Why Me, Dad?

Mandy sat in her car. It had been a long day. She had been running here and there, taking care of documents and asking doctors if her father needed to have some equipment available at home for when he is discharged from the hospital. She also thought of hiring a private nurse to care for her father at home. She asked for referrals from the doctors and nurses and even from some of her friends. She was hungry, she was tired. But there are things still needed to be done and arrangements to be made. Seeing her father on the hospital bed with all those equipment attached to him hurt her. She has never seen her father sick other than the common cold or a bout of cough for a few days. This was different. This was a very close call. This one almost caused him his life. Mandy almost lost him.

She had talked with the doctors all day. She asked if there was any chance that her father could go home and recuperate there. Her father, a well-known business tycoon cannot be seen inside the hospital — it's just not good for business. And besides that, she cannot be seen here at the hospital since she is currently working undercover in their own company. As of the moment, she needed to do some damage control. She drove around for a while to clear her mind.

She remembered what her father's primary physician told her.

"We need to complete all tests first before we can even discuss discharging your father," said the doctor.

"What kind of tests?" Mandy asked.

"MRI, blood test, ECG - the works. Your father is not getting young. We need to make sure he will recover and that there is absolutely no damage on his body, especially his brain. You will need to be patient."

"I understand. I hope that my father's stay here will be kept confidential."

"Of course, Miss Enriquez. I assure you, this won't go out to the media. We also do not want the press clogging the doorways of this facility. If ever your father's confinement goes out in the open, it will certainly be not because of this hospital. If you don't have any more questions, I must attend to the other patients. Excuse me."

"Of course. Thank you, Doctor."

Mandy closed her eyes and leaned her head back. Had it just been a few hours? It seemed like it had been days. She rubbed her eyes. Her head throbbed. She needed to take some medicine for her headache before it becomes a migraine and she will never make it through the night.

She fished for some medicine in her purse but found none. She drove her car to the nearest pharmacy and bought Ibuprofen and a bottle of water. She gulped a tablet and stashed the rest in her purse.

She went back to her car that she parked on the street. She drove back to the hospital to check on her father.

. . .

Mandy walked the hallway of the hospital that led to her father's room. She bought a BLT sandwich from the cafeteria that she would eat later that night. She was so hungry she was starting to tremble.

The hospital's walls were white but Mandy noticed there were a few streaks of stain on them. It was getting late. There are not many people walking the hallways, with only the nurses and the doctors doing rounds. Mandy thought that maybe the visiting hours will almost end. She needed to see her dad before visiting hours is over. She promised her dad she would be back and that is a promise she intended to keep. She walked faster.

As she neared her father's room, she noticed that the door was open a crack. She thought that maybe the nurses or the doctors were checking in on her dad. When she reached the door, she could hear a faint sound of people talking. One voice was her father's, the other was that of a woman's, but Mandy wasn't sure who.

She strained hard to hear what they were talking about but couldn't understand the words much. She heard her name being mentioned.

At the sound of her name, she peaked slowly through the crack opening. Mandy couldn't see William. But she saw her father on the bed, talking to a woman, whom she guessed was Jenny, her father's secretary. But she wasn't sure because the woman was wearing jeans. She has never seen Jenny in jeans.

"May I help you, Miss?"

Mandy almost jumped out of her skin. She dropped the sandwich she bought on the floor. She turned around to see who had startled her. It took a while before she recognized their butler.

"William! You scared me!" Mandy stooped down to pick up her sandwich. She looked at it and saw that some of the bacon had gone out of the sandwich because of the fall.

"I am so sorry, Miss," said William. He noticed the mangled sandwich. "And I am also sorry about the sandwich. Let me buy you a new one," he offered.

"No, there's no need. It's still a good sandwich," Mandy said, almost in a whisper.

"May I ask what you're doing there, Miss?"

"Uhm, I was just… Well, I was going to go inside but then I heard my dad talking to somebody so I decided to stay out here until they're done. It sounds serious — whatever they were talking about."

"Oh, it's nothing, Miss. Go ahead, you may go in. It's just Jenny in there. Your dad is giving her some instructions while he confined here in the hospital."

"I see. But I think I'm gonna stay out here for a while. I'll wait for them to finish."

"As you will, Miss. I will just be over there by the bench."

"Okay."

William walked to the row of seats and sat at the first empty one he saw. He looked at Mandy and smiled. Mandy on the other hand waited by the door. She looked at her sandwich again. She wanted to eat it then and there. As she opened the pack of her sandwich, the door suddenly swung open.

Jenny walked so fast she didn't notice Mandy was standing there and bumped into her. Mandy lost hold of her sandwich and it started falling to the floor. Mandy tried to catch it before it fell but failed. This time, the sandwich came out of the packaging, onto the floor. Mandy sighed. Maybe she wasn't destined to eat that sandwich after all.

"Oh my goodness! I am so sorry, Miss Mandy! I didn't see you there," said Jenny. She stooped to try to pick up what sandwich remained inside the pack.

"No, no, it's alright. Just leave it please," said Mandy, putting the palm of her hand on her forehead, thinking how pitiful it was that she didn't get to eat her sandwich.

But Jenny still got the sandwich from the floor and held it.

"I'm sorry. I'm going down to the cafeteria and I'll buy you another sandwich."

"No, it's okay. I'll just grab dinner later when I go home."

At this point, William was standing with them.

"I will go and buy you a new sandwich Miss Mandy."

"No need, William. Like I said, I will just get dinner on my way home later."

"Alright Miss," William obliged.

"You should go, Jenny," said Mandy.

"Yes, Miss Mandy. Sorry again about the sandwich." Jenny handed the sandwich to William and then she left.

Mandy went in the door. She smiled as soon as she saw her father.

"I'm back, Dad!" Mandy kissed her father's forehead.

"Hello, dear. Did you see Jenny?"

Mandy nodded.

"Good. I called her today to take care of some things for me." Donald said, clearing his throat.

"What kind of things, Dad?" Mandy suddenly felt nervous.

"Well," Donald cleared his throat again. "I told her to prevent news about me being in the hospital from going out."

Mandy breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, that. Yes, I've also thought about that. I asked the doctors to keep everything quiet. We don't want people — especially the press — to know what happened to you."

"Yes, quite right, Mandy."

"And are there any other 'things' you told Jenny to do?"

"I told her to tell the board that I am on an unplanned business trip. And that she will tell them that I did not inform her when I will be back."

"Okay… Is that all?"

"There is one more thing that I told her to do." Donald cleared his throat the third time. "I told her to call my lawyer and have him come tomorrow."

"Lawyer? What for?" Mandy felt nervous again.

"Well, since I am here, I may need the assistance of our lawyer about certain things."

"Oh, okay," said Mandy.

"That and —" Donald stopped to look Mandy in the eyes.

"And?"

"And I have to find somebody I can trust to run the company while I am recovering."

"I see. Is there anybody you have in mind?"

"Actually, I do."

Mandy couldn't take the suspense.

"So, who is it?"

"Well, I was thinking…"

Mandy held her breath.

"You, Mandy. You will run the company while I'm here."