Page 98 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

Matt stepped closer to our little family unit but didn’t crowd us. I think he was trying to respect our grief and privacy.

“She’s been holding back those tears since we got here,” Uncle David patted his daughter’s back while she continued to sob without restraint into my neck.

“What happened?” I swallowed hard, blinking against the building moisture in my eyes. I wouldnotcry. Crying meant things wouldn’t get better.

“They called me at work,” Uncle David began to explain, a pained flinching took place around his eyes as he relived it. “Said she’d complained about not feeling well at the office then she just - they said she just-”

Jamal slung an arm over Uncle David’s shoulders and Jenny’s sobs became even more desperate. I murmured words of comfort into her wild, tight curls.

Uncle David moved away, finally remembering I hadn’t arrived alone. He flashed Matt a tired, unsure smile.

“Matt, thanks for getting my niece here so quickly.”

Matt clasped his outstretched hand, longer than necessary as he said, “Hello David, I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances.” The sincerity of Matt’s words caused a much more genuine smile to float over Uncle David’s face.

“Hey man,” Jamal eyed Matt, not friendly, nor hostile; just neutral. “You guys got here a lot sooner than we expected.” He turned back to me, ruffling my untamed curls. “You ok? Matt said you fainted, then when we spoke later he said you had a panic attack. You ok, twerp?”

I nodded quickly. Jenny’s sobs were much softer now but she still clung to me like a limpet. “Have you seen her?” I asked them.

“For all of two minutes,” Uncle David replied hoarsely. “The doctors are with her now.”

I swallowed hard then said it. “But she’s going to be fine, right? Right, Uncle David?”

His jaw clenched and he avoided my gaze. “I don’t know, Madi. I- God! I hope so.”

My mouth quivered at the expression on my uncle’s face. Never had he looked so distraught. I glanced at Matt, wondering if our love would grow to the volume of the love shared between my aunt and uncle. Besides my parents, they were my example of what a marriage should be.

David Meyers was a man of few words, a gruff man who conveyed his emotions not with verbal assurances but with his actions. And although throughout my life I constantly doubted his love for me, I knew he fucking loved his wife.

“She will be, Uncle David.” I declared staunchly. “She has to be.”

Jenny grasped me tighter and Jamal exchanged a look with me over her head.

“Of course Ma will be alright,” he agreed, but his jaw was tense too as he regarded his father. “Come on, Dad. You know she’s a fighter. Let’s go sit down and wait for the doctors.”

With Jenny attached to me like a new limb, we found some seats and stared morosely at each other. If Matt was uncomfortable he gave no indication of it. He remained silent in the seat next to me, sending supportive glances my way every time I peered at him.

By the time one of the doctors came to speak to my uncle, I was mentally climbing the walls. Easing Jenny off my shoulder, I listened as the doctor explained what was going on.

“I’m sorry but you need to run that by me again,” I blurted out before jumping to my feet. The man cast a cursory glance over me, his initial distracted demeanour halted for a moment as he took in the jewellery and dress. I was a crumpled mess, but Elie Saab was Elie Saab and my appearance reeked money.

“What don’t you understand, Miss,” he paused.

I supplied the answer to his question. “DuMont and you said she doesn’t have diabetes yet she’s suffering from hypoglycaemia, which you said is a complication of diabetes. Now you’re talking about kidney failure. I don’t – you need to explain it again.”

“At first we assumed she had diabetes, but there was no indicationof the illness on her records or the tests we ran so we have now deduced she has non-diabetic hypoglycaemia. It’s not as common but a person can suffer from hypoglycaemia and not have diabetes.” he replied in a patient tone which seemed forced. “In your aunt’s case what’s happened is uremic hypoglycaemia.”

Doctor or not, if he didn’t clarify what the hell was going on I would get rowdy. My eyes narrowed. I was scared, that made me angry, and his doctor speak wasn’t helping. My family were all scared and I knew Uncle David was too overwhelmed to do anything more than nod his head at whatever the doctor said. I had to handle this. I glanced at Jamal who gave me the tiniest of nods. He was scared too and completely willing to let me take the reins. If he started acting crazy, like I knew he wanted to, things might escalate unnecessarily.

“Look, it doesn’t take a medical genius to know that a coma can lead to permanent brain damage or death. She’s in the hospital and you’re treating her, just…just wake her up. I mean, you said that once her blood sugar reaches a normal level consciousness should return. Why hasn’t it happened? What sort of medication are you treating her with? Have you actually dealt with the immediate danger? Why hasn’t she woken up?”

The doctor didn’t scowl at me, but he didn’t look happy either. “Of course we have and in these instances consciousness typically returns-”

“Typically?” My voice was getting shrill. Matt abruptly perched on the edge of his seat as if preparing himself for intervention. I continued, “I don’t care about what typically happens! I just endured a six hour flight from England to get here and I want to know when my aunt is going to wake up.”

“Madi,” Uncle David called in a strained voice.

“No.” I held my hand up at Uncle David then focused on the doctor. “I need you to explain this to me,” even shriller now. “Why hasn’t she woken up? What’s wrong with her? What is uri – ure – whatever you just said. What’s wrong with her?”

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