The Reluctant Heiress (A Christian Romance Novel)

Chapter 1: The Phone Call

"He-llo?" Telly said still half-asleep as she was rudely awakened by a call. It was 3 in the morning at her apartment in New York City. "Someone better be dying," she sarcastically whispered in her hoarse bedroom voice.

"I am so sorry. Is this Ms. Telly de Lavi," asked the lady on the other end of the line.

"It depends on what you want," she replied annoyed, still lying down and eyes half-closed. "How did you get my number?"

"I am calling from St. Joseph Hospital in Atlanta, and I got your number from the emergency contact information for Mr. Ricardo de Lavi."

Telly suddenly was wide-eyed, she sat up straight, turned on her side lamp,  and her heart started to race. "Why? What's going on?"

"Your father was rushed here a few minutes ago because of cardiac arrest, and as of right now, our doctors are doing their best to revive him and..."

She could not believe her ears. All the words that the lady said next just floated in the air. 'This can't be happening', she thought. "This is just a joke, right? A bad joke, but still just a joke." She said holding back her tears.

"I am sorry Ms. de Lavi. I know this is hard but this is real. I would like to request you to come here as soon as possible."

She hung up, she didn't know what to do. Her world suddenly seemed to be spinning around. She gasped for air and tried to take a deep breath, she was about to pass out!

And then her cellphone rang. With her hand shaking, she tried to to reach for it on her bedside table.

"Hello?" she answered, still gasping for breath.

"Hello, Telly?" the man on the other end of the line said. "This is Mr. Downey." Mr. Downey was her daddy's executive assistant.

"Mr. Downey, is it true about Daddy?" she asked, hoping he would answer differently.

"I am sorry Telly, it is true. How did you know?"

"The hospital called me and..." and her heart was beating so fast, she started to sweat, cold sweat, and she got tongue-tied that could not continue her next sentence.  She reached for the bottled water she always kept on her bedside and drank some and tried to control her breathing. 'Calm down Telly, calm down,' she told herself.

"Telly, focus. I need you to come here right now," Mr. Downey said. "He's still breathing, so we want you here as soon as possible.  We're praying for a miracle! Get a cab, go to the airport and get the earliest flight to Atlanta."

Hearing those words gave Telly the adrenaline rush she needed. And some direction. She immediately changed clothes from her nightgown to a whatever she could grab that was more decent, packed her bag and rushed outside of her apartment and rode a cab to the airport. She knew she was a total mess but she did not care. She needed to see her daddy. She needed to hold him.  She needed to know that everything will be ok.

Cab was easy to find in New York even at three in the morning, and fortunately there was no traffic going to the airport. In the ten minutes she was in the cab, she easily booked her flight through her phone.

Telly was familiar with the airport routine, having used this many times the past ten years, both for leisure and official purpose. She rushed to her airline's check-in counter and then to the gate.

But the earliest flight she got was not until the next two hours. Two long hours! That must be the longest two hours of her life! As she sat at the boarding gate of that Delta flight, she kept communicating with Mr. Downey, her father's assistant. That was the only way she could stay sane.

At last, the flight attendant started to call the passengers to board the airplane. As she settled down on her assigned seat, window seat on a Boeing 737, she reluctantly turned off her cellphone as advised by the flight attendant to all passengers.  She could not bear the thought of two hours in flight without getting update from Mr. Downey.

As the flight progressed, it almost drove her crazy as different thoughts and scenarios pop into her mind as she was confined in that small seating space. She felt helpless. Good thing that no one was sitting beside her. Few people. The closest was this old black lady at the other aisle on her row,  who settled in so quickly and dozed off.

She tried to hush the thoughts by listening to loud pop music. But it didn't work. She tried to calm herself by breathing in and out and closed her eyes as she tried to sleep. It didn't work either. She closed her eyes and willed that time would stand still. It didn't work.

She took a deep breath and just let the tears roll down her cheeks. And maybe for the first time in many years, uttered a prayer. A prayer for healing. A prayer for peace. A prayer for everything.

As she opened her eyes and turned around, the old lady at the other aisle seat was looking at her with such compassionate eyes.  She smiled at Telly and uttered, "He is hearing your prayers."

She smiled back and mouthed a 'Thank you'. Those words that the old lady said flooded her with peace and for the rest of the flight, she was able to calm down and sleep for an hour.

********

Telly was awakened by an announcement by the pilot that the airplane was about to make its descent. She looked at the window and saw the early morning Atlanta skyline. It was not as majestic as the New York skyline but it definitely holds its own.

I'll be with you soon Daddy!

At 8:45am, she arrived at St. Joseph Hospital. She was met by Mr. Downey at the Emergency lobby who then ushered  her to her daddy's room where the doctor was waiting for her by the door.

"Doc, how is my daddy?" she spoke with the doctor not wasting any second.

"Hi Telly! I'm glad you are here. He had sudden cardiac arrest and it is only a miracle that he is still breathing right now," the doctor replied matter-of-factly. "I'm sorry."

Telly rushed to her daddy and held his hand. Mr. Ricardo de Lavi remained motionless as she cried and talked to him in between tears. Seeing him lifeless, with all those tubes at a hospital room was devastating. In fact, this may have been the first time she has seen him like this. Her daddy was very athletic, full of life and rarely gets sick.

"Daddy please don't leave me. You're my only family. I don't know how to live without you... Daddy please..." She said in between tears and deep sighs.

She sang to him his favorite song that he said her mom used to sing to him. Even if her voice croaked, she tried to say every word which was met with whimper and sobs.

"Moon river wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style someday
A dream maker
My heartbreaker
Wherever you're goin',

I'm goin' that way

Two drifters off to see the world

There's such a crazy world to see

We're all chasin' after all the same
Chasing after our rainbow's end..."

She was not able to finish the song as she sobbed relentlessly. She hugged her Daddy... until he breathed his last...

&&&&&&&&&&&&Author's Note : &&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I know this is so sad already, sorry to have this start this way! I was tearing up doing this chapter.... But I promise you things are gonna get better, just keep reading ;)