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Your fiance is careless
"Miri, please help me!"
The sound of crackling filled the phone line. "What's wrong?" her sister asked.
Shaiyan took a painful breath her chest tightening because of the pain. "I think I may have broken a rib or two," she said.
"Where are you now?"
"I'm home, please come."
"On my way." Shaiyan heard the click of the disconnected line.
Seventeen minutes later she heard the door being opened and light footsteps hurrying towards the master bedroom. It only took a second for Miriam to realize her sister wasn't where she was supposed to be.
"Shai? Shai, where are you?"
Shaiyan sucked in a painful breath and shouted as loud as she could: "I'm in the guest room! In here!"
The footsteps came closer. The door was flung open and her sister rushed in wearing a doctor's coat. "
"Shai, what's wrong?" Miriam knelt by her bedside.
"I think I may have broken a rib or something like that," Shaiyan answered.
"What yuh mean yuh broke a rib?" She touched the side she saw her sister was holding. Shaiyan flinched away from her and gasped.
Miriam's eyes widened. "What happened?"
Shaiyan didn't tell her sister what happened to the teapot. 'Oh shoot! I forget to clean it up!' she thought. She looked awkwardly at her big sis. What could she say?
"I slipped on the wet floor. Adrian spilled some coffee and didn't remember to tell me. He was in such a rush he forgot to clean it up. I slipped on the floor."
"You had grandma's old teapot in your hand?" Miri asked. "I saw the pieces on the floor as I was looking for you."
Shaiyan nodded. "Yeah, unfortunately," she said.
"Your fiance is careless," Miriam said with annoyance in her tone. "If he wasn't going to clean up, he could have at least warned you. Good thing I didn't walk that way. I would have slipped and broken my behind too!" She took out her phone and dialed emergency ambulance services.
Shaiyan gave her a strained smile. Miriam registered her discomfort and touched her arm. "Ambulance is on its way hun. Just try to relax."
Two Weeks' Leave
Her phone buzzed repeatedly. She answered none of the calls from Adrian. Nor did she answer the call from her soon to be mother-in-law. Her sister called Adrian and cussed him out while the EMT and his assistant were wheeling her into the hospital.
They had given her a heavy dose of morphine to help with the pain. She felt very woozy. She barely made it off the bed before the taste of bile rose to her mouth and she was vomiting on the floor. She felt the dull ache in her ribs and wrapped her arms around her torso. She wasn't even sure what she was throwing up, because she hadn't eaten breakfast.
She looked at the floor. It looked like water and this pale yellow slime in the middle of it. She grimaced and did a faint cough. A nurse walked in, saw what happened and stepped out quietly.
Five minutes later, an orderly came in with a bucket filled with disinfectant and water, and a mop. The smell of the antiseptic burned her nostrils. She crinkled, then covered her nose while she stared at the man. He nodded politely and bent down to wedge a doorstop in place to keep it from closing.
He straightened up and dipped the mop in the water. "Miss, can you lay down in bed, please? I can't clean if you're going to stand in the mess."
He did not look at her while he spoke. Shaiyan felt embarrassed. She shuffled clumsily to the bed, but failed to get up on it without wincing a little. Her limbs were heavy--sluggish.
With an exasperated sigh, the man came forward. "Let me help you up," he said impatiently.
"I'm fine," Shaiyan said with indignance. She tried again, but this time she nearly slipped and fell. The man made a frustrated sound. He came up behind her and held her waist to lift her onto the bed.
Sharp, throbbing pain shot through her left side, and moved like lightning down her abdomen and across her back. The sudden jolt was so debilitating it made her shiver. Her muscles locked up and a bone deep weakness took over her body. Immediately, he let her go, realizing his mistake. She grabbed onto the sheets, but her legs buckled because of the pain.
The man bent forward quickly, releasing a curse word. He caught her before she could fall and lifted her off her feet. His arms fit securely under her shoulders and legs as he laid her carefully on the bed.
Steady hands helped her onto her back. They brushed lightly on her sides as he pulled away from her. She looked at them. He was wearing latex gloves.
Though she was in pain, she noticed the relief etched on his face. Cold sweat washed over her and she closed her eyes. He stepped back and dipped the mop into the water. He wrung it dry and started wiping the floor.
"My apologies," he said, "I didn't know your condition was this serious."
A feeling of being wronged and embarrassment bubbled up in her chest. She did not respond to him. Instead, she turned slowly on her right side, her back towards him. Stray thoughts flooded her mind while she listened to him wipe the floor: He was surprisingly gentle as he lifted me. He must be very strong. She pushed the thoughts aside and took a deep breath.
He began humming and singing a tune. In spite of her foul mood, she couldn't help notice that he had a good tenor voice. The song reminded her of a past time in her childhood. It was something that sat on the edge of her memory. She couldn't quite place where she heard it or the words of the song itself. She however didn't dare ask him. Maybe he would be disrespectful to her. She bit her bottom lip and kept quiet.
Her phone buzzed again. This time it was her immediate supervisor. She answered, "Hello, Mr Montgomery."
"Miss Crawford," was the terse reply. A pause, then: "I heard you had an accident and you're in the hospital. What's wrong with you?"
Shaiyan cleared her throat. "I-I cracked my rib. I have swelling in the area sur--"
"What? In the middle of such an important deal!"
"Sir, I'm in a lot of pain. They put me on morphine. I'm in no position to handle much right now. Maybe I can get the doctor to allow me to work from home, but I can't come into work. The commute back and forth to work may make my condition worse. I was thinking of taking two weeks' leave."
There was a brooding silence for close to a minute. "Sir?"
"Very well," Montgomery replied, impatience in his tone. "Take the two weeks leave, but that's all I'm able to give you. Marisol is already helping with the address to the Board, correct?'
"Yes, sir," Shaiyan answered tiredly.
"Okay, I'll let her do the presentation then, since it's this weekend and you will be home resting." The last five words came out in a mocking tone.
She closed her eyes. "Thank you, sir." was all she could manage to say. The orderly used his foot to smoothly shift the bucket towards the door as he continued to wipe. The sound grated on her nerves a little. Shaiyan resisted the urge to look at him.
She blinked to refocus: Marisol was very capable. Maybe too capable. She'd been gunning for her position since she joined the firm six months ago.
"Okay, I will also assign her to help with the Black and Smith project," Montgomery said.
Montgomery let out a low chuckle. "Good. That's what I want to hear. Okay, you can finish up everything at home for the next two weeks."
Thank you, sir," Shaiyan said quickly. Montgomery grunted softly then hung up.
She heard a low chuckle behind her. "If you can barely stand, how will you do the work your boss wants you to do?"
She nearly had whiplash because of how fast she spun around. Her rib protested the sudden movement, but she ignored it. "I couldn't stand earlier because you agitated my bruised rib," she said, her tone accusatory.
The look of amusement faded from his face and in it's place was annoyance. "I already said I was sorry for that. You know what lady, yuh luddy! Sometimes God mek things happen to some of unuh to humble unuh."
He sucked his teeth and carried the bucket and mop through the door and placed them in the hallway. He bent down to release the doorstop and the door slid towards him. His broad shoulder clipped it and it swung closed behind him.
Pain radiated upwards from her left side into her breast bone. Shaiyan hissed her teeth and put the phone beside her under the pillow. She took a cautious breath, mindful of the inflammation, and closed her eyes.
Weekend Rendezvous
As she was coming out of shallow sleep, she heard hushed voices by her bedside. She kept her eyes closed and listened.
"Adri, what yuh going to do?" Kevin asked, his voice low.
"Nothing yet?" Adrian answered.
"What yuh mean? Nuh you tell me that Brianna is coming this weekend? Shai will expect you to stay with her and take care of her. You can't be at two places at the same time."
Adrian did a heavy sigh. "I know," he said. He sucked his teeth. "When I saw her diving for the teapot I was surprised. If I knew she would have done that and hurt herself I wouldn't have smashed it."
Kevin pat his brother on the shoulder to console him. "Nuh worry yuhself. It's gone bad already, but you still have to figure out how yah guh see yuh girl."
There was a pause. Shaiyan figured they were thinking of a way to dispose of her. She remained still, eager to hear how they would deal with her.
She heard someone snap their fingers. "I've got it!" Kevin said excitedly. Her lips twitched. She willed herself to stay still except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest.
"Adri, you have money. Why not hire a nurse to stay with her?"
Adrian didn't respond immediately. 'Must be thinking how viable that option could be for him,' Shaiyan mused.
Kevin wasn't done speaking: "Adrian, think about it. You can't just leave Shai like that. You have to leave someone with her. Her sister said she'll be in a lot of pain. So, as the caring fiance you'll have to secure her care until you get back."
Adrian cleared his throat. It seemed like it took forever for him to say something. She hoped he would say he was going to cancel the meeting with this woman. And who the hell is she anyway?
"Okay, say I do get this nurse: How do I spin this to her? You know Shai will be expecting me to stay with her."
"Easy," Kevin said calmly, "you still haven't finished up that big contract. Have you?"
"No," Adrian said, shaking his head.
"So tell her you have the contract to deal with and you need to finish it up."
"For a whole weekend though?" Adrian asked, pessimism in his voice. Shaiyan nearly laughed. It was good Adrian knew she wouldn't buy his bullshit.
"Alright, do this then: tell her it will be just for the Friday evening to Saturday morning. Then call her Saturday afternoon and tell her the director for your client company wants to go over a few things, and decided to show up to the negotiations personally."
A beat. Silence.
"You know, that might actually work. Shai is in real estate acquisitions and high end properties. Impromptu meetings happen all the time in her industry. She'll understand."
"Yeh man, she will work with it, man," Kevin said.
A shadow passed over her face. She felt the bed shift under her. A cool hand brushed on her cheek.
"She's too warm." She heard Adrian say. "I'm gonna get a doctor or nurse." The shadow moved away and the afternoon sunlight was visible through her eyelids.
"Where are you going to take Bri on your weekend rendezvous?" Kevin asked.
"This little Italian restaurant just opened on the North coast, then we'll stay over at a villa I was able to book last minute."
"Suh how yah talk like yuh have nothing planned?"
"I could cancel--"
"Cancel wah! For what? Shai is a big girl. She can manage on her own. You just need the nurse there as a buffer so she doesn't do anything else to hurt herself on purpose."
"You think she hurt herself on purpose?"
"Bro, you told me the thing was an old teapot. Who would be putting themselves at risk for old bruk like that?!"
Shaiyan almost sat up to vehemently deny that the teapot was 'old bruk'. She curled her fingers into her palms.
She was done listening to this crap. She turned slowly onto her back. There was dead silence.
"Yow, bro, I'm gonna go. Looks like she's going to wake up. I know I'm the last person she wants to see," Kevin said quietly.
Shaiyan nearly smirked. 'He's right about that,' she mused.
"Alright, bro," Adrian said. She heard footsteps leaving the room.
'That dutty wretch!' Shaiyan thought. 'Encouraging Adrian to leave me by myself and mi sick! Watch weh mi ah guh do.'
She turned on her side to face Adrian. She felt the bed sink as Adrian climbed onto it. She felt his arms around her. His warm breath brushed on her ear. He lay back with her.
"Shai, pretty baby, wake up, sweedie," Adrian crooned softly.
"Hmm..." Shaiyan mumbled.
He kissed her forehead and she turned into him. Shaiyan slowly opened her eyes. She pretended she was just realizing it was him and pulled away.
"Shai. Shai, hunny, I'm sorry." Adrian said.
He reached for her. She slapped his hands away. "Get off!" she said.
She pushed him. "Hey! Hey!" he shouted. She pushed him off the bed. He stumbled off and stood up.
"For a woman with a cracked rib, you're moving quite well," Adiran said, his eyes narrowing.
Shaiyan hissed her teeth. "How did you know I was here?" she asked. Her breath hitched as she felt a dull ache in her side. Maybe she over exerted herself. She needed to be more careful.
"Your sister called me. She called and cussed me out. I might add I was in a meeting when she called."
"Good. I'm glad she cussed you out! You're the reason I'm in this situation," Shaiyan said, her nostrils flaring.
"Me?!" Adrian's voice rose a semitone. "I never tell yuh fi dive like you in the Olympics!" His eyes were wide.
"Mi nuh wah hear that, Adri," Shaiyan said, fighting back hot tears.
"Look, I was wrong. Okay?" Adrian said. He could see she was close to crying. "I'm sorry."
"How are you going to make up for it?" she asked, sulking. "I'll be home for the next two weeks. Montgomery authorized two weeks' sick leave."
Adrian's brow knotted. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.
"I'll cook for you," he replied hastily. Then he remembered he would be somewhere else this weekend.
"Okay, I can't do that this weekend, but I can do it next week. My schedule should be clear by then."
Shaiyan scoffed. "What about this weekend?" She wrapped her arms around her torso, favoring her left side.
He shook his head. "I still have that contract I told you about. It's stressing me out." He watched her movements. "Are you feeling pain?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Nothing severe now," she answered. 'That's not the pain I'm worried about right now,' she said to herself.
Shaiyan observed his face and saw no tell that he was lying. Disappointment struck deep in her gut. 'How many other things has he been lying about with a pristine face?' she wondered.
"Oh, that reminds me," he said, holding on to her hand. "I'm thinking of getting a caregiver for you."
"A caregiver?" Shaiyan asked. She turned to face him fully.
He nodded. "I wouldn't know the first thing about taking care of you the proper way. I wouldn't want to do anything to delay your recovery," he said.
She looked at him. 'Smooth bastard,' she thought. She gave him a pouty face. "But Adri, I want you with me," she said in a sing song voice.
"I know, baby, but you're injured. Your sister told me you'll be on powerful pain meds. You know I have to work. Obviously, I can't be with you all day."
"But you hardly work on weekends," Shaiyan protested.
"True, but this contract is a big deal for my company and for me too. It'll secure my promotion. Wouldn't you want that? More money means I can afford the lifestyle we've been dreaming of." He reached out and touched her cheek. The bruise was a dull blemish on her skin.
"I'm sorry about this also," he said softly. "I'll never do it again."
Shaiyan turned her head away, leaving his hand in midair. He withdrew it to his side.
"Will you forgive me?"
"Stay with me and I'll forgive you," she said, staring him down.
He stuttered then closed his mouth. She saw his jaw muscles feathering as his teeth clenched together. "Shai, you're being unreasonable," Adrian said. "You need a nurse. I can't take care of you adequately. I also told you that I have that meet-up with my clients this weekend."
"Where will you be for the meeting?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest.
"A small hotel in the St. Andrew hills," Adrian said.
'Liar!!' The word screamed in Shaiyan's head. "Name?"
He gave her a name.
"What's their phone number?"
He sucked his teeth and rubbed his right hand through his hair. "Shai, stop this! I'll call you at the hotel, okay."
"You don't know the number?" she asked, eyebrows raised. A mocking smile was on her lips. Adrian bristled at the expression on her face. 'What was that look for?' he wondered.
"No, I don't," he said, his tone curt. "But even if I did I wouldn't give it to you."
Her lips formed into a frown. "Why not?'" she asked. Her fingers curled and twisted into the bed sheets.
He walked to the door. "You're not a child needing supervision and neither am I. I'll get you a good nurse. I can afford a good quality one."
He put his hand on the door handle. "Get some rest. I'll go to the nurses' station and ask for recommendations." He walked through the door and closed it behind him.
Shaiyan gingerly stretched out on the mattress. She winced a little as she agitated her aching left side. She released a sharp breath.
'Fine! If Adrian doesn't want to be around me at this critical time, I'll go somewhere else.'
She hissed her teeth. She'll make other plans. A thought crossed her mind as she remembered what Kevin said about getting sex somewhere else. She closed her eyes.
He's just like him. Adrian is just like his brother, only sneakier,' she mused. She smiled bitterly. "Well, if you think I'll accept that, you don't know me, Adrian."
She fumbled for her phone above her head, under the pillow and hit redial to call her sister.
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