At first, I couldn’t quite process what the man was talking about. It was as though he was speaking some kind of language that I couldn’t understand anymore. I was watching him, there was a stupid looking smile on his face that I couldn’t understand. In my mind, I was praying I was wrong about what I heard him say. I was hoping it was my mind that was playing tricks on me. I felt I needed to be sure I had heard well. I wanted to be sure I wasn’t imagining things, so I asked him;
“Sir, what…what did you just say?” I asked him. The stupid-looking smile on his stupid looking face was becoming more annoying now.
“I’m sure you heard me right the first time, young lady,” he answered. “You have a major problem on your hands now. I am the only one who can help you out of it and you do not have the money to pay for the service. Except of course, if you are banking on your mum or dad to come and pay for you, which I seriously doubt.”
“No, please, my mum or dad must not hear about this, I beg you in God’s name,” I nearly went on my knees. This man was starting to turn into a real nightmare for me.
“See, I am not interested in telling your parents, that’s not my business, it’s up to you to decide whether you will tell them or not,” he continued. “My own is that, let me eat from the same Apple that those small boys have eaten from, and I will help you evacuate the pregnancy in your womb before anybody suspects anything. Or, do you think you can cope with the shame of being pregnant at your age?”
This is the time to go on my knees and beg this stupid old man. I moved closer to his table and promptly went on my knees. “Sir, I beg you in God’s name, please, help me. I did not get pregnant by choice, I was raped by a guy. I swear, he drugged my drink and raped me. Please, I am young enough to be your daughter, I’m probably your last child’s age mate, just see me as your daughter…..”
“Hey! Please, stop all that sermon! What nonsense is all this?” he snapped at me, raising his voice in anger. He was not impressed with my plea, despite that I was in tears on my knees before him. “I’m not interested in your age or whether you are my first daughter or last daughter’s age mate, all I’m making you here is an offer, do you want it or not? And if you don’t want it, then get out of my office because there are dozens of patients out there waiting to see me!”
I was stunned. This man was heartless. I couldn’t believe that despite my pleas and explanation, he could still behave insensitively to my plight. The manner in which he suddenly changed and very nearly threw me out of his office told me one thing very clearly – I was dealing with a very mean and heartless human being.
I just couldn’t understand why he would be asking to sleep with me, somebody that’s young enough to be his youngest child. I had heard of tales of older men asking girls young enough to be their daughters out, but I had never quite seen one before and now it was happening to me. The only difference this time is that this man was not asking me out, he was not giving me the chance to decide if I wanted to sleep with him or not. Rather, he was taking advantage of my helpless situation to blackmail me because he knew I was in a very bad situation.
“Sir, can you just give me a minute, please?” I asked him, terribly scared of his outburst.
“Go on and say whatever you want to say and make it fast, “he’d snapped at me.
“What if I raise part of the money and bring to you and then bring the balance after you have helped me?” I asked, tears still welling up in my eyes.
“And if you fail to pay up, what should I do, come knocking on your door every morning to pay me my money?”
“No, sir, I swear, I will pay you,” I pleaded for the umpteenth time.
The man was livid. He gazed hard at me for seconds and then slowly shook his head. “You this small girl, you think you are smart or what?” Again, he smiled and shook his head slowly. “Listen to me, if you know you don’t have anything important to say, you had better leave my office now before I get really angry with you!”
“Okay, okay, sir, I have heard you,” I said to him.
“You have heard me what?”
“I have heard what you said, sir, I will do what you’re asking for,” I pleaded with him.
“Now you’re talking like a sensible girl,” he said to me. And for the first time, the idiot beamed me a smile. It was not a beautiful smile, it was a smile that still showed that the man was not the kind of man you could turn to when you needed his help as a friend.
“So, how is it going to be? Do we do what we need to do right here or you would rather we go out?”
”You mean, you want us to do it right here and now, in your office?” I was shocked. I was speechless. But the shameless old man didn’t find it the least funny, he was dead serious.
“Sir, I’m not sure I can do that here in your office,” I told him.
“Okay, so we should go out?”
“I think that will be better, sir.”
“So, can we gfo right now?’
“I thought you said you had lots of patients to attend to.”
“You don’t you worry yourself about that, that’s my business” he retorted.
I gave up. This man was something else. “Okay, sir, but please, you will have to give me time…”
“Time again?” he’d cut in before I was done talking.
“Yes, sir, just give me two days to prepare myself, I will come and meet you myself,” I’d assured him.
“Okay, I will be here waiting for you,” he returned, his eyes probing into mine, trying to read my mind to see if I was up to something. “But here is the thing, if after tomorrow I don’t see you, do not even bother to come back here because I won’t even bother to attend to you again, do you hear me?”
