SCARLET
There are maids in the house, but Stacy and I decide to wash the dishes, taking the chance to catch up as girls.
While we’re doing the chore, my mind is in a very different place, wondering whether I should go find my fiance.
He didn’t even finish his food.
I keep asking myself who the patient is, that he has to keep tabs on, regardless of the fact that it’s the eve of our wedding.
But again, Kelvin is one of the best doctors I know, so, it’s logical for him to have many patients.
I can testify to that.
Sometime back, I had the fear of falling apart when work got crazy, but then, I realized we got that covered.
We work in the same hospital, MPH.
He’d assured me he would always be one call away whenever I missed him.
A snap of fingers in front of me interrupts my train of thoughts.
“Hey, are you thinking about tomorrow?” Asks Stacy.
“Uhm…yeah, yeah. I’ve never done this before,” I take the opportunity as soon as it presents itself.
Stacy’s expression suddenly falls, which I find odd.
My brows furrow, wondering what suddenly happened.
“What is it?” I ask.
She sighs, and then turns to me.
“Scarlet.” She holds my shoulders, looking into my eyes.
Her hands are wet, but that’s not what I’m concerned about.
“Do you trust Kelvin?” She asks.
“Yes,” I reply, almost hesitantly, wondering where all this is coming from, and why she suddenly sounds strange.
She lets out a long breath again, now letting go of my shoulders.
“Stacy, you’re scaring me,” I tell her.
“Don’t be,” she changes her expression and smiles, which doesn’t take a genius to know is fake.
“You should go find Kelvin first. We can talk about this later,” she suggests.
That wasn’t helpful at all.
However, she’s right.
I should find Kelvin and see what’s taking him so long.
“This discussion is not over,” I declare, wiping my hands with the kitchen towel.
As I look for Kelvin in different parts of the mansion, my mind is racing at a thousand questions per second.
His sudden disappearance, why Stacy was acting strange, why she’d asked if I trusted him…
Of course I trust him.
He hasn’t given me any reason not to, which is why I find Stacy’s question random and strange.
“Scarlet,” Karen calls out as I walk through the mezzanine.
“Where are you going?” She asks, approaching me.
“I’m looking for Kelvin. Have you seen him?”
“Oh, he’s at the pool area,” she confirms.
“Is everything okay?” She probes before I run off to the swimming pool.
Actually, I’m not sure.
I think.
But I end up telling Karen, “everything is fine. We’ll talk later,” I promise her as I almost feel like flying to the swimming pool.
I get close to the pool area where I find Kelvin seated on one of the chairs by the pool.
He seems deeply engrossed in the conversation.
I’m standing at a distance behind him.
I want to let him finish his conversation, as it seems serious, but I don’t.
He must have lost count of time, and maybe I should snap him back to reality.
However, as I approach, I realize he’s in a heated argument.
“Like I told you, this is not going to take long. Why are you suddenly impatient? Where’s all this coming from?” He snaps.
He must be talking about a medical procedure, right?
Well, that’s what I think, until I get closer, and now the conversation sounds strange.
“What?”
“No, no…”
“Hey, hey, babe, calm down. You’re only saying that because you’re mad. You’re not thinking straight right now.”
Babe?
I narrow my eyes, shocked by the words.
I’m inclined to think it’s just him trying to be nice to the patient…
Who am I kidding?
I almost laugh at myself.
That’s bullshit.
Deep down, I know what’s happening, even if it’s a rough idea.
My mind is just trying to craft an excuse, since I don’t want to believe what I’m hearing.
Since when do doctors call their patients babe?
My stomach drops.
The more I listen, the more it feels like my heart is shifting from my chest.
“Calm down, babe. Why are you being like this?” The strange conversation proceeds.
He’s still calling her babe.
I’m standing a few metres behind him and he hasn’t noticed my presence because he’s deeply engrossed in the conversation, begging to be believed.
“We’re so close to getting what we want. Don’t ruin this, okay?” While he speaks, a lot of questions race through my mind.
It feels like my world is spinning.
I wish for this to be a dream, but sadly, it isn’t.
“I’ll come to you later, after dinner, so they won’t suspect anything, okay?”
“I would never betray you. You know I love you. This will soon be over. Just look at the bigger price.”
Kelvin keeps on saying the words that pierce through my heart like a sharp sword.
My world is crushing.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure,” he says.
“You’re just being paranoid for nothing, my love.”
My love?
“I have an assurance, she already signed the prenup, remember?”
Oh, my God.
My hand flies to my chest.
My heart shattering into pieces with every word.
If I keep on listening, I think I might end up doing something stupid, out of anger.
My mother’s advice comes rushing.
She’d always warned me against making rash decisions out of anger.
Her advice was to take some time alone and calm down first, before handling the situation, to avoid doing or saying something regretful.
That’s exactly what I do.
I need time to process all this before getting to the root of the matter, and find out what Kelvin really meant and whoever that babe is.
With all that in mind, I don’t approach him.
Instead, I find my car and quickly drive away without informing anyone.
I drive through the city, hoping to calm my mind.
I don’t have a solid destination.
It’s a very risky move, since my mind is not in its right state.
I drop by a liquor store to get a bottle of vodka, before heading to the cemetery to talk to the one person who would nudge me in the right direction, even though our conversations are always one-sided.
My mind tells me she’s somewhere listening, and I normally wait for a sign albeit in vain.
If she were alive, she’d probably scold me for being in such a place, at this time of the night, alone.
But close to her is where I want to be, especially because I know what awaits when I get home.
I’ll have to deal with the situation.
I haven’t processed it yet.
I don’t know the whole story.
I only have one thing in mind.
Nothing was ever real with Kelvin.
All this was a scheme.
Did he ever love me?
Even just a little?
I gave him all my heart, only to find out there’s someone else?
“I deserve so much better, don’t you think, mum?” I ask, and end up getting only one response: silence.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” I say, and then gulp down a huge swig of alcohol, which burns my throat, and I end up scrunching my face.
Placing the bottle down, there’s suddenly a sound of someone clearing his throat from behind me.
Yes, it’s a he.
There’s no doubt about it.
My pupils widen as my heart skips a beat.
This is when I come back to my senses.
I’m pretty sure I’m not hallucinating.
No, it’s not the vodka.
There is certainly a man behind me.