What if I ain't no violinist?

111. Twoset Travellers III

"Eddy.. are you okay?"

Brett was starting to get worried.  Eddy's condition was worsening.

"Brett... it's getting harder for me to breathe..."

"Oh sh*t... That's it, I'm taking you to a doctor."

Brett tried calling the reception desk from the phone in their hotel room but it was extremely difficult to communicate in English with the receptionist over the phone. Brett eventually gave up.

"Eddy, I'm going down to reception to speak to them directly about taking you to a doctor, okay? I promise I'll be as quick as possible."

"O..kay.."

It was a bit better getting the message across with a travel guide booklet with popular phrases written in both English and the exotic language spoken in the exotic country they were visiting. The receptionist showed a concerned look and picked up the phone and made a call to someone. When he hung up, he turned to Brett and said in very broken English.

"Doctor wait for you, yes."

He handed Brett a piece of paper. It was a map to the hospital. Brett thanked the receptionist and rushed back to their room where Eddy would be waiting.

Brett managed to help Eddy out of bed and head down to reception. Brett showed the page on his travel guide that had the phrase to ask for a cab to be called for them. The receptionist must have been expecting them as he pointed to the hotel entrance where a cab was already waiting. Within 15 minutes they arrived at the hospital. The hospital staff must have been told to expect a duo of English speaking Asians visiting them as the hospital staff who approached Brett had a laminated bilingual document that asked all the crucial questions in English. Eddy was helped into a wheelchair and was whisked off. After Brett filled out some forms and showed them their travel insurance papers, he was left alone in the deserted hospital waiting area.

After pacing for about for 45 minutes, Brett was approached by a young man in a lab coat.

"^*%#(@"

"...I beg your pardon...?"

"^*%#(@, ...Eddy?"

"Yes! Yes, Eddy!!"

"^*%#(@"

Brett had no idea what the doctor was trying to say. Frustrated, he whipped out his phone and asked the doctor to type whatever he wanted to tell him into Google translate.

"^*%#(@"

The doctor handed the phone back to Brett. With shaking hands, Brett tapped the "translate" button.

"pneumonia"

OMFG

"*#&^%@*, *)#()#($ allergy &$()@#&$ penicillin *()$()#??"

Brett shook his head.

"Eddy has no allergies to penicillin. Penicillin is okay."

The man in the labcoat smiled.

"Okay, okay, penicillin."

And he walked off.

Brett dropped into a nearby chair.

"OMG... pneumonia????"

Eddy spent days bedridden in their hotel room, Brett stayed by his side looking after him. He was finally starting to feel better after a week.

"Sorry Brett, we didn't get to do any sightseeing.."

Brett smiled.

"Don't worry about that. We'll come back another time, there'll be other opportunities. I am just glad you are getting better. And we're flying back to Taiwan tomorrow, you can relax better there with familiar food and people understanding us better."

Eddy smiled back.

"Yeah... thanks for looking after me Brett."

"F*ck"

"Brett? What's the matter?"

They were back in Taiwan and had checked into their hotel room. Despite feeling exhausted from the long flight, Eddy was looking so much better and happier, sipping on the bubble tea he'd been craving for.

"I lost my credit card"

"What??  When was the last time you used it, Brett?"

"I haven't used it for the last 2 days.. since the day we flew out. You were feeling better and was walking around, paying for stuff, remember?  You paid for our bubble teas too. I only just noticed now because I was cleaning out my wallet of receipts..."

"You better call the credit card company then.."

"Yeah"

"...Mr Brett Yang."

"Yes, that's the one."

"We're glad you've contacted us. There's been some rather suspicious transaction attempts on your credit card recently..."

"Oh no."

"They were attempted at locations rather far away from home."

"Well, I am travelling at the moment.."

"Okay, so there was some hotel accommodation, taxi fares, hospital expenses and meals... "

"Yes, those are all legit."

"Very well. And we have one more.. the latest transaction.. this was done out west."

"...you mean, as in Western Australia?"

"No sir, a bit more west.."

"I don't understand."

"An attempt to purchase 10 sheep in Addis Ababa."

"...Where is Addis Ababa?"

Eddy who overheard scrunched up his face in confusion.

"Brett, it's the capital of Ethiopia."

"OMG it's the capital of Ethiopia!?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yes! As in, no! I definitely didn't purchase 10 sheep in Addis Ababa..!! That's definitely an unauthorised purchase. So you can stop that one? Oh, thank goodness, thank you, thank you...!"

"You are welcome. I will process this as an unauthorised transaction attempt and stop your card. Would you like me to issue you with an emergency replacement or are you okay to arrange that when you get home?"

"So long as the card's deactivated that's fine. I've got other means to get funds, I'll sort it out once I get back."

"Very well. How about I put in a request for your reissued card to be picked up at your home branch in Morrisville? It would be ready for you by the time you return to Australia."

"That would be perfect. Thank you so much for your help...!!"

Brett hung up and shook his head.

Eddy grinned.

"Brett, so you bought me 10 sheep in Addis Ababa?"

Brett pouted as Eddy giggled.

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A/N: This concludes the trilogy "Twoset Travellers".  Thank you for reading it and I hope you enjoyed the story..!!!