Before the sleep

Chapter eight

Daddy

"What is that supposed to mean?" I shout at the doctor who's slowly backing away from me. The nurse is already halfway out the door, probably hurrying to call security.

Like that picket fence can hold the tsunami threatening to launch out of me.

Henry's holding me back while my mother stands by my side, trying to calm me down with soothing words. None of that is working. I just want to rip that man's head from his body and make him bleed.

The small, portable table which contained medical instruments is now on the floor. All of its contents splatter on the floor, sliding under the furniture.

How dare he tells me that my wife is not going to make it! How dare he approaches me with negative news!

"I'm sorry Mr. Pierre but I'm just telling you what the tests have shown me," he pushed the glasses further up his nose. His skin is as pale as fish dipped into a bowl of flour prior to frying.

"Redo them," I grit out. "I'm not accepting those."

The veins at my neck are so tense that I think any sudden movement can cause them to tear.

"Joseph, calm down," Henry hisses. He's using all of his strength to keep me from murdering this stupid doctor right now.

I've been paying for them to provide my wife with the best care for six months. They decide now, when we're almost there, is the best time to tell me that it was all in vain.

"We really did think she was going to pull through," the doctor's hands were shaking. His skinny face seems to have lost ten more pounds in a space of a second. His grey eyes are fill with fear and pity. "She's just not doing as well as we had hoped."

"I don't care about what you're telling me right now. I need my wife and child alive. I'm not leaving this hospital without the both of them. I don't need one, I need both of them."

He shakes his head and looks down at his folder for the hundred time. "I'm sorry, Mr. Pierre but your wife's brain activity is slowing down. I'm afraid there's not much we can do about that. We're only human not God. If this continues, there's a chance we might have to do an emergency C-section to get the baby out. That's all we can guarantee right now."

I watch bloody red takes over the white, sterile room. A dark shadow settles over the doctor who's gazing at the door. He's trying to get out of my way but my body is blocking his way. Henry tightens his hold on me but I manage to free myself from him.

With two long, predator-like strides, I come face-to-face to the man. His throat moves up and down, swallowing his fear. I don't have to be in his place to sympathize with him. A tall black man hovering over him with his eyes spitting fire, his veins standing on alert along all of his muscles, and his teeth baring like a lion ready to detach meat from bones.

I look scary, I know. I can see myself reflecting in his glasses. I can feel his terror rising with each step I take.

"Mr. Pierre," his feet touches a chair and he trips over it. His pen and clipboard falls on the floor. "You have to understand that we're doing everything science allows us to do. This is a hospital not a church. You can't expect us to work miracles."

"Joe," my mother's tender voice halts me in my hunt. My gaze drops to where her hand is touching me. "You have to calm down. You knew this was a possibility since day one."

I pull my wrist away from her and move towards Irene's bed. This is all becoming too real too fast. She's the same she has always been, sweet and calm. I can't believe I'm about to lose her.