Chapter 5 WITHIN MERIDIAN WALLS

"...What a hospital phonecall brings..."

Amanda glanced at her mom and zoomed the vehicle faster.

"Amanda, slow down." Queen Shark said.

"But you're feeling pain." Amanda asked.

"I'm okay, don't speed."

Amanda slowed the car down. "Okay, we're already here."

She drove into the premises of Meridian hospital, glancing at the side mirror where she noticed the royal bodyguards behind her in their SUV, though she had refused them. A visit to the hospital for her mom's check-up was a private affair. If there was a spy sneaked into the royal bodyguards, which was a well known possibility, it was too much of a risk for her mother's position. King Shark could be persuaded with any excuse to dethrone his Queen, and a rumor of sickness was the best reason.

Meridian hospital was the undeclared favorite of society's elite. Every Naija family with excess money to spare, came to Meridian. A four story building, dressed in white paint, that made the hospital building seem like it was built with white blocks. Such was the magnificence of the building, even the square shaped windows on every side, could be mistaken for small television sets. Amanda loved the fresh flowers, hovering in her sight and welcoming her, as she drove into the compound. Their names were familiar; daffodils, azaleas, sunflowers etc. The mango and pear trees had their usual fruits, and she sometimes wondered if someone plucked them. Though a princess wasn't allowed to wonder such things. And worse, would be if she dared to speak about it. For those were the affairs of commoners, lower people, not princesses.

The hospital's garage was an army of millions to multimillions. Bugatti Veyron, Rolls Royce Cullinan, Lamborghini Aventador and all what not. Cars that would cost lives and sell souls. Royalties had an attraction for the latest vehicles, and some would go far as paying car companies, for specially made custom cars. The sole aim, was impressing others. Two uniform men with walkie talkies, were on standby, once Amanda parked her car and alighted with the Queen.

"You're welcome, your highnesses. " One of them said.

"Thank you." Amanda replied, and they were escorted to the walkway. Queen Shark waved some familiar faces as they went, without stopping for a chat. One of them was a governor's wife. Some were top women in government, some were products of generational wealth and others were rich women in their husband's wealth.

The proper order of activities in Meridian hospital, propelled a slight disorder into Amanda. It was usual for her to see the nurses writing and tapping computers while giving out information and holding discussions, doctors rushing through doors for emergency patients, cleaners with mops and buckets, hunting for every speck of dust, LED light bulbs in the ceilings, shining on light blue walls and wood looking floors.

Everything was usual and it normalized the jumpiness in her stomach, which began since her mom's first diabetic diagnosis. She kept sneaking a glance on her mom, but avoiding her mom's eyes, till they got to the private elevator. Her mom's walking steps were steady and normal. The private elevator was a privilege they enjoyed as royalty. It was used only by movers and shakers of the hospital, such as the chief executive and medical director.

Amanda attempted to quieten her nerves by forcing herself into sharing a smile with her mom and keeping her eyes on the elevator. She noticed the cabin buttons of hospital elevators had lower positions, the lighting was less bright and the doors were wider compared to regular elevators. Such details weren't new to her, but it did nothing on her nerves. At top floor, when the elevator stopped, and the doors slid open, her heartbeat was still pumping without ease. A nurse welcomed the royal women and took over the escorting role fom the security guards, who remained in the elevator as it went down, while Amanda and Queen Shark stepped out.

***

The nurse opened the door to Doctor Hillsong's office. He was a dark man in his fifties, medicated glasses, formal dressing, white lab coat and having a stethoscope hang around his neck. He exchanged greetings with the Queen and complimented Amanda's beauty. Amanda smiled at him, wishing they could fast forward past the medical checkup, and he would say Princess, your mom is completely fine.

Queen Shark had the added privilege of a hotel-quality hospital room. It contained a personal chosen bed with luxury bed sheets, a kitchenette, fluffy bathrobe on the bathroom door, African painting and a stand by nurse. The royal family were regular in their donations to the hospital. Therefore, treating high profile customers with the best rooms, was good for buisness.

Doctor Hillsong took out his stethoscope. The nurse prepared x-ray machine, syringes and other equipments for the checkup. Queen Shark laid on the bed joking about falling asleep in the softness of the sheets, Amanda held a pretence smile, because the turbulent opponent of her mom's body was staring her in the face. She had refused to acknowledge it. Yet it was so obvious in her sight, sending worrying currents underneath her skin. She allowed the professionals do their job and stepped outside.

***

Amanda sat on a sofa, scrolling through her phone, shuffling back and forth between her thoughts and Twitter messages. How could I have missed it? The dragging steps, non-stop tiredness, sudden pains in her mother's knees and back. Her heart was thumping at predictions of what Doctor Hillsong tests might reveal, when the phone rang into her thoughts. Her father, King Shark. She breathed a sigh and answered. When she greeted him, some questions sprang up within her. Why couldn't you attend Enya's burial? Why couldn't you forgive her? Her mouth hesitated and chose not to ask.

"Amanda, Ibo lo wa - where are you?" King Shark asked. His tone hinted to Amanda that there was government work. Though it was the major reason for majority of their phone conversations. She was tempted to switch off the call, yet she wouldn't dare.

"I took mommy for her checkup. She was feeling some pain." Amanda said.

"Your mother and her pains."

"The Doctor is running tests and-"

"The Chief of Army Staff called me..."

Amanda wanted to yell at herself, for trying to make him care. "Oh..."

"He said there's an American lawyer who filed a lawsuit against the government at the ICJ, regarding this whole ENDSARS nonsense..."

"Oh..." Amanda saw the direction. The news of a man suing the Naija government had exploded on social media, and she would have to bear the consequence of being involved.

"You know what he expects from you. Surprisingly, this case is very important to him. He has promised a third kingdom, if you handle it smoothly..."

Amanda's lips remained tight, refusing to force out the usual pretence of excitement, which he expected.

"Did you hear my words?"

"I heard."

"You should be happy, you know what this means to our family. From their investigation, the man suing the government is an American lawyer. His name is Dagogo Hart."

"Oh, damn..." Amanda whispered under her breath and closed her eyes for a second, upon hearing Dagogo's name. In that second, his face appeared in her imagination.

"You know him?"

"Not really."

"Anyway, you know your job, find out if he's someone a bribe can handle. Then if you want someone else to take care of your mother, so you can focus-"

"No, I'll take care of her."

"Alright, we'll talk later." King Shark ended the phone call.

Amanda dropped the phone to her lap. Of all people, it had to be Dagogo Hart. They had attended the same American law school. Never saying a word to each other, but she had liked his face. After law school, she had returned to Naija and moved on with her life. Years later, fate will have it that they encounter themselves in an American court. A Naija rural community had filed a lawsuit against an American oil company, for crude oil spillages in their environment. Oil companies were treasures to the Chief Of Army Staff, very important for government money.

Amanda's mission had been to kill the case, by getting it thrown out of court. A mountain of a task with Dagogo's punching arguments, convincing the judges. King Shark had increased the tension on her with a threat of dethroning her mother. In order to preserve her mother's position, she had resorted to financial muscle. She had bribed Dagogo's witnesses into changing their testimonies. The move had worked. She watched Dagogo stutter in the courtroom, watching his witnesses lie and deny him, till the judge gave judgement in her favor. King Shark had celebrated a new kingdom and the Chief of army staff had sent her praises.

In a bid to find peace with her conscience, she had asked Dagogo to a drink. Then one drink had become two drinks, and two drinks became an affair with a married man. Until reality crashed through her fantasy and she found herself running back to Naija. After a successful disappearance from Dagogo's life, her subconscious tried to picture what seeing Dagogo would feel like, until the nurse intruded and called her to Doctor Hillsong's office.

***

When Amanda entered Doctor Hillsong's office, he was shifting papers on his desk and writing. There was nothing to suggest anything was wrong, till he raised his head and there was a firmness in his eyes as he dropped his pen. Amanda sat down with a banging in her chest like a loud gong, something like - Boom - slight pause - Boom.

"Princess, your mom, did she keep to the diet as we discussed?"

"Yes, while I was around, she did, until I travelled for a case."

"Did she follow the diet while you were gone?"

Amanda restored her normal breathing to think. "I was calling her and she told me she was eating accordingly."

Doctor Hillsong exhaled air and his face tightened. Those were wrecking seconds for Amanda, waiting for his words.

"You can tell she added weight, isn't it?"

"I...I noticed." Amanda's heart ticked once again.

"We ran blood, saliva and urine tests, and we found that your mom has hormonal imbalance. Based on the results from tests we have conducted before, it leads me to the conclusion that your mom struggles to maintain a healthy body weight, even through medically-supervised dieting..."

The office was becoming hot for Amanda, and it was not the air conditioner's fault.

"Princess, in order to prevent the possibility of obesity, your mom requires surgery. That's the best way to proceed."

"Surgery..."

The pressure within Amanda rose to the top and levelled down, as if it was saying the worst had come and there was no escape route.

"Weight-loss surgery to be specific. The one I would recommend is a procedure called Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy which involves..."

The Doctor's words muffled into a blur. Amanda was failing to follow. It was either because Doctor Hillsong used a lot of medical terms, or the complicated details of the document explaining the specific surgical procedure, which he handed to her.

***

Amanda dragged her palm across her face, though there were no tears. When she entered the Queen's hospital room she tried to balance her breathing against the stress of her heart. Queen Shark was discussing over the phone, speaking in Yoruba language. Her mother's body fat was evident in Amanda's sight, pushing through the hospital gown which was usually worn for checkups. It was a familiar enemy.

Amanda had convinced herself of her energy to conquer her mother's weight, encouraging her mom on the diet, monitoring the meals and arguing with Queen Shark into making her obedient. Many times Amanda assumed she was close, but her mother's body had a spirit of its own. It also didn't help that Queen Shark enjoyed experimenting with food.

"Amanda, what's the problem?" Queen Shark asked, dropping the phone from her ear. While Amanda was standing with bad news all over her face. She drew closer to the bed and sat down.

"The doctor says you need weight-loss surgery. Mommy did you keep to the diet when I travelled?"

"When I spoke with Pastor Frank, we prayed about it. it'll be fine, don't worry. Everything will be fine."

"Mommy, even if you prayed, you should have kept to the diet..."

"Don't worry, surgery is not..." Queen Shark suspended her talk halfway, like someone who had received a shock in her body. Her eyes were became bright and her complexion was shifting. She began to vibrate, like someone who was possessed in Naija churches, where Pastors would cast out the demons.

"Mo..." Amanda gripped her shoulder. "Mom!'

"P-Pain...Amanda."

The Queen's body dumped on the bed, like a log of wood, and she lost consciousness.

"Doctor!" Amanda shouted, shaking her mother.

Doctor Hillsong and the nurse rushed into the room.