Chapter 5

Third person's point of view

‘Flashback continues…!

After reading the key points of the contract Of surrogacy, she framed it according to the given terms and clauses. She shuts down her laptop before wrapping up all her work and leaving for home. AS usually, her father was waiting for her for lunch.   After having lunch with her father, she retired to her room to take an afternoon nap as she needs to recharge her body to work at the bar at night. She closed her eyes to get some sleep but that surrogacy contract thing was rotating in her mind.

 The surrogacy type of thing is new to her young mind. She had already heard about the word and knew what it is but knowing what conditions & terms a girl needed to follow for being a surrogate terrified her. 

She developed mixed emotions towards the girl who is bound into the surrogacy contract just for the money. She wondered what kind of problems that girl was facing that she would opt to carry a child for nine months in her womb and then hand it over to the couple and the worst thing is she would not be able to meet the child after the handover. She exhaled loudly and closed her eyes and eventually sleep took over her. 

After two weeks

It was ten in the night, she was busy serving as there were a lot of customers due to the weekend and Alexa was also on a week's leave. She got a call from her neighbour, Mrs Jones. She informed Alice that her husband found her father lying unconsciously in the park near their house. They admitted him to a nearby hospital and asked her to come as soon as the doctor wanted her presence immediately in the hospital to discuss her father's situation. She almost dropped her phone on the floor. Tears started to well up in her eyes. 

Jason was serving near her table. He saw the pale face of Alice with tears running out of her big beautiful eyes. He knew that something was seriously wrong with her. He served the consumers and left to see Alice. She told him about her father in between her small cries. "Girl, you need to stop crying and leave the hospital as soon as possible." He said and it worked. She wiped her tears and started to move towards the dressing room but stopped midway. Seeing her stopping in her midway Jason reached her." What happened?" She looked towards the manager of the bar who was talking to the VIP customers. Don't worry about him. I will handle this. Now leave and don't worry. He will be okay." He said with an encouraging positive smile. 

   

Before she could reach the reception desk, she spotted her neighbour near the entrance. "Mrs Jones?"She wiped her tears and ran towards her. Jones's family lived in the opposite apartment of her’s. They are very kindhearted people who supported Alice and her father in their early days in this new country. Mrs Jones's nephew Jake, one of her co-workers and friend from the bar helped her to get the job in the bar.   "Oh! Alice, my child, thank god you came. I was waiting for you only here." She said while wiping her tears.  "Where is my dad? How is he? She asked, wiping her tears harshly, leaving redness on her pale cheeks. "Come with me, my child. The doctor wants to meet you. She said and took Alice with her. As soon as she reached the ward, she was greeted by the doctor. “He is the one who is treating your  father.” Mrs Jones informed her. "What happened to my father, doctor?" She asked with hope in her eyes, believing that the doctor will say that her dad is fine  there is nothing to worry about but her hopes got crushed badly as soon as the doctor opened his mouth to reply. 

"Your father suffered Coronary Artery Spasm or you can say silent heart attack in simple language." He said and after a few seconds pause, he continued. " The main artery is 95% blocked, unable to provide enough blood to lower parts of the body Right now there is no severe or permanent damage. But he needed surgery to remove the blockage. I will advise you to get him operated on as soon as possible or else I am sorry to say but he will not be able to make it in the second heart attack." He informed her and left to attend to other patients. 

Alice was standing like a statue after listening to her father's situation from the doctor, finding it hard to digest that her father got a heart attack. "Alice, don’t think too much. Everything will be fine soon. Go and meet your father. He is waiting for you. Call me if you need anything.” Mrs Jones comforted her while rubbing her back. Alice came back to her senses and without saying anything she entered her father’s ward. 

“Dad!” It came out as a whisper. She saw her father laying on the bed unconsciously, under the influence of the medicines. She was feeling like a complete failure. She failed to protect her father. She failed to take care of her father properly. She took his wrinkled hand into her small one and started crying badly. "I am sorry, dad! I am so sorry." After losing her mother at a tender age now she is on the verge of losing her father in her early twenties. She didn't know how much time has passed while sitting with her dad. She came back to her sense after a nurse came into the ward and informed Alice that the doctor is calling her. She kept his hand on the bed carefully and started following the nurse to the cabin. 

"Please take a seat, Miss Grey." The doctor said and Alice sat down. He forwarded a file towards her and said, “ Here is the report of Mr Grey. We can say it is a severe case. I will suggest you get him operated on within a month only or after that we will be not able to save him without the surgery." She goes through the file with a heavy heart but her hand pauses at the page of fee structure.  The price of her father's surgery with the expensive medicines is too much that she can’t afford. "Four Million Dollars." The amount came out as whispered from her mouth. The doctor understands her condition and starts justifying the fee structure.