Promises - Joel Pimentel

Chapter 41

I was currently at my doctor's appointment, waiting to be called in. My mum was sitting next to me reading a magazine that they had set out on display. This would be my last appointment before my surgery that would be proceeding in a few days.

"Maya Francis?" my doctor exits his room as he calls out my name.

Standing up, my mum and I made our way inside.

"Come have a seat" he closes the door behind us. "And how are we today?"

"Not bad actually, I'm having all sorts of different emotions about this" I nervously chuckle.

"No need to worry, it's completely normal to be nervous. Especially if this is your first time going into surgery" my doctor explains.

I was basically only called in for last minute check-ups. In case there was something off about me for example, low blood pressure or even if I have any sicknesses coming. However, after the doctor had performed his check-ups on me, I was told that everything about me is exactly as it should be.

"Now Maya I'm going to give you this special sort of soap to use in the shower. What this is, is a disinfectant soap. It cleanses your body of germs so it's important you use this in the shower before you arrive for your surgery. Otherwise, if there's any infections that we don't know about then we wouldn't be able to perform the surgery" he hands me a small bottle filled with green liquid which was the disinfectant soap.

Grabbing it, I read around the labels before placing it in my bag.

"Can I ask exactly how long the process is?" I speak up.

"To do our job correctly, a kidney transplant takes about an hour and a half to two hours" he smiles, reassuring me. "But before that, we will be giving you an injection that will help you stay unconscious during the surgery so you won't feel a thing"

The rest of the time was spent talking about what would be happening before and after the surgery. I was told not to eat breakfast on the day nor have anything to drink. After my appointment was over, my mum and I began to make our way home.

"Did you want anything to eat on the way home?" my mum asks as we were in the car, driving away.

"No, it's ok, I'll just eat at home I guess"

We were passing a lot of fast food places and it killed me to say no but I just wanted to get home. I was starting to miss Joel and I just wanted to talk to him. All I could think about was what he could be doing at the moment, where he is and who he's with. Not in an over protective girlfriend way of course, I was just curious and its normal to think about these things. As soon as we had reached home, I decided to take shower with that special soap I was given.

"I'm going to warm up some sausages for lunch. Let me know if you want anything else" my mum was honestly the sweetest.

"Yum, I'm totally down for sausages" I replied with a smile on my face.

The last time I had a hot dog was with Joel and that wasn't even home made so I had a completely good reason to look forward to homemade hot dogs. As I had entered the shower, I turned the warm tap on as I let the water run down my body, shutting my eyes. If I had the option, I would spend all day in the shower. Just the feeling of being alone while warm water hits my body is enough to keep me in here all day. However, I had the house water bill to be aware of. After cleansing my body with the specific soap and shampoo, I jumped out of the shower into some comfortable clothes while wrapping my wet damp hair in a towel.

"Damn, I have never felt cleaner" in all honesty, I felt completely the same as I do after every shower.

Just the thought of using an antibacterial soap was enough to make me feel better. Grabbing my phone, I check my notifications. I was disappointed as I was hoping there would be a message or a call from Joel at least. My fingers were about to tap his name when I remembered a specific rule that my dad and Joel had told me; each of the boys were only allowed one international phone call. Only one phone call and if either of us miss that phone call then that's it, no second tries. Joel and I made a deal that we would use that one phone call opportunity, minutes before my surgery. Meaning I was the one who would have to call him.