She
lowered her voice and asked Mabel, “Are you pregnant?”
Mabel
and Cynthia were taken aback by the question. They kept quiet for a while,
looking from one person to the other. It was Mabel who broke the silence.
“It cannot be,”
Mabel said, her voice showing she was not so sure. “I can’t be pregnant.”
“How sure are you?”
Cynthia asked her.
“I am always
careful. I can’t take the risk of getting pregnant before marriage.”
“Well, you can’t
trust these family planning methods.”
“I took proper
precautions each time I had sex with Segun.”
“Hmmm, ok oo.”
Cynthia
did not know what else to say or ask. Their mother just sat and looked at the
floor, shaking her head. The thought of the possibility of being pregnant went
through Mabel’s mind. She remembered few times when Segun had insisted that
they do away with family planning methods and her heart skipped a beat. Cynthia
just looked from Mabel to her mother, trying to figure out what they were
thinking and what else to say.
“I am not pregnant,”
Mabel finally said with mock confidence.
“You will have to
see Dr Obinna tomorrow to find out whether you are pregnant or not,” their
mother said.
“I will go with you
also to collect my test result,” Cynthia said.
“No,” Mabel
insisted, shaking her head. “I will not see him. I am not pregnant. This
feeling will just go away.”
“You must see him,”
their mother insisted.
Their
mother was sounding angry.
“It may not be
pregnancy,” Cynthia said, trying to diffuse the tension. “I think it is stress
and the incident that happened today.”
Mabel’s
leg was close to Cynthia so she marched Cynthia.
“What incident?”
their mother asked.
Cynthia
looked at Mabel, giving her signal to tell their mother.
“Why do you always
think you can handle your problems alone?” their mother asked Mabel. “What am I
here for if I can’t help you?”
“Mum it’s not like
that,” Mabel said
“What is it like?”
“You are carrying
much already. I don’t have to heap little issues I can handle on you.”
“What does that
mean?”
Mabel
kept quiet.
“I don’t need
Cynthia convincing you to tell me what you are going through,” their mother
continued. “I am your mother for crying out loud. If I had met Segun before you
became serious with him, I might have had a contrary opinion and advised you
properly, but you only told me when it looked like you were going to get
married. Why do you hide things from me?”
“Am sorry mum,”
Mabel said, swallowing a lump in her throat.
“I am not angry. I
just feel you should bring me closer and let me know whatever is going on in
your life, and on time.”
“But you suffer
Blood Pressure issues. I don’t want to make you worried.”
“Don’t bother about
my health. I am fine. When I have issues, I let you know, don’t I? ”
“You do.”
“Then why all
these?”
“Am sorry mum,”
Mabel pleaded again.
Their
mother got up to leave the parlour.
“Where are you
going?” Mabel asked her, a bit jittery.
“Let me go and
prepare something we will eat this night,” she replied.
“I thought you were
leaving us in anger,” Mabel said and heaved a sigh of relief.
“Why will I do that?
A mother’s anger never gets to the bone.”
“You don’t want to
know the incident that happened today?” Cynthia asked her.
Mabel
kicked Cynthia mildly.
“Mabel will tell me
when she wants to,” their mother said and left for the kitchen.
“Why were you
marching me?” Cynthia asked Mabel when her mother was out of earshot.
“Nothing,” Mabel
said.
“So what exactly happened
today?”
Mabel looked towards the kitchen
to make sure her mother was not eavesdropping and then said, “I saw Segun
today.”
Their
mother came out from the kitchen to the parlour.
“You saw who?” she
asked. “Where? When?”
“Mummy how did you
hear what Mabel said?” Cynthia asked.
“Wait till you
become a mother. You will hear whatever you want to hear from wherever you are.”
She turned to Mabel and gave her
sign to start talking.
“That was before the
dizziness started,” Mabel said.
“What happen?” their
mother asked. “He came to see you or you went to see him?”
“There was no way I
could have gone to see him.”
“Then how did you
meet?”
“It was Magi who
arranged the meeting in a Fast-Food restaurant. I was not aware of what she had
planned.”
“Continue. I want
details.”
Mabel
told them the whole story from when Coker came to see her to their going to
meet Margret at the Fast-food restaurant and everything that happened there.
She left out the part where Kemi sent her a threatening SMS.
“No wonder you
wanted to faint,” their mother said when she was done. “Did they touch you?”
“No one can dare
that.”
“Imagine such nonsense!”
“Kemi even had the
guts to come there and do nonsense,” Cynthia said. “That girl does not have
shame o. So what did Segun do about her?”
“I have told you
everything in details na,” Mabel told her. “You want me to start from the
beginning?”
“Sorry, I was
thinking of what to do to Segun when you said that part.”
“I really need to
rest. Remembering the incident has upset my system now.”
“Don’t worry my
dear,” her mother said, holding her shoulder. “You will get over this.”
“Thanks mum,” Mabel
replied, resting her head on her mum’s hand.
“Let us just keep
our fingers crossed and watch events unfold. Don’t let it get to you ok.”
“I will try.”
Their
mother adjusted the wrapper across her chest.
“I am still thinking
of what to cook now,” she said and then asked Mabel, “What will you like to
eat?”
“I don’t feel like
eating anything,” Mabel said.
“You need to eat
something.”
“Maybe something
light.”
“Yam and vegetable
is the only thing that comes to mind now.”
“We ate yam in the
morning.”
“It does not matter.
This one will be with vegetable.
“But I don’t have
strength to chew yam now.”
“It is too late to
cook soup or anything else now.”
“I will just eat the
fruits.”
“Fruit is not food.
I will cook the yam like that. You can just eat the vegetable part.”
“Ok.”
Their mother
turned to leave.
“You did not ask me
what I want to eat,” Cynthia said, pretending to be sulking.
They
laughed.
“Baby baby,” Mabel
called her.
Their
mother left the parlour. At the door, she turned and told Mabel, “We have not
canceled the pregnancy test tomorrow. Even though I think it is the incident
with Segun and the others that triggered the stress and made you feel the way
you are feeling now, we need to be medically sure you are not carrying a baby.”
“Ok mum,” Mabel
replied.
(...to be continued)
Nedu Isaac
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