Wearing Her Shoes

What are they Hiding?

A doctor entered leading three nurses who were dragging a hospital bed. The nurses carried Mike, placed him on the bed, and pushed it out of the room. Natallie and I stood up and followed them until we reached the operating room, which we weren't allowed to enter. A nurse asked us to sit in the waiting room and lead us there. The more the time passed, the more our worry increased. "When will they finish? It's been more than one hour," said Natallie breaking the painful silence.

"I don't know. I can't stand waiting anymore!" I answered.

"How's Mike?" said Jamal approaching us.

"Still in the operating room. Natallie told me about your arm. How is it?" I answered looking at his bandaged arm.

"I've got several stitches," he answered.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you guys." I said looking downward sheepishly.

He smirked. "Weren't we traitors a few hours ago?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Apology accepted," he answered with a smile.

I smiled back. Natallie interrupted, "Can any of you explain what's going on?"

"I'll tell you later," I answered.

                An hour later, a man wearing a white coat left the operating room. Natallie approached him followed by Jamal and me. "How is Mike?" she asked.

"He was transferred to the recovery room. He is still under anesthesia and will be awake in a few minutes," he answered.

"Is he okay?" asked Jamal.

"Don't worry. We extracted the bullet from his chest. It seems that it collided with his rib cage causing two of his ribs to break. His lungs seem healthy, though.  When he wakes up, he will have to undergo several scans to ensure the safety of his lungs and other organs. Stay in the waiting room, and when he wakes up, a nurse will call for you. Excuse me, I have other patients to deal with," he said before walking away.

                After a few minutes, a nurse approached us and said, "Are you the family of Mike Williams?"

"Yes," I replied.

"His phone was ringing, so I thought I might give it to you," she said handing me a black IPhone.

"Thank you, did he wake up yet?" I asked.

"Not yet, but when he does, he'll be sent to another room and I'll call for you. Excuse me," she said and left.

I looked at Mike's IPhone that was reflecting my face and messy hair, and then handed it to Jamal saying, "I'm not so familiar with it, check out who called."

He took it from me and touched the screen a few times. "It's Samillia," he said at last.  "We were supposed to bring you back to the villa today after the interview. I think she was worried and called to ask why we're late. I'll call her." Jamal touched the screen one last time, then placed the phone to his ear. "Hello, Samillia? Oh, how are you Granny Smith? Don't worry, we're all fine. We're here in the hospital. She's beside me, I'll hand her the phone."  He turned to me and handed me the phone whispering, "Granny Smith wants to talk to you."

                I answered the phone saying, "Hello Granny. I'm sorry. We're going to be late for another few hours .Mike?" I looked at Jamal not knowing what to say. He shook his head indicating I shouldn't tell her. "You want to talk to him? He, he, he, he is in the bathroom. Yes, yes, the bathroom. I'll let him call you when he's out. Why were we late? Um, there was the interview, aaand then there was, the, the, the, there were some problems, yes with the hospital's accounting system, and we are waiting until they fix it. Can I talk to Samillia? She is coming? But how come her mobile is with you? Oh yeah, yeah. Ok, when they're here, we'll all leave together. Bye Granny. Take care," I said releasing a deep breath. "I don't think she believed me," I said faking a smile. "Samillia and Adam are coming. They were worried, so they decided to come, and Samillia forgot her mobile with Granny Smith. "