Miss CEO

Chapter 29

My heart was racing. It had been all day.

I clutched the flower in my hands, closer to my chest. Purple hibiscus: my dad's favorite.

We were standing in the hospital's Reception. It smelt of disinfectant and soap. The smell was almost overwhelming, and I began to feel nauseous.

"Miss Johnson." A dark-skinned nurse with short hair said appearing out of nowhere, "your father is awake now."

I smiled at her as Miss Rose squeezed my shoulders.

"I'll walk you there." She whispered in my ear.

I nodded my head, so thankful she was here with me. There was absolutely no way that I could do all this without her.

We followed the nurse from the waiting room down the hallway. The hospital was quite busy, filled with doctors and nurses running around. It just increased my anxiety levels, and I shut my eyes, reminding myself to breathe.

"Here we are." the nurse said, stopping at a door a little ahead of us, "I'd leave you to it."

I watched as she walked away, checking her clipboard as she did so. Miss Rose and I were now standing next to the door, I turned my head slowly and looked in through the window. There was a man lying on the bed, I couldn't make out much of his features from where I was standing. He was covered up to his neck in blankets and his head was turned the opposite direction from where I was.

As I watched, the man slowly turned his head, and his eyes fixated on me. I was staring into the eyes of my father. His eyes widened once he saw me.

"I'd be out here." Miss Rose whispered.

She reached down and gave my hand a little squeeze. I turned and looked at her desperately, and she smiled down at me in encouragement.

"I'm scared." I whispered, "what if he changed his mind and doesn't want to see me anymore?"

"I doubt that." Miss Rose said as she moved a braid out of my face, "go on Muna. You can do this."

I drew a sharp breath. She was right, I couldn't have come all this way for nothing.

Without another word, I turned the handle of the door and headed into the room. There my dad lay on the hospital bed, he had lots of tubes flowing through him and my heart ached just looking at him.

"Hi dad." I squeaked. When was the last time I had used that word?

"My baby." My dad said. His voice was fragile, he sounded far away.

Everything about him seemed fragile. He no longer had his little 'fro on his head, he had lost everything to the chemotherapy. His skin seemed thin and his lips were brittle. His face was covered with wrinkles and his eyes looked sunken and far away.

I moved towards him, placing the vase filled with flowers on the bedside table before standing awkwardly next to him.

My dad patted the bed next to him. His fingers were long and veiny and frail. I sat down with a gulp, rubbing my hands against my legs, feeling extremely nervous.

"Muna." My dad said smiling up at me, his lips thinned and my heart clutched.

"Hi dad." I said again. I didn't know what else to say.

"Muna." My dad repeated my name again, "is that really you?"

I nodded my head as tears brimmed at my eyes.

"I didn't think you'd come."

I watched as my father struggled painfully to get in an upright position.

He stared at me for a moment through his dark eyes, eyes which I inherited. I looked into his eyes and saw my eyes.

"I'm sorry." My father uttered those two words and broke down in tears. His shoulders shook violently, "I'm so sorry my baby."

I felt my heart break into a million pieces as I watched him cry.

"Dad." I said, reaching over and placing my hand over his, "it's okay."

"No, it's not Muna." My father said as more tears rolled down his face, "I left you alone. What kind of father does that? What kind of father abandons his daughter?"

He broke down in a new set of tears and reached over, engulfing him in a hug. After a while my father's breathing slowed down and it became steady.

"Your mother and I- we uh, we got a divorce not so long ago." My father mumbled.

"Oh." I replied dumbly.

I didn't know what exactly to think of that, in a way I had always known that it was bound to happen.

"I'm so glad you're here." My father said, reaching up and touching my face, "I needed to see you before I go."

"Before you go?" I asked in confusion, "where are you going?"

My dad was silent for a while, just looking at me. His eyes seemed sad.

"They're taking me off life support in two days."

I stared at him, new tears forming in my eyes.

"Don't cry, Muna." My father said, "everything that I need to do in life is complete. I'm so happy."

Tears were welling up in my father's eyes, likewise mine. I felt a warmth as I looked at him.

"I can see that you're happy with her." My father suddenly said.

I looked at him for a while before realizing he was talking about Miss Rose. I nodded my head, smiling.

"That's good enough for me, baby." My father said smiling up at me, "you are my world. You've always been. You were everything that I ever desired... I'm sorry that I failed you."

"No, dad." I said as new tears rolled down my face, "you didn't fail me."

My dad smiled at me softly, "I love you Muna. I'm so proud of you and the woman you're becoming."

He closed his eyes softly as I watched him.

"I love you too, dad," I murmured. I bent down and kissed him gently on his forehead as he snored lightly.

I stood up next to his bed and just stared at him; I wished I could talk to him longer. But I knew that with all the treatment he was under, he could only stay awake for short periods of time. I felt a soft hand on my back and looked up to see Miss Rose beside me.

"Hey." She said as she put her arm around my shoulder.

"Hi." I replied meekly, "I think I'm ready to go."

Miss Rose nodded, and I took one last glance of my dad snoring on the bed as I walked out of the room. He had a ghost of a smile on his face and it made me smile.

I walked with Miss Rose hand in hand back towards the waiting room.

"Muna!" I heard someone yell my name, and I looked up to see Amanda standing there. She had a smile on her face and her curly hair was packed in a huge bun above her head.

"Amanda!" I yelled, disconnecting my fingers from Miss Roses and running to embrace her.

Amanda took my face in her arms once we pulled apart. "Are you okay?"

I nodded my head, smiling at her. Amanda reached her arms around my neck and pulled me into another hug. She pulled away and stared at Miss Rose, who was standing behind me.

"Oh, hi." Amanda said, her eyes gleaming with interest.

"Hey." Miss Rose replied smiling as she reached out and shook Amanda's outstretched arm.

"It was super cool of you to send mercenaries to protect me." Amanda said.

"No problem." Miss Rose said, chuckling slightly.

I stared at the both of them as they talked amongst themselves, as a smile crept unto my lips.

I realized I was happy. Everything that I needed was right in front of me.