Dani and Estee return to the hospital and find Mrs B pacing back and forth in the hallway. She strides towards the both of them.
“Where have you girls been?”
“We were in the bathroom...Dani needed a hand so I went to help her.” Estee lies while looking at Dani and her mom back and forth.
“What? I searched the bathroom, but you guys weren’t there” Mrs B demanded an answer.
“Weee..we went to the one on the second floor” Estee made it look more like a question since she wasn’t sure if her mother had checked all the bathrooms in the hospital.
Dani sits down on the chair Mrs B had been sitting on an entire night.
“Estee, I need to grab some cash from the bank” Mrs B ordered Estee.
“What? Mom why? All the banks are closed now.”
Dani was listening carefully.
“Wait, didn’t Benjamin pay all the dues? So what are they charging us now for?” She inquires.
“Well, the doctors said they need more money to carry out the surgery and run some tests… I don’t know, he said something but, I couldn’t understand and you both weren’t here.”
Estelle thinks for a minute. She realises she might have been a little too harsh with Benji back at the precinct especially now when she needs his help.
Estee wasn’t going to get money from home at this hour of the night.
She picks up her phone and dials Benjamin’s number. She did not have it saved, but it’s one of the five phone numbers she remembers by heart.
Her worried expression vanished the moment he picked up the phone.
“Estee? I am so glad you called. I-” Benjamin smiled with glee.
“Save it for some other time?” Estee’s voice did not sound happy.
“Es, What’s wrong?” Benjamin questions.
Estee could sense concern taking over his sincere smile.
“Umm… the doctors, they are asking for more cash. Some tests they want to run and some for proceeding with surgery. I wouldn’t really bother you but I mean it is late and the banks would be closed and I don’t feel like going home to grab some cash… is there any way you could help” Estee’s voice breaks down at help.
“Estee, I will be there. Don’t worry!” Benjamin hangs up the call.
After a few moments of waiting, Benjamin arrives with an orange envelope in his hand. He was out of breath. He ran as fast as he could to grab the cash he had stashed at his home.
“I am here, let me go to the reception and pay the cash” Benjamin announced when he entered the hallway.
Estee was sitting on the ground; she got up and took a breath of relief.
“I'll come with you” Estee announced.
Benjamin nodded and they both started walking towards the reception.
After a few moments, they return and find the doctor walking away from the operation theatre. Estee looks at Dani and her mom with a worried look.
“What happened, mom?”
“They said they are taking a break. From what? I. DON’T. KNOW.”
“It’s ok, mom, wait here.” Estee walks towards where the doctors went.
Benjamin followed her.
“Hey, why aren’t you guys in the operation room?” Estee grunted.
“Listen, lady look at the time. It's past midnight.” One of the surgeons hissed back.
“And are you going to turn back into a pumpkin?” Benjamin came and stood right behind Estee.
The doctors were just another bunch of creepy misogynistic weirdos who would respect you only when you are with a man. Otherwise, their tongues are sharper than a butcher’s knife.
“Hey, son. You might wanna watch your attitude there. We will perform the surgery in the morning.”
The doctor stated and walked away before either of them could say anything else.
Estee turns her attention towards Benji, “Thank you. Literally. You have been so helpful. I don’t know how I- we can ever repay you?”
Benjamin smiles. Before he could say something Dani comes by.
“Hey, I think we should head home now. Mom seems tired and I honestly would like to rest now.”
“Let me drop you home. I feel bad for earlier” Benjamin requests.
Once they reach the Belcher residence, Dani and Mrs Belcher head straight inside. Estee walks slowly behind them and is joined by Benjamin who was going to walk with her till she reached the gate.
“Estee, I know you are upset. I would like to apologise for my and Frank’s behaviour. We were just trying to do our job” Benjamin fills the awkward silence.
“It…it is ok Benji. In hindsight, I may have been a little too angry. I- we have been dealing with a lot at the moment and honestly, if anything, you have only helped us. Again, it will be hard to repay your kindness” Estee affirmed.
They both reach the main entrance of the house and stop to look at each other.
Benjamin confesses, “well, I don’t want to overstep here. But, you can repay me by- is there any chance you might like to join me for dinner?”
Estee’s eyes shine bright. She couldn’t contain her smile. She tried, but alas, failed.
“Mr Benjamin Arthur, look at you asking a girl out. Respect. And yes, I would love to join you for a cup of coffee.” Estee shared.
“I will see you at 8, tomorrow night?”
“8 sounds perfect.”
Benjamin turns away and Estee walks inside the house. Dani had already gone to her room upstairs. Mrs B was resting on the couch in the living room. She opens her eyes when Estee walks in.
“What were you talking to him about?” She demands.
“Oh uh nothing” Estee hid her smile quickly; she could never let her mother know she was smiling because a guy just asked her out. “I was just thanking him for the money and helping out at the hospital.”
Estee wakes up the next morning and checks the time on the phone. 11 a.m. She rubs her eyes and checks the time again. It still displayed 11 a.m. She sighs and remembers she had to take her mother to the hospital.
She unlocks her phone and scans for any messages or emails.
She swipes the spam messages to the side, an email reminding her to pay the electricity bill. Although Estee moved away for college she would still pay the electricity bill.
Then she stumbles upon a message, from an unsaved yet familiar number.
"Can’t wait for tonight" followed by a heart emoji.
It was from Benji. She gets up and refreshes herself before coming downstairs. She couldn’t find her mom in the living room or the dining room.
She hears a noise coming from the kitchen.
“Mama is that you? Sorry, I think overslept-“ She walks into the kitchen to find Dani struggling to sit on the floor. She was looking for something in the Tupperware cabinet.
“Hey, Dan. What are you looking for?”
“OH hey, Estee. Do you know if we still have the big square Tupperware, the one with the yellow cap?” Dani gets up and stands near Estee.
“Umm…so you are asking if I know where generic and just-your-average Tupperware is. Let me look for it.”
Estee sits down on her knees and goes through the endless-looking tunnel of mismatched containers with caps that did not match most of them. She finds a yellow cap and what looked like the Tupperware it belonged to, she tried it and the cap went right into the container.
“Why are you looking for this container? I mean we have plenty of others to choose from” Estee grunted.
“Well Mom’s at the hospital and I will be visiting them later so I thought maybe I cook them something” Dani explains.
“Well, that’s nice. Wait Mom is in the hospital? How did she get there?” Estee asked.
“Benjamin paid a little visit this morning to check up on everyone. He offered a ride” Dani teased.
Estelle blushed and stands up.
“Well, that’s nice of him. Anyhoo I am not going to let you cook anything. I will cook and you rest and then we both can go see them in the hospital” Estee ordered Dani.
Estee cooks lemon pepper chicken thighs with some Mexican rice, her comfort dish. This is the first thing she cooked that turned out perfect.
Justin and her mom fought that morning. Their fights would sometime last for hours. Estee would sneak into the kitchen and make something for herself that would always calm her down.
After being done with the dish she goes to her room and searches for a nice dress for tonight. She finds a yellow floral dress with short somewhat puffy sleeves and a built-in corset to adjust the dress according to one’s preference.
She brushes her brunette hair, confused as to how to style them, she grabs a hair catcher and pulls the strands on the side and tightens them with it.
She applies her dark brown lipstick and a little blush on her cheeks.
She looks through her suitcase to find an attractive pair of heels but she didn’t have any, so she ended up wearing her brown ankle boots that have small heels.
She checks her phone to see if Benji had sent another message. No message from him yet. She checks the time, 7:49 pm.
She picks up her satchel and puts her phone in it and walks downstairs to wait for him in the living room. She is greeted by Dani in the foyer of the house.
“a little overdressed for a hospital visit, don’t you think?” Dani teases.
Shoot. Estee had forgotten she told Dani she would go to the hospital with her.
“I…I was just going to ask you the same thing. Overdressed.” Estee points with her finger. “Got it… I will go change into something else” Estee turns around to walk back upstairs.
She and Dani have always had a good relationship. They would share secrets with each and gossip around, all while respecting each other’s personal space.
Dani was like a sister to Estee. No one was happier to find out Justin was going to marry Dani, out of all his girlfriends, than Estee.
“Stop. God Estee you really think I wouldn’t understand? You look lovely and you don’t have to come with me to the hospital. Although you must have a good excuse, cuz mama is gonna wanna know why you didn’t come with me” Dani stops Estee from going back up.
“Tell her I was going to pay the bill” Estee blurts out.
“Are you?”
“I will…eventually.”
“So where are you guys going?”
“I don’t know…wait you don’t wanna know who I am going out with?”
“There is only one person you are comfortable with sneaking out of the house with and honestly the only one who is worth going out with.”
Estelle looks up at Dani and smiles.
“So you won’t tell mom?”
“Well depends, I won’t if you bring me something delicious. Something to satisfy my cravings. Something that has a lot of flavours and they all burst on the tongue in perfect harmony and create this magical taste” Dani closes her eyes imagining what she was craving.
Estelle’s eyes widen as she waits for Danielle’s to open hers.
“so…like sweet or savoury?” Estee is still unclear about what Dani wants.
“Estee if I have to tell you again means you don’t understand.” Dani’s voice gets a little louder.
Estee tries to diffuse the situation, “you know what I will describe all that to a waiter and ask him to bring out whatever matches the description.”
Dani blows out a breath, “thank you. Also make sure you are home by tonight. Mom might come back early in the morning,” she warns Estee.