FED UP [LXIX]

(continued...)

Mabel reached for her phone and checked. She saw 21 missed calls and a text message from Segun. She quickly sat up.

  “What does Segun still want from me?” she asked.

  “The calls are from him?” Cynthia asked.

  “Yes. He also sent an SMS.”

  “Read the SMS and find out why he tried calling you.”

                Mabel opened the SMS and hissed.

  “What is it?”Cynthia asked.

  “It is not from Segun,” Mabel replied.

  “But that is his number.”

  “Yes.”

  “Who is it from then?”

  “His woman.”

  “Kemi?”

  “Yes.”

  “What did she say?”

  “She is warning me. She said she noticed that I have been trying to get back to Segun, that I should not even try it, that Segun belongs to her alone and there is nothing anybody can do about it.”

  “Who told her you are planning to get back to Segun?”

  “I don’t know. Let me finish reading it.”

                Mabel read through the SMS and closed the SMS inbox.

  “She said she saw the message Segun sent to me yesterday,” Mabel said.

  “That witch reads his messages?” Cynthia asked.

  “That one is their business.”

  “Will you tell Coker and Margret?”

  “No o. Must I bother them every time?”

  “It is not bother o. They need to know what happens per time.”

  “This is not a threat at all. I can handle it myself.”

  “Reply the message then.”

  “No. She may show it to Segun and have evidence against me.”

  “Ok o.”

                Their mother entered the room. Mabel greeted her.

  “How are you?” she asked Mabel. “You didn’t want to wake up?”

  “I am fine. I was very tired.”

  “Ok.”

  “You are already dressed for work?”

  “Yes.”

  “I am running late already.”

  “Did you have breakfast?”

  “Our fasting starts today na. Have you forgotten?”

  “And hunger has already started o,” Cynthia said.

  “Hunger or not,” Mabel said. “I am doing this fast o.”

  “See what you will do,” their mother said. “Don’t worry about today. You can start tomorrow. I will fast for all of us.”

  “No, I will fast small today and then when I feel better, I will extend the time.”

  “Ok.”

                Their mother told them that she was leaving.

  “We did not pray today,” Mabel said. “Why?”

  “I tried waking you up but you refused to wake,” Cynthia told her. “We prayed without you.”

  “Ok o.”

  “Are you going out today?” their mother asked them.

  “I don’t think so,” Mabel said.

                They saw their mother off to the door and went back to the room. Mabel lay back on the bed.

  “I thought you said you were going to work today?” Cynthia said.

  “It is true sef,” Mabel replied and yawned. “Kai, e no easy o.”

  “If you don’t feel up to it, don’t bother yourself na.”

  “I need to go o, before they declare vacancy and give my job to someone else.”

  “But Mrs Biodun said you can take the rest of the week off.”

  “Yes o. But in public service work, they need result. If one person is absent, it affects the output or it mounts pressure on the other workers who will try to fill in. If it continues, they look for someone to replace the absent person.”

                Cynthia checked the time and said, “But it is late for work.”

  “I will still go,” Mabel replied and sat up on the bed. “It is better late than absent.”

  “Ok. See what I think you should do. Call Mrs Biodun and ask her whether you can still come today or if she can permit you to come tomorrow.”

  “No. I will send her an SMS telling her that I am on my way to work but there was an issue I had to handle this morning, hence the reason why I am coming late.”

  “That’s better. Do it immediately.”

                Mabel sent the SMS to Mrs Biodun. Almost immediately, Mrs Biodun replied and told her she could take the rest of the week off if she needed to.

  “You see,” Cynthia told her. “Just take the week off as she has said.”

 “It is risky o,” Mabel said. “I will go.”

  “What will you tell your colleagues about what happened?”

  “What they already know.”

  “Won’t it remind you of what you are trying to forget?”

  “No.”

  “Remember you are still feeling dizzy.”

                Mabel burst into laughter.

  “I can see that you don’t want me to go to work today,” she told Cynthia

  “Yes o,” Cynthia said, also laughing. “Please don’t go.”

  “You will not understand. I have already missed three days. You know how I suffered to get this job. I can’t just lose it like that.”

  “Ok. So I will stay here alone.”

  “You will be fine. Unless you want to come with me.”

  “And do what there?”

  “Nevermind. You can watch movies here, or go make your hair.”

  “Is true sef. Let me call Chidinma and see if she can come over and make my hair.”

                She dialed Chidinma as Mabel got up to get set for work.

  “She said she is busy at home,” Cynthia said when she hung up. “Unless I will come over.”

  “Will it be convenient for you?” Mabel asked her.

  “I can’t stay here alone. I have to go.”

  “Ok.”

                Mabel got her bathing kit and went to the bathroom.

  “What are you wearing?” Cynthia asked her. “Will you get to your house first?”

  “No,” she answered. “I will choose from the clothes I brought day before yesterday.”

  “Ok.”

                Mabel told her the particular cloth to bring out for her. Cynthia did.

  “It is a bit rumpled o,” she told Mabel.

  “Is it not manageable?” Mabel asked her.

  “No o.”

  “Let me come out.”

                Mabel finished up and came out. She checked the cloth.

  “It is not bad na,” she said laughing. “You really want me to skip work today.”

                Cynthia smiled.

                Mabel got ready for work while Cynthia also got ready to go to see Chidinma.

  “Do you need massage?” Mabel asked her.

  “Mummy already did it for me,” Cynthia replied.

  “Thank God.”

  “You are dodging it.”

  “That thing is not easy at all.”

                When they were done dressing, Cynthia asked Mabel, “So are you going to the office, fasting?”

  “I think I will close my own now and eat something,” Mabel replied. “I don’t want to go there and start feeling dizzy.”

  “Ok, me too.”

Mabel went to a corner in their room and prayed. Then they ate flakes and tea and carried their bags. Mabel gave Cynthia some money for her transport.

  “Thank you,” Cynthia said. “I hope you have the one you will use?”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Mabel replied.

They locked the door, hid the key and walked to the express road, not too far from the house. Cynthia entered the bus going in the direction of Chidinma’s place while Mabel stood and waited for the one going in the direction of her office. Soon, a cab going her direction stopped and she entered. She sat in the front seat. As the cab moved, someone tapped her from behind.

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

FED UP [LXVIII]

(continued...)

                Mabel rushed and took her phone from her mother.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “When I told her you were not around,” her mother said. “She said something about smoke in your apartment.”

  “Is your flat on fire?” Cynthia asked.

  “Hey God,” Mabel exclaimed as she dialed Mama Risi.

When the call connected, her phone tripped off.

  “Ooohm battery empty,” she said, frustrated.

  “Let’s start the generator so you can charge your phone and call her.” Cynthia suggested.

  “There is no time for that.” their mother said. “Come and use my phone.”

Mabel and her mother rushed into the house while Cynthia hurriedly tried to pour the fuel into the generator and put it on.

  “Do you have her number?” Mabel asked as she took her mother’s phone.

  “You mean Mama Risi?” her mother asked her.

  “Yes.”

  “Yes I do. I had to save it in case I try reaching you and it is not possible, I can get to her to reach you.”

  “Ok.”

Mabel dialed Mama Risi’s number. She got the voice prompt saying the number was not reachable. While she was dialing again, Cynthia came in, holding her lower back.

  “What is wrong?” her mother asked her.

  “I poured the fuel in the generator and tried drawing it,” she said. “Then the back pain came.”

  “Sorry my dear,” her mother said, rubbing her back.

  “Thank you,” she said and turned to Mabel, “Have you gotten mama Risi?”

  “Not yet o,” Mabel replied. “I hope nothing is happening to my apartment.”

  “Let it not be arson by Kemi o.”

  “I pray.”

                She kept trying the number but kept getting the same response.

  “Let me go and put on the generator so I can charge my phone and call her with it,” Mabel said. “Mummy’s phone always has network issues.”

  “Give me the phone let me keep trying,” her mother said.

                She handed over the phone to her mother and rushed outside to start the generator. As soon as she started it, her mother came out with the phone.

  “It has connected,” her mother said, coming towards her.

  “Mummy stay away from the generator,” Mabel said as she rushed to her mother and took the phone.

She spoke with Mama Risi but the line was not clear. Mama Risi kept saying “hello, hello.”

  “Go far from the generator,” her mother told her.

                She cut the call, moved a distance away from the generator and redialed. It connected.

  “Mama Risi what were you saying about smoke in my house?” she asked, worried.

                Mama Risi sounded surprised and asked when she said anything about smoke in her apartment.

  “When you called earlier,” Mabel told her. “My mother said you talked about smoke in my flat as the reason why you were calling me,” Mabel said.

Mama Risi was quiet for a while and then burst into laughter. She told Mabel that she had finished asking her mother after her and forgot to cut the call. Then she shouted to her daughter to bring down what she was frying so the smoke will not enter Mabel’s flat.

  “Kai,” Mabel said and sighed. “And I was thinking my flat is on fire.”

                Mama Risi reassured her that there was no problem.

  “Did you notice any more strange movement?” Mabel asked.

                Mama Risi told her she did not. After talking for a while, she hung up.

  “What did she say?” her mother and Cynthia asked her when she hung up.

  “She said she was telling her daughter to bring down what she was frying so the smoke will not enter my flat.”

  “Mcheew.” Cynthia hissed. “Imagine the panic she caused.”

  “It is my fault,” their mother said. “I did not hear well.”

  “It is ok,” Mabel said. “Thank God nothing happened.”

                It began drizzling so their mother made sure the generator was properly covered from the rain. Then they went inside. Mabel and Cynthia plugged their phones to charge while their mother went to the kitchen to prepare food.

  “Mummy let me make the Garri,” Mabel said. “Don’t stress yourself.”

  “You have not had your bath,” her mother said. “So you are not needed in the kitchen.”

  “Ok o.”

  “Moreover, you need to rest because of the dizziness.”

  “Ok.”

                Cynthia made to go to the kitchen but her mother stopped her.

  “No bathing, no kitchen work,” her mother said.

  “Mummy, when did you bath?” Cynthia asked, smiling.

  “When you went to get fuel.”

  “Ok oo.”

  “You think I am you that needs begging to bath in the night.”

  “I bath every night now o.”

  “I remember those days I begged you to bath.”

  “Washing my hand and face was enough then,” Cynthia said laughing.

  “After the dust, sweat and germs on your skin, you need a full body bath o.”

  “True.”

                Their mother prepared the food while Mabel and Cynthia took turns bathing. When Mabel was done bathing, she helped her mother dish the food.

  “Are you still feeling the dizziness? Her mother asked her.

  “It is not as bad as it was yesterday,” Mabel replied.

  “There was no emotionally stressful incident today. That’s why.”

  “I guess so.”

  “But you have drugs to take.”

  “Not much. Doctor Obi said I just need to eat well and rest well.”

  “Ok.”

                They ate, said their prayers, talked for a while and slept, after putting off the generator. That night, they didn’t have any bad experience.

Very early in the morning, Mabel’s phone began to ring. She was feeling very sleepy then so she silenced it without checking who was calling and went back to sleep.

  “Wake up,” she heard Cynthia tell her much later.

                She opened her eyes. It was broad daylight.

  “What is it?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

  “Your phone has been beeping since. Whoever is calling has called more than 15 times.”

  “Did you check who it was?”

  “No.”

                Mabel reached for her phone and checked. She saw 21 missed calls and a text message from Segun. She quickly sat up. 

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

FED UP [LXVII]

(continued...)

                She folded the paper well and put inside her hand bag and they moved out. Outside, they saw people, in groups chatting and getting set for the service. Others were going into the church hall. They exchanged pleasantries with those they knew and went into the church hall for the service.

Almost immediately they went in, the service started. They participated in everything in the service with full attention, from the praise and worship, the prayer session to the message. At the end of the service, they were truly blessed.

  “So this is how midweek services are now?” Mabel said to her mother.

  “Yes o,” her mother replied.

  “I have been missing o.”

  “A lot.”

  “I will not miss Midweek services again.”

  “Me too,” Cynthia added.

                They exchanged pleasantries with people they knew as they went outside. They met pastor’s wife outside the church, talking with some women.

  “We are leaving,” Mabel’s Mother said to her as she hugged the other women.

  “Ok,” Pastor’s wife said. “Hope you were blessed in the service?”

  “Very blessed.”

  “Alright, take care of my sisters for me.” She turned to Mabel and said, “Don’t forget all I told you.”

  “I won’t ma,” Mabel replied.

  “Ok.”

As they turned to leave, one of the women said, “Mama Mabel, I hope you are aware of our women’s meeting coming up next weekend?”

  “No o” Mabel’s mum said. “I was not informed.”

  “That means you were not in the last meeting.”

  “No I wasn’t. I was indisposed.”

  “I am sure text messages will still be sent.”

  “Ok.”

                They left.

  “Can we see people going in our direction?” Cynthia asked when they got to the church gate. “So we can join them in their car.”

  “No o,” Mabel said. “I don’t want any embarrassment. I can pay for drop.”

                She went ahead of them and flagged down a keke. She bargained with him, they entered and left. The church was not too far from their house but they spent a lot of time in hold up.

  “When will this traffic issue change in this country?” Their mother asked.

  “We voted for change,” Cynthia said. “Let’s keep hoping we will see the change soon.”

                As they got closer to the house, their mother asked them whether they needed to buy anything.

  “What are we cooking this night?” Mabel asked.

  “I cooked soup in the afternoon,” her mother said.

  “You went home?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Yes I did. I left office a bit earlier.”

  “So you can be in church on time to follow me and see mama,” Mabel said and laughed.

                The keke entered a pothole and they felt the impact.

  “Ooohm this my waist am managing o,” Cynthia lamented.

  “Oga take am easy na,” Mabel said to the driver.

  “Sorry madam,” the keke driver apologized.

                Mabel turned to her mother and said, “Since you have cooked, I don’t think we need to buy anything then,” Mabel said.

  “No,” her mother said.

                They endured the rest of the journey till they got home, paid the keke man and went into their compound. There was no light.

  “What do we do?” Cynthia asked.

  “Is there still fuel in the generator?” her mother asked her.

  “I don’t think so.”

  “We will need to buy then,” Mabel said.

  “Who will go to the main road by this time to buy fuel by this time?” Cynthia asked.

  “Call Chuka na.”

  “No o,” Cynthia said. “Instead, I will get it from black market along the street.”

  “Let us check the gen first.”

                They went inside their house and dropped their bags. Mabel and Cynthia went to the backyard to check the generator. They discovered there was no fuel.

  “Where do we get the fuel now?” Mabel asked Cynthia.

  “At the junction,” she replied. “It is very close.”

  “Are you sure we will not ask Chuka to help us?”

 “No please. It will look as if we only call him when we want him to run errands for us. Forget that he likes me and can do anything to please me, he is bigger than running such errands.”

  “Ok. If you say so.”

  “Let me get the gallon.”

  “Get a small one I can carry. We don’t need to get much fuel. Just enough to last few hours so we can charge our phones.”

  “Ok.”

                Mabel went inside to get money and also tell her mother they were going out.

  “Why don’t you leave it?” her mother said to her. “NEPA will still bring light.”

  “We can’t be sure,” Mabel said. “And my phone is down.”

  “I thought you have been feeling dizzy and Cynthia is having back pain.”

  “We are feeling better. Don’t worry.”

  “Since you insist, leave it let me go and buy.”

  “No o.”

  “Ok. Don’t waste time.”

                Mabel met Cynthia outside and they left.

  “Ehe did you reply Segun’s text message?” Cynthia asked as they walked.

  “For what na?” Mabel asked.

  “I was just asking. Since Pastor’s wife said you should forgive him…”

  “I understand what she said. She didn’t mean I should put myself in harm’s way again.”

  “Ok.”

  “Even if he calls me, I will still not pick. I am not yet emotionally stable.”

  “What about Mama Risi? Have you spoken with her?”

  “No. You just reminded me. I will call her when we get home now.”

  “I just hope those hoodlums are gone for good.”

  “They are. If not, they would have trailed us to the hospital and even to church.”

They got the fuel and returned back. As they entered the compound, they met Chuka. He exchanged pleasantries with them and went close to hug Cynthia. Cynthia gave him her hand to shake.

  “My wife, what is wrong?” he asked smiling.

  “Is it me you are calling your wife?” Cynthia asked.

  “Yes my love.”

  “Chuka please leave me o,” Cynthia said laughing.

Mabel burst into laughter and Cynthia joined her.

  “I have been worried about you since I heard you were not feeling well,” Chuka continued.

  “Thank you,” Cynthia said.

  “I was so worried that I lost appetite for food.”

  “Story for Simbi. Lost which appetite? And you are smelling pepper soup pepper soup.”

  “It is just this evening I had to manage and eat something.”

  “And you ate it alone.”

  “I didn’t know I will see you. I don’t mind trekking the long distance to get it for you. Should I?”

  “Please leave me o.”

                He saw the fuel can Mabel was carrying and asked whether they went to get fuel.

  “Yes o,” Mabel replied.

  “You would have called me na,” he said, winking at Cynthia.

  “It is not far na.”

  “Yes but I cannot allow my wife and sister inlaw to suffer.”

  “Buy a car and take me shopping, then I will consider you.” Cynthia said and walked away from him.

  “Only?” he said. “You will see me in action tomorrow.”

                Mabel and Cynthia laughed as they went towards their house.

  “Take good care of yourselves ok,” Chuka said and went to see some friends across the road.

                When Mabel and Cynthia got to their backyard, their mother hurriedly came out holding Mabel’s phone.

  “Mama Risi called,” she said, a bit tensed up.

  “Did you pick?” Mabel asked her, dropping the fuel can.

  “She kept calling so I picked.”

  “What did she say?”

  “There is problem o.”

                Mabel rushed and took her phone from her mother.

  “What happened?” she asked.

  “When I told her you were not around,” her mother said. “She said something about smoke in your apartment.”

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

FED UP [LXVI]

(continued...)

She called Pastor on phone and asked if she could come and see him. He asked her to come. She hung up, excused herself and left the office.

  “She is very simple and direct o,” Mabel said when she left.

  “Yes,” her mother said.

  “If I had known she was like this, I would have been coming closer to her since.”

  “When you look at her from afar,” Cynthia said. “You will think she is this kind of person with a lot of protocols and who doesn’t have time for anybody.”

  “She is not like that at all,” their mother said.

  “Her counsel has helped very well,” Mabel said

  “What do we do now?” Cynthia asked.

  “Let’s wait till she comes back,” their mother said. “Remember we still have to deal with the root cause of the problem.”

                They waited for a while. About eight minutes later, pastor’s wife came back into her office.

  ‘I told him,” she said to them. “He said you should come,”

  “Ok.”

She led the way and they followed. They got to the pastor’s office and entered. He was sitting on his chair with his bible and writing pad open on the table in front of him. They greeted him and stood.

  “Deaconess how are you?” he asked Mabel’s mother.

  “Daddy I have not reached deaconess o,” she said.

  “How are you first?” he asked again smiling.

  “I am fine daddy,” she replied.

                He turned to Mabel and Cynthia.

  “Ada how are you?” he asked Mabel.

  “I am fine daddy,” Mabel replied.

  “This one you came after many months, hope you brought venison as sin offering?”

  “Another time daddy,” Mabel said, laughing.

  “Cynthia, you are growing by the day.”

  “Thank you daddy,” Cynthia said.

  “If I don’t marry you as second wife, you will wait for my son o.”

  “If you marry second wife,” Pastor’s wife said. “I will marry second husband.

                They burst into laughter. 

  “You are all welcome,” Pastor said.

  “Thank you daddy.”

  “I would have offered you seat but I am preparing for service and I will not take much time with you.”

  “No problem sir,” Mabel’s mother said.

  “Mama told me some things. I know your family and have always been praying for you, but this current situation needs urgent attention. So we will embark on prayers. We will fast for the next seven days. I will join you in it. Then next week, you will come much earlier, and I will break the fast with you in the company of some of my pastors and prayer warriors. This yoke must be broken. The death of Jesus will not be in vain in your life.”

  “Amen sir,” Mabel’s mother shouted.

  “Can you do it?”

  “My daughters are not feeling well and are on drugs,” their mother said. “Should they stop the drugs they are taking? Can I fast on their behalf?”

  “No. Everyone must be involved. They can do 6 to 12. Then when they are done with the drugs and feel better, they can increase their fast time. This is a serious matter that needs to be dealt with squarely.”

  “Ok sir.”

  “While you fast, believe that all power belongs to Jesus and so the yoke is breakable. What we are doing is to enforce the victory that Jesus already got for us on the cross.”

  “Daddy, let me add something,” his wife said.

  “Go ahead.”

  “Fasting is not hunger strike.”

  “Yes,” pastor concurred.

  “You must make sure you make out quality time to pray and study. That is the only way it can qualify as a fast. If you keep watching the clock and just pray summarized prayer, then you are not fasting. Now that you have declared a fast is when the appetite for food will triple. That is the trick of the enemy. Don’t let it get to you. Stay away from impurities. Control yourself and you will see what the Lord will do for you.”

  “Ok ma,” they replied.

  “Later,” Pastor said. “I will give mummy some scriptures you will study and declare during the fast,”

  “Ok sir.”

  “Let me pray for you before you go.”

                They bowed their heads and he said a word of prayer over their lives. They thanked him when he was done and turned to leave.

“Make sure you do all mummy has already told you before now,” Pastor said when they were at the door. “Prayer doesn’t cancel out wisdom; faith doesn’t overrule common sense ok.”

  “Ok sir.”

                They left the office.

  “We will wait and collect the scriptures from mama,” Mabel said.

  “Are we waiting here, her office or in church?” their mother asked.

  “Let’s hang around here so she will not forget.”

  “This fasting sef,” Cynthia said.

  “What happened to it?” Mabel asked.

  “Can you fast on my behalf?”

  “Why?”

  “That thing mama said is true. Whenever I decide to fast, hunger will start from early morning.”

  “Just take your mind away from that.”

Pastor’s office door opened and pastor’s wife came out with a piece of paper in her hand.

  “These are the scriptures,” she said, handing the paper over to their mother. “He said he hopes you are staying for the service?”

  “Yes we are,” their mother replied.

  “It’s ok. Let me go and get ready too.”

                They read through the scriptures. Each of the days had a prayer focus and scriptures attached.

  “Will I read everything?” Cynthia asked. “It is too much na.”

  “You have to o,” her mother answered her. “Infact, I will supervise it myself.”

                She folded the paper well and put inside her hand bag and they moved out. Outside, they saw people, in groups chatting and getting set for the service. Others were going into the church hall. They exchanged pleasantries with those they knew and went into the church hall for the service.

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

FED UP [LXV]

(continued...)

                After about 20 minutes, Mabel came out of the Pastor’s wife’s office.

  “What did you discuss with her?” her mother asked inquisitively.

  “She asked me to call both of you,” Mabel said.

  “Ok.”

                Their mother walked quickly into the pastor’s wife’s office. Mabel and Cynthia followed behind her.

  “Please have a seat,” Pastor’s wife said to them when they were inside.

Mabel and her mother sat on the two chairs directly facing pastor’s wife’s table. There was none for Cynthia so she stood behind Mabel and her mother.

  “Shift those files and seat on that chair over there,” Pastor’s wife told Cynthia.

  “I am ok here ma,” Cynthia said.

  “No. Please seat.”

                Cynthia shifted the files and sat.

  “Infact bring the chair closer so you can hear what I say clearly,” Pastor’s wife said.

Cynthia did. They were quiet for some seconds. It was pastor’s wife one who broke the silence.

  “Mabel told me everything,” she said.

  “Ok.” their mother said.

  “It is amazing how she has been able to handle the situation in a matured way.”

                Cynthia pinched Mabel.

  “She is a strong girl,” their mother said.

  “Not just that,” Pastor’s wife said. “She told me she almost committed suicide, so it is not just about personal strength.

  “True.”

  “I think it is because of the kind of love and care you share in your family. Aside from God, family is the first port of call for anyone who is in trouble and needs solution. When they don’t get the needed succor from family, then they carry out any action that comes into their mind or what someone else suggests, no matter how erroneous it is.”

  “Very true”

  “That is why the enemy is attacking the family system now. You see broken homes and unruly children everywhere.”

                She looked at Mabel’s mother.

  “You are a strong woman,” she said. “Despite the situation, you have held the family together in love.”

  “It is the grace of God,” their mother said.

  “Yes, and your efforts also.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Now…to the reason why you came,”

                 Mabel and her mother adjusted themselves on their seat.

  “I don’t have much else to say. I have told Mabel what to do about the problem.”

  “Mama please say it again so my mum will hear from your mouth,” Cynthia said.

                Their mother nodded in agreement.

  “Ok my dear,” Pastor’s wife said. “First of all, I told her to forgive the man who broke her heart. It is not easy but it is necessary. Unforgiveness is a weight the person bearing it while the offender goes about free.”

  “What if he wants to come back?” their mother asked.

  “Come back to where?”

  “To her life.”

  “I told her not to accept him back. She should let him go totally and believe God for someone much better who will value her for who she is and not what she can give.”

  “Ok.”

  “I also told her not to be desperate. That her mates are getting married doesn’t mean she should open up to any man that comes her way. Most men just want one thing and they can promise marriage just to get that thing. I told her to focus on her spiritual life, her family and her work for now, until she has totally healed of the heart break.”

  “How will she know she has healed?”

  “When she remembers it and doesn’t feel hurt; when she sees him and doesn’t feel anything, then she has healed.”

  “Ok.”

  “I also told her to just maintain a platonic friendship with all her male friends and keep admirers out of her heart entirely. Whenever she thinks she has met someone who she thinks is her ‘Mr Right’, she should not hesitate to inform you, her biological mother; and me, her spiritual mother. We will use our elderly eyes and screen the person.”

  “Ok.”

  “Did I forget something?” she asked Mabel.

  “I don’t think so,” Mabel said. “You have said it all.”

  “Are you sure?” her mother asked her.

  “Then finally,” Pastor’s wife continued. “I told her to make sure Jesus has her heart fully. She should draw closer to the Lord in worship and in service. If Jesus has her heart, no man will toil with it and break it for her. He will help her make the right choices.

                She turned to Cynthia.

  “Cynthia I hope you heard all I just said?”

  “Yes ma,” Cynthia answered.

  “All I said to Mabel applies to you also.”

  “Yes ma.”

  “Now, the reason why I called all of you together is because she told me heartbreak is like a vicious cycle in the family.”

  “Yes oo,” their mother said. “It happened to me and it is now repeating in my children’s lives.”

  “Tell me about it.”

                Their mother explained her experiance, in a nutshell.

“Hmmm,” pastor’s wife did, shaking her head. “That is a serious spiritual matter. You will have to see daddy so he will tell you what to do. We will need serious prayers to break that evil cycle.”

  “Ok. When can we see him?”

  “As soon as possible.”

                Pastor’s wife looked at the wall clock.

  “The service starts very soon,” she said. “He should be preparing for the service by now.”

  “What about after the service?” their mother asked.

  “He might have some meetings with some people.”

  “Maybe we will leave it till when next he will be free.”

  “No. I want you to see him today no matter how brief. So we can start whatever we need to do immediately. Let me put a call across to him.”

  “Ok.”

                She called Pastor on phone and asked if she could come and see him. 

(..to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

FED UP [LXIV]

(continued...)

Cynthia left and soon came back with the snacks, drinks and recharge card. They ate and waited. A while later, they heard a familiar voice calling their names. They looked towards the entrance and saw their mother.

  “What is mummy doing here?” Mabel whispered to Cynthia as they got up to welcome their mother.

  “I don’t know o,” Cynthia whispered back.

                They greeted her and she hugged them.

  “What brings you here?” Cynthia asked.

  “We were supposed to have emergency women meeting today,” their mother replied, trying hard to conceal the real reason why she came.

  “Which emergency women meeting?” Mabel asked her suspiciously.

  “Mama wouldn’t have asked us to wait if there was a meeting,” Cynthia said. “Besides, I don’t see women here for any meeting.”

                Their mother couldn’t pretend any more.

  “Ok I came to see you people,” she said.

  “You came to hear what mama will say,” Cynthia said.

                They laughed and sat down.

  “Is she around?” she asked them.

  “Yes,” Cynthia answered.

  “So why have you not seen her?”

  “She is not in her office. She had to attend to some pressing matters.”

  “But she should be in the compound because her car is outside.”

  “Maybe she entered the church auditorium.”

                Their mother checked her time piece.

  “If we don’t see her on time,” she said. “We may have to stay for midweek service.”

  “Until we are done seeing her,” Mabel said. “Until I am done seeing her, I mean.”

  “There is no way you are entering there alone o. It is a general family issue.”

  “But I am the one facing a situation now.”

  “Yes but…”

  “When mama comes,” Cynthia said. “She will tell us how to come in and see her.”

Their mother asked them questions about how their day went especially in the hospital. Mabel summarized every question she asked but she kept pressing for details.

  “Na you fit mummy,” Cynthia said to Mabel and laughed. “She wan know how many people cough there and how dem cough be.”

  “I wonder o,” Mabel said.

  “I don’t blame you,” their mother said.

                They laughed.

                From time to time, someone they knew would come in, see them, exchange pleasantries and pass. After a while, they started hearing the sound of some people testing the PA system and the instruments in the main church auditorium.

  “Mid week service will soon start,” Cynthia said.

  “That means we will stay and also collect the blessing from the service,” their mother said.

  “Ok,” Mabel said. 

  “Have you spoken to Mama Risi since morning?” Cynthia asked Mabel.

  “No,” she replied.

  “Is there any problem?” their mother asked.

  “No,” Mabel replied. “Just to know if anyone came looking for me in the house.”

  “Ok.”

  “I think you should call her and know how things are,” Cynthia said.

  “Yes,” Mabel said. “So I will know if I should get to the house first before meeting you people at home.”

  “That will not be necessary,” their mother said. “There won’t be time to go to your house and then come home.”

  “Ok o, If you say so.”

They were quiet for a while as they still waited for the Pastor’s wife.

  “Where is Mama na?” Mabel asked after a while, feeling impatient. “Service will soon start.”

  “She will still see us,” their mother said. “Even if she comes back after service has started. Afterall, she gave us appointment.”

  “Ok o. Let me use this opportunity and call Mama Risi.”

As she brought out her phone to call Mama Risi, Pastor’s wife walked in.

  “So sorry for keeping you waiting,” she said as she greeted and hugged Mabel’s mum.

  “No problem ma,” Mabel said.

  “One of our young women was in labour and they asked me to come. I got the information while I was still trying to discharge the woman you saw me with earlier. Before I could come back to see you, her husband drove in like it was an emergency and I had to go with him to the hospital where I prayed and encouraged her.”

  “Has she put to bed?” Mabel’s mum asked.

  “Not while I was there. She insisted I stayed with her but I knew you were waiting for me so I had to rush back.”

  “Eiyaa. That’s nice of you.”

  “What do you expect? When you are a pastor’s wife, you become responsible for the welfare of a lot of people, especially women and children.”

  “You are strong o.”

  “It’s hectic but it is fulfilling at the end of the day.”

  “The Lord is your strength ma.”

  “Yes indeed. So, am I seeing you all or just Mabel?”

                Mabel said “Me only” at the same time her mother said “All of us”.

                She smiled and said, “Mabel, let me see you first. I will see all of you together afterwards.”

                She went into her office and Mabel went in after her.

  “So we will not know what they are discussing?” their mother said to Cynthia, sounding frustrated.

  “Mabel will still tell us,” Cynthia said.

  “She doesn’t tell everything o.”

  “I will find a way for get every detail from her.”

  “Not the Mabel I know.”

  “Trust me. Moreover, we will see Mama together. You can ask her anything you want.”

                After about 20 minutes, Mabel came out of the Pastor’s wife’s office.

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

FED UP [LXIII]

(continued...)

                Mabel brought out her phone and called her mother. She told her mother the test result and her mother was happy. While she was still on call with her mum, another call was coming into her phone. She ignored it the first time, but the second time, she checked. The call was from Segun. She rounded up her discussion with her mother and hung up. Then she allowed her phone ring without picking up Segun’s call.

  “Can you Imagine,” she said to Cynthia.

  “What is it?” Cynthia asked her.

                She showed Cynthia the missed call on her phone.

  “Segun is calling you?” Cynthia asked, puzzled. “Why?”

  “If you ask me, who I go ask?”

  “He should leave you alone na. What does he want again?”

                Her phone rang again. The call was still from Segun.

  “Should I pick?” Mabel asked.

  “No,” Cynthia answered.

                Mabel did not pick. The call came two more times but she ignored them.

  “Who knows why he is calling me?” she asked when there was no more call coming.

  “Maybe he wants to apologize and ask for a second chance,” Cynthia said.

 “I don’t think so.”

  “Anyways, forget about him. We had better be going so we don’t get to the office later than your appointment time.”

                They stopped a keke, told him where they were going, bargained and agreed on a price and entered. As the keke went through the bumpy and gallop-filled road, Mabel was lost in thought.

  “What are you thinking?” Cynthia asked her when she noticed how silent she had been for a while.

  “Just wondering why he was calling,” Mabel said softly.

  “You are still thinking about Segun and his call sef.”

  “I don’t know what to do again.”

  “Better not worry yourself because of that…”

                A text message entered Mabel’s phone. She checked it. It was from Segun.

  “He just sent an SMS,” Mabel told Cynthia and sighed.

  “Na wa o,” Cynthia said. “He doesn’t want you to rest at all.”

  “Let me see what’s in the message.”

                She opened the message and read through with Cynthia. The SMS was not a long one. Segun just asked how she was doing and exonerated himself from the earlier purported threat. Then he ended by telling her to take care of herself.

  “At least this does not look like an apology from someone seeking a second chance,” Mabel said.

  “Since when did he start caring about how you are doing?” Cynthia said. “I sense something in that message.”

  “What?”

  “A subtle declaration of interest.”

  “There is nothing there.”

  “If you say so.”

  “There is no point replying his SMS abi?”

  “For what? Ignore it joor.”

  “Ok.”

                She made to put her phone back in her purse and then said, “Ehe, Let me call Coker and know whether he is back from his journey.”

  “Is it now you and Coker?” Cynthia asked.

                Mabel gave her a what-is-wrong-with-you look.

  “You are not serious o,” she said to Cynthia. “I don’t want it to look as though I only call him when I have problems.”

  “Ok oo,” Cynthia said. “I dey look all of una.”

Mabel spoke with Coker on phone. He told her he would be coming back the following day. She told him that Segun called and sent SMS. He was surprised but then he told her to do whatever she felt was comfortable for her. He told her that Timi had been asking after her and would not let him rest. She smiled and told him to greet Timi for her but to also tell him to stop bothering about her and move on with his life. When they were done talking, she hung up.  

  “Coker’s brother is a nut case,” she said.

  “He is still asking after you?” Cynthia asked.

  “Yes o. Coker said he is not letting him rest.”

  “He is cute and looks rich.”

  “So?”

  “Shift him my way if you don’t want him.”

  “You have big eye o.”

                They laughed.

                When they got to the church, they alighted, paid the keke man and he left. They walked into the church office section and met the pastor’s wife standing outside the door with another church member. They greeted them.

  “Mabel and Cynthia, how are you?” she said, hugging each of them.

  “Very fine ma,” they replied.

  “Mabel it’s been long you came to church,” she said to Mabel.

  “It is the nature of my job ma and some issues ma,” Mabel replied.

  “It is well. How is your mother?”

  “She is fine ma.”

  “Wait a little while. I will see you shortly. Let me attend to some pressing matters.”

  “Ok ma.”

                She strolled out with the church member, while Mabel and Cynthia sat in the reception area.

  “Let me go and buy something we could eat,” Cynthia said.

  “Hei!” Mabel shouted.

  “What is it?”

  “We did not bring anything for Mama.”

  “It is true. What do we do?”

  “The shops around won’t have something presentable for her.”

  “If we go far, we may not meet up and we will end up keeping her waiting.”

  “Maybe next time I will just explain to her.”

  “It is not as if she is asking for anything.”

  “But it shows honour.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Kai. How could I have forgotten it?”

                Cynthia got up to leave. Mabel called her back and gave her more money.

  “Get recharge card for Mama,” she said. “We can’t just see her empty handed.”

Cynthia left and soon came back with the snacks, drinks and recharge card. They ate and waited. A while later, they heard a familiar voice calling their names. They looked towards the entrance and saw their mother.

  “What is mummy doing here?” Mabel whispered to Cynthia as they got up to welcome their mother.

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

FED UP [LXII]

(continued...)

They hugged and Glory left. Mabel caught up with Cynthia and they went to see Dr Obinna. When they entered his office, Mabel tried to read his face but she couldn’t explain his expression. If he was smiling, she would have concluded that the result was negative but he was not smiling. He just held her result paper and swiveled on his seat.   

  “Please sit down,” he said to them after a short while.

                Mabel sat, still tensed. He kept quiet.

  “Doc, what does the result show?” she asked when she could not hold herself anymore.

                Dr. Obinna hissed and shook his head.

  “Say something na,” Mabel said, impatient. “No matter what it is, I can take it.”

                Dr. Obinna leaned forward and placed the lab result paper on the table. Mabel rushed and checked it. She saw “PT – negative” boldly written on it. She shouted joyfully. Dr. Obinna burst into laughter and Cynthia joined in the laughter.

  “You wanted me to suffer high blood pressure,” Mabel said.

  “I was just pulling your legs,” Dr. Obinna replied. “Right from when I saw you, I knew you were not pregnant. I just wanted you to see it for yourself.”

  “That means I will wait much longer to carry my niece,” Cynthia teased.

  “You are not serious,” Mabel told her.

  “Imagine that lab woman saying you looked pregnant.”

  “Don’t mind her.”

  “Being a single mother has its challenges o,” Dr Obinna said. “It is not advisable at all.”

  “Very true,” Mabel said.

  “These days, you can’t tie many men down with pregnancy. No matter how much they profess to love you, once they get what they want to their satisfaction, they leave you.”

 “Men are always afraid of commitment,” Cynthia said. “I don’t know why.”

  “Not all men though,” Dr. Obinna said

  “Doc so what do I do about the dizziness?” Mabel asked.

  “Is something bothering you?” he asked. “Are you being stressed out by work or an issue in your life now?”

  “No.”

  “Sure?”

  “Yes doc.”

  “Your man is not giving you trouble abi?”

  “No.”

  “From the questions I asked you initially, you are not presenting other symptoms consistent with sickness. Just rest very well and eat well. You will be fine.”

  “What could have caused the vomiting and the stomach pain?”

  “I think it is something you ate yesterday.”

  “Ok. Hope I don’t need drugs?”

  “No. Just eat well, with a lot of fruits and fluid.”

  “Ok. Thanks.”

                They got up to leave.

  “Cynthia please finish your drugs,” Dr. Obinna said.

  “But you said it the infection has cleared,” Cynthia said.

  “I never said so o.”

  “I am tired of the drugs sef.”

  “I know. Most people don’t take their prescribed drugs more than three days. They dump them when they feel better not knowing that every prescription has a course to run. If you don’t take the full dose, what you are trying to deal with will become resistant to that drug you are taking.”

  “Ok.”

  “So finish it ok.”

  “Ok. Thanks.”

  “Doc, thank you so much,” Mabel said. “You have been a true family friend.”

  “Anything for your family. Remember when I used to eat in your house?”

  “Yes. We were small then.”

  “One good turn always deserves another. I would have married you if not that I couldn’t wait for you to finish growing up.”

  “It is not too late o. I want to marry a doctor.”

  “My wife will just use prayer and finish us.”

                They laughed. Mabel and Cynthia left the office. Dr. Obinna rang his table bell and the next patient entered.

  “Thank God it came out negative o,” Mabel said to Cynthia when they were outside.

  “Yes o,” Cynthia said. “Mummy would have been very disappointed with you.”

  “I have learnt my lesson. Never try keeping a guy with sex.”

  “But you can help yourself from time to time.”

  “You can also hold yourself. All you need is discipline and avoiding staying alone with a guy when you are in the mood.”

  “Yes o.”

They walked towards the hospital gate.

  “Where do we go now?” Cynthia asked.

  “To see pastor’s wife,” Mabel replied.

  “Is it time yet?”

                Mabel checked her watch.

  “It is almost time o,” she said. “We need to hurry.”

  “I am hungry.”

  “We will just get snacks or better still we wait until we get to her office, so I will not get there after the appointment time and look like an unserious person.”

  “Ok. Let’s get there first, but what will I do about my afternoon drugs?”

  “It can wait till we get home. It is just analgesics.”

  “She may insist we stay for midweek service o.”

  “Then we will stay. Your major drugs are in the morning and in the night. My main concern now is whether these movements are causing you back pain.”

  “Not at all. I am good.”

  “Ok.”

                They got to the road. Cynthia looked left and right in search of something.

  “What are you looking for?” Mabel asked her.

  “To see if those hoodlums are around,” Cynthia said.

  “If Mrs Biodun tells you she has taken care of something, better believe her.”

  “Ok.”

  “Let me call mummy and tell her how we went.”

  “OK.”

                Mabel brought out her phone and called her mother. She told her mother the test result and her mother was happy. While she was still on call with her mum, another call was coming into her phone. She ignored it the first time, but the second time, she checked. The call was from Segun.

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

To start from the beginning of the story, click here

FED UP [LXI]

(continued...)

  “How many weeks are you?” she asked, looking at Mabel.

  “Weeks what?” Mabel asked, puzzled.

  “Pregnant.”

  “How do you know I am pregnant?”

  “You look pregnant.”

  “If it is a joke, please stop it ma,” Mabel said, a bit offended.

  “Is it not good news if you are pregnant?” the woman asked, surprised.

  “Not now.”

  “Oh, you are not married.”

                She took the lab note from Mabel and went into an inner room.

  “She is kidding,” Cynthia said to a tensed up Mabel.

  “She had better be o,” Mabel said.

The woman came out with what she needed to carry out the test.

  “Madam, are you serious about what you said?” Mabel asked her.

  “Relax,” she said. “The test will tell. Even though you look pregnant but I could be wrong.”

  “Ok.”

  “Even if you are, it is not a big deal. It is a joy to have children.”

  “Not when you are not…” Cynthia began to say.

  “…ready” Mabel finished it for her.

  “The nine months are not fun but when you carry your baby in your arms, you forget all the suffering, no matter the circumstances of the birth.”

  “So I have heard ma. But it had better not be the case here.”

  “I would have used the kit but since you want to be very sure, I will have to take your blood.”

  “Ok. No urine?”

  “It is usually early morning urine but it is afternoon now.”

                She thought for a while and said, “I will take urine too and check everything at once.”

  “Ok ma.”

  “Come with me.”

She took Mabel into a room and collected the blood samples from her. Then Mabel came out.

  “Should we wait or should we go and come back later?” Cynthia asked Mabel.

  “Let me ask her,” Mabel said

                She went back in and asked the woman who told her she would notify Dr. Obinna when the result was ready. Mabel and Cynthia left. They got to Dr Obinna’s office and the crowd was still there. More people had joined the few that remained from those that were there earlier.

  “If we enter there now, these people will bite us o,” Cynthia said.

  “Let me just call him and inform him,” Mabel said.

  “Better.”

Mabel called Dr Obinna and informed him. He told them to hang around until the result came out.

  “Where do we stay now?” Cynthia asked Mabel.

  “Do you want to eat anything?” Mabel asked her.

  “No. We are not going out of that gate until we are done with what we came here for.”

  “We can stay in their staff canteen or that kiosk under the tree over there.”

  “I prefer the kiosk. I don’t want any embarrassment in that canteen. We are not hospital staff.”

  “Embarrassment from who? When I am here?”

  “Let us stay in the kiosk under that tree.”

                They walked towards the kiosk. Mabel’s phone rang. She checked it. It was Glory. Mabel picked. Glory teased her about not caring to call her to know why she had not come around to check up on her for some time.

  “It is not like that o,” Mabel said. “Several things have happened.”

                Glory told her she just heard about the incident with Segun and Kemi the previous day.

  “Who told you?” Mabel asked.

                Glory told her that information flies and asked where she was. Mabel told her they were in Dr. Obinna’s hospital. She shouted and asked what she was doing in a hospital. Mabel told her it was because of Cynthia. Cynthia childishly eyed her. Glory told her that she was not too far from there and that she was coming there immediately. Then she hung up.

  “Glory is angry I didn’t call her,” Mabel said after Glory hung up.

  “You are not the calling type na,” Cynthia said. “The last thing you will do is to call somebody on phone.”

  “My dear, I have been trying to change but it is not working.

  “It is not good.”

  “My job has so taken my time that to call people is now difficult. I only call when extremely necessary.”

  “It is not as if you don’t have money for airtime.”

  “That reminds me sef. Let me recharge and pay back the one I borrowed.”

  “Ok.”

                They got to the kiosk, Mabel bought airtime and recharged.

  “These people don’t waste time to collect their money o,” she said after checking her account balance.

Cynthia laughed.

  “There is no way to avoid paying back,” she said.

They sat on the bench outside the kiosk. The owner asked them if she should bring any drink for them. Mabel told her not immediately. About ten minutes later, they saw Glory walking into the hospital.

  “See Glory,” Cynthia said, pointing in her direction.

                Mabel waved at Glory to call her attention. Glory saw them and walked towards them. When she got close, she hugged them and they exchanged pleasantries.

  “What is wrong with you?” she asked Cynthia.

  “Nothing serious,” Cynthia said.

  “I thought I told you she was sick?” Mabel asked.

  “I think we chatted about it but I was sleep-chatting that day,” Glory said. “I was not really following what you were saying.”

  “Ok.”

  “Are you through with seeing the doctor?”

  “No.”

  “We are just waiting…” Cynthia began to say.

  “…for one of Cynthia’s results to come out and we collect drugs,” Mabel finished it for her.

  “Ok,” Glory said. “How soon will it be out?”

  “Anytime from now.”

                They made space for her on the bench and she sat with them. The owner of the kiosk came again and asked if she should bring anything for them.

  “Madam oya bring bottle water for us,” Mabel said, laughing.

  “This woman sef,” Cynthia said laughing.

  “She has to sell her market na,” Glory said. “Will you occupy her sit for nothing?”

                She brought the water. Glory told her to change hers to a soft drink. She did. Mabel paid her and she went back inside.

  “Ehe,” Glory said. “I wanted to ask you whether what I heard is true.”

  “What did you hear?” Mabel asked.

                Glory told her all she had heard about the previous day’s incident and how Mabel and Margret had put hand together to beat Kemi which made Kemi to be admitted in the hospital, and how Coker had caused Segun to have accident. While she was talking, Mabel looked at her in shock. When she was done, Mabel and Cynthia burst into laughter.

  “What’s funny?” Glory asked, looking confused.

  “People can add salt and pepper to story o,” Cynthia said, still laughing.

  “That’s not how it happened,” Mabel said.

  “Really?” Glory said.

  “Yes.”

  “So what exactly happened?”

                Mabel told her the true story. She reduced her voice so only three of them heard what she was saying. When she was done, Glory shrugged and shook her head.

  “Margret took a big risk there,” she said. “What was she thinking?”

  “She was just trying to help,” Mabel said.

  “It would have gone awry o.”

  “If it had gone awry, Margret would have borne the consequences na. Na me carry myself go there?”

  “If I hear. This story I told you is spreading fast o. Imagine if it really happened, you could be locked up and you would have to answer for what you did not initiate.”

  “Well, thank God it did not.”

                Cynthia saw the lady doctor walking and looking around as though in search of someone. She called Mabel’s attention to her.

  “Maybe she is looking for us,” Mabel said.

  “Let me find out,” Cynthia said and got up from the bench.

                Cynthia walked towards the lady who told her that Dr Obinna was calling them. Cynthia beckoned on Mabel.

  “The doctor wants to see us,” Mabel told Glory.

  “I will be going,” Glory said.

  “Why? We will not stay long.”

  “I was on my way to somewhere when I called you. I just wanted to confirm the story I heard.”

  “Ok. Now you know the truth.”

  “Yes. Let me go and spread the true version.”

They hugged and Glory left. Mabel caught up with Cynthia and they went to see Dr Obinna. When they entered his office, Mabel tried to read his face but she couldn’t explain his expression. If he was smiling, she would have concluded that the result was negative but he was not smiling. He just held her result paper and swiveled on his seat.

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac

FED UP [LX]

(continued...)

When they got to the hospital, they went straight to Dr Obinna’s office. They met many people waiting to see him so they looked around for the lady doctor they met the other day they came. They soon saw her, went to her and they exchanged pleasantries.

  “You came to see Dr Obi?” she asked them.

  “Yes,” Mabel replied.

  “Officially or unofficially?”

Cynthia looked at Mabel, wondering what the lady meant.

  “Both,” Mabel said.

  “Call him on phone and tell him you are around,” the lady doctor said. “He will then tell me what to do or tell you how long to wait. If I take you into his office now, these people who have been waiting will chop off my head.”

  “I understand. Let me call him now.”

Mabel went a safe hearing distance from where the people were and called Dr Obinna. He told her to wait a little so he could attend to some more patients before he would call them in.

  “He said we should wait a little,” Mabel told the lady doctor when she was done with the call.

  “Ok,” she replied.

  “Where do we stay to wait?”

                She looked around inside the room. There was no sitting space so she took them to another waiting room in the hospital, not far from Dr Obinna’s office.

  “Don’t fail to call us when he is freer,” Cynthia said to her.

  “Ok,” she replied.

                They sat and waited. It wasn’t up to 20 minutes later, the lady doctor came to call them.

  “Dr. Obi is calling you,” she said.

                They followed her straight to Dr Obinna’s office. After exchanging pleasantries, he asked them to sit. They sat.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked Cynthia.

  “Better,” Cynthia replied. “Though whenever I try to lift something heavy, I feel pain.”

  “Stop lifting heavy things for now and you will be fine.”

  “Ok.”

  “Any side effect from the drugs?”

  “Nothing serious.”

  “Ok.”

  “What about the culture result?” Mabel asked him. “Is it out yet?”

  “Yes it is,” he replied. “When you called to say you were coming, I asked the lab people to send it over.”

  “Did it show anything?”

                He opened a drawer and brought out a lab paper.

  “This is it,” he said. “I will file it together with other results when we are done.”

  “Ok, so what does the result show?” Cynthia asked, a bit tensed.

  “Nothing much.”

  “Meaning there is something,” Mabel said.

He told them the culture showed moderate growth of a particular bacterium which attacks the urinary tract and if not promptly and properly treated, affects the kidney.

  “Ok,” Cynthia said. “So what do I do?”

  “It is sensitive to the antibiotics you are already taking. By the time you are done with the drugs, it should have cleared. So there is no cause for alarm.”

 “Wow. Thanks a lot. That’s a huge relief.”

  “Just continue with your drugs. Remember you have to keep up with the massage and observing correct posture, to deal with the back pain.”

  “Ok. Thanks.”

  “Alright. That should be all.”

                He wanted to ring his bell so the lady doctor would send in the next patient but Mabel stopped him.

  “Dr. Obi wait,” she said. “I have a complaint.”

  “Ok,” Dr Obinna said. “What is it?”

                Mabel told him how she felt the previous day and all she took. She didn’t tell him anything concerning the heartbreak and the incident that happened. Dr Obinna clerked her.

  “Let me check you out,” Dr Obinna said when she was done with the questions.

                He told her to lie on the couch, then he mildly felt her abdomen. When he was done, he asked her to sit up.

  “When was the last time you saw your period?” he asked.

                Mabel’s heart skipped.

  “I have not seen it this month,” she answered, a bit tensed.

  “Is it possible that she is…” Cynthia began to say.

  “Cynthia!” Mabel called her harshly.

  “She is what?” Dr. Obinna asked Cynthia.

                Cynthia kept quiet.

  “Say what you wanted to say,” He told Cynthia. “So I can know where to approach the issue from.”

                Cynthia looked at Mabel.

  “She wanted to ask whether I could be pregnant,” Mabel said.

  “Hmm, have you been having unprotected sex?” he asked.

  “Maybe once or twice,” Mabel said, lowering her head.

  “I wonder why you would take such a risk.”

  “It was a mistake.”

  “About being pregnant, we will have to investigate that, though I really doubt it.”

  “There should be signs to show whether I am or not.”

  “Pregnancy signs differ and presents differently in different women. It is when we do laboratory investigation that we will know for sure.”

  “I can’t be pregnant,” Mabel insisted and shook her head.

  “Even if you are, it is not the end of the world.”

                The lady doctor knocked and peeped in.

  “Any problem?” Dr Obinna asked her.

  “The patients are complaining that you are taking so much time sir,” she said.

  “Tell them I am with my younger sisters. I will attend to the next person in the next five minutes.”

  “Ok sir.”

                She withdrew her head and Dr Obinna continued with Mabel.

  “Do you have pregnancy kit?” he asked her.

  “No I don’t. What do I need it for?”

  “Ok. I will send you to the lab. In less than 30 minutes, the result will be out, depending on how busy they are.”

  “Ok.”

                Dr Obinna called the lab and told them he was sending his sister and told them what to do. Then he hung up. He wrote the test to be carried out on a paper and handed it over to Mabel.

  “I really doubt whether it will be positive,” he said. “But get this done first.”

  “Ok,” Mabel said. “Thank you.”

                Mabel and Cynthia left the office. The patients looked at them sternly so they just looked straight and walked past. When they got to the lab section, they met the lab attendant who Dr Obinna sent them to. She was a matured woman, about the age of Mabel’s mother.

  “How many weeks are you?” she asked, looking at Mabel.

  “Weeks what?” Mabel asked, puzzled.

  “Pregnant.”

  “How do you know I am pregnant?”

  “You look pregnant.”

(...to be continued)

Nedu Isaac