Retroviral Chronicles 9- Give me the night

I probably updated this series last, four months ago. I don't expect you to still remember everything, I certainly didn't- I had to read from the top to remember where I was going with the series! I promise to update this series faithfully (once a week at least) and I hope that you'd follow it with enthusiasm. To catch up on all the action just click on Retroviral Chronicles on the left corner of the screen and if you are using mobile view (my opera mini people say uhuh uhuh!) Here's the link to the first post



Martha wore a dazzling smile when she walked into the office, the euphoria from her evening with Peter still sparkled as it flowed in her blood and thinking of him even now, widened her smile. She was still getting her files from the cabinet when Patricia burst into her office with a fierce expression on her face.


"Jesse spent the whole night weeping and calling your phone and you didn't pick up, do you want to kill him?"
"Good morning to you too Patricia" Martha said archly.
 "I know he's a giant douche-bag and doesn't deserve your forgiveness but please don't allow him wallow in misery"
"Wallow in misery? Both of you have such a nerve, you most of all for coming here to tell me this, this trash!" Martha's voice reverberated in the little office.


Patricia exhaled and used her right palm to massage her left temple and rub her eyes, Osato had snored away on her couch while she spent most of the night comforting Jesse who was drunk and in pain.
"I love her so much, I cannot bare to lose her," he repeated over and over between sobs and hiccups.
Then why did you cheat on her, she wondered. Was it because of the stupid thrill or there was something lacking in the relationship? why do most men cheat? Even the ones with beautiful and loyal women, what was so attractive outside?

Remembering last night stirred the beginnings of a raging headache, she shook her head as if to dispel such thoughts.
"How did your date with Peter go" her voice was gentle.
"It wasn't a date, we had a super time though. We had green pepper and shrimp sauce with sticky rice and sangria laced wine, we sang at the karaoke bar in the restaurant and went dancing at a club in the next building. It was the best night of my life!" Martha enthused.

Patricia opened her mouth to say more but the pounding on the door swallowed up her words. She recognised the young girl and her mother, seeing her always broke her heart even though she had been trained to be detached but what woman would be attached at the thought of a teenager taking antiretroviral medication for the rest of her life?

"Otas!" Martha cooed and opened her arms.
Otas walked into the embrace like it was the most natural thing in the world and Patricia wondered why people did not warm up to her. Otas spent more time with her- as the counsellor, patients spent the longest time with her but they never seemed to form bonds with her, not like they did with Martha who barely spent five minutes with them.
"Miss Martha and Miss Patricia, I just spoke to the pharmacist now and she has changed my drug"
"Why" Patricia's tone was sharper than she intended so she smiled to soften the effect.
"She'd been having nightmares and we discovered that efavirenz is responsible" her mother spoke her first words since she entered the office.
"Why didn't you tell me you were having nightmares" Patricia's voice held a strong note of consternation.
"We didn't think of it as something that could have been caused by the drugs she was taking, you know she had a terrible experience."
 "Indeed she did!" Martha answered while she continued to stroke the girl's hair.


Two policemen walked into the room startling them, they didn't even knock.
"Is Martha Edwards in this room" the taller one asked.
"Yes, I am, am the one" Martha stammered.
"You're under arrest for the attempted murder of one Mr Jesse Okonta"
"What?!" Martha and Patricia shouted in unison.
"Stop the theatrics and come with us to the station" it was the short officer who spoke, his voice carried a ring of authority that stilled the air.

The tall officer gestured towards the door, Martha followed him and wondered if this wasn't an efavirenz induced nightmare.