A Strange Marriage. Part 2

In what appeared to be a desperate move to get an effective remedy for Katherine 's mysterious affliction her family back home in the South arranged for a native doctor to attend to the poor lady now writhing in bodily pains up to her bones. That lasted for two weeks without producing any solution whatsoever despite the exorbitant charges!
Then friends organized vigil for days to solicit Divine help to which she derived some relief but soon relapsed into some debilitations and intermittent  fits of unconsciousness.
Finally she was moved to specialist hospital for thorough assessment of the health condition which has now reached an advanced stage of complications.
The elder sister, Dorcas  was earlier dispatched by the family in Lagos to go to Jos and take care of the kids and attend to her sick sister's needs. But Louise was preoccupied with her business runs in Lagos and showed no adequate interest in developments in Jos.
Katherine's husband, Linus was aloof and displayed no affection expected of a spouse toward somebody that was pivotal to the family success story. In a moment of her frustration before she went into a state of coma, Katherine lamented the manner Linus has made himself unavailable claiming he would lose an important client based in Abuja if he returns home to provide personal attention. He asked her to let the medical doctor handle everything till he is through with the business in Abuja. That took two weeks before he came back for a brief visit at the hospital and felt saddened by what has become of his once vibrant wife. He regretted his decision to abandon the wife without a modicum of affection and confessing to the fact that Katherine was a strong pillar of support in his success in life.She was literally behind all the wealth he has acquired especially the motivation to invest in landed property when his paltry income could hardly sustain the family. Kathrine made huge personal sacrifice to forego social life as long as the husband is ready to put his money where it will grow into a great source of income in future when their children would benefit from it and live happily in prosperity.
The truth is that Linus was suspicious about his wife's terrific social disposition which helped her get along well with people that he himself would rebuff or disdain. He wasn't as sociable as his wife and could not imagine how a barely educated lady could flaunt so much influence among the high and low.
Well that woman now lay a hapless vegetable in an hospital bed waiting for death to put her out of her misery.  And the chief medical doctor told Linus point blank that his wife had no long to live and should make necessary arrangements for evacuation of her remains!
That brought Linus world to a standstill. The ground beneath him seem to yawn for him to disappear into it. Heartbroken he managed to drive home that night and went straight to his bedroom for consolation. But it didn't come, instead he suffered pangs of conscience which started a dire thirst for hard liquor for someone who could barely quaff a bottle of beer.
He slept off and woke up at 2.am to remove the wall pictures he took with his wife after a nightmarish appearance of his wife in uncontrollable tears in a dream. Promptly he called Katherines mother in the early morning  to alert her about the doctor's report and her wish to see Louise immediately.
Three days later Linus and Louise were at Katherine's bedside to fulfill her request and exchange that passionate affection they shared for the last time. But Louise was devastated and inconsolable  at the sight of that once ebullient soul now turning vegetable in her transit to the world unknown.
Back home the children are oblivious of what fate has befallen their mother and not understanding the sudden disappearance of her photographs on the sitting room walls. Elder Auntie Dorcas kept a dour look that hardly betray any emotion or suggest to anyone she is depressed. All the housekeeping chores and Linus laundry service besides childten school runs made her busy round the clock. Yet she didn't feel quite welcome by her host.
Three weeks later Linus got a call from the hospital authority requesting his presence immediately while away to see to a business deal in Kaduna.  He had to abandon what he was doing and soon enough met Louise at the hospital lounge to hear that the sister was indeed no more. But strangely she spoke her last words and asked Louise to help her pull off the wedding ring and place it beside her head before she breath her last!
That moment drove a piercing agony into the heart of  both Linus and Louise who later became husband and wife to continue the family branch. But it was a strange marriage of some sort when considered from the perspective of morality and social decency. Perhaps the bond between the new couples predates the death of Katherine.  And how  does the church handle such unusual matter. Trust is expensive in human affairs. Trust only God!
The End!