Chapter 3 How We Met

" Are you okay? What did you eat?" Martin asked as he ran to her aid.

" I can't remember. Martin! The pain is becoming more unbearable, ahhh!" She groaned in pain.

" You need to see a doctor, can you walk? Never mind, I will carry you to the car." He said, and carried her on his back, carried her bag and walked hurriedly to the car.

He placed her in the back seat; soon, he reached the driver's seat, fumbled for the keys, and, with trembling hands, started the engine. The roar of the air filled the air as he sped away.

At the hospital, a doctor and nurses were attending to Helen; a nurse walked into the ward with the test results and handed them over to the doctor.

The doctor came out of the ward, Martin walked hurriedly towards him;

" Doctor, how is she now?" He said, looking worried.

" She's stable now, the test results are out." The doctor said,

" What's the problem, doctor?" Martin asked with his heart pounding fast.

" Calm down, Mr. Martin. It's just food poisoning, she ate something that wasn't good for her body system, but she'll be fine. The nurses are attending to her already." The doctor assured him.

" Ok doctor, will she be discharged today?" Martin asked, he had been relieved of his fear.

" Sure, she'll be on bed rest for a few hours and will be discharged afterwards. Come with me to my office, you have a list of drugs you need to get for her." The doctor said as he led the way.

" Ok, doctor," Martin said as he walked after him.

Later that night, Helen was discharged from the hospital. On their way out, they bumped into a lady who was crying profusely. They wondered what the problem was with her. Helen stopped to ask;

" What's the problem? Why are you crying?"

" It's my mum; she has been diagnosed with kidney disease; she needs a donor and surgery, but there's no money to pay a donor or for the surgery." The lady said, tearfully.

" What of your dad or any of her relatives? How are they trying to help in this situation?" Martin asked.

" She's a single mom, I don't know my dad, I never met him and as for her relatives, I don't know any of them, she doesn't talk about them and whenever I try to ask her, she changes the topic, so she's the only family I have." The lady said as she wailed heavily.

" What's your name?" Helen asked calmly.

" Evelyn." She said,

" Ok, Evelyn, I think we can help, but you'll do something for us in return," Helen said softly.

" What! Helen, what are you doing?" Martin asked with his eyes wide open.

" Shut up! You're the one in need of help, not me, so let me help you in the little way I can, and if it doesn't work, you sort yourself out afterwards. Evelyn, are you in?" Helen asked without a glance at her; she was looking at Martin, who was looking at her with disbelief.

" Whatever it is, I'm ready to do it, as long as it will provide the money for my mum's surgery," Evelyn said as she wiped her tears with her hands.

" Good girl. Ok, come with us to the car, we can't say it here." Helen said with a smile and she led the way.

Martin followed her, shaking his head. He wasn't buying the idea at all, but Helen wouldn't let him have a say at the moment; Evelyn also followed them to the car.

They got into the car, Helen did all the talking, Martin didn't utter a word, he hated the situation his father had put me in, he wished Helen would accept to marry him, but he knew her to be very adamant, so he already knew that she meant it when she said she wasn't ready for marriage.

After Helen was done explaining the situation and the pay that would come with it. Evelyn refused;

" So, you want to have a contract marriage with your boyfriend? What kind of girlfriend are you? If you truly love him, why not just marry him instead of hiring someone? Ain't you scared of losing him to another woman?" She asked, looking disappointed.

" Am I to be scared of losing my boyfriend? To who exactly, you? You that even afford to pay for your mum's medical bills, are you the one who is going to choose over you? Nah, my man doesn't eat trash." Helen said rudely.

" I won't sit here and watch you insult me or my mum, never! I never asked for your help; you offered to help; I thought you had a better thing to say, but you both just wasted my time. I'm out of here!" Evelyn yelled, breathing heavily.

" Not so fast," Helen said as she pressed the car lock button.

She wrote Martin's house address on a piece of paper and gave it to Evelyn;

" Just in case you change your mind, which I know will happen because you'll be a bad child if you have an opportunity to save my mum from dying but you watch her die without doing anything," Helen said and unlocked the car

Evelyn stormed out of the car angrily, without saying a word.

" That was rude, you shouldn't have spoken to her in that manner and tone," Martin said, looking away.

" So you can speak? I thought you were dumb. Just start the car and take me out of this place!" Helen yelled.

Martin started the engine and drove off without replying to her, he was too tired to begin an argument with her that night.

They were at home; it was midnight already; Martin's phone kept buzzing; his dad had been calling him, but he refused to pick up.

" Ain't you going to pick up your calls? Your phone has been buzzing all night. If I may ask, who has been calling you?" Helen asked as she lay on the couch to stretch her body.

" My dad, I'm not in for his drama tonight," Martin asked, walking into the kitchen.

" Oh, I see! But do you think it's a good idea not to pick up his calls? Why not just pick and hear what he has to say?" She advised me.

" I'm not ready to hear anything, I've had enough drama today. Maybe tomorrow I'll return his calls." Martin said at the top of his voice from the kitchen.

" Maybe? Are you... ... ... ... ... ... ..."

A knock on the door interrupted Helen, the knock came heavily from the door. Martin rushed out of the kitchen, and Helen sat upright; they were both confused.

" Who could be knocking on your door by this time? Could it be your dad?" Helen asked, looking worried.

She knew if Donald met her there, he would assume she was the lady Martin wanted to settle down with and she wasn't ready for marriage yet.

" I don't know, let me check," Martin said and tiptoed to the door.

He opened the door and he was shocked to see who was at his doorstep.