SIX

Vida woke up early the next morning to a call from James telling her that her father had finally gotten up. She was so elated that she promised to be there immediately; she was able to put herself together. She had a lot to do but she knew that her father had to come first. She hurried into the shower and took her bath before throwing on some casuals.

"You look especially happy this morning," Maria said as she entered the kitchen for a cup of water. "Better than yesterday at least," she added, and Vida hugged her from behind. "Which makes me conclude that you have gotten the information from James," she added, patting Vida's head gently.

"I am so excited that I can not wait to see him."

"Sure but I can not let you roam around without having breakfast first," Maria said, pulling her to the table where an array of waffles made in different forms and shapes were displayed.

"All of this for me? Or is there a feast I am not aware of?" Vida asked with wide eyes as she turned her head from side to side. She knew that Maria liked to go overboard, but she was not complaining; it felt good to be babied after a long time.

"I just wanted to make enough so you have enough to eat, and if you want, you can bring some to the hospital for Mr Manchester and James."

"I won't do that," Vida said, shaking her head before she lowered herself into the seat. She knew better than to argue with Maria about eating. The older woman would never let her go if she did not eat breakfast so she stuffed her face hurriedly and once she was done, she was in a car to the hospital.

As she approached the door of the room, she heard her father's voice, and it sounded quite stronger than she thought. She wondered who the visitor was and what he was doing there early. Sje did not mind; however, it was a thing of joy that her father was awake. She opened the door and the smile on her face dropped so fast that she was afraid of herself. 'Axel? What is he doing here?' she asked herself as she took gentle steps into the room.

Her father lifted his head, and their eyes met. "Vida? My Vida?" His voice came to her, and she could not help but hurry to his side. "Am I seeing things or is it really my daughter?" he chuckled as she rushed to his side. She tried to push back the anger and bitterness she felt from seeing Axel there. How did he manage to get there before her? She did not like that she was feeling replaced, and he still managed to find a way to make her feel even worse with all of his actions.

She passed by Axel and fell into her father's arms. He looked so healthy that anyone who had not seen him yesterday would argue tooth and nail that he had not been on life support since that time. She cleared her throat as she passed Axel and ignored the greeting he threw at her.

"It is my little girl." John's voice sounded better as soon as Vida was in his hands. "Oh, how I've missed you," he said after a while.

"You missed me, yet you act so cruel to me," Vida said, pulling away so she could look at his face. "You act like you are childless with me. I mean, why on earth would you act that way? I am your daughter, your only child, yet I had no idea that you had one heart attack and then you had two, and the doctors..." She stopped because she realised that now was not the time to talk about all those things.

Her father was not going anywhere and he had just recovered so she did not need to begin to ask him questions that might make him release. "I am just so happy to see you," she said instead of all the words raging in her brain.

"Same here," he said with a smile at her, and she returned it. "I am glad I was able to see you before I left this world."

"Dad, don't say," she said almost in a scream at him. "I know that since you got older, you like making such bad jokes but please don't make them now; this is such a sensitive time," she said.

John wanted to tell her that it was not really a joke, but he knew that she might not be able to handle it yet, so he shook his head. "Noted, ma'am," he said with a fake salute at her. He raised his head to Axel, who was just standing awkwardly like he had been pushed aside, and gestured for him to come forward.

Axel took a few steps and was at the end. Vida straightened her back and frowned. Why was her father calling Axel closer to his bed? She did not want to think of anything; she stood up to turn to him; she wanted to thank him for all he had done; after all, he might need it but before she could say or do anything, her father pulled his hand and placed it in his and then placed Axel's hand over hers before enclosing it with his second hand, leaving her confused at the situation.