but it keeps going straight to voicemail.”

“Can you blame her?” Tony said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“Look man, I don’t have time to get into this with you right now. Nai should be here. Nena would want her to be. Her condition is life threatening, not just for her, but for the baby as well.” I explained, annoyed with his bitch-ass attitude. Then, I watched the expression on his face change from fury to worry. Good, I thought. At least his punk ass still cared enough about Nena to be concerned for her life.

“If you speak to Nai, tell her that Nena needs her.” I said, and then left.

~TONY~

As much as I hated Chris, and wanted to beat him into the ground, my concern for Nena was greater. Her condition was life threatening? It cannot be. In search for answers, I made my way back to the nurse’s station.

“I need to talk to a doctor about my wife’s condition.” I said, as soon as I approached the desk of the same young woman, who just saved Chris from an ass whooping. She stared at me, and looked confused, then picked up the phone, and paged Nena’s doctor. I waited patiently, until she replaced the phone back on its receiver.

“The doctor will be with you shortly.” She said.

“Thanks.” I replied making my way back to Nena’s door. I peeked inside through the little window, and watched as she slept peacefully once again. Even laying there like that, hooked up to machines, she was still beautiful. What could possibly be wrong with her? I thought. Could I have done this to you Nena? Reprehensively, wrapped up in my own anger, over her confession, I failed to take heed to the fact that she was pregnant. I remembered watching my own mother go through a lot of stress, when she was pregnant with my little sisters, over my father. She was always very upset, and highly emotional, throughout those nine long months over my dad working so late, and never making it home in time for dinner. I felt a sudden pang of guilt over those memories, and wondered if the way I reacted to Nena’s confession, is what brought her here.

“Excuse me?” A man said, interrupting my thoughts. “I understand
you’re
Mr. Skye?” The man in blue questioned me, looking just as confused as the nurse did.

“Yes I am.” I said, and then reached into my back pocket, to pull out my military identification card, to show him. When he nodded, I put the card back in my wallet.

“Is my wife going to be okay?” I asked him.

“I apologize, Mr. Skye. I thought the other gentleman was…” he tried to say, before I cut him off.

“No, he’s not.” I said correcting him. “As a matter of fact, please do not let anybody, who is not family, in to see my wife or disclose her condition?” I ordered.

“Of course,” he promptly agreed, probably fearful of a lawsuit, for violating the doctor-patient confidentiality rule.

“So, how is she?” I asked him.

“Right now, we’re trying to bring her blood pressure down,” he began. “She had a minor stroke. Her condition is preeclampsia, which can be fatal to your wife, and the fetus. The only way to treat it in her case is to deliver the baby, but at this stage in her pregnancy, it is too risky. We are monitoring her blood pressure, which has not gone down since she arrived. If her condition does not improve, we’re going to have to do an emergency C-Section.” My guilt started to settle in again, and take root, because I felt partly responsible for her condition.

“Can I see her?” I asked him.

“Right now, we don’t recommend any visitors, until her condition is stable. We do not want to risk any undue stress that may cause her condition to worsen. But one visitor at a time should be okay.” The Doctor granted, stepping aside to let me by.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Doc. I am the only one who is going to be coming in to see her from now on. I’ll make sure of it.” I ensured.

“Well, all right then. I’ll come back later to check on her after I make my rounds.” The Doctor said, before turning to leave.

“Thanks Doc.” I said, walking back to the nurses’ desk. She was typing into her computer when I approached.

“I don’t want anybody coming up here to visit my wife if they’re not family. If anyone attempts to do so, I want to be notified.” I grabbed a flower pen, from the cup on her desk, and tore a piece of paper from her yellow writing pad. I quickly scribbled my cell phone number on it.

“Here’s my number.” I said, handing her the paper, and replacing her pen.