DAVID
Once Julie had dropped her questioning about Sandra and I, the rest of the evening went by smoothly.
I could tell she was hurting, and part of me wanted to soothe and reassure her, but I could not do that without knowing what she knew, or thought she knew.
And that perhaps was the most frustrating thing about this entire situation – that there really was absolutely nothing going on between Sandra and I apart from the money I had given her for their mother, which I could not tell Julie about.
However, beyond that, that Julie could even think to ask me about my relationship with her sister was frankly speaking, insulting; so, it was just as well that she wisely decided to drop the matter when she did.
I did not know what exactly had transpired between Sandra and Julie, but whatever it was, it had not included the money I had given Sandra, as once the waters had settled about her questioning me over her sister, she had asked me for money, saying she had sent most of what she had to her mother.
That did not make any sense, as I had already sent her mother money with Sandra, which implied that she was sending her money out of habit, rather than actual need. It was a habit I knew I needed to nip in the bud, and swiftly did.
“You know I’m always happy to help out with your mum’s financial needs, but with me just having given you money for your siblings’ fees and shopping, paid the rent on the apartment, and given you money for you and Junior, there is really no extra money to give out. Remember I have got fees and expenses for my other children to handle as well,” I explained, my tone gentle but firm.
Diane would have kicked up a fuss at such a response, but once again, Julie reminded me that she was not Diane.
“Sure, I understand; don’t worry about it, I’ll make what I have last,” she answered easily.
It was one of the reasons I loved her; the way she always bent over backwards to keep me happy and free of stress. It was a benefit I certainly did not get from Diane; a fact that I didn’t know I was going to be reminded of loud and clear later that night.
DIANE
I was handling Daniel’s paperwork at the hospital’s reception desk, when David rushed in, and spotting me, hurried to my side; “What happened? The maid just told me you had rushed Daniel to the hospital; where is he? What’s wrong with him?” he asked frantically, his voice bordering on panicky.
After what I had just been through, my first impulse was to slap him, and I just barely managed to restrain myself.
“If you cared so much, then you should have been here, or at the very least answered your phone when I called you,” I answered through clenched teeth.
“My ringtone was muted.”
“Yeah, no doubt so that you wouldn’t be interrupted while screwing your whore,” I retorted icily.
I wanted him to deny my statement, to give me some stupid lie like he was in a meeting or something, but instead he pointedly ignored my remark.
“Where’s Daniel? What happened?” he went back to his original questions.
It might have been petty, but I took the opportunity to ignore him in return, finished signing the papers, then without a word walked off back towards the recovery room where Daniel was resting, leaving David to hurry after me.
He eventually gleaned what had happened from the doctor, for I didn’t say another word to him until we had left the hospital and gotten Daniel home and into bed, and only then did I explode and let him have it.
“Our son could have died because you were too busy with your whore to answer your phone!”
“I told you, my ringtone was muted; so, I didn’t ignore your call, I just didn’t hear it.”
“Same result – our son could have died! If you want to mess about with that whore, instead of being home with your children, that’s fine, but I need to have the means to get them to a hospital in case of an emergency.”
“Is your problem that I wasn’t here, or that you don’t have a car?” he answered sarcastically.
Although his question was insulting, and was meant to be offensive, it actually highlighted an opportunity to turn what had been a horrible experience into a means to getting me the car I had been demanding for without any success until now.
“Like I said, I don’t care about you not being here, but I will not let you put our children’s lives at risk, by not ensuring that I’m able to get them help whether or not you’re here,” I answered icily.
“In other words, you want a car,” he sneered.
“Yes, David; I want a car,” I said, defiantly looking him straight in the eye as I did so.
JULIE
I tossed and turned for most of the night, tormented by my mind switching between replaying the scene of me asking David about him and Sandra, and him so cruelly refusing to give me any straight answers; and the memory of his reaction to me asking him for money, listing all the money he spent on not just Junior and I, but my family as well, and telling me there was ‘no extra money’.
Although at the time I had acted like I was not particularly upset by either response, once he left, I had dropped the charade and cried myself to sleep.
They were both sides to him that I had never seen before, and the uncertainty of what this other side of him would develop into was terrifying.
As if the night was not bad enough, Junior woke me up early the next morning, being fussy and demanding, and as I dragged myself out of bed, my eyes heavy and gritty, I was exhausted before the day had even begun.
The day did not get any better as it progressed, and by lunch time, which was when I normally began getting ready for David’s evening visit, I was so drained, I started praying something would come up and he would call to say he would not make it.
At least that prayer was answered when a little after two, David called to say exactly that; he did not give any details, other than that he had some things to tend to, and would see Junior and I the following day.
I feigned disappointment and said we would miss him, but on the inside, I was silently thanking God for answering my prayer, and when I put Junior down for his afternoon nap, I lay down for one myself.
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