DA 1. The Last ClientA Chapter by Effervescent Dreams At the end of a hard day, kind hearted Dr Terence is confronted by a frail old patient, who he takes home. What follows is anybody's guess..........
1.
The last client
“NEXT!” He called out rubbing his nape as he
stretched out in his chair ……
It had been a tiring day, what with a heavy
clientele and his partner Dr Ashok on leave for the day. Now at past
9.30 pm, even the coolness of the AC failed to disarm the stifling sultriness
of the evening. Thank God, this was the last of them…
None came. He turned the registration slip
in his hands…..
No. 47
Name :
Omeeshella Age :
................ Gender
:.................
What a careless way of filling up a
form! Shiela, his receptionist had left early as her son was ill. A very
dependable worker otherwise…. but, this was unpardonable, and he would let her
know it hrmphh...!
“Mr Omeeshella.......!!”, he shouted out much in
contrast to his normal tone.
It certainly ought to be a male at this late
time of the day……no, ….night actually. Some clients could be so
trying...! Oh how he yearned to rush home to Sandra, his lovely wife, for that
special candle-light dinner she’d planned for him......... on his
birthday! Since he was alone at the clinic, he couldn’t even take a break.
But that was no matter for worry, for Sandra understood……
He couldn't believe it was just eight
months since they were married… for it seemed like they’d known each other
since ages…. It was an arranged marriage and they had got to get to know each
other better in the six months subsequent to the engagement, after which they were
married. Though a busy Advocate, Sandra managed to work out a special
event for the two of them at least once a month…. And the two got along like a
house on fire….
Wearily, he leaned back in his chair, and
smiled… God had been too kind to them…..their cup of joy was brimming, and he
in turn took pleasure to be extra kind toward his patients, which often told on
his pockets. But neither he nor Sandra
really worried about it. They were celebrating life together…..
Now, where was Mr Omeeshella? …
Strange name though… He dismissed the thought. Perhaps he’d left after
the long wait.
Winding up for the day, he picked up
his briefcase, shut his clinic and hastily stepped into the corridor......now
for the much awaited dinner... yahoo!.. He grinned from ear to ear, forgetting
all the fatigue of the day …. Most of the stores along the corridor had
shut down.
“Hi doc, you are late today”,
Mahesh called out as he switched of the lights of his Book Store and
reached for the shutter keys.
“Ah umm”, smiled Terence as he walked past,
“G’Night Mahesh, and have a nice weekend” .....
Good night to you too doc”. The phone rang
and Mahesh leapt for it.
The lonely yellow bulb
dangling overhead barely managed to dispel the dark shadows in the
musty corridor...... He and Dr Ashok had made up their mind to find a
suave place for their clinic, at the earliest.
Of course, that called for more funds… and boy, he and Ashok were
working hard to make their dream come true….!
Suddenly he jumped...
his heart skipping a beat. A shadow in the far corner had moved
ever so gently..... no, it seemed to undulate in the deathly pale light.
Mustering all his courage, he stammered out, “Who,... who is this?”…. as he hastily
moved towards the figure.
Long gnarled trembling fingers reached
out and clutched him by the wrist. He struggled futilely to wriggle out of the
grip…… and his resistance weakened as a strange feeling of peace and warmth
enveloped him. He took in the fragile frame of the old man huddled on
the wooden bench.
“I guess I’m your last client”… The old man
almost rasped out, his speech interspersed with wheezes. The speech was
perfect. He looked into the doctor’s
face…... the blue eyes shone with an ethereal glow and brimming with kindness,
yet with some kind of despair surging in its depths.........which he failed to
fathom. Attired in a clean pair of white pants and shirt, though a bit
crumpled, he appeared neglected.
Regaining his composure, he forced a
smile and soon managed to salvage his professional image. “Hello Sir, I’m Dr
Roberts...... Terence Roberts and yes, you happen to be my last client for
today. I did call out to you a couple of times, and then presumed that
you had left.”
“You must forgive me son, I think I
snoozed off while I waited. Now I guess it’s time for you to retire for
the day.” The old man suddenly appeared to slump in the shadows.
Terence was in a tearing hurry. “Mr
Omeeshella,. He flashed his friendly smile, "........I guess that’s
your name, it’s rather too late now. So how about… you come over to my clinic
tomorrow and I’ll see you immediately. Now, if you wish, I could drop you
home…… as you see, it’s too late for you, even to find a public transport”.
The old man’s face fell, but
he smiled wanly up to the doctor, “That’s so kind of you son, but
it’s okay, I’ll wait for you right here”, and he let go off his wrist…..the
heavenly feeling persisted.
Such diction and such refined manners…. and
at this age! This man ought to have lived a high profile life in his
heydays......till of course some tragedy struck….. a story of ‘riches to rags?’…….hmm.
Impressive indeed!. Then, interspersed with several impatient calls from
Sandra, he managed to gather that Mr Omeeshella was homeless, with no next of
kin to even spend the night with. Now, it appeared extremely rude and
callous on his part to leave the dignified old man to spend the night in the
stuffy corridor. With a bit of persuasion the old man relented to go home
with Terence.
*******
Sandra rushed to the door, as the car
drove in through the gates. Her eyes twinkled and her heart beat fast
with ecstasy…. just as it had done when she’d first met her dear Terry.
Life had been a symphony of sorts after they tied the knot and their love grew
manifold with each rising sun…. she and Terry had resolved to work hard to make
their dream castle. But their weekends would be spent ‘far from the
madding crowd’… just the two of them… unless an emergency arose to break their
schedule. She had just one prayer…. that God keep them together in
happiness for a long long time, so they could spread it around ……aaah… if this
was cloud nine,… then she had taken a giant leap!!
Hey… who was this with Terry?
Aww, not on this day!..... this was their special day. She frowned hard,
at the unwelcome sight of the old man, ..... and though she knew that she was
being rude, she found it hard to hide her feelings....
Ignoring her silent protests, Terry ushered in
Mr Omeeshella.
He hurriedly gave her a hug and a kiss and
whispered into her ear, “Sandy, please please be good with this poor old man”.
“Darling, we’ve a special guest tonight.
Meet Mr Omeeshella”. He beamed, still holding her close. “… he’s one
of my patients, I couldn’t leave behind at the clinic, at this late hour”….
“Mr Omeeshella, this is Sandra, my wife, and
she’s a practicing lawyer”.
“Hello Mr Omeshella. Welcome to our home”.
“Bless you child”… The old man gave her a
disarming smile, as the two shook hands…
“Sandra has planned a special dinner today, for
my birthday. Won’t you join us?”
The old man was only too happy to oblige.
Terry led him to the washroom and came
back to give her a hurried account of the old man and how he’d been compelled
to bring the poor thing home, rather than leave him there to be tortured in the
cold night and perhaps to even die. Sandra was quick to see the gravity
of the situation and nodded assent.
They came to the dining room.
The birthday cake looked pretty with candles waiting to be lit….
“Oh that’s a wonderful cake!”.... Mr
Omeeshella gushed… “Let me read what’s written on it…hmmm…. Happy Birthday
Dear Terry.” He beamed at Terry.
Sandra lit the 26 figure candles and
Terry blew them out. Mr Omeeshella happily joined in to sing
the Happy Birthday song along with Sandra, while Terry cut the cake. She
wished him Happy Birthday.
“Many happy returns of
the wonderful day… and bless you my son”….Mr Omeeshella wheezed.
At the table, the three made small
conversation. Some more introduction
followed and Sandra gradually came to develop some fondness for the
old man. Though of course, she’d have
certainly loved to enjoy the night with just the two of them together……..
The candle light dinner took on an ethereal
hue.
Mr Omeeshella appreciated the
pleasing aroma of the twinkling candles. He admired Sandra for
the mouth watering dishes and the wonderful cake, which she had baked. He
ate gracefully and with practiced ease, astounding the duo. He profusely
thanked the young couple for the magnificent dinner and blessed them. He was then led to the spare bedroom, where
Terry and Sandra made him comfortable with extra blankets, for it was indeed a
cold night. They did not forget to leave the night lamp on and a flask of
warm water just in case…. Terry made a
preliminary physical assessment of the patient before bidding him goodnight.
Back in their bedroom, Sandra fretted
and fumed at Terry for spoiling such a nicely and painstakingly
planned dinner while he tried his best to pacify her. He knew that she
was kind at heart and would calm down soon.
But Sandra had genuine concerns. An
advocate by profession, she voiced her one outstanding fear, “Terry, he looks
so weak and fragile. You haven’t examined him in detail. God
knows what his problem is. What if the old man dies in
sleep? Who will take responsibility for him? What answer will you
give the public?... gosh, your career has just begun!”
“Well, on the face of it, he seems to be out of
immediate danger, though at times he looks too ill.” Terry said to himself.
They were almost like novices to their
profession, he preparing to write for his PG entrance examination after two
years of practice, and her, working under a lawyer after finishing her
Bachelors in Law. They had woven a dream together and had just set about
working to make it develop. Finances were low, but that wasn't a
dampener at all.
All he could add was, “I helped him in
good faith. Let’s now leave the rest to the good Lord.”
It was well past midnight. Yet, there
was works unfinished…. Yes, the ‘minutes of the day’, as they called it.
It was something the two of them enjoyed doing… sharing the events at their
respective places of work…. And how they loved doing it, with Terry advising
her on how she could handle a criminal case and Sandra advising him on his
patients. It was a laugh, but they found solace in each other as they
went about it and then they would settle for the night.
But since it was too late, they decided to ‘call
it a day, literally, as the clock struck 2, and they switched off the lights…..
Terry was confident that the old man would pull
through another day and many days too. Yet,
a fear lingered in the depths of his heart.. “What if Mr Om didn't wake
up tomorrow?” Looking toward the guest
room, he sent a silent prayer heavenwards.............. “God I’ve done what
best I could as of now. Do, please see
him through the night….”. *********** ......................... Continued © 2015 Effervescent DreamsAuthor's Note
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3 Reviews  Last Updated on June 20, 2015 Author
Effervescent DreamsKERALA, IndiaAboutHi! I'm fun loving and happy-go-lucky, with a humanitarian mindset and a Utopian dream for gender equality across the globe more..Writing
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