12. A victory

More than a reset, Jo needed a proper rest. Right after graduating from university, she moved away, far from everyone she knew. She lived in a completely unknown environment and started everything from scratch. All she had achieved so far was due to her determination and hard work.

She was very proud of herself but she had been working so hard over the past few years. She couldn't remember the last time she had allowed herself to a moment of weakness. When she had a cold or even pharyngitis or bronchitis, she continued to go to work unless she had a high fever and couldn't get out of bed, in which case she stayed home.

Immediately after graduation, she had joined the corporate "rat race” in which she lost herself for several years, but that was the reality of the labour market when she finished university. There was no other choice. If you wanted a job, you had to be a good and cheap slave, especially if you had no experience.

After changing jobs, she had a problem with showing weakness so far. Her vision of a perfect employee, even a boss, did not take into account normal human weaknesses such as being sick. She didn't even notice when she became a typical workaholic.

Feeling quite ill, she just ate a small portion of the lunch that Matthew had left for her. For the first time since her holiday began, she checked her email box. She was terrified of the number of the emails she might have received. Usually, she did it several times a day, so she didn't really realize the number of responsibilities she was undertaking.

It was only Tuesday. She had only been gone for less than a week and her inbox was almost full. She wondered what the others, who should have taken over while she was away, were doing. She just changed the return message that she would be back next week and asked to contact her assistant if necessary.

She was a real workaholic. She was well aware of this but the desire to be in control of her professional responsibilities was stronger. Life cannot be replaced with only work, she knew that. Looking at her almost full inbox, she made a decision that it was time to start fighting against her workaholism. She was determined this time around.

In addition, Jo was aware that her old, painful ailment - stomach ulcers, had probably returned. She had fought it for years and already thought she had won this battle against her illness. But she was wrong and now, she had to visit a gastroenterologist.

She put her laptop back in the backpack and decided not to open it until the next Monday. The decision to do so was really special in her case. She couldn't remember when she put her laptop away for that long. She also decided to significantly reduce her time spent with her mobile phone. Hence, she muted it.

Jo made a huge pot of her favourite, Russian earl grey tea and wanted to go to bed. She still felt some stomach discomfort, nausea, and felt weak overall. She knew what she was doing wrong. She had poisoned herself and it was not only the alcohol's fault, but also the constant stress and exhaustion that had been accumulating for a long time.

As she passed by the bookshelves, she decided to take some book to read. She was delighted with Matthew's collection. There were all the books written by Clive Cussler, one of her favourite writers, as well as a lot of books by Michael Crichton and Duncan Falconer. What surprised her more was to see all of John Grishams' novels.

Matthew had a similar taste to hers. All in all, their whole team read similar kinds of books and listened to almost the same music. They often went to concerts in smaller groups, so it couldn't be otherwise. Without looking at the titles, Jo chose one novel written by Cussler. She loved the adventures of Dirk Pitt and his childhood friend Al Giordino.

After a few hours, a sharp pain woke her up. It was already dark outside. It looked like she had slept all afternoon. She sat up and took a moment to regain her thoughts before she walked out to find Matthew in the kitchen.

"Hi, how was your day?" She asked, but didn't wait for him to answer. "Could you drive me to the emergency?"

"Good evening, Jo! What's wrong?" Asking that, he got up from the table he was sitting on.

At that same moment, Mike entered the kitchen from the dining room.

"Hi, girl! No need. I am here." He said.

Jo just noticed his presence. She was holding her stomach. Her face was white as a paper sheet. She had beads of sweat on her forehead as she slightly hunched over in pain.

"Pain? Did you eat?"

"I should go to the hospital." She replied.

"I got all your blood test results. You have inflammation of the stomach lining, caused by a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. I have to take you to get a gastroscopy done to see the condition of your mucosa and stomach walls." Mike said.

"I told him… " Matthew cut in. He knew that she had it before.

"Infection with Helicobacter pylori requires antibiotic treatment. In other cases, drugs that inhibit the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach or protect the gastric mucosa are used." Mike tried to explain in simple words that she should stop being so perfect. He wanted to tell her that her body was desperately demanding a rest, but knowing her, she would show him the middle finger so he had to use other arguments. The only ones that came to his mind at that moment were only medical arguments.

"A stomach ulcer is a crater-shaped defect in the stomach or duodenum. It can also form in the lower esophagus, which is sometimes exposed to stomach acid. Usually, however, ulcers form in the part of the digestive tract where pepsin, an enzyme that digests proteins, is present." Looking at her pale face, he wondered if she was listening to him at all.

"The cavities in the stomach or duodenal wall vary in size - from peppercorns, cherry pits to a few centimeters. A stomach ulcer can be several millimeters deep, and can even go through the full thickness of the stomach or the duodenal wall."

"I know." She said without fail.

"You know! And?" Mike hesitated for a moment. "If you know, then why don't you do anything about it?"

Jo didn't know how to answer this question diplomatically. She was aware, but lately she had been so busy that she didn't have time to think about it until the time of meeting their group came around, and the pain and ailments were not so bothersome by then.

"I know you so well! Damn workaholic! You even dared to drink alcohol!" He was furious but there was no sense to fight, she was in pain. "I have got all the medication for you, but we will leave the hard conversation between the patient and the doctor for later. Just one thing.” Mike said, giving her a big paper bag with a logo of a pharmacy in front.

"Treatment of peptic ulcer disease should also be supported by a proper diet, and most importantly, lifestyle changes. So, think about it!" 

At that exact moment, they heard the sound of a phone ringing.

Mike went to the living room upon hearing his phone ring. Jo could hear him pick up his call and pieced the bits of conversation that she could intentionally hear to find that he was talking about work. He came back after a few minutes.

Jo was already sitting with all the bottles and pills on the table. There was already a lot of food too. It looked like Matthew was serving the dinner. Mike was happy about it since not only was he tired, he was also very hungry.

"By the way, I won the court trial." Matthew stated very proudly.

"Wow! Congratulations!" Said a happy Jo. "Hello Paris!"

"You deserved it, Bro!" Added Mike while serving a huge portion of steamed vegetables and steak on his plate.

"As you wish, Jo. I already got the tickets. I even packed my suitcase." Mathew stated without any emotions in his voice.

"Did I hear correctly? Where? When?" She didn't really get what he just said.

"We are flying to Paris tomorrow morning." He added with a poker face.

"That's great! I am happy for you guys." She was really happy. He really deserved a rest.

"You and me." Matthew was speaking with a poker face, carefully watching her reaction. "That damn friend," He pointed at Mike, "has to work tomorrow, so he has not much choice."

Jo was speechless; Mike was the same. He was curious about her reaction. Will she explode into rage? Will she accept the sudden trip? They bet on it an hour ago.