Sangela City Regional Hospital was located on the outskirts of the city, precisely ten kilometres due west. Sitting on three hectares of land, it was the fifth largest hospital in the country and the largest in the southwest region. Founded in the early nineteen nineties by a group of local businessmen trying to make inroads into a growing private healthcare system, the hospital had steadily grown over the last two decades. Apart from an increase in the bed spaces from three hundred to just over two thousand, there were also a variety of specialist services included and thus it was one of the foremost medical centres in the country.
Morgan arrived thirty minutes past seven in the morning, wondering what he had done to warrant being summoned to his boss’s office. His mind had been combing over all the possible reasons but nothing stood out in particular. Five minutes later he was seated across from the man, trying his best to look unbothered. Doctor Steven Shay was a tall, slender man with thinning grey hair and thick rimmed round glasses that barely hid a pair of piercing blue eyes. He wore a navy-blue two-piece suit, a white shirt and a blue necktie. At the age of sixty-two, the man’s face looked weary from the many battles he had faced in his thirty-plus years of practice.
“Good morning Dr Shay I-” said Morgan before a raised hand cut him off.
“Morgan, I’m sure you are wondering why I called you into my office, this early in the morning,” he continued, “There will be a three day conference, out of town, discussing prospective new strategies in the diagnosis of lung cancer that could help curb not only its morbidity but also its mortality rates.”
Morgan nodded, understanding its importance but also hoping it would help the old man get to the point sooner rather than later.
“With that said, I expect that you will be in attendance this time around.”
Morgan squirmed a little in his seat upon hearing those words. He had many reasons for not attending them, chief of which was the depression he was currently battling against. Morgan always limited the amount of time he spent interacting with people because he found it mentally taxing. He was an introvert by nature, preferring his own company to that of other people.
After composing himself, Morgan replied, “With all due respect sir, I will not be attending the conference. I was made to believe that attendance of these events is optional. Undoubtedly, I will be up to date with any and all information from the conference once it has been released in this month’s medical journal. This approach has not proven to be a problem before, sir.”
A smile crept across the old man’s face, a mixture of amusement and astonishment. The facts that were laid before him were indeed true but not enough to sway his decision. With his mind already made up, Dr Shay straightened his tie, made a steeple with his hands and cleared his throat.
“Indeed, you made a valid point. However, my earlier statement still stands. A change of scenery will do you a lot of good. A very generous allowance will be provided and if the rumours are anything to go by, you really could use the money.”
Morgan Drake’s features remained inscrutable despite the fact that he was furious at what he had heard. What he did in HIS personal time with HIS money was his business and his alone. He quickly rose from his seat, thanked the doctor and stormed right out the door. The rest of his morning was spent doing a major ward round with the other resident and the attending doctors. Patients as well as their files were reviewed to see whether they made any particular progress in their treatment. While some patients were discharged, others had their treatment plans altered as the current ones gave the doctors unsatisfactory results. All in all, it took three hours to finish the major ward round in both the male and female wards covered by the unit.
As noon approached, Morgan’s phone vibrated. When he saw who the message was from, he could not help but smile. The text was short and to the point: Payaso, meet me at Pop’s diner for lunch in thirty minutes. BTW you’re paying.
Of course, the only word he knows in Spanish is clown.
Morgan arrived at Pop’s diner thirty minutes past noon, taking a moment to marvel at the building’s longevity rather than its feats of architectural brilliance. The diner was opened a decade before the hospital and very little had changed over the years, at least that was what he was told by many of the senior nurses and other staff members at the hospital. While many of the other smaller businesses around it had been bought up by well funded corporate entities, the little restaurant continued to stand in defiance as the last remaining symbol of a bygone era. The brown, wooden logs and gray stone combination gave the exterior a distinct rustic look. Simple and earthly colours of gray, brown and taupe decked the interior, providing unpretentious and organic warmth to
Though it had been a long and arduous day, largely due to several creditors taking action against one of the firm’s biggest clients, Maddison’s colleagues wanted to grab a few drinks after work to celebrate their successful triumph over this accounting emergency. She took a rain check instead and headed home. Driving along at a steady pace, her thoughts started to drift. Maddison was part of the team that initially handled the books and though she was very good at what she did, she was not perfect. Her superiors informed her that only the most seasoned professional would have spotted the small errors that she missed which did little to comfort her.
“Crap!”The week had flown by and though it was usually a good thing, Morgan was less than happy on this particular occasion. Much of his week was spent on getting his affairs in order for the trip; a little extra shopping and packing an adequate amount of clothing that were at the very least presentable, getting a much needed haircut and shave, arranging his travel documents, going through the programme for the conference and making sure his apartment was spotless before he left. On the day of his departure, Morgan begrudgingly loaded his luggage into his hatchb
She opted to drive all the way rather than fly, adding as much as thirteen to fifteen hours to her journey. Maddison was positive she could cut it down to ten if she put the pedal to the metal. The SUV she hired for the trip was certainly capable of doing the job. Her day-to-day vehicle, a convertible, was in the garage undergoing servicing and would only be ready by Sunday for pickup. Embrace the journey, not just the destination.
The flight was relatively unremarkable, with the exception of the last twenty minutes when the aircraft encountered some turbulence. It was not enough to wake up from his nap but when combined with the grumbling of concerned passengers in the cabin, he silently protested by uttering a few curse words in a low voice when he awoke from his slumber. The pilot shortly made an announcement reassuring his passengers that nothing out of the ordinary was happening, nevertheless, there were still a few pockets of dissatisfaction. Twelve minutes later, the large airliner began the banking sequence before initiating its descent. The smooth landing was greeted with audible sighs of relief from a few sections of the cabin.
Maddison managed to talk her way out of getting a ticket which inherently made her feel guilty because she generally kept things on the straight and narrow. A total of four stops had been made during the course of her road trip and currently, she was hurtling away from her fourth and final stop several kilometres out of the city of San Valentino. Apart from refuelling and using the facilities, she also stopped for meals. On more than one occasion, she fought off the urge to buy coffee or energy drinks to keep her going and instead relied on good old willpower to get her through. The sun was beginning to set, prompting her to lower the visor so she could maintain her visibility. She turned off the radio, letting the grunt of the V8 engine take its place. Motor vehicles were a sec
The first day of the conference took place in the enormous and tastefully decorated lobby on the 8th floor. No fewer than 100 delegates ranging from students, healthcare practitioners, well renowned researchers and entrepreneurs had come from all over the country. Several of the attendees were students and faculty members from sister institutions outside the country. It began at nine in the morning with an opening statement by the chairperson, which lasted exactly ten minutes. This was followed by a forty minute presentation highlighting the challenges faced by t
Maddison lay in her supremely comfortable bed staring at the ceiling of her hotel room, wondering where the time went. It was still relatively dark outside so she knew her alarm, which she had set for seven in the morning, had not gone off yet. Maddison began recollecting the events of her weekend up to this point. Her Friday was spent touring the city, visiting the movie studios where she not only made some new friends but also took a few selfies which she eventually posted on her social media accounts. Later, she went shopping for some of the season’s hottest trends