Is This Me?

Chapter Six - Bad News

The phone rang as Mama came out of the bathroom. She rushed over to pick it up from beside the bed, hoping it would be Papa. But it was an unknown number. She didn't bother picking it until the phone rang again.

And again.

'Ugh! Who could this be?!' she thought, frustrated. She decided to answer it.

"Hello?" A deep voice at the end of the line said.

"Yes, who is this?" Mama asked, still annoyed.

"Is this Mrs Oladipo, wife to Ben?"

"Yes, is there a problem, sir?"

"I'm a doctor from The Greek Hospital, Cairo. My name is Ammar. I'm afraid I have some bad news, your husband was involved in an accident..." his voice trailed off as Mama's heart sank in confused realization of her worst fear.

Dr Ammar paused as he gave her second to let his words sink in. He hated this part of his job. The police wouldn't do it. They had rushed in the victim from an accident scene earlier that day and they had battled to save him...

Mama's heart skipped a beat and she immediately took a seat on the bed to steady herself, taking a deep breath to try to steady her heart rate. An accident? How? Why is she just getting to know? Was he alright? Her instincts were right. This was why he didn't show up all day! She glanced nervously at the clock. Almost 9:00 p.m.

"Umm, oh my God!... doctor, please, tell me what happened to my husband!" she demanded hysterically all of a sudden.

Dr Ammar sighed deeply at the other end. "Please...Is he going to be okay? Wh...what, who-?" Mama stammered. She was shaking as she spoke. Her heart was racing, her mouth and throat suddenly went dry. She started to sob softly.

He was tired from a busy day but his heart went out to her. It was always difficult with the family.

"I'm so sorry, your husband was brought into the ER this afternoon with fractures and bruises. We tried our best to save him..."

"NOOOO!!!" Mama screamed, now sobbing uncontrollably into the phone. She struggled to focus on what he was saying.

"...we tried everything we could, but it appears he had already lost a lot of blood. I'm truly sorry, Madam. Is there anyone with you? Please take heart and accept my deepest condolences" Dr Ammar forced out the rest of the words.

Mama tried to keep calm, but it was impossible. The doctor didn't need to complete his sentence. She already knew. She felt heavy and weak. Tears rolled down her eyes. She felt the pain in her heart. She started to remember the last time she saw Papa that morning. He told them to go ahead to Inaya's house. He said to be back in one hour. She wished she could rewind time, and spend more time with him that morning. If only she knew.

Now, she started crying out loud. The phone was still on her ear. She was glued onto the ground, crying.

"Doctor, please" she murmured through her tears. "I need you to tell me this is a joke. This can't be please" she continued. But she knew it wasn't a joke. She thought of the children, her parents, her sister.

"Madam, I need you to remain calm, please" Mr. Ammar begged her.

"No!" She shouted. "How can you tell me this! It's your fault he's dead in the first place. You're a doctor for Christ sake, it's your responsibility to save lives! And now you're telling me to calm down?! Do you know exactly what me and my children have lost!" Mama cried even louder, fresh tears rolled down her cheeks again. She could feel the warmness as she blinked to let them out.

Doctor Ammar waited for her to calm down a bit, taking all the accusations. It appears he was already used to them because of some of the patients he had lost. When Mama's crying seized a bit, he told her