chapter 43

Her eyelids blinked slowly and her short eyelashes blinked rapidly in consternation at the blinding light. It stung her eyes, leaving behind a trail of peppery liquid oozing out of her eyes. After getting used to the light, she looked around the room. By pressing her hand on the bed, she could tell that she was lying on a firm mattress. The wall was white and the blinds hanging from the windows had the same shade of white. An oxygen breather was covering her nose and mouth. She pulled it off, scrunching her nose at the smell of antiseptic soap and bleached walls. Fresh air suddenly wasn't so fresh after all.

A glance at her body told her that she was in a hospital bed which also meant that she was in a hospital. She was clad the a spotted white hospital gown. Her hand was hooked to an IV drip and another machine monitored her heartbeat in synchronized steps.

Beep..... A pause. Beep.... Another pause. Beep.A third pause...

And on and on and on in a synchronized harmony.She made to get up but Josh who was seated on the bedside chair, sleeping a while ago had now waken up and placed a hand on her palm. "I'll get the doctor" he said and bolted out of the room. Mrs. Grimshaw's forehead creased. Soon after a lanky man who looked to be in his mid thirties stepped into the room with Josh. He stood beside her bedside table. He gave Mrs. Grimshaw a sympathetic smile (the one he specially reserved for his patients).

"What happened?" She asked wearily.

"Hello I'm Doctor Richard Barnes" he paused as of to allow his words sink in. "You were rushed in here yesterday because you had quite a shock and fainted. From what I've observed, you seem to be stressed a lot. I have evidence of this judging by the number of gray hairs on your head which shouldn't be even there considering your age".

Mrs. Grimshaw gasped.

"Also you've had a very severe shock tremor added to your already high high blood pressure, the needed oxygen was cut off from your brain so you fainted".

Mrs. Grimshaw laughed scornfully at herself. "Funny how they always say 'An apple keeps the doctor away'.

"What's so funny about that?" the doctor inquired.

"I eat two apples everyday yet here I am, lying 'bam!' across a hospital bed".

"According to what you said, it was an apple you needed not two. After all loo much of everything is bad" the doctor reasoned.

"That's poppycock" she fired off, in a high, shrill british accent. She placed her head back on the doubled pillows as her head started throbbing, not too gently either.

She groaned. "How soon can I get out of here?"

"Definitely not this week" the doctor replied.

"What?!" She yelled.

"How do you expect me to stay in this Godforsaken place? Who's going to take care of my son?" 

"I'm not a kid mom. I can take care of myself"

"I didn't say you can't Joshie. But you'll be all alone"

"Don't worry mom. I have friends. I'll hang out with them" he assured his mother. 

"Mrs. Grimshaw. Please listen to me" the doctor said. "Your body needs all the rest it can get. If you go back home now and continue doing whatever you do daily, I guarantee you that your bury will suffer a breakdown that could even be fatal to your life. I don't want that, do you?"

"I don't know" Mrs. Grimshaw said undecidedly.

"Mom I'm still confused" Josh said. "why did you faint? Is it because of Mr. Preston?"

Mrs. Grimshaw raised her body left hand upwards towards the doctor. "I'll be needing my privacy" 

The doctor understood and quietly walked out of the room, his shoes making slap - slap noises on the empty floor. She muttered a 'thank you' after the doctor closed the door.

"Sit down son. I want to tell you a story"

Josh plopped his fat behind on the chair, which protested by squeaking in agony. "Do you ever wonder why you're answering my family name and not your father's?"

"Isn't Grimshaw my father's name?" Josh requested. He leaned forward, placing one hand under his chin and supporting it on his knee.

"No. It is my paternal grandfather's name"

"Your father was a college dropout. He was cool, handsome and charming. I fell for him and his animal charms. I fell hard. Though my parents disapproved of our relationship, I still went ahead and married him, getting one of my uncle to walk me down the aisle since my father objectively refused. He found a honest job working in an auto tuning store while I majored in banking"

She paused, glancing at Joshz trying to guess his reaction to her revelation. Josh's face was void and expressionless, depicting no reaction. With an unhurried sigh, she continued her story.

"You were born. When you were four, things changed. Jr started keeping late nights. When he did come home, the stench of beer would fill the whole house. Sometimes he didn't come home for the whole night and I would be in bed, bleary-eyed and praying for his safety. He added a lot of weight and wasn't as charming we he was before but I didn't mind" 

She sniffled.

"I loved him so much! I sacrificed half of my salary do could go back to part time schoolz study and get a degree and get a well paying job. Neither did I know that he was squandering the money in gambling. Every night he went to clubs with his loquacious friends drank, gambled and wasted all the money. One day I found lipstick marks on his collar and when I pointed it out to him, he said I was implying that he was cheating on him. He slapped me right in my face after that. When he got strapped for cash, he would pawn our possessions. Sometimes it was my jewelry or the previous pearl necklace I inherited from my grandmother. Soon we became poor. The whole house stank of alcohol and he drank till he passed out. Sometimes I would wake up at two in the morning and find him sleeping outside the front door, his own vomit all over his clothes. When you were five, one weekend I left you alone with him and went to work. You were playing with your toys when I left. After a hefty day at work I came back home. As I pushed the front door open, you were standing on the staircase and you were intending to jump off. You could have died right that minute because your five year old body wouldn't have survived that fall. I bolted up and quickly dragged you away just as you were about to jump. I held you in my arms sobbing uncontrollably. With my tear stained fave, i told him what happened. When I told him, he was busy watching baseball in the bedroom.

He laughed right in my face and said the worst it would've come to be was only a few bruises. That was the last straw. I told him he was an irresponsible father. I told him that he needed help. I told him I didn't love him anymore. I told him that if he didn't want to stop his clubbing and drinking habits, he should walk out of our lives.

And that's why what he did.

He just stood up and walked out of the house. He walked to the end of the block and turned round the corner. He did you even reconsider or turn back once. Not even once. I know this because I peeped from the windows. It broke my heart and I cried for weeks. My self confidence self started nagging me saying that I should have put up with him and his flaws. After all, a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.

At the end, i consoled myself saying it was his loss. I gave all his clothes and everything that reminded me of him to charity. Any other thing that reminded me of him, I burned in the backyard. I changed our names. That name Hardy reminded me too much of him. Grimshaw which normally my family name now became yours instead of your dad's"

"Wait a minute mom" Josh interrupted. "How do all this relate to Mr. Preston?" Josh asked, confused.

"Josh. Mr. Preston is your dad"

Josh's back stifffenes immediately as he rubbed both his ears in case he didn't hear her correctly. His back shifted uncomfortably as it pressed against the chair. "How can that be be mom? Jerry is Mr. Preston's son"

"Mr. Preston or should I say David had been having an affair behind my back. I found out soon after he left when was going through the things I would give out to charity. I saw letters and photos all indicating this. I became so angry about it that I burned them all" she coughed, pressing her palm to her mouth.

"I still don't know why his surname the Preston because he was formally known as David Hardy"

"Do that mean that Jerry is my half-brother?" Josh questioned.

"Who is Jerry? His son?" Mrs. Grimshaw asked.

Josh nodded solemnly.

"He may be your half-brother but I don't want you to have anything to do with his. Do you understand?"

"Yes mom"

"I also don't need that man back in our lives. We're fine as we are" Mrs. Grimshaw lied through her teeth. "Stay away from him. D'you hear?"

Josh rolled his eyes, inwardly though so his mom wouldn't notice. "Yes mom".

"Where is the jerk by the way?"

"He left soon after he brought you here. Something about a business call"

"Good" she replied. "Now go on to school"

"I'm already super late" Josh whined. "Can't I just stay here? Just today?" He pleaded giving her the puppy dog eyes.

"No. Go on. You already know that you can't get me with those eyes Come visit me when school's over okay?"

"Ok mom" Josh said, walking to the door.

"Did you forget something?" Mrs. Grimshaw asked sassily.

"Oh yes" he moved to the bedside corner and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek. 76She ruffled his hair, noting how long it was.

"Bye mom" he waved, already closing the door behind him. Mrs. Grimshaw closed her eyes and dropped her head on the pillow. In a beat, she was snoring away in a deep, deep slumber.

📛📛📛📛📛📛📛📛

The hallways were quiet and Josh's hair was ruffled. He moved to his locker, opened it and checked his schedule. The time and date corresponded with the algebra class. The 'tap tap tap' of Mr. Hayes brogues resounded from even outside the class as he pranced about, solving only one equation in the whole board. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Immediately, the chattering students stopped talking and even Mr. Hayes paused in his lesson.

"Joshua" Mr. Hayes always called them by their full names. "May I be graciously informed as to why you are barging into my class at such absurd a time?" The whole clase shreiked in unison at such cantaculous abuse of the English language. Josh opened his mouth to defend himself but no words seemed to be coming out.

The teacher glared at him. "Move on!" He said. I don't have all day"

Josh shuffled his feet, the weight of his mom's story still weighty on his ears. How could he, Joshua Grimshaw, a self acclaimed loser be the son of Mr. David Preston? Didn't they always say the apple didn't fall far away from the tree? When he'd gone home to take his school bag he'd raised the only existing picture of him and his parents. It was taken when he was four on Christmas Eve. In the picture, a four year old Josh was holding a big chocolate cookie and grinning widely. His dad was dressed in the regular Santa Claus suit and his bulging tummy was peeking out. Her mom was looking at another direction, it must've been the kitchen because she always kept an eye out whenever she was cooking.

In the picture his dad looked fat and obese. Just like him.

If he really was his child, how come Mr. Preston didn't recognize him? Of course, he'd seen him before. He still had his doubts about what his mother said. It was also unusual for his mom to spin tales. But she fainted as she caught sight of Mr. Preston. How could that be fake?

It might also mean Jerry was his half brother, and he didn't even know it. Now he was dead. Not that Josh was in the least sorry for him but he wanted to know him a little better. But that might also mean his half-brother was a drug-dealer" Josh soliloquized.

"Everyone" Mr. Hayes interrupted his thought flow "Rip off a sheet of paper and preparing for a pop quiz" The entire class groaned, unexpecting a quiz.

Mr. Hayes grinned evilly as he wrote the equations on the board. "I don't want to hear any noise. Do not attempt to cheat. Doing so may accrue a lifetime investment in detention. Do not speak to your fellow student. Doing so may compromise both your scores. This is test will undergo for twenty minutes. You may begin"

Papers jostled and rustled as the students tore out a sheet of paper and wrote their names and the alqebra equations on the board. The class was quiet except for the slight rustle of papers and shuffling of feet. Sixteen minutes into the test, Josh's papers was completely empty except for him name. Mr. Hayes seemed to be staring directly at him so he didn't dare ask the nearest student for some answers. His mind simply couldn't concentrate on the questions. He chewed at the cap of his Biro as he stared at the white ceiling.

A slip of paper which had been rolled up sudden landed on Josh's desk. Quickly, he stuffed it in between his legs. He smiled, thinking that at least one person could help him with the answers. He glanced at Mr. Hayes who was sitting cross legged on his desk. 

The coast was clear.

Quickly he unwrapped the ball of paper open. Smoothening it against his lap, he read; I'll finally ask Ashley out today ~ H

He dropped his head back on the desk.

And wept.