AFFAIRS OF THE HEART

Hunting happiness

The overspeeding cab pulls up in the parking lot.The loud music playing in that vehicle gained the attention from the whole storey building.All eyes are pinned on the vehicle just to see who are the VIPS. To everyone's surprise five teens alighted the cab.Two females and three males. One would have thought the cab was a kitchen all smoky... not because the smoke came from the exhaust pipe but because they were smoking and drinking.
"Hey Peeps this is one of the coolest night clubs in las  vegas" The drunk and high Effie shouted to her partners.They all threw their hands up and toasted...

"to a happy life...to many more years of happiness to many more years of fun."  And ran into the club.

They positioned themselves at the corner of the club, Sat at their table and placed their order.They danced,ate,drunk and smoked till the wee hours of the night.It was time to go back home so they staggered out of the club and called out for a cab no called out is way too polite... they yelled out for a cab.A cab pulled over near them and they all boarded. They all came from the same estate and off they went.They all reached their homes...Elsie..the other female in the group lived with her granny. She found food on the table and her granny dead asleep. She didn't bother to check what was in the dishes. She staggered to her granny's room and pecked her goodnight on the cheek and headed to her room.

On the other hand... Effie lived with her parents and her younger brother. Her elder sister, Beatty was already married with two kids. Effie found both her parents on the couch waiting for her and her small brother, Ralph had already retired to bed after a long day at school. The angry stare from her parents said it all. With her face lowered,she mumbled a hey mum, hey dad.. how was your day? Her mother ,Teff went numb while her dad, Timmy bursted in anger...

"what is so good about the day you cheap slut?"
  Effie's mother tried to calm down her husband but he shoved her down and headed towards Effie. He slapped her so hard that her face turned red.

"What is the meaning of this??if you nolonger need education, tell me to stop wasting my money on your schoolfees and instead venture into business. what example are you setting for Ralph?why are you troubling us?"

  That was a lecture from her annoyed dad.

He then held his chest and fell on the floor writhing in pain. He was breathing with difficulty. Teff, Effie's mother ran to her bedroom took her phone and called an ambulance. The drunk Effie was calling out... "Dad! dad! Please wake up daddy!Am so sorry..." Effie was in tears... her mother ran downstairs and hugged her telling her all will be okay. After a little while, the ambulance siren could be heard from a distance...Effie ran and openened the gate then they helped her dad into the ambulance... he had already lost consiousness and nurses administered first aid before they arrived in the hospital. Thankfully the hospital was not far from their home and within a few minutes they were in the hospital compound. Timmy was admitted. It was almost dawn.... Effie had not slept at all. It was a rough night for her...  Her mother told her to go home freshen up and prepare Ralph for school.

Effie and Ralph did not have a good rapport. Their relationship had been a good one when Ralph was a small baby but once he was a little grown and could see her troubling their parents,their good relationship was broken.Effie arrived at their home and found Ralph still asleep. She took a shower,dressed up and prepared Ralph his breakfast. After setting the table for Ralph she went to his room to wake him up. "Wakie wakie bro...time for school." Ralph lazily streched and got off his bed. "Morning sis... where  is mom?" asked the sleepy Ralph. "Mom is off to work." Answered Effie. Ralph looked at her disbelievingly and said.. "wednesdays are mom's off days from work and today is wednesday. So please just tell me where mommy is!" Effie told him that their mother had recieved an urgent call from work and she had to rush there. Ralph belived that lie, little did he know that his mother was freezimg in the hospital cold taking care of his ailing dad.

Effie was restless and stressed up because deep down she knew it was all her fault that her dad was admitted in the hospital.she knew his condition was not good at all and all that guilt was consuming her. She did not want to show her brother that there was any problem so she tried her best to act as if all was well with her soul. She prepared her brother for school and went to her room for a nap. She fell asleep immediately she lay on her bed. Ralph watched some animation as he waited for the school bus to pick him.The school bus hooted and Ralph ran out and boarded to head to school. Effie was woken up by the ringing of her phone. She checked the time and it was 11:30 am. She picked the call and talked to her mother who had been calling and Effie could not hear the phone ring. Her mother told her to go to the hospital and take them breakfast. Effie lazily sat on her bed with some pain on her head....we all know that feeling was.Hangover after getting herself drunk almost the whole night. She headed to the kitchen prepared and packed breakfast for her and her mom. She took her mom's car keys and drove off. On her way to the hospital she got herself thinking about her dad. "Damn!! This is all my fault!what have I done now?please dad don't die. I still need you. I promise that I'll make it up to you...I promise you that dad..."  Tears were dripping off her  cheeks. She hurriedly wiped them off as she was approaching the hospital gate. Effie parked in the lot and joined her mom in the ward.
      "What kind of a dress have you worn?"
     
  "The kind that one would wear"
    
"You really piss me off"
That was the kind of conversation between mother and daughter.

Effie was not in the mood to argue with her mom so she took her phone walked out and slammed the door behind her. She was the rude type and very temperamental. She went to the car and called her friend Elsie.
  "Hey Elsie..."

       "Hey Effie darling... you aint in your jovial moods... whats up babe?"

    "Elsie... its my dad....."

"Hey whats with yo dad??"
 
"Would you please come to olive yard hospital?"  She finished with the question and hanged up.

What was really happening to Effie?? She had been trying to find happiness the whole night but no.... that was not what she was getting. What the hell was really happening?