Bobby stared at me for a few seconds and sighed deeply. “Listen, Rosie, you need to calm down and take things easy, getting all worked up like this would not bring any solution to the problem we have on our hands. You slapped me too, remember?”
“And you deserved it!” I retorted angrily. “How dare you insinuate that I have been sleeping around! If I was that kind of girl, would you have needed to drug me to sleep with me? Would you?”
“I know, Rosie, you’re not that kind of girl, and I already told you I was sorry,” Bobby responded in a voice that showed he was sorry. But I also knew he was that humble because he had realized he was in deep, deep trouble and the only way he could get himself out of the mess was to co-operate with me.
“You really have no idea the sort of trouble you have put me in, do you? You don’t seem to understand that this could totally affect my life, my future, forever?” I started to lament again.
“Its okay, my dear, lets not go into all of that again, I am very much aware of the kind of situation we are both in right now and I promise you I will clean up this mess,” Bobby promised.
“Are you sure. Bobby?”
“I promise you, Rosie, I cross my heart.” He reassured me, sounding very convincing. “By tomorrow, I will search for a good clinic where we can go and agree on the amount with them. And once that is out of the way, we are good to go.”
I believed he meant every word he said. His voice was reassuring. There was conviction in his voice when he spoke to me. I felt I had to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“its okay, Bobby, I will be back on Friday. Please get everything sorted out by the time I get here. There is no room for e4xcuses, please. It will take a miracle for me to keep this thing away from my mother for the next two days, but I have no choice but to ensure I do just that. So, while I play my part, you play your part as well, okay?” Bobby nodded desperately.
And without a word more, I turned and took my leave quietly…the die is cast now…
It was the longest two days I had ever known. I could barely sleep. I could barely eat. I was restless. Every part of me was running riots inside. My mother knew something was wrong with me, but she just couldn’t place her finger on it. Anytime we were both inside the room, she would watch me closely, her gaze searing through my body. Deep inside of me, I was deeply scared. I had a sinking feeling that it was only a matter of time that she would find out that her beloved innocent daughter was pregnant!
But I knew that must not happen. If I didn’t want the entire world to come crashing down on my poor little head, I must not let anybody find out what was wrong with me. I had to be careful. Mother was watching every step I took in the house, monitoring my body language, so I didn’t need anyone to tell me I had to be extra vigilant and smart. When my mother could not take it anymore, she called me into her room in the morning.
“My daughter, I want to ask you something and I want you to be very honest with me,” mother had begun, her gaze fixed at me. “Is there something bothering you? Apart from the fact that you were not feeling too well days ago, it appears there’s also something troubling.”
“How, mummy, why do you think so?” I quickly asked before she took my quietness for confirmation of her suspicion.
“Because you have been vey withdrawn lately. You have been sad and that is so unlike you. It’s like there is something troubling you, my dear,” she paused for a short while as she held my hand in hers. “You know I’m your mother and I know you too well when something is bothering you. In fact, it’s like you’re afraid of something. Tell me, is there something going on I should know about?”
“No, mummy, there is no problem, there is nothing troubling me,” I replied, looking slightly away from her gaze.
“Are you sure, Rosemary? You know I’m your mother, you can tell me anything,” she persuaded me to open up to her.
For a fleeting moment, something inside me wanted to speak out and confess my sin, but quickly, I held myself back. If I as much as said a word of what was wrong with me, I didn’t need anyone to tell me the nightmare that would follow. I would have nailed the very end of my life to a coffin myself if I did that.
“Yes, mummy, I am sure. Nothing is wrong with me, you’re just getting worried over nothing.”
She was just looking at me as I talked. She knew something wrong somewhere, that’s the instinct of a good mother, but she couldn’t put her finger to it.
She gave a heavy sigh. “Okay, if you say so. But just remember that I am your mother, and there is nothing you should hide from me.”
“No problem, mummy,” I assured her I would do just that. I had barely finished responding when we heard a knock on the door.
“Ah, who could that be?” mother wondered. Then she turned to me. “Rosemary, please go and check who is at the door.
I was thankful to whoever was at the door. That knock promptly put an end to our conversation and I was so glad and eager to run out of the room. I was starting to sweat profusely and I didn’t want mum to notice. But I didn’t know then that I was going to sweat even more by the time I see who was at the door.
I stepped out of mother’s room, got into our living room and then headed for our small gate. Mother too had stood up and was coming behind me. The shock I got when I opened the door was unbelievable. Standing at the door with a stupid smile on his face was the community doctor, the man who wanted to sleep with me before he could terminate the pregnancy for me!
