EX FACTOR

Pearl Lucas walked into the house smiling, she was home late but it was worth it as today had been a good day for her, she had been given a good tip today in her place of work, she works in a beauty parlor and some actress she had applied make up for. She loved her work and had been invited to the actress’ show the next day to fix the actress’ make up.

The actress, Yvonne, had been so pleased with her that she added some extras to her payment, Pearl was so happy, she could use the extra pay, her mother would certainly love this piece of good news, life hasn't been easy with them since their father had lost his job and was yet to secure another, her mother who was merely a cleaner in a small company had tried to make sure she always put food on the table, but her salary just wasn't enough to sustain them all. so Pearl had taken up a job at a beauty salon to assist with the house expenses.

"this should be able to feed us for at least two days" she smiled to herself, eager to announce the good news.

"Mom, Dad" she called out as soon as she entered the house but silence greeted her, she frowned, where is everyone?

"Jenny?" She called out her younger sister's name but also got no response, she entered the only room in the house and saw no one inside.

"where is everyone? Is no one at home?" She hollered as she entered back into the living room, did they all just go out and left the door unlocked? She checked her time, it was past seven, her mother should be home now and her father had nowhere to go, so where could they be?

The door suddenly opened and her sister Jenny walked in breathing like someone who ran Marathon race,

"oh thank goodness you're here Pearl, what the heck happened to your line, I've been trying to reach you".

"oh, I have a flat battery, where is mom and dad?" She eyed Jenny tempted to tell her of her day's event but restrained herself, Jenny seemed worried.

"Dad had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital" Jenny cried and Pearl felt as if the bottom had dropped from beneath her, she felt a hollow in the pit of her stomach.

" what! heart attack? Which hospital is he?" Pearl's joy soon faded replaced by worry, her father has been battling depression because of his joblessness, what could have triggered the heart attack?

"He's at City hospital, shall we?" Pearl was numb as she nodded, she followed Jenny to the hospital and saw her mother crying in the hallway, she quickly hugged her, tears brimming in her own eyes.

********************************************

In the hospital

"how's dad, what happened?" She stared into her mother's eyes, waiting for a reply.

Her mother sniffed, " not good, some test has been carried out and I'm waiting for the results".

Pearl led her mother to a seat, "come sit, dad will be fine, I'm sure if it, you'll see, the test result will show nothing serious and in no time, he'll get better and be discharged."

she turned to Jenny, "get Mom a bottle of water."

Her mother shook her head, halting Jenny, " no please, I don't want water".

"Mrs. Lucas" the doctor called and she jumped up from her seat

"That's me, doctor, what's wrong with my husband?"

The doctor shook his head, ", your husband will need surgery as soon as possible."

"What! Surgery? Doctor what exactly is wrong with my father" Pearl cuts in.

"You see, we've observed he has a tumor in his brain that would need an immediate operation, that is why he is always complaining of headaches and dizziness and it could be what had triggered the heart attack. At this point, he needs an immediate operation or it might be too late".

Pearl felt a pang in her heart, she stared at the doctor, "what do you mean by it might be too late?"

The doctor shrugged, "I'm afraid, your father might die if he is not operated very soon".