Ninety

The door opens, and a beautiful lady doctor enters.

She is NORVISI KPODO, followed by a nurse.

She smiles sweetly at Junior and buzzes his cheek.

"Hello, sweet man, how're you doing today?" Norvisi asks.

"I'm fine, thank you," Junior replies shyly.

"Good. Would you mind going with this nurse, please? There are a few tests you must do for us."

"Again?" Junior asks, crestfallen. "But I really, really, really want to go hooooooome!"

The doctor laughs.

"I know, sweetie! This won't take long, okay? It is just something that won't take a long time, okay? You'll definitely be back home before the end of the week."

Chris, sitting on the edge of the bed, hugs his son, and then the nurse leads the boy away.

"I'm going with him, Chris-Love. See you soon," Effe says.

Effe kisses Chris quickly, and he reaches out to grab her buttocks, but she beats his hand away and dances out of his reach with a giggle. When the door closes behind them the doctor quickly and professionally goes about her duties. After examining the wound and recording some personal statistics, she gives Chris an injection and writes a prescription.

She then stands in front of Chris and looks at him critically, her face all professional.

"Should I be worried about you, Mr. Bawa?"

Chris raises his eyebrows.

"You've lost me, Doc," he says.

She sighs and thoughtfully folds her stethoscope.

"Your brother lied to me yesterday. He said you slipped and fell on a knife. I'm a Doctor, and I know a gunshot wound when I see one," she says carefully. "It is just a deep flesh wound you will recover from quite quickly, but it is my duty to report gunshot wounds and suicide attempts to the police. Now, Ira and Rupert are my friends. They brought me here, and I owe them. So, let me ask my question again, should I be worried about you?"

Chris sighs deeply, and looks straight at her.

"Indeed, it is a gunshot wound, and yes, I was feeling pretty suicidal," he says carefully. "It was a dark moment in my life, Doctor. However, I can assure you, with all sincerity, that it is over now. I'm not suicidal, and I'll never hold a gun again."

She does not bat an eye.

"Would you be needing professional assistance, someone to talk to? I must really tie all the loose ends, you know, even if I decide not to report you to the police."

He smiles sadly at her.

"I understand your concern, Doc, but no, I don't need a shrink. It was a one-time storm that has passed. Believe me, I'm gonna be fine, with my wife and family."

"Good. I'm glad to hear that. But remember, I'll be monitoring you. Now, with that unpleasant business cleared, I don't think there's any need to keep you here any longer then. You can come in every other day to have that dressing fixed. I'll be back to check on you in a little while and release you."

Chris nods, but the worry lines do not leave his face.

"Thank you very much, Doc. But my son? Is he going to be fine?"

She smiles reassuringly at him.

"Junior is as strong as his father, I guess. He's going to do just fine. What he's going through now is just routine."

Chris nods, overcome with emotional relief.

"Thank you very much, Doc, for everything."

When she leaves Chris hobbles into the bathroom on his temporary crutch provided, and spends several minutes shaving off his great beard.

When he returns to the ward Effe is back, sitting on the bed.

Their eyes meet, and lock, and as has happened so many times in their sometimes tumultuous life, the moment is electric and full of meaning.

Her breathing suddenly comes in short gasps, and he feels the warmth travelling through him.

He begins to hobble towards her, and she meets him halfway.

Their embrace is fierce, and their kiss is violent and passionate, filled with a hunger and a need that has no control, that cannot be restrained. His hand flies across her skin, her breasts, her bulging belly, her buttocks, her thighs.

She moans deep in her throat, arching her back as his lips burn across her throat, shivering with depths of her desire as she feels him raging against her belly.

She steps back from him, her eyes bright, her breathing labored.

"We better lock the door, Chris-Love," she murmurs with desire.

They both look towards the door, and then the door opens, and Elaine walks in quickly and closes it shut behind her, and then she leans against it hard.

"Oh, crap!" Chris says in a fierce whisper.

Effe giggles and puts her arms around him and rests her forehead on his chest, breathing hard as she fights to cool the passion raging on inside her.

She can see that Chris is having a harder time fighting his arousal because his lower abdomen is still out of shape.

After a while she turns and they look at Elaine together.

Since that infamous television expose when she had apologized, Effe has really not seen her again. She leans against the door, and it is evident she is preventing it from being opened.

They notice that she has lost weight, and she looks a little worn around the gills, definitely a little bit gaunt.

It seems life has not treated Elaine very well.

"It seems someone wants to come inside, Elaine," Effe says icily. "It could be one of the doctors."

She looks up at them, and her expression is that of a tortured soul.

"No, it's not. I was coming over to see you when I saw him down the corridor," Elaine says haltingly. "It seems he was following me. I had no intention of speaking to him."

Chris and Effe exchange puzzled looks.

"Who?" Effe asks.

Elaine does not respond, but after a while whoever is trying to get in stops pushing the door, and then Elaine walks forward almost in slow motion towards them.

She stops in front of them.

Her eyes are red-rimmed, as if she has done a lot of crying not very long ago.

"I have rehearsed this a lot of times in my head. I will fall down on my knees and beg for your forgiveness," she says tearfully and passionately.

"That won't be necessary, Elaine," Effe says calmly. "I forgave you a long time ago, but I don't intend to see a friend in you ever again."

That makes Elaine bite her lip with pain, and tears glitter in her eyes.

"I understand that, Ef. But, I'm so lonely, Ef. You're the only friend I've ever had, the only one who has ever truly loved me," she says sadly. "What I did was wrong, and I apologize to you and Chris. I'm really sorry! These past few months have been bad for me. I have been treated like scum since Jon was arrested and imprisoned. I've been subjected to treatments no woman should experience, and it has broken my spirit, and made me really appreciate the evil of my ways. Effe, Chris, I beg of you, please forgive me, and give my aching heart some respite!"

And with that she falls to her knees, and grabs Effe's leg, and then she begins to cry bitterly. For a horrible moment Effe feels like kicking out at her or scratching her eyes out, but as Elaine cries so pitifully tears come to Effe's eyes, and slowly she also bends with some difficulty and pulls Elaine to her feet.

"It's okay, Elly. I do forgive you," Effe says kindly. "You've been through enough, and I hope you've learnt your lessons. It's okay."

The two women embrace and weep, letting the heart seal the pain and badness between them.

"Crap," Chris whispers.

He limps towards the bed, and Effe reaches out and holds his arm, smiling through her tears at him.

"I know how you feel! Chris-Love."

Chris scowls at her and then sits down on the bed.

"I'm pregnant, Ef. I need you," Elaine says.

Effe looks at her friend with wonder.

"Yes, I noticed. Jon?"

Elaine shakes her head vehemently.

"Some crazy asshole! A stupid oaf of a man!" Elaine says passionately.

And just then the door opens forcibly, and a tall lanky man is framed in the doorway.

It is Wachipa Sey.

He looks rather wild as his eyes roam the ward.

"And who the fuck might you be?" Chris queries angrily.

Effe looks from Elaine to Wachipa, and then her eyes narrow.

"Him?" Effe asks, incredulous.

Elaine nods miserably.

"Yes, him," she says fiercely. "A fucking bastard of a man! But thank you for accepting amd forgiving me, Ef. I'll come home. I must leave now."

She walks briskly to where Chris is sitting, throws her arms around his rigid body, and hugs him tightly. She does not speak, but turns away quickly and walks towards the door. Wachipa looks at her, and his face is torn to ribbons with a mixture of shame and remorse.

"Please, Elaine, I need to speak to you, please," he says remorsefully.

Elaine snarls and slaps him so hard that his glasses fly off and shatters on the floor. She pushes him hard, and he sits down on his butt with a most unpalatable humph. Elaine drags the door open and goes out. Wachipa shouts out her name and races after her.

Chris and Effe exchange startled looks.

"What the fuck was that all about?" he asks with a wondering smile.

Effe walks up to him and pushes him on the bed.

She sits beside him and he reaches up to cup her breast, but she moves back.

"Too many distractions, my love," she says huskily. "Wait till we get home. That man is Wachipa Sey."

"Oh," Chris says, amused. "The man that brought those vids you told me about?"

"Yes, love. Seems he knocked up Elaine too in the process."

Chris laughs then, shaking his head with wonder.

"I'll be damned!" he whispers.

Out in the corridor Wachipa races after Elaine, and then he faces her, his eyes wild, oblivious to the fact that many people – visitors, nurses, doctors, workers – are staring at them. His face is passionate, and he is filled with genuine regret.

"Please, lady, hear me out!" Wachipa cries.

"You bastard! You stupid bastard! Do you think I want to listen to you? I don't ever want to see you again! Get out of my face!" Elaine shouts at him.

Wachipa falls to his knees, holds her around the thighs, and looks up at her with wild eyes.

"Lady, please! What I did to you was beastly! I thought I was doing something to pay you back, because I was mad when I saw those videos, and I genuinely wanted you to suffer, because Mr. Chris Bawa was good to me. I had no regret whatsoever after I did that to you. But as soon as I got home, and I looked in the mirror, I was sickened by my behavior that night."

Elaine looks down at him, and her face is filled with revulsion.

She speaks, and her words eject like bullets.

"That night, genuinely, I was at my lowest ebb. I was lost, and I was in so much pain, and you treated me like something the cat dragged in! You fucking bastard, Wachipa, or whatever the fuck your name is! Damn you, damn you to hell!"

She hits his face, over and over again, with her hard little fist, and he takes it, making no attempt whatsoever to protect himself. There is blood from his nostrils and from his split lips, and finally she stops hitting him. He reaches into his pocket and brings out his switchblade. He presses the button, and the ugly knife springs out. He holds it up to her.

"Go, on, Lady. Please take it, cut me up if you want to, because I deserve it. Yes, I do deserve it! I've never been sorry before. I went to the United Kingdom for a while, and I couldn't stay, because every night what I did to you comes back to haunt me! You were just from that room where you begged for forgiveness. If they didn't forgive you, then walk away! But if the two in there forgave you, then by Jove you have to forgive me, to set my soul free. I've never been one to feel sorry for my actions. I don't regret things I do! But with you I admit I'm wrong! I've been so wrong! My behavior was cowardly, callous, disgusting, unforgivable and totally nauseating! Please, Lady, I'm so terribly sorry! Please, please, forgive me!"

And then he puts his face into her bulging belly and held on tightly.

Elaine looks at the great number of people staring at them. An old nurse nods at her, winks, and holds up a thumb.

Elaine takes a shuddering breath.

"I don't forgive you, and I don't need you. Do you know why? Because your fucking prediction came fucking true! I'm fucking pregnant and I'm fucking –"

The elderly nurse speaks out then, utterly disgusted.

"Heey, lady, shut up!" the nurse utters in dismay. "What's with all the cursing, huh?"

And as many of those present begin to laugh, Wachipa gets to his feet slowly.

Elaine looks up at his stricken expression.

"I'm pregnant. You made me pregnant," she whispers quaveringly.

He reaches into his pocket, brings out a box, opens it, and nestled in there are three beautiful rings.

"Heard you and your convict husband are divorced now. Marry me. I wanna spend the rest of my life saying sorry to you, and my unborn child, for the evil I did against you."

He lifts the engagement ring and slips it around Elaine's finger.

She raises her hand to strike him again, but then she stops when she looks at the ring, and tears slowly come to her eyes.

He lifts her up, kissing her over and over, and carries her out of the hospital.

And the onlookers cheer, and a few of them wipe tears from their cheeks.