"If we keep waiting for Miss Ruth, we may die of hunger. We need to think of the way forward," Bright said to his sister, Ann, who was sitting tired and empty on the sofa.
Bright was holding the curtains to one side in anticipation of seeing Ruth approaching their house. Ann was yawning now and then. Her eyes were red and her muscles weak. She had approached the kitchen many times without finding anything to quench her hunger. The only way out is for Ruth to come and prepare lunch for them.
It was on a Sunday and earlier in the day Sandra had prepared tea for herself and her children, Bright and Ann.
"Let's manage this till we return from church before I cook your favorite dish, rice with chicken sauce," she had told them.
Bright looked at her sister and they exchanged contagious smiles.
Sandra is a Medical Doctor and most of the days she is taken away from her home by her job. She only makes sure that comes rain or shine, she is with her children every Sunday so that they can bond together as a family. Ruth, her house help, was there every other day to take care of Bright and his sister.
After they finished taking the tea, they were dressing up for church in their rooms when Sandra received a call from her boss, the medical director of the hospital.
"Good morning, Madam. Apologies for intruding into your day off work. Please there is an emergency case of a 4 years old child right now. It's not something that can be managed by the Nurses pending your resumption tomorrow. Please, I plead with you to come as soon as possible to attend to this boy."
"I took an oath to do everything legally possible to save lives. It's not a question of choice. It is a must for me to respond to a call like this. I will be on my way right now."
Sandra was the only consultant pediatric surgeon in the hospital.
She had already put on her Ankara gown with a matching necklace. She was sitting in front of the mirror, fixing her head tie when the call came in. On the stool in front of her was her makeup box.
She quickly changed her dress to her scrubs. No time for makeup again. She closed the box and pushed the stool aside. She picked up her car key and went to the sitting room to meet Bright and Ann who were fully dressed for church.
"Mum, why scrubs?" Bright asked with total surprise. "I haven't seen you wear this to church before," Ann added her voice.
"Sorry, my king and queen," Sandra hugged both together. "I have just been called upon in the hospital to attend to an emergency case. We are not going to church again."
Bright looked at her sister. Their eyes displayed a high level of disappointment.
Sandra went down to their heights to remind them what she had told them about her job.
"My job is to make sure that children are fine. Should we go to church while a child is dying at the hospital?" Sandra asked them.
"No mum," Bright and Ann chorused a response.
"Good, I will be back immediately after I finish attending to the case. I will call Ruth to come and prepare lunch for you."
Sandra kissed them on their forehead and she left for the hospital.
Four hours on, Ruth hasn't come to prepare lunch for them. Bright has called his mum more than ten times without a response.
Bright was still standing at the window when his mum called back.
"The case required an emergency operation. I went to the theater with the patient immediately," Sandra explained to her son. "Has Ruth come to prepare your food?"
"No, mum. We haven't seen her. Ann is crying right now. Are you on your way back?"
"Ruth told me that she wasn't at home when I called her. She promised to come and cook for you two hours later. Today is her only day off work, so I won't blame her. She might have been engaged beyond the proposed time limit.
"I am not coming back anytime soon. I think you need to cook noodles and take it in the interim."
"I checked the kitchen and realized that the noodles had finished. But, there is a plan B that can rescue us now," Bright suggested.
"What plan is that?" Sandra asked.
"We can have a video call to guide me in cooking spaghetti."
"That's very thoughtful of you. I have been telling you to learn how to cook but you are lazy. Necessity is the father of invention. Hunger is forcing you to start today."
"Mum, we will discuss that when you come. Our priority now is to get something to eat."
They switched to video and Bright went to the kitchen.
"Get everything you need by your side. Oil, seasoning cubes, tomato, onion, pepper, fish and spaghetti," Sandra began.
Bright gathered everything as instructed.
"Wash the onions and slice them."
At this point, a Nurse interrupted the call from Sandra's side. The nurse came to give her a report about a patient. After telling the nurse what to do, she returned to her call with her son.
"Wash the pot and put it on the fire. Add two spoonfuls of oil and allow it to get hot," she continued.
Bright followed every step as directed by his mother and in 40 minutes, the spaghetti was ready.
He served the food and he ate with her sister.
Sandra later received a call from Ruth. She explained to her what transpired that prevented her from making it to Sandra's home to cook for the children.
"I was already out to get drugs for my sick mum. I couldn't get the drug within the town. I had to travel kilometers away to get the drug. It was an emergency need," Ruth explained.
"Oooh, that's a case of double emergencies. Hope you got the drug for your mum?"
"Yes, ma'am," Ruth responded.
"That's beautiful. We all sacrificed one way or the other to make sure those in dire need of attention get it. Any inconvenience that you, my children or I face is a sacrifice to humanity. I am glad that your mum, the child in the hospital and the rest of us are fine. That's what is most important. Extend my regards to Mama. I will drop a message at home for you to deliver to her tomorrow."
They ended the call and about two hours later, Sandra joined her children at home.