Aunty Lisa tried to comfort her but she was inconsolable, she just broke into tears as though a major tragedy had occurred.
Father had been quiet all the while, he just gazed into space as mother displayed her drama. He was not moved by any of that.
“Woman, please, keep quiet. This is not the place to start all these dramas. When we get home, you will have all the time in the world to do that.” He turned to me. “Young lady, this boy that raped you and then ran away to Lagos, doesn’t he have parents? Didn’t you see them when you left your own parents house and when to his parents’ house to get raped?”
I was not sure what to say. I just kept sobbing and looking away from him. “Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear me?” my father shook the entire room when he shouted at me. He was literally quivering with anger. If he had been able to get his hands on me at that very moment, my story could’ve been different. My father may have been in jail for manslaughter.
“Take it easy, sir, please, don’t make me have no other choice but to ask you to leave her for now,” the doctor said to father. “You are making a whole lot of noise and it’s not allowed in any hospital.”
“Then tell this girl to answer my question before I strangle her here and now,” father returned, the anger in his eyes frightening me silly.
“No, sir, I didn’t see his parents. He didn’t live with his parents, he lived with his uncle,” I found the voice to explain myself.
“And where is the uncle?” father countered.
“He also left for Lagos. He was transfereed there.”
The man shook his head. It was his own way of saying to me: ”Don’t worry, enjoy your stay here while you can, but you’re dead meat when we get home.”
“Okay, so his uncle too was transferred to Lagos immediately the boy living with him ran away to Lagos, right?” he said to me.
Then, he turned to the doctor: “So, doctor, what exactly is the situation now, is she still pregnant or she has lost the pregnancy altogether?”
The doctor drew closer to me and took a close look at me. “From the preliminary tests we have run, there is every possibility that she may have lost the pregnancy. But we will need to run some tests to examine her to confirm the exact state of her condition,” the man explained.
“So, even after all the bleeding, she could still be pregnant?” my mother asked him.
“Yes, ma, the bleeding may not have been severe enough to disrupt the foetus growing inside her,” the doctor continued. “But as I said, we will have to be sure by running some tests.”
“Yeeh! My God o! You this girl, so you want to take an innocent life with your own hands?” mother said to me.
“Woman!” father snapped at her. “What innocent life are you talking about? A baby that has no father? A child whose father is a rapist? You must be out of your mind!” Father’s eyes had grown red. He did not find mother’s emotional outburst funny, to say the least.
“Daddy Rosemary, you don’t understand….”
“Understand what?” father interjected, his voice sharp and venomous. “Is that how you pray to become a grandmother? Other mothers like you that have become grandmothers, is this how they became grandmothers? Imagine the nonsense you’re saying, that she almost took an innocent life? Be praying that pregnancy is gone, otherwise….” He let it hang and kept quiet. But you could feel the anger seething through him.
I understood father. He wanted his mother to know how pissed he was with what she was saying. It was his own way of saying it was a good thing I tried to get rid of the pregnancy. I know my father. It is bad enough that I was raped. To be pregnant is something he won’t be able to stomach it. So, if at the end of the day he cannot see any pregnancy again, it’s good for both of us. That will save him from eternal shame and save me from eternal tongue lashing and neglect from my dad.
“Rosy baby, please, be strong, okay? Don’t worry, you will be okay. I will be back to see you later in the day and bring you some beverages,” Aunty Lisa said to me, getting set to leave.
“I can see you’re in safe hands here, so you should be back home soon. But I will be back to see you and find out what the results of the tests they intend to run say,” Aunty Lisa said, holding me gently by the hand. “But I am almost one hundred per cent sure that the pregnancy is gone. Don’t worry, you will be alright, okay?” I nodded slowly, a faint tear running down my face. She is my lifesaver. If my parents had found out about my pregnancy by themselves, the story would’ve been different.
After Aunt Lisa left, the doctor and a nurse came to run the tests. They needed to know if I was still pregnant.
“When can we know the result, doctor?” my father asked.
“Later in the day, sir, it will be ready,” he responded.
“Okay, I am going to work now. On my way home from work, I will stop over to find out what the rebuilt says.” And without as much as look in my direction, father turned and left the room.
