Dominick Farnsworth

Sophia

I stared at her as she slept peacefully with her small chest rising and falling in a steady pattern under the blue sheet. She had an oxygen mask placed on her face, and the soft rhythmic hiss of air reminded me of how terrified I was speeding frantically down the streets of New Jersey. There were several emotions running through me, but the profound ones were those of fear and at the same time relief that it wasn’t as bad as my mother had sounded on the phone.

“Mom, you scared the shit out of me,” I said almost as a whisper to my mum who was seated on another chair close to mine.

“’What was I supposed to do?” I had never seen such a thing in my life. You wouldn’t be sounding this way if you had experienced what I did.”

“It has happened to her before.”

My mother’s eyes widened.

“When did this happen?” She asked.

“It’s been over a year now,” I replied.

“Sophia, such a thing has happened before and you didn’t bother saying anything to me?”

“I didn’t want to trouble you with it, ma, moreover, the doctors had told me it wasn’t serious, and it had a very low likelihood of recurring.”

“Regardless, you should have told me about it. You have always kept secrets from me and I don’t like it.”

“This is not the place to talk about that, mom. I know how fragile your heart is and so I did not want you getting worried unnecessarily,” I explained.

“You are doing a good job protecting my heart. I almost had a heart attack when Beryl was having a seizure.”

I knew I should have said something to my mom about what had happened to Beryl, but I always loved doing things my own way, and since the doctor had said it wasn’t serious, I didn’t see the need to tell her.

I had gotten to the hospital my mother had mentioned about thirty minutes after she called. A nurse had directed me to her ward and I was now seating by Beryl’s bedside.

Just then the door of the ward creaked open, and a nurse stepped in and offered us a reassuring smile.

“She’s going to get better real soon," she said.

“Thank you,” I replied, “But I need to see the doctor in charge,” I added.

“Sure. You can come with me after I am done here,” she answered.

I watched as she went on to check the IV drip and adjusted the oxygen flow. She took down some notes and when she was done, she turned to me.

“You can come with me now,” she said.

“I’ll be back,” I said to my mom and followed the nurse out of the ward.

She led me down a hallway and as I followed her, I felt my head pounding. I was still suffering the effects of alcohol which had been worsened by panic thanks to my mom’s phone call. We got to an office towards the end of the hallway and the nurse knocked twice on the door before letting herself in.

“Beryl Cloveland’s mum,” she said to the doctor.

He looked up from the pile of documents he had been staring at and I froze.

“Sophia!”

Impossible.

Asides, the fact his voice had gotten a bit deeper, it hadn’t changed much.

“Nathan?”

“Sophia!” He exclaimed getting up from his chair. “It’s been so long,” he added as he walked towards me before embracing me in a tight hug. No matter what I was feeling at that moment. One thing was sure, and that was I needed a hug badly.

“How have you been?” I asked him after we let go of each other.

“Not bad. What about you?”

“Well, I am in your office to talk to you, so.”

“Please have a sit,” he said, returning to his chair.

“It’s been so long, Sophia. I almost didn’t recognize you. I haven’t seen you since the game.”

The game.

I swallowed hard when he mentioned it. It had been a football game and our college was in the finals and Nathan was one of the players. I had told him I wanted to breakup after he and his team had won the match. Nathan wasn’t a bad guy, but I no longer felt a connection to him. To put it more accurately, I was starting to fall for John. Nathan was a medical student and didn’t have much time for me, and I needed someone who would always be close to me. It was during the time we were dating that John had come along and had gradually swept me off my feet.

I just couldn’t believe I would run into my ex the very same day I had made up my mind to leave my husband, and to make matters worse, he was Beryl’s doctor. It seemed as if the universe had chosen this day to punish me for all my sins, and for leaving Nathan without any valid explanation for it.

Two hours later, I stepped back into the night, glancing at my watch, I realized it was a few minutes past midnight. I kept thinking about my conversation with Nathan as I drove home. He had kept it professional for the most part and we didn’t speak much about old times as we hadn’t parted in the best of ways. However, he had asked me out for a drink and although, I wanted to decline, I consented as respect and gratitude for taking care of my Beryl.

What a day it was.

I had to get back home now as tomorrow was a big day in my company. We were merging with another corporation and a meeting was scheduled to take place in the morning.

I woke up late the next day, and I had dragged myself out of bed and hastily got ready before heading for work. I got to work and I hurried to the boardroom where the meeting was to take place.

“Sophia!”

I stopped in my tracks when I heard the voice of my boss, David from behind me.

“Good morning, sir,” I greeted as I approached him.

“Come with me,” he said and started walking in the opposite direction from the board room. “You don’t look too well,’ he noted.

“I had a rough day, yesterday.”

“I need you to stay sharp, Sophia.”

“Alright sir, but aren’t we supposed to supposed to be having our meeting at the boardroom?”

“Change of plans. The new chairman would like to meet with the various division heads before the general meeting,” he replied.

“Okay. But this new chairman, I haven’t heard of him before. How is he?”

“He’s a thorough and principled man, Sophia. A stickler for rules and efficiency. You have to always be at the top of your game.”

“What’s his name again?” I asked.

“Dominick Farnsworth.”

We got to a big mahogany door with a gold plated inscription placed on it that read: ‘Chairman’.

“After you,” he said, opening the door for me to go in.

I opened the door and I froze. The first thing that hit me was that unique musk perfume. When I glanced up, I was met with the sight of a familiar figure seated behind the big mahogany desk. He stared at me with the same intensity back then at the elevator lobby, only this time, that devilish smile of his was absent.

Impossible.

“You must be Sophia Cloveland,” he said. “Please have a seat.”