41. DELE
Chapter 41
DELE
Luke has only been gone for two days, and it feels like he’s been gone for months. I miss him a lot. The house is too quiet. I just clocked out and don’t feel like going to our quiet home or studying. The space feels like a perfect magazine cover—eerily quiet without Luke. I know Osei is out with his new female interest; he’s been buzzing about her. I’ll find out in a week how much he likes her.
Where do I go now?
“Go and visit your father-in-law.” My eyebrows rise. “Think about it—he’s probably alone without Luke as well.”
“A bit bold, but why not?”
Starting my car, I head to my father-in-law’s place. I’m a bit nervous, but he’ll either receive me or kick me out. At least I will know what to expect going forward. My heart races against my ribcage as I drive to Mr. Blythe’s place. I found a parking spot in front of the building across the street, since I don’t have a code to get into the basement parking like Luke did the first time we came here. Grabbing my backpack, I head to the front door. The doorman remembers me and lets me in. My hands shake as I press the bell. When the door swings open, I see a new nurse, not Susanna.
“Hi, I’m here to see Mr. Blythe.”
“And you are?” Her tone is polite, but her hesitant stance seems questioning.
“His daughter-in-law. My name is Dele Blythe.” Her eyes widen but she quickly hides the shock of seeing a Black girl in scrubs as Mr. Blythe’s daughter-in-law. She gives me a doubtful look.
“Wait here,” she says, closing the door. I interlace my hands and shift my backpack, trying to find a good balance. I feel sweaty, with more sweat building up in my armpits. This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have come.
I start to count to ten. If she doesn’t return, I’m leaving. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… The door swings open.
“Mrs. Blythe, please come in.”
“Thank you,” I respond, letting out a sigh. I follow the nurse inside.
“Sorry for making you wait. Mr. Blythe Senior doesn’t get any visitors, and I didn’t know the younger Mr. Blythe was married. Congratulations, by the way,” she says, smiling.
“Thank you,” I reply.
She stops at the door and I gently knock before entering. He’s in bed and looks tired.
“Good evening.”
“Come, my dear. I’m so happy to see you.” He puts his arms out, which surprises me. I go to hug him.
“How are you?” I ask.
“Fighting like hell,” he jokes. I nod. “Sit, dear.” I pull the only chair in the room and sit close to him.
“I hope it’s okay that I came to see you. I just thought I should visit you, since Luke isn’t home.” He smiles.
“Thank you, dear. I like that you’re here.” We fall into silence, not much to say, but it feels somewhat palpable.
“Dele, where are your parents?” he asks.
“They’re in Lagos, Nigeria. My dad was in a car accident and is in a wheelchair; he also had a mild stroke recently. My mom is with him.” I’m not sure why I had to tell him that, but I do anyway. No need to expect to meet any in-laws anytime soon.
“Sorry to hear that, but I’m glad your mother is with him.”
“Yes, he’s got her by his side. I miss them,” I quietly say. People don’t understand the power of getting to hug or see their parents often. I only see mine on the phone. I guess I should be grateful they’re still alive.
“I’m sure you do. What do you miss most?” he asks.
“I miss watching and discussing football with my dad.”
“Nice, he likes football, that’s great.” I realize right away that he’s probably thinking about football in the U.S., and I’m talking about soccer.
“I meant soccer. I do sometimes forget that football in America is different.”
“I don’t know much about soccer, though I’ve heard about it, but can’t say I know anything about the rules of the game.”
“I’m a huge soccer fan. Would you like to know about soccer?”
“Sure, I’ve got nowhere to go and nothing to do. Luke won’t let me review any documents. He has threatened to stop visiting me if I try to dabble in the day-to-day of the company, so let’s talk soccer.” He smiles, and I smile back. I reach for the remote and turn on the TV.
“So, there’s a lot to know in soccer, and call me biased, but it’s the world’s greatest sport.” He laughs.
“Yes, you are biased,” he says through laughter as I search through the channels to find the recent World Cup games.
“We’re going to start with the basics—the rules of the game, the penalty cards, red and yellow, the offside rule, free kicks, and then we’ll get into the team rivalries.” He’s all smiles.
“Okay.” he says, ready with all ears. I turn the game on and begin explaining the rules to him. We talk and laugh at some of the highlights. By the time the first game begins, he’s enjoying the sport. The nurse brings his dinner, he insists that I eat with him as we watch the game, screaming at the screen like fans at the stadium. We talk all evening until the nurse comes to give him his meds, and I check my watch, realizing how late it is.
“I better head home.”
“Okay, dear. I won’t watch the next game until you return.” My heart smiles, we had fun together.
“My schedule is tight tomorrow. How about the day after?”
“That sounds good. But if you don’t show, I can’t promise I’ll wait,” he teases.
“I will, I promise.” I give him a hug.
“Dele, is it okay if we don’t tell Luke you were here?” It surprises me, but I nod.
“That’s fine with me, Mr. Blythe.”
“Call me Simon, not Mr. Blythe. It makes me sound old.”
“My dad will whoop my behind if I call my father-in-law by his first name. How about I call you Baba? It means father.” He nods with a big smile.
“Baba it is.” I nod in agreement with him, squeezing his hand.
“Good night, Baba. See you soon.”
“Good night, Dele.” I leave, feeling good. I’m happy I visited him.
I drive home, smiling at some of the things we laughed about together. As soon as I get into our home, it’s too quiet without Luke. I already ate at Baba’s place. I smile just thinking about his new name. I shower and change into my PJs. My phone rings as soon as I tuck myself in. It’s Luke, and I think about telling him I visited his dad. I immediately decide not to—I agreed not to with Baba. I hope it’s okay.
“Hello.”
“Hi.” His voice is deep and cool, and it caresses my body. I take a deep breath. “How are you and how was work?” I know he’s asking me to make sure I didn’t pick up extra hours.
“I’m good, in bed. Work was quiet, which is a good thing whenever the ER is quiet.”
“Good, and school?”
“Still kicking my butt. Can’t wait to be done.”
“You’re almost at the finish line.”
“I know, and I can’t wait. How’s work in Singapore?”
“Crazy and kicking my butt.” I laugh.
“Nothing you can’t handle, right?”
He sighs. “Yeah, I’ve got it. Just wish it were a bit easier so I could head home,” he says, and we both fall quiet.
“I miss you, Dele.” My heart smiles. I can’t believe he just said that.
“I miss you too. The unit lacks warmth without you here,” I reply, putting a pillow between my legs.
“Just the unit lacks my warmth?” he teases.
“My bed lacks it too,” I whisper.
“Good, I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Okay, good night, Luke.”
“Good night, Dele. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Night.” I hang up and turn to sleep with a warm feeling in my heart.
Waking up the next morning, I’m out the door to school quickly and spend the day studying and then working. I talk to Osei a few times. He’s floating in bliss with his new girl. I’m on the back burner. I speak with my mom; we try to stay positive as my dad shows some improvement. I call Amaka, who makes me laugh with all the madness of LA. She’s enjoying it way too much. I’m burnt out by the time I clock out. Jax certainly has enough energy; she thinks we should go out for drinks. I can barely stand, let alone party. I tell her I’m heading home.
I leave my car parked in the perfect spot I found when I arrived today, knowing I won’t find a spot when I come in at seven in the morning. No point in moving it. Kai agreed to give me a ride home; he’ll be doing the afternoon shift, so he can take my parking spot when I leave tomorrow. It’s something we try to do because finding a parking spot here is a bit of a treasure hunt. I’ll take a cab home or ask Martin to drop me off—he comes in every day, and I’m sure Luke told him to be there for me.
Kai pulls up in front of the building.
“Wait, you live here?” he asks in surprise. He probably didn’t put it together when I gave him the address, telling him I’d recently moved. I don’t wear that very expensive ring at work. I just mentioned to Jax and Kai that I married someone for my papers and didn’t go into details.
“Yes,” I answer. “Thank you for the ride, much appreciated.”
“Girl! You and I will talk about this, your bougie crib.”
“Later, Kai,” I respond, and to make matters worse, the doorman greets me.
“Good evening, Mrs. Blythe,” which Kai hears.
“Mrs. Blythe? You and I are talking tomorrow,” he shouts.
“Good night, Kai. And thanks for the ride. And nothing to talk about.”
“We’ll see about that,” he yells back.
“Good evening, Mr. Lance,” I say to the doorman as he opens the door for me, nodding my thanks to him. I go straight up, shower, and eat the food Paula had in the oven for me. I send up my thanks to her. I eat alone and head to bed.
Me: ER was draining today. I’m heading to bed. I’m tired.com.
Attach a tired GIF
Luke: Okay, good night.
I want to say I miss him. Instead, I set my alarm and head to bed. I sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Like clockwork, I’m in the garage at 6:45 am, only to realize I left my car at the hospital. Damn!
I turn to see Martin next to me. Where did he come from? I don’t care right now.
“Can you please give me a ride to work?”
“Yes, Mrs. B.”
“Thank you.” I race into the front seat; he looks at me like I’m sitting in the wrong spot.
“Please, drive, Martin. I don’t want to be late,” is my response to his look.
“Okay.” We drive in silence to the hospital. I checked my phone, and there are no missed calls from Luke. I’m a little disappointed, but I tuck it away and realize I don’t have class today, so I will visit Baba and return for my car to join my study group in the evening. Kai will be coming in about that time. I know he’ll call me once he gets here.
When we pull up at the ER, Martin asks, “Would you like a ride back after work, Mrs. B?”
“No, my car is over there. The perfect spot is why I didn’t drive yesterday. You can have the rest of the day off. I’m good.”
“I’ll be on standby should you change your mind.”
“Okay, Martin. Bye.”
I race inside to clock in, ready to face a few more hours of work.