Clash Of Cultures

31. Air Ambulance

Salman

The shot glass in front of me sat untouched as I stared at it. Dr Wheeler's voice was on a loop inside my head.

"You have to work on yourself for yourself, not for anyone else", she had told me repeatedly whenever I bought up Noor in our sessions. 

In my mind Noor and my relationship had a simple trajectory...I would get therapy, tell her about it, and she would fall madly in love with me. 

Man...was I wrong about that!

The crushing pain in my chest was still there, but the loud laughter of drunk men from the pool table was enough of a distraction that I could feel my breathing calm down a bit. 

I had no idea what time it was so I took my phone out to check. That's when I noticed the three missed calls from Kimberly and 11 missed calls from my sister. I wondered if Noor had told Kim. We weren't as close as we had once been, but she was still a good friend and I could use one right now so I decided to call her back. My sister probably wanted me to meet my parents, which I had no intention of doing, so I ignored her. 

"Hey Sal, where the hell have you been?", Kim's shrill voice came through on the phone. 

"I'm just out...why are you calling me?", if she didn't know already I had no intention of telling her about my miserable life. 

"Noor texted me and told me to check up on you, but then never picked up the phone when I called her to ask what was going on. And then you refuse to pick up. Did something happen between you two? I swear the two of you are going to be the end of me one day!"

"I am sorry? Noor told you to check up on me? I am so sick of being her charity case. She thinks she can manipulate me and then act like she cares. Did you know she is getting married? To some dude she doesn't even love...", I raised my voice in anger, but then lowered it again when the bartender looked at me with a raised eyebrow, "Who the fuck does she think she is?"

"Oh God...she told you. I just found out today Sal. I am so sorry, I don't even know what to say to you right now. But where are you? I'll come and we can talk more"

"No need Kim...go be with your friend. I don't need anyone, least of all her!"

I shut the phone before Kim could reply, but within seconds it rang again and I picked up, ready to scold her again, "Kim...give me a freaking break! Stop calling me!"

"It's not Kim, it's Sara...", a voice I barely recognized replied.

My sister...Sara?

I heard nothing for a few seconds but then heard someone sobbing quietly on the other end of the line. 

"Sara, are you ok? Did dad hurt you? Or your husband? I swear if any of them did anything to you...", my mind flashed back to when dad would threaten to beat her up. He never did, but that didn't mean he wasn't capable of it. 

"No, no...it's not that, its Mustafa, my 8 month old son. Salman there is something very wrong with his heart...we are in the hospital...and he wasn't breathing...", her voice was quavering making it difficult for me to understand her. 

It was also very noisy in the bar so I paid for the drink I had not touched and stepped outside. 

"What do you mean there is something is wrong with his heart? Which hospital are you at?"

"I don't know what is wrong, but he had a cold and then just a few hours ago I was feeding him and he turned blue and limp, we called the ambulance and now we are in a hospital in Kentucky", she had finally composed herself enough to talk, though the fear in her voice was palpable.