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.
“Let me come and help you,” Cynthia said to her mother.
“No,” her mother
replied. “Keep your sister company.”
“I will be fine,”
Mabel said. “Let me just try and sleep.”
“Ok,” Cynthia said
and stood up.
“Don’t bother
yourself,” their mother insisted. “I can handle it myself. Moreover, you are
still on drugs and you don’t need to strain your back.”
“Ok.”
Cynthia
sat back down. Their mother went into the kitchen. Mabel adjusted herself on
the couch.
“Has the dizziness
reduced?” Cynthia asked Mabel.
“Yes it has,” Mabel
replied.
“Thank God.”
“What about you? Are
you feeling the back pain now?”
“Not really. But it
comes up whenever I lift something heavy or bend forward for a long time.”
“Stop doing them
till you are very fine na.”
“No matter how I try
not to, I still have to do them one way or the other. We don’t have a house
help and I can’t leave everything for mummy to do.”
“You are right.”
Mabel reached out her hand and fingered
Cynthia’s hair.
“You washed your
hair well,” she said
“Yes,” Cynthia said.
“Chidinma helped me do it.”
“So the ajibo-forming girl can even wash hair
like this?”
“Don’t mind that
girl. There is nothing she doesn’t know how to do. It’s just that her desire to
‘belong’ is preventing her from using her gifts.”
“Most salons can’t
do it as good as this o.”
“She would have made
my hair also, just that I was tired and it was getting late.”
“Hmm. She has to
start using her gifts o.”
“She said she
doesn’t want to suffer.”
“Hmm.”
“She said she might
come again tomorrow and then do something temporary on my hair so I will manage
until I am strong enough to go to the salon and sit for a long time.”
“That’s nice of
her.”
“I just hope one guy
will not call her and offer to take her out tomorrow. She doesn’t miss those kinds
of offers.”
“Well, if she
doesn’t come to do it, then I will.”
“Ok thanks.”
“You are welcome.”
“Let me check
whether mummy needs help with anything.”
“Ok.”
Cynthia
got up and went into the kitchen. She soon came back.
“She doesn’t need
help with anything,” she said to Mabel.
“Ok,” Mabel replied
and closed her eyes.
Cynthia sat on the shorter couch
opposite Mabel. After a short while of silence, she asked Mabel, “What do you
plan to do about this whole thing?”
“Which thing?” Mabel
asked, opening her eyes and looking at Cynthia.
“The dizziness, the
heartbreak, and so on.”
“I will start with
seeing Dr Obinna tomorrow as mummy insisted.”
“Ok. I just pray it
is not what we are thinking.”
Mabel lowered her voice and said, “I am really scared.”
“I know,” Cynthia
said. “We don’t need Mabel junior now. Not like I won’t be happy to meet my
niece or nephew.”
“I understand. Not
with the same pattern as mummy had us.”
“She will be
heartbroken if it happens.”
“Very very.”
“Whatever be the
case, you will overcome it. You are a stronger woman.”
“Thanks.”
“You will still see
Pastor’s wife tomorrow right?”
“Yes. That reminds
me, I need to call her to confirm. Help me get my phone.”
“Don’t you think it
is too late to call her now?” Cynthia asked as she got the phone from the
center table.
“Ok. I will just
send her an SMS.”
Cynthia
handed over the phone to Mabel and sat back down. Mabel checked her phone log
and saw some missed calls from Coker and from an unsaved number. There was also
an SMS from Coker. She read it. He just wanted to know how she was doing. She
replied the SMS and went on to send her pastor’s wife an SMS. Then she put on her data.
“Maybe I need to Google
the symptoms of pregnancy,” Mabel whispered to Cynthia, looking at the kitchen
door to know if her mother was standing there unknown to them.
“You think it is a
good idea?” Cynthia answered. “It will just make you edgy and worried.”
“Abi.”
“Why not leave it
till you see Dr Obinna tomorrow and let the lab confirm for you whether you are
or not.”
“Ok.”
“What you can do is
find out ‘what you can do when your boyfriend breaks your heart.”
“On the internet?”
Mabel asked laughing.
“Yes na. There is
nothing you will not see in the internet o.”
“Hmm. But they are
just the opinions of people, not to be trusted.”
“Exactly. But it
will give you an idea, especially when you see how other people handled their
own issues.”
“I am not checking
that one joor.”
Mabel’s
phone rang. She checked who was calling. It was her pastor’s wife. She answered
and they exchanged pleasantries, asking after each other’s family. Her pastor’s
wife confirmed the appointment with her the following day by 3 pm. She tried to
get information from Mabel on what the matter was but Mabel insisted on telling
her when they meet. When they were done talking, she hung up.
“I didn’t know she
would still be available on phone by this time,” Cynthia said.
“It is not that late
yet na,” Mabel said. “By the way, she is a shepherd of flocks like us. So she
needs to always be available for us.”
“She is a nice
person. She always calls back.”
“Yes. Maybe because
of how close we are to her.”
“And how useful we
are in the church.”
“Yes.”
Cynthia yawned and asked, “What did
you come back with? I am hungry.”
“Check the nylon
bag. I think there is juice there.”
Cynthia rummaged through the nylon
bag containing the things Coker had bought for Mabel. She brought out the fruit
juice.
“Did you get these
things yourself?” Cynthia asked her.
“Why do you ask?”
Mabel replied.
“This is not your
type of juice, so I don’t think you bought it by yourself.”
“Are you interested
or not?”
“Hmm. Mabel Mabel.”
“What?”
“Is this peace
offering from Segun?”
“God forbid. You
think I will accept anything from him?”
“Are you seeing
someone else?”
“Cynthia!”
“Sorry. Something just
tells me you did not buy them yourself.”
As
Cynthia’s hands went through the nylon bag, she felt a paper. She reached in
and brought it out. It was a complimentary-card-sized paper with a write-up.
“Which one is this?”
she said.
“What’s that?” Mabel
asked, looking up from her phone.
“A note.”
“What does it say?”
“It says, ‘I am really
worried about you. Please take good care of yourself. I care.’”
“What?” Mabel said
and sat up. “You are joking right.”
(...to be continued)
Nedu Isaac
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