As soon as the officer dove into the bathroom to answer nature’s call, the head nurse got up from her chair by the door and walked directly to the receptionist at the information desk.

“Who is that man?”

“He is a police officer.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I saw his police badge.” She whispers.

Crossing his arms, he says fearfully, “Then I’m done.” The officer is coming out of the bathroom now. The head nurse heads toward him as fear and anxiety gnaw at his heart. Now you are trying to put on an appearance of courtesy. Gnashing his teeth in rage, he says:

“Why didn’t you tell us it was a police officer immediately who entered this room? I personally would have arranged for your wife to receive express service.”

Behaving like a demonstration for a dying dog, he instructs the junior nurses to rush me to the observation room on a stretcher. As soon as I was inside, I counted about five nurses around me. Each of them tried to make me feel comfortable. During all this time, my thoughts were with that old woman who was left stumbling in a swamp of inefficiency and corruption. After I was given a sedative injection, I fell asleep.

Now it’s dawn, I’m still in my bed. I hear a voice that looks like Abdul’s. I wonder:

“What does this man have to do with me after treating me like his pet?” You are asking the nurses about a pretty girl who was admitted to the hospital yesterday.

“Where is that girl who was admitted here yesterday?”

“She is in room 911.”

I hear him scream over his voice.

“You say room 911?”

“Yes, you heard me right!”

“Please get that girl out of that room right away, it’s an evil number.”

“Sir, you cannot come here and dictate what should be done to your wife.” The head nurse admonishes.

“Sorry but …”

“But what?”

“I’m just concerned that he’s in room 911.” Abdul explains.

“What does 911 have to do with you?” The head nurse responds.

“911 translates to September 11, and it was the day those terrorists killed so many innocent people in New York City. My brother was among the dead.”

“So many innocent people were also killed, not just your brother. By the way, if the 911 events had taken place in a poor African country, do you think it would have received this massive press coverage?”

The nurse continues:

“You know what? The reason it attracted such massive press coverage was not because of the number of victims, but because of the fact that the king of the forest had been injured by termites.”

“Don’t you feel sorry for those who lost their lives in such a barbarous attack?” Abdul fights back.

“It was certainly an unfortunate event. But I am also sorry for those poor women and children in Africa and elsewhere who die every day from hunger, malnutrition and AIDS. Imagine what the world would have been like if it had united against AIDS, poverty and hunger as it does now against terrorism. “

“Do not link 911 and the widespread deprivation in Africa caused by Africans themselves.” Abdul says.

“Don’t also try to link 911 and our hospital room numbers.” The head nurse guarantees Abdul.

This crossfire between Abdul and the head nurse paralyzed the ER while all the other nurses stared at them, while the sick and dying lay helplessly on the floor.

Their discussion of 911 became so unpleasant that it made me nervous. I was wondering why Abdul would come to visit me at the hospital only to have him and other nurses argue about my room number. She had always believed that Abdul, who seemed to have been a well-mannered individual, is just as decorous as he is in public.

Now all I know about this man is that he’s been a ruffian, he’s immoral. Despite being a married man, he has seduced many women and abandoned them for new conquests. Am I now your next target?

As I continued to agonize over my situation, tears began to flow freely down my cheeks. How the heck could I have gotten caught up in this dissolute man? I could only blame myself. But how could I resist his friendship when he seemed to care so much about my progress, especially after my dad, who had been a business executive, became so declassified to the point of working as a night watchman? A nurse comes running in, handing me my bill, says:

“Get ready, it’s time to go home.”

“I have no money to pay this lump sum of money.” Said.

“Stop pretending. Pack up, go pay your bill and go.”

“I don’t have any money please.”

Leaning back, he says:

“Do you expect me to believe you? You’re such a pretty young woman that she shouldn’t have a problem paying her bills. If I were half as pretty as you, I wouldn’t be working in a hospital for a pittance.” “While we were arguing, I couldn’t find Abdul.” He may have gone to pay the bills. “I consoled myself. I quickly hurried to the cash register to find him. With a low guttural growl, I asked the lady at the counter.

“Please, where is that tall lanky gentleman wearing a blue t-shirt and sunglasses?”

“You mean the man who was lecturing us about the evils of 911?”

“Exactly!”

“Sorry, he left.”

“Did he say something before he left?”

“Not that I know.”

At this point I knew I was wrong. I was wrong to think that Abdul had come to the hospital to help me pay for my medical expenses. Now it has vanished into thin air, what should I do? I began to remember what Daddy had told me some time ago about men.

“Beware men who make you feel as safe and warm as a cup of cocoa with a melted marshmallow. But then when you get to the bottom of the cup, you find a dead fly and disgust replaces delight.”

I had a firm belief in myself that practically every woman has had experience with a man who comes out strong like Abdul, and he retires just as vehemently! The problem is, as Dad always complained, “Women are adept at ignoring warning signs!