by Shreya Faria
The next day was the same, Sam left early without sharing a word with Rachel. And on the other hand, Rachel’s health kept playing truant. She overslept and got up with a fever and a throbbing headache. She was short of breath and was feeling weak. She did not feel like doing anything but somehow decided to go to Sam’s office and talk to Lisa, but dropped her plan as her health didn’t support her. Instead she called her husband.
‘Hello, I am getting a lot of pain in the chest while breathing, along with fever and a severe headache; can you accompany to visit a doctor Sam,’ asked Rachel. The emotional damage she had undergone had done more damage to her physical state, and so she put aside her issues with Sam and called him up for help. But she was in for more damage.
‘Seriously, Rachel, I hope this is not something like yesterday; an opportunity to track me. In any case, I cannot move today from office. If you need, I could call the doctor home; so let me know what suits you,’ said Sam in a harsh tone. That was the moment Rachel decided that she was never going to call Sam or talk to him soon.
‘Why were you talking so rudely with Rachel? All okay?’ asked Harvey as he overheard the conversation. Harvey was in Sam’s office, having dropped by just to say hello.
‘Long story Harvey,’ said Sam.
‘I have enough time, you start,’ said Harvey. Sam told him about everything that had happened. And Harvey understood that very moment that Sam was doing wrong.
‘Dude, Rachel is not wrong on her part at all, it’s you at the first place, you are caught lying to her,’ commented Harvey.
‘Common Harvey, be practical. Does being married mean that you cannot go out with any girl, you cannot make her your friend; everything ends after being married or what? It’s just a little bonding that I share with Lisa, just went for a coffee and a drive; I cannot tell Rachel, she will never understand this. So, of course, I had to lie to her. And Lisa was giving me information and secrets about our rival company, where she worked earlier. That’s the reason I am spending time alone with her and not cheating on Rach,’ explained Sam. But Harvey still felt Sam is wrong on this.
‘If you wanted to lie, you should have done that better; now since Rachel has dug up this much truth, it must have broken her trust and herself from within. You need to sort out this mess you have created,’ said Harvey.
‘Oh please, let her get okay by herself, I am not talking with her, at least let some time go and let her cool down,’ said Sam. He was in no mood to sort with Rachel and Harvey had understood that. Soon after leaving Sam’s office, Harvey went to meet Rachel and ask about her health. Rachel had called the doctor at home by herself rather than telling Sam to do it. Harvey entered her place just when the doctor was examining her.
‘Well, Mrs Geller, we will have to do some tests as soon as possible,’ said the doctor and wrote some tests for her. Harvey asked the doctor about it, and he briefed him a little of what he was suspecting.
Chapter 42
‘Sam, something is seriously wrong with Rachel’s health, and the doctor has written some tests for her. Please follow up with those and sort your issues with her as soon as possible. She is not doing any drama as you thought of,’ Harvey told Sam on the phone as he left after meeting Rachel. Since she was not well, she went off to rest as soon as Harvey left.
Sam felt guilty as he had not taken Rachel seriously when she had spoken of her health and had instead been rather rude. As soon as he reached home, he went up to Rachel to speak to her but was a little disappointed to see Samantha sitting next to her. She was the person who had created this mess for him, and thus he did not get into a conversation at that point. Before Samantha left, Sam had dozed off on the sofa.
The next morning, Rachel was nowhere to be seen.
‘Hey, where are you Rach, you are nowhere to be seen in the house?’ asked Sam as he called Rachel.
‘As if it really matters to you, Sam!’ taunted Rachel and hung up. Sam was annoyed with her answer and decided not to ask her again. The castle of ego had started building up between Rachel and Sam. Rachel had gone for the test which the doctor had advised. She had gone along with Samantha, and she didn’t feel like telling so to Sam.
* * *
‘It’s something which I feared for Mrs Geller. You have water in your lungs which is causing difficulty in breathing. I further suspect that you are suffering from tuberculosis, and hence you will have to undergo FNAC for further examinations,’ said the doctor after checking her chest x-ray.
‘What? Tuberculosis? But I don’t have a cough or anything, nor anyone around me has, and what is FNAC?’ asked Rachel. She was devastated at the doctor’s prognosis. She knew that TB patients are to be kept isolated and on medication for a very long time and you cannot miss a single dose as it can lead to further problems, and she was a girl who hated medicines even in the worst scenarios. She couldn’t digest the fact which her doctor had just said.
‘During FNAC or Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology, they will insert a needle from your back after visualizing the affected part through sonography and then extract the fluid sample from your lungs for examination pursuant to which we can conclude if it is tuberculosis or something else,’ said the doctor. In the order, the way things were going for Rachel, it was like her worst nightmare. Her fear of needles and her fear of losing Sam were hovering on her mind at the same time. She had never felt this weak before. While on her way back she decided to meet Sam at his office and to tell him about the reports. Samantha accompanied her, and as she reached the office, she called Sam, but he didn’t answer. She waited outside his cabin for twenty minutes, while her eyes wandered for a glimpse of Lisa, but she was nowhere to be seen. She called Sam again, but he didn’t answer, and then she decided to enter his cabin. As soon as she knocked, the door opened from within, and Lisa stepped out of Sam’s cabin. Rachel’s temper reached its limit as she saw that there had been no one else apart from Sam and Lisa in the cabin all this while and Sam had chosen not to answer her calls during that time. Sam, too, was not expecting her to come to the office and see what she saw. He knew it would annoy Rachel.
‘I am sorry I disturbed your meeting, I will take leave,’ said Rachel and started moving out from his cabin.
‘It’s not like how you are thinking Rach ... Rach, please listen to me,’ said Sam, his voice rising in desperation, but his words were in vain. Rachel had left his cabin, and it would look ugly if he still shouted. Sam too felt annoyed the way Rachel had stormed out of his office and didn’t call her back.
The next day Rachel went for her FNAC all alone; Sam had not shared a word with her after the office scene and thus didn’t ask her about her health. He was annoyed with what Rachel was thinking and wanted to avoid that situation for a while.
‘Ma’am, is there anyone who is accompanying you for FNAC?’ asked the nurse at the diagnostics.
‘No, I am alone. Is it a problem?’ asked Rachel politely.
‘No, ma’am, in that case, I will call another nurse for assistance. Generally, we do the procedure in front of the spouse or a parent so that they can check, but it is not a compulsion,’ said the nurse.
The doctor continued with the procedure; he applied local anaesthesia at first so that he could insert the needle easily. But as he inserted, Rachel shouted and held the nurse’s hand tight. She had a phobia of needles. Then as the needle was inserted deep inside with the help of the sonography, the doctor started extracting the water, and Rachel could feel it even after the anaesthesia. Milliseconds of her breathing had become painful during this procedure. It took almost twenty minutes before she was allowed to get going.
‘Be careful, it will pain for a day even while talking after the anaesthesia’s effect ceases. Try to rest as much as you can today,’ said the doctor after finishing the procedure. Rachel got a call from Harvey as soon as she stepped inside the car to go home.
‘Hey Rachel, how are you feeling? I hope all the test reports are normal?’ asked Harvey. Rachel tried to speak, but in
such a low voice that she was inaudible.
‘Rachel? What did you say?’ asked Harvey and Rachel disconnected the phone, and soon Harvey got a text message from her.
‘Cannot talk much. On my way home,’ it read.
Harvey felt something was wrong and visited her at home. Rachel had just entered a few minutes back. She had kept her reports on the centre table and gone in to the washroom. Harvey took a chance and checked the reports by himself. He came to know about Rachel’s FNAC and about her chest x-ray. Rachel was not well at all, and Sam didn’t know a bit about what had happened to her.
‘Rachel, why have you not told anything about this to Sam?’ asked Harvey, holding the reports in one hand.
‘For that, he should have time for me instead of Lisa,’ said Rachel very sarcastically and in a very low voice. With every sentence, she realized the post-procedure pain the doctor had spoken of. She eventually gave up on speaking and scribbled on a piece of paper to Harvey that she couldn’t speak much and needed to rest. Harvey felt bad about her condition and went to meet Sam.
‘What are you saying? she could have just told me about all this directly, what was she waiting for?’ asked Sam as Harvey told him about Rachel’s health.
‘Yes. And now I think you should just remove that girl from your office who is bothering her so much and you better be good to Rachel and look after her. She needs you the most, and you are nowhere near to her,’ said Harvey.
‘It’s her choice Harvey, she started with unnecessary questioning and doubting and taking things in the wrong way. Lisa and I are just friends, though there’s a thing that she likes me and she told me about it. Moreover, she is helping me to get the deal through her ex-boss, where she was working earlier. And for that matter, she was in my cabin that day when Rachel saw her, and she threw a fit about it,’ said Sam in a very annoyed tone. Harvey and Sam argued for a while over it, but Sam was not interested in sorting things with Rachel and removing Lisa for that matter.
‘Is it a sin or a crime to go out or talk with a girl when you are married? I think it’s healthy for you to meet new people,’ said Sam sarcastically.
‘Sam, it’s not about that. It’s about Rachel’s health right now,’ said Harvey.
‘Yes, and if it’s about health then too much of an ego is not a good idea; she should have answered when I asked about her health out of concern,’ said Sam.
‘It’s not about ego Sam, she was cheesed off with you for getting engrossed with Lisa and then lying about things. It’s a different thing altogether, and you have started all this; you better end it, or else it will be bad for you,’ Harvey warned Sam about the immediate consequences. But Sam was in no mood to hear anything from him.
Chapter 43
‘It is tuberculosis Mrs Geller,’ said the doctor as Rachel visited him after her FNAC reports. Rachel’s secret prayers to save her from taking a long course of medicines was in vain. She was yet to digest the rapid changes that was happening to her life.
‘So now how many pills do I need to take each day?’ asked Rachel in an unsettled tone.
‘Not much. At first, you will have to take four pills every morning on an empty stomach and after that no eating for an hour. In the beginning, there is a chance that you might vomit, but later with time, it will be okay,’ said the doctor.
‘Rachel, chill. Things will be fine. You just need to take extra care of your immune system now onwards. Just don’t stress,’ added the doctor encouragingly. He didn’t know about the tsunami which had entered Rachel’s life.
Rachel went home and rested as told. She was in touch with Samantha and had told her to keep an eye on Lisa. Samantha felt very guilty and blamed herself for Rachel’s health. She wanted all this to end and Rachel to breathe happily again.
‘Lisa. Stop. I want to talk to you,’ said Samantha as she saw her getting out of the washroom.
‘Yes, speak woman,’ said Lisa in a very arrogant way.
‘What are you trying to do with Sam? I want you to stay away from him for your good or I will tell everyone in the office about what you did with your last boss,’ warned Samantha, but to the wrong person. Lisa didn’t care about her image and got furious at Samantha.
‘Why don’t you mind your own business bitch?’ said Lisa and walked off. To talk to her was the dumbest decision Samantha had done and things went haywire. Lisa went directly to Sam’s cabin and told him everything, and adding on some spice. Sam was quite upset. He called Rachel as soon as Lisa had left the cabin.
‘So you won’t stop with the cheap things you are on,’ said Sam over the phone. For a second he was not bothered that she was not well, and spoke to her rather rudely. Rachel was not aware of what Samantha had done before Sam told her about it. But she was not as upset with Samantha as she was with Sam. She felt sick from her stomach. She just listened to his arrogance and disconnected the phone without even saying a word. From now on, being alone might be better, she thought. Aloneness had suddenly appeared as a wide-open possibility for the future. She packed her bags and left the house to stay with her parents for a while. She needed the touch of true love and care in this phase of health, and only her parents could do that now.
As Sam entered the house, he wondered why Rachel had not spoken a single word while he blasted, and now she was nowhere to be seen. Only seen was a note she had left on her side of the bed. Irritated after reading the note he called Harvey.
‘She just left home saying that she wants herself and me to live in peace and that she doesn’t expect any calls or visits from me, what in the world does this even mean? Is she leaving me forever? Is this an end of our marriage? What does she think of herself?’ said Sam, quite furious. He had never expected Rachel would do something like this. Maybe he had been taking her for granted.
‘Look, calm down. I had warned you earlier as well. But you were busy with your healthy flirting which you thought would not harm your married life. Moreover, you were not concerned about her health. I had told you what she was going through and now on a serious note, what she needs is peace and a stress-free life. As for yourself, you need to do a deep think of want you want out of your life,’ said Harvey in a very sarcastic way. He was now only concerned about Rachel’s health. Sam disconnected the phone, and Harvey soon called Rachel. But as expected, she didn’t answer. After all, he was Sam’s friend. Harvey retrieved Rachel’s mother’s residential address through his sources and went to visit her. He came to know about Rachel’s tuberculosis from her mom.
‘Hey I know what you have been going through Rachel and I know what Sam has been doing is very wrong, but trust me, he is concerned about you and does love you. He was crying yesterday after reading your letter; if I can do anything to help you guys ... you make a lovely pair, please don’t do this,’ pleaded Harvey. He said what he had to say even as he knew that this was not the right time; Rachel was in her worst mood over her health and Sam’s behaviour. Her face said it all.
‘Harvey, I really appreciate your efforts of coming here and trying to save our relationship. You do understand that this should have been done by Sam in the first place. And currently my health does not permit me to deal with all this, so please let me be here in peace without you wasting your efforts,’ said Rachel in a weak voice. She also told him how she found out about his lies of going out for meetings with Lisa and about all the kisses and hugs which were shared between them. Harvey was speechless. Harvey had predicted this, and he didn’t blame Rachel for this at all. Harvey left from there and visited Sam, who kept at his arrogant self. Harvey too left him alone for a few days. He eventually knew that both would not be able to stay without each other for a long time. But he was not aware that the trust between them would change permanently, and that would affect them forever.
More than a month passed by and Sam finally melted; so did Rachel. Each day it was difficult for Rachel to live without Sam. There were many times that she felt like calling him to talk to him and to tell him how much she missed him,
but she controlled her feelings. The way Sam had taken her for granted and after some of his actions, it would be silly for Rachel to talk to him before he realized his mistake. But she was ready to make a compromise and let go of the past, if only for a stable future. With Harvey’s help the two started talking and sorting out matters. Rachel came back to stay with Sam after a few months, almost at the end of her TB medications tenure. Sam also understood the problem and removed Lisa from her job as she was actually trying to lure him. Things were settling between them, but something was amiss. Trust. It was lost from Rachel’s end.
* * *
‘Rachel, hello? Where are you? Lost?’ asked Harvey as Rachel had taken so much time to answer his question. Sam and Rachel had been going over a particularly difficult time in her life, when she was first diagnosed with TB and her relationship with Sam had hit rock-bottom. Rachel’s wine glass was empty and she seemed back in the present. Harvey took a bigger sip of whiskey as Rachel turned her gaze from the window and focused her attention on him.
‘It damages you completely, Harvey,’ said Rachel in a philosophical way which only confused Harvey.
‘What? It’s been a couple of years to your treatment, have you still not recovered properly?’ asked Harvey.
‘No ... I was talking about Sam. The pain he gave me still exists inside me as a weight which I will have to carry around. Even after years, it will be a semi-memory, but still a form of knowledge. Trust is a heavy word, which makes you weak if broken,’ said Rachel. The conversation was taking a form Harvey had been expecting.