Nenye sat beside her husband his hand in hers and he fast asleep while she read to him. The monitor beeping consistently and his chest rising and falling as he breathed softly. She noticed how grey his hair had become and knew how conscious he was of the greying hair, always applying dyes and other things to help mask it.
The wrinkles about his eye had become even more pronounced, his deteriorating health had definitely caused him to age faster. she stared at the hair which decorated his nostrils peeking out as air made way into his nose. He would have shaved his nasal hair, if he was conscious. She suddenly realized that she couldn't stomach Anthony kissing her or even carrying his duties as a husband if their relationship had involved a certain level of intimacy.
Nenye chuckled as memories flooded her mind. Days of barging into Anthony's room to lay complaints about things that only seemed to amuse him.
On one of the occasions he was startled and gave himself a cut while shaving. At first he had placed restrictions on her movement, Christine acting as her chaperone for a while before Nenye decided she wanted none of that.
One of those days she had barged into his room to tell him that she wanted to leave him. Nenye remembered how he laughed hysterically and how much she kept eyeing the glass on his table. Her hand itching to relieve the table of the object's weight and haul it at Anthony's head to take her complaints seriously.
He did limit Christine's chaperone duties after that encounter and opted for Ebere to drive her to places.
Nenye closed the book as a soft rap sounded on the door. It opened to a young female dressed in a long white coat, with a stethoscope hung around her neck and a strange smile plastered on her face.
Nenye suspected she was the doctor on duty but marveled at how young the lady was.
"Do you think he'll ever talk again?" Nenye enquired grimly as the lady checked her husband's heart rate.
"Miss... I don't really want to get your hopes high. Let's just pray that every thing turns out fine"
Nenye released her hold on Anthony while the lady tucked him in
"You look quite young for a..... doctor"
The lady chuckled before moving away from the patient
"I'm a resident here, my name is Charity" She extended her hand to Nenye who shook it before flashing a smile.
"I'm Chinenye"
"We'll be seeing each other then, stay safe alright". Nenye watched her as she exited the room, noting how strangely familiar the lady appeared and how tall the she was.
Michael entered the room almost immediately and Nenye's body came at attention. The book fell from her hand and she quickly stopped low to fetch it as it flew under the bed.
Michael slowly shut the door and moved to where his father lay to check on him.
"He's been sleeping for a while now, I was reading to him before you came"
Tears brimmed Michael's eyes as he stared at his father. He blinked back the tears before turning to face Nenye who was already on her feet.
"I'll excuse you" she blurted out and quickly headed to the door. Michael nodded in approbation while she slowly made her way out of the room.
Nenye caught wind of a young woman standing very close to the door but when she tried to speak to her, she scurried off. Nenye was bemused by her reaction and sought to go after her before Michael's voice stopped her.
YOU ARE READING
My Father's wife
General Fiction"So how long are we to wait before we hear them tinkle?" He asked with his eyes staring at the black sky,his hands in his pockets. "Not too long, sister Jessica says only the heart hears them" Nenye shut her eyes and stood still with her face upwa...
