A bit of it

Harry’s Pov

“Where did you run off to” June had walked out after my mom came into the room to convince me about going on that trip to the city. She had managed to change my mind and get me to go for the test.

“Nowhere, I was just in the shop having a little chat with one of the customers who refused to be different from any other person in this town and asked me about my husband and kid. Can they just get to their own business and leave me the hell alone?” she was angry and I know laughing now will only make her angrier so I decided to hold it in.

“I would’ve laughed right now but not been able to see your face is the control key. Just relax, June, they’re just trying to get on your nerves and you can’t let them be successful with that”

“I’ll try” I nodded and smiled at the fact that I was able to calm her down with what I said. Its June anyway, you can calm her down with anything. This June that I know now is different from the June from high school. That June was a crazy teen while this June is more and far better. Guess people change then.

“So, what’s your final decision about going to the city?” she asked

“I’ll be going there the day after tomorrow with Veronica or you but that’s only if you want to go with me” A part of me wanted her to say yes, that she’ll very much love to go with me and I just can’t explain the reason maybe it’s due to the fact that I don’t want the grumpy Veronica who will do nothing but nag until the world said it’s enough.

“I’m sorry I won’t be able to go with you, I need to visit someone and it’s very important” 

“Ooh, it’s okay. You don’t have to be sorry about that and its alright too. Guess I’m stuck with Veronica then” I replied and I felt bad but quickly pushed the feeling to the back of my mind. “Don’t have too much fun there without me” I joked

“As if”

&

Wednesday came like a flash and before I knew it I was in my room waiting for Veronica to come in and help pack some of my clothes since we’ll be staying till Friday. June had insisted on doing it yesterday but I refused telling her to go home and prepare for her trip too. She had left after baking the world’s most ridiculous cake and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing when mom and Veronica were laughing at how awful the cake looked and judging from the taste, I knew it would have looked awful almost like an orangutan. She still insisted that- that was the best cake she ever baked and I couldn’t help to wonder how horrible the rest were. Mom later promised to teach her how to bake at her free period.

“What are you smiling about?” Veronica asked and I was surprised that I didn’t even notice that she was in the room already.

“Nothing”

“You’re lying, I’ve not seen you smile like that in a while” she won’t give up quickly about that and I know

“Just past memories”

“Are you sure about that? Maybe there’s a certain nurse that’s making you smile”

“Get your mind out of the gutters, Ron. It’s too filthy in there and you’re way too young for that Ron” I purposely called her that name twice because I’m aware of how much she hates being called Ron. It was the nickname that dad used to tease her with then because she looked like a boy when growing up. Ever since dad died, nobody dared to call her that name in fear of Veronica’s wrath.

“You’re being mean but I’ll let you go this time because I like this side of yours. Lets get parked quickly and be on our way. The earlier, the better, they say.” She proceeds to help me pack up my stuff and within minutes we were done.

Few minutes past noon, we were already at the office of one of the opticians in the hospital and currently waiting for the doctor coming from John Hopkins.

“Dr Harry, I’m really sorry for keeping you waiting, it’s been a long day and I still have another long day to get back to” Dr Adams said as he entered the room.

“It’s actually no problem and Dr Mason already explained to me about your schedule. I was once a doctor too so I understand your plight” I replied

“It’s actually great seeing you again. You’re obviously one of the best gynecologists in town and the hospital cannot afford to lose you” I remained silent and he proceeded with the test.

“How many am I holding up, Harry?” 

“I can’t see if its fingers or not but even though the Image before me is blur, I think six objects are being held up” Veronica groaned beside me and I realized that I have been wRong about that.

“It’s actually three fingers and that’s a good sign. Your vision is blurring, distant and doubled. You’re not totally blind and from the test result that your hospital sent to me, I can say you can’t use glasses neither can I recommend drugs that will correct it and we can’t neglect it, it’ll only get worse and that takes us to the only option left which is surgery but before I do that, you can do me a favor by coming to John Hopkins with me tomorrow for some tests” he paused for a while as I heard paper ruffling as it seems like he was looking for something. “The result I have here was done like half a year ago and we just can’t rely on those so we need to redo those tests and know where this is taking us to”

“That’s no problem Dr; we’ll come to your hospital tomorrow. Thank you so much for the help” Veronica appreciated him and after some greetings were exchanged, we left the hospital.

I was stopped on the way at several intervals by some doctors and nurses who recognized me and even though their voices were laced with pity, I was grateful that I didn’t get to see the pitiful look on their faces.

“June’s cake almost gave me phobia for cakes” we were already back at the hotel that we lodged in and as Veronica announced that she just ordered a bit of cake and pizza, my mind went to June and I couldn’t help but wonder how she was.

“That cake was terrible I almost threw up my lunch. You’re lucky you didn’t get to see what it looked like, you’ll have nightmares for days” Veronica chipped in and started laughing. 

“June is one hell of a lady and she has also changed a lot from who she used to be”

“June change? I don’t think so. She’s still who used to be. I don’t see a difference. Even mom said the same thing and I’m surprised why you people think that”

“Are you joking kid sis, the same June who’ll always find pleasure in making your life difficult and getting you in trouble and you’re telling me she has changed” I asked her

“Okay, I think I can understand you guys now. Let me explain to you. When I was in high school, I had three friends” Three friends, how come I didn’t know about that. “One was June, the other was Justine who happened to be June’s twin sister, June was a year behind us as a result of one illness that made her skip school for a year before junior high but we all moved together since June was the quiet type who didn’t make any friend. Justine was the crazy one that I use to tell you guys about anytime I come back home and I always mention June too because she didn’t deserve any of the trouble her twin sister was giving us” Twin sister. We heard the door bell ring and she stopped talking to attend to it.

“What I’m trying to say is, you guys thought Justine was June maybe because Justine always tried to tell people her name was June to get her out of trouble. But Justine is not June, they’re both different persons even though they looked alike. I don’t even think you ever encountered June in school because she was always invisible almost like she didn’t exist” she explained and I couldn’t help but wonder who it was that I approached then, was it Justine or June and I can’t even remember because I just dragged the person into the dark janitor’s closet without looking at the face and gave them a warning to stay away.

“Had it been you came for my graduation, I would’ve dragged her to you and then she wouldn’t have come closer to you because she drifted away from us.”

I felt bad because the image of the June I had in my head was not the right Image.