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Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Little gathering of steps make a long journey. Little collection of mistakes make…?

The gentility of the evening breeze and the fluent flow with which it subtly caressed my face was really relieving but the relieve couldn’t be compared to the fact that in a few minutes I’m going to be leaving this hospital ward that nearly turned to the graveyard of my character except for the stunt I pulled, just in the nick of time.

 

I couldn’t but remember how a couple of days ago would have called time on the respect and regard my peeps had for me, even affecting the faith they had in me. But was Kate seriously about to divulge that part of this insane story to everyone?… So she would’ve told her boyfriend that we planned to make it look like she impregnated June and manipulated him into taking responsibility. He mustn’t know… or not yet, if there’s no time he won’t know. Yes!… Not yet.

I grabbed my phone.

“Hello?”

“Hi Jay, how are you?”

“I’m fine. Just said I should say thanks to you and your husband for showing up at the hospital. I really appreciate.”

“Husband?!” Lizzy laughed. “Jay, you won’t kill me. Well, you can say thanks to our faces. How about that?”

“Nah!… I honestly don’t think I’ll be driving through your route in a long time.”

“I understand, but you wouldn’t need to cos we’ve already entered the hospital. We should be in your ward in less than five minutes.”

“Okay, better. See you.”

Three minutes later, Lizzy, Tammy and Lizzy’s Fiancé entered the ward, where I sat quietly on the window side chair, staring directly at the door like some unseen beings were having a party there.

“Uncle Jay!” Tammy snatched her hand from her dad’s and ran all the way across the room into my outstretched arms. Which kind of made her dad look a bit embarrassed.

“How are you dearie?” I curled her up in my chest, kissed her forehead, and sat her down on my left lap before looking up to meet the gaze of the two adults staring.

“I’m fine. I’ve missed you”

“Aww!… I’ve missed you more sweetie.”

I greeted Lizzy, shook hands with Dorothy’s dad and started a conversation before it again occurred to me ask any of the two what happened to me the other day if anyone had any answer whatsoever.

“Liz! Do you have any idea how I got here?… I mean from driving in my car to lying down in a hospital bed. It’s crazy right?

 

For reasons unknown to me, Lizzy looked at me like I had just asked her if I could go home with Dorothy. She drew out her handkerchief from the right pocket of her jean and dabbed her wet eyes. She looked at me straight in the eyeball for around half a minute before she finally found her voice.

 

“You nearly got yourself killed Jay. You ran into a truck from behind. Road safety personnel who helped rushing you here said if the truck had been oncoming, it would’ve been another story entirely. They couldn’t even hold the truck driver for any offense since it was you who ran into him.” She sniffed, wiped her nose and continued. “You were lost in thought and probably just forgot you were even driving. You made me feel very bad about everything that happened that day. If you had died that day, it would’ve taken me a very long time to forgive myself cos I would’ve felt I had something to do with it and it also would’ve taken a lot of persuasion and convincing talks to make me feel otherwise.”

The way Lizzy bluntly said what she just did made my heart skip a bit. If I had ‘died’ damn! That was really deep and mind pricking. If I had ‘died’ like I was a chicken or a mosquito who ran out of luck. If I had ‘died’… well, thank God I didn’t die. But truth be told, I was indeed carried away that day. I’m quite a sore loser and I felt like I had lost that day. I felt a bit betrayed and all my plans for Liz and Dorothy just flew out of the window. But I didn’t get so carried away as to run behind a truck. I can’t even remember driving behind any truck but that’s plain history now. Again, thank God I didn’t die.

“Promise me you’ll never allow anything to occupy your mind while you’re driving ever again.”

“I won’t”

“No!… Promise me!… be it work, relationship, worries, anything. And anytime you’re about being engrossed with any thought while driving, you’ll always remember you made me a promise. Even if we’re not in contact anymore, Promise me Jay!”

“I promise.” I replied with an amount of soberness, looking at the floor tiles.

“When is Dave coming to pick you?” Lizzy asked.

“Any moment from now, I guess he’ll show up. I’ll call him to know when he’ll be here and where exactly he is.”

The three of them kept my company for around half an hour before they called it a day. They took pictures with me and Lizzy called them reference pictures for my forum. I cracked a few jokes, Tammy did some indoor run around and Lizzy’s fiancé was the photographer of the day. In general, the day was fun and I was reveling in the just concluded event when my phone rang.

“Hey!”

“Whatsup Jay?… How are you feeling?”

“I’m good.”

“I’m on my way to pick you up. Dave called me, said he has some impromptu errands to run and that I should help in picking you from the hospital.”

“I was just about calling him now. Where exactly are you?”

“Just past Spectranet office. I’ll soon be with you. Alright?

“Alright. Please hurry. I’ve overstayed my welcome here and the smell of the whole place is beginning to disgust me.”

“Yes sir.”

Half an hour later, I was done with settling my bills, clearing myself; I had a shower and a change of clothes, then Kate helped me find my way to her car, parked not far from the facility’s main entrance.

“Thanks Kate” I said as she drove me home.

“You’re welcome” She replied without turning her head.

The silence that prevailed for the next few minutes was very disturbing and it was like we knew what each other wanted to talk about, we just didn’t want to talk about it.

Five minutes later, I shrugged of the awkwardness the discussion was going to cause and decided to talk.

“Were you really going to confess about what I thought you were gonna confess about before I spoke up?”

Kate turned, looked straight at me for around three seconds and faced the road.

“What exactly were you thinking I was gonna confess about?”

“I was thinking you were gonna confess about I, June and David’s plan to make Tunde, the etisalat guy who’s now your boyfriend…”

“Fiancé” Kate quickly cut in.

“Okay, your fiancé asking June out to finally have his way and make him believe he’s responsible for June’s pregnancy. That was the plan before nature smiled on Dave if we could call it that and she suffered her miscarriage, leading to the change of plans and you guys getting along and the level you are in your relationship now.”

“Well, that part kind of skipped my mind.”

“You mean that wasn’t what you were going to confess about?”

“Nope!”

I felt a bit stupid. So I just wasted my calculations and energy to pull off that throat defying stunt. So that wasn’t even what she was going to talk about. Imagine the fear that gripped me when she was about talking. But wait!… if that wasn’t what she was going to confess about, what is?

“Then what were you about confessing?” I asked making a face like I didn’t believe that wasn’t what she was going to talk about although I totally believed her.

“Nature didn’t smile on Dave. I felt a strong connection between Tunde and I, the very first time we spoke and suddenly felt the need to protect him and guide him out of harm’s way”

“What exactly are you trying to say?” I asked in disbelief.

“Nature didn’t make June suffer a miscarriage. I did!”

My jaw dropped.

Everything is fair in love and war. Except one is fought with the head, while the other is fought with the heart