Chapter 21- The Unexpected happens
It’s a good 3 hours later when Dylan, hungry and tired, gets back into his office. He warms up his lunch and eats slowly, going over the news headlines. His mind is on the just ended meeting. Its the thought about how good his packed lunch is that remind him to call and check up on Tanya. He decides to call the house line, pretend like he is just checking on Tadiwa.
Rudo picks the phone, to his dismay. Her voice is always exaggeratively loud over the phone, in her mind, this is to make up for the distance. The disadvantage is on the person on the other end of the line, they have to endure the resulting ring in their ears for hours after a call to Rudo.
‘HELLO!’
‘Hi Rudo, how is Tadiwa, is he playing okay?’
‘YES! HE JUST SLEPT, HE IS HAPPY!’
‘Al..alright Rudo, where is his mother? Can I talk to her.’
There is silence for a few seconds before Rudo speaks again.
‘MAI KUPA LEFT FOR WORK IN THE MORNING!’
The response has a sarcastic tone, it is a weekday and Tanya never misses work.
‘She did? What time? I left her in bed?’
Silence again.
‘OHOOO, I DID NOT SEE HER TODAY. LET ME GO CHECK FOR HER.’
The phone is banged onto the table, making Dylan jump at the noise.
He can hear faint running steps as Rudo goes in search of her employer.
She is back in a few seconds, breathing heavily into the mouth piece, this and her shouting make for a nasty experience.
‘YOU SHOULD COME! SHE IS ON THE FLOOR! PLEASE COME!’
That’s enough for Dylan to get into his car and drive, quite recklessly, home. The car narrowly misses the gate pillar as he drives into the yard a few minutes later.
Rudo is standing outside, Kupa is not at home, Tadiwa, thankfully is still asleep. Dee rushes into the bedroom with Rudo close behind. There is a pillow under Tanya’s head and a blanket over her although she is clearly sweating buckets.
Dylan wants to cry from the relief he gets from knowing she is still alive. Just as he tries to gently stir her, the ambulance wails it’s arrival outside. Uniformed attendants take no time to transfer Tanya into the vehicle, Dylan sits at the back with his wife and holds her hand as they drive off.
Tanya is whisked off for tests. Kupa calls him as soon as she gets home and finds a distraught Rudo. She insists on getting a kombi to the hospital, despite her fathers protests. Dylan impatiently waits for a doctor, constantly talking himself out of calling any of their relatives just yet.
The doctor comes out, much like in the movies, important looking, saggy eyes and a blue face mask.
‘Please follow me Sir’, he says, clinically.
Once Dylan settles into the worn thread bare chaise in the cramped office, the doctor starts talking.
‘The babies are in distress Sir, we are doing our absolute best to save both mother and children….but we need to know, in the event that the situation calls for it, who do we save? Your wife or your babies? Had you at all discussed this with your wife?
Dylan’s first reaction is to laugh. The doctor remains calm, face still set like a stone. Seeing this Dylan feels an urge to slap the young doctor on his mouth for the lies. He sits on his hands to restrain them, looks squarely into the doctor’s face and dares him to repeat himself.
