Story: Falling

I reached for the last bottle of wine in my kitchen and poured myself a glass. I slowly sipped the red wine and pondered, “Life can’t be better than this.” I was gaining some momentum in life; no more sulking over what I lost, there was no one who could steal the limelight from me… and the sex, so good. At this stage of my life, I wasn’t just a peripheral in the background, I was the star. For a very long time, I didn’t know who I was, and now I can be whomever I want to be.

The doorbell rang, and there stood my best friend, Charlene.

Charlene looked dazzling wherever she went, always so radiant that she could light up a whole room. She was the star of any party, and I remembered our university days when we would get drunk together on Sunday nights, but would still make it to class on Monday morning, a little hungover but lucid. Those were the days when I was known as the fun and carefree Alicia before I became the honourable Datin Seri Alicia, wife of Dato’ Seri Azim.

“There’s a store opening at TRX. Who’s who in town will be there, and I’m talking men. A little bird said that Johan Karim just got divorced quietly. I don’t know how much he settled with that wastrel wife of his, but I doubt he’d let her leave him with just a pair of Loro Piana loafers. Luck is a situation when preparation meets opportunity, darling. With how you’re looking these days, you’re more than prepared.”

“I don’t know. I don’t feel like it.”

“You’re not still shagging that business partner of yours, are you? Does he make you reach Mount Everest? Every time?”

“Oh my!” We laughed hysterically and I mulled over the last time I met Jamie.

My phone rang.

“Datin Seri? I’m the nurse from your daughter’s school. I’m afraid that there’s a slight emergency with your daughter. She fell off the swing and we’ve taken her to the ER…”

The words after ‘fell’ and ‘ER’ were hazy to my ears. I accidently pushed the wine glass and it dropped to the floor and shattered.

“What’s the matter, darling? You look ghastly pale.” “It’s Alya. She fell…”I sobbed and almost went hysterical. A sudden guilt overshadowed me. What kind of a mother was I if I was not present when my daughter needed me? Why was I not there when she was playing on the swing? If any harm came to her, I could never forgive myself.

Charlene looked alarmed and said, “Go, darling.”

I grabbed my keys and briskly walked down the stairs to the main lobby and down the carpark. In the spur of the moment, I typed in Jamie’s name on my phone to call him. “Jamie, something bad happened. Alya fell…”

There was a moment of silence before Jamie said, “Sorry babe. Can’t speak to you now. I’m in a meeting. Call later.”

He hung up. Those were his only words during a time of emergency when I needed someone to comfort me. Frustrated and disappointed with Jamie to the point of disgust, I muttered to myself, “Great. Just great,” while hot tears streamed down my cheeks.