Aden looked at the two missed calls and the one rejected call from Aïda.
He was in the shower when he heard the phone ringing the first time but, he was in time for the second call but, he just ignored it. His emotions, concerning her, were all over the place. To top it off, the doctor had just summoned him to the hospital. At that moment his family came first, not someone who barely had any time for him. Yes, his emotions were that messed up. Or maybe his head was starting to clear up and these so-called feelings were coming to an end.
He waited for her call that night. Even on the following day but, it did not come. He wanted to call her but he figured that if she felt anything for him, even if it was only friendship, she would have called. Well, now she called but it was too late.
He had been correct about her all those years ago but his hormones got the better of him.
He had rejected Tiffany's advances for him for so many years because he did not feel butterflies when she was around him. Yet the woman who gave him butterflies in his stomach, and caused his knees to weaken, could not care less about him.
"Aden are you ready? We're waiting for you downstairs."
"I'll be down in a moment, Tiffany."
Tiffany had turned down her photoshoot in New York to support him. At the last moment she had called the agency and asked them to use another model. He had not known about it until about an hour ago when Johanie told him. She had lost a lot of money but clearly he was more important to her. He needed that in his life people he could count on and off the sports field.
He almost left his life in the UK for her . He won't make that mistake again.
He needed to get to the hospital and find out what the doctor had to say. He was so anxious that it felt like he would explode. Every fibre of his being seemed to be on edge. Aïda was the least of his issues.
An hour later Aden, Adriaan, Johanie were in the hospital waiting for his brother's doctor. The atmosphere felt tangible.
The doctor arrived five minutes later.
"Good evening everyone. Mr van den Heever could I have a word with you in private?"
Aden could only nod his head. The words were not coming forth.
"Follow me to my office."
His friends glanced at him with deep sympathy.
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Aïda found herself back in the kitchen at Tuis Kombuis. Her finger was still sore but she had on a plaster, a fingercondom and gloves. Not even a throbbing finger could stop her from working tonight. She tried to avoid using her injured hand as little as possible.
Work and lots of it was the only thing could help her get through the evening. She had no idea what she would do after work and as exhausted as she was, she doubted that she would be able to sleep. However, first things first, get done with work.
She had called Aden two more times but his phone just want to voicemail after a while. Which means he did not want to talk to her. It hurt so bad.
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
"Please take a seat Mr van den Heever." The surgeon said.
"I'd rather stand." Aden answered.
"As you wish but, under the circumstances it would be best for you to have a seat."
Aden sat down, his anxiety only increasing. He could heart his heart beating seemingly at an excelerated pace.
"Tell me the truth doctor. I'm as ready as I'll ever be."
"As you know, we've removed Heinrich from the medically induced coma yesterday morning. Since then his condition has only deteriorated."
The doctor stopped talking as if he sought permission to continue. When Aden failed to speak he continued.
"Franky speaking: he probably won't be alive tomorrow morning. If Heinrich makes it through the night, he won't make it through another night. It's impossible."
Aden cleared his throat but when he tried to speak his words were missing. He say there flicking his tongue over his lower lip, trying to retrieve his words.
"I'll give you a chance to say goodbye but first you'll need to sanitize and put on protective gear... Tell me when you're ready."
Ready?! How can anyone ever be prepared for something like that? It's impossible. When his parents died in that accident he was alone but Heinrich came from Manchester as quickly as he could. The two of them shared the funeral duties. In the days leading up to the double burial they found themselves at the beach on most days. That was their way of coping. It was also their way of coping with the deadly silent and empty house. And of cause it was good to stay clear of well meaning family and acquaintances, who kept telling them to be strong and that everything would be okay.
The doctor clearing his throat for Aden out of his daze.
"I'd like to see him now."
That was not entirely true though but he had to say goodbye to his brother. He had seen Heinrich in the morning. His head was twice the size from the swelling and tubes were sticking out all over his body. Even though Heinrich had been cleaned, the ominous odour of death was present. Aden had hoped for the best. He told himself that his brother would be fine, that they only way he managed to make it through the days and nights.
He also knew he had to be strong for Suzaan and the kids. The kids had miraculously woken up on the morning that Heinrich was taken out of the coma but they were still drifting in and out of consciousness. They were mostly asleep.
Suzaan had regained conciousness on the night after the accident but was under strong narcotics. So she too was mostly unconscious. When she was awake she would ask about Heinrich but mostly, the children. After a few minutes she would drift back into a slumber. Her parents had arrived yesterday though so Aden did not have to be everywhere at once. He could concentrate more on Heinrich and the children. Her parents regularly updated him on their daughter's condition.
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
"Miracles happen everyday, Aden."
Aden and Adriaan were standing outside the hospital entrance. Aden needed some fresh air. The women had already left some two hours ago. Aden had insisted that Adriaan leave too but Adriaan would have none of it. Both of them planned to spend the night in Aden's car, in the parking lot.
"Honestly, I have no energy left, even for faith. What I'd heard from the doctor and what I saw in Heinrich's room, dashed all my hopes. I just want to sleep and never wake up again."
"Aden! I never want to hear you say that again. Heinrich is still alive and even if he doesn't survive, his wife and children will need you. Especially those kids, they will need a father. You know in Africa an uncle is as good as a father. They need you."
Aden took a deep breath of the cold, crisp night air. He knew Aden was right.
Adriaan got a notification on his phone and his face kit up. Aden couldn't help but notice but before he could react, Adriaan excuses himself.
"Aden I'll see you later. I have to respond to something."
"Okay."
Adriaan retreated but not to the car. Aden watched as his friend walked to a nearby eatery, typing prefusely on his phone, like a lovesick puppy. His probably chatting to Johanie. That took Aden's thoughts to someone else: Aïda.
He wondered if he should call her back. Maybe she only found out today. Maybe she had send him a message on Fb. He had not been on there at all since finding out about the accident.
He logged onto his account but there was nothing from her. He had over a hundred messages from other people, even from Zoë. In fact, Zoë had sent over a dozen messages to his inbox, starting on the night of the accident. There was no way that Aïda could not have known, in fact Zoë was present when he broke the news to his friends. He had no idea where she came from but he was glad she was there because, he did not want to cry in front of Aïda, he figured that she would tell Aïda. He was not in the mood to respond to anyone so he decided to logg out.
Wait... Aïda is online? She's online but not with him. She had called two more times but he was in the hospital and his phone was on silent mode, on the inside of his coat. To be honest: he would not have answered it.
Just the fact that Zoë told her and she responded so late made him angry. It's too little too late. He was done with her.
Once everything calms down he will do right by Tiffany. He will not just ask her to be his girlfriend but also propose marriage to her. Hopefully she'd accept and he would treat her like a queen. She had proved her worth.
Aïda proved to be a mere infatuation. Her good qualitities were only a figment of his imagination.
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Aden had just started to doze off, when someone knocked on the passenger-side window of his car.
It was Adriaan.
"Sorry disturb you."
"No problem. Did something happen?"
"Not that I'm aware of. Go back to sleep."
"No. Sleep is a practical impossibility at the moment. How are the ladies?"
"I don't know. I haven't spoken to either of them since they left."
That was a strange statement, especially, since he left an hour ago with a smile on his face.
"I've bought something to eat. You haven't eat since yesterday afternoon. No wonder you have no strength left. Please have this."
Aden knew arguing was of no use. So he took the parcel from his friend. It was butterchicken. Aïda had introduced him to it. It was her favourite and then it became his.
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
It was 18:00 the following day when Aden got out of the shower. He'd spent all day in and around the hospital. He would have still been at the hospital but Adriaan practically begged him to take a shower.
His brother was still alive. Atleast that miracle happened.