I woke up not long after, to see a multitude of people around me. I did not know how long I had fainted. Concerned eyes moved from left to right, wondering what had made me faint, little whispers here and there, while some were grateful I had regained consciousness.
I looked around and noticed I was inside Brews and Café, where I had planned to have a conversation with Tina, my best friend, who had to leave to attend to her son. I tried getting up from where the onlookers had placed me, only to feel sharp on my back.
I realized I must have fallen pretty hard. I jogged my memory back to what had triggered it and I remembered. My husband! I had seen Michael with a strange woman, one I wasn't able to decipher. I knew I had unfinished business to attend to so I gathered strength and went outside, only to find out that Michael's car was no longer parked there.
Damn it! I wanted to take a look at this mystery woman, to at least know what Michael saw in her that was lacking in me. The pains in my back extended to my stomach and I suddenly remembered my pregnancy. Shoot! I touched my stomach as if trying to find out if my baby was doing okay. The only way to know this was to go see my doctor.
I returned to my car and made my way to St. Iris. The hospital was a few meters away. As I drove, I called my doctor to be sure he was around. I was relieved to find out that Doc. Green was in. It wasn't long before I got to the hospital. Dr. Green confirmed I was in good shape, but I needed to be careful not to stress myself in any way.
I thanked him and headed out. I knew what Dr. Green advised against, was going to be a difficult one for me. I had been mentally stressed lately, and I knew I had more stress coming my way with Michael's infidelity and the divorce papers he wanted me to sign. I couldn't believe I had been sweating my ass off for him and his new lover all these years. And the divorce papers? He would have my corpse sign it because I was not ready to give in.
I drove silently in my car, with Westlife's 'Queen of My Heart' playing in the background. The lyrics took me back to the beautiful days when I was the one and only queen of Michael's heart. I wondered what must have changed. I didn't want to dwell on that for too long, remembering my doctor's advice. If for anything, I needed to take care of myself for the sake of my baby. He was innocent in all of this.
He? What if it was a she? I didn't mind the gender of my baby. If it was a 'she', then I would be very protective of her. I would protect her from men like her father, men who would want to take advantage of her and leave her to suffer, not remembering the good days when the going was good. I would make sure she never slaved to any man, just like I did for her father.
If it was a 'he', then he would never grow up like his father. I know they say 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree', but in this case, if the tree were to be its father, I would make sure that the apple falls very far. I was determined to give my child the best.
The journey home seemed longer than expected. What a waste of time coming out today. Wait! What about Tina's child? I quickly remembered I had not called Tina to know how her son was faring. Judging from the way she had hurried out, it must have been something serious. I hoped in my heart that it wasn't as bad as I thought.
I quickly picked up my phone to call Tina, while ensuring that I focused on the road. I placed the call on speaker after Tina picked up. "Hi girl, how're you doing?" I asked. Tina responded that she was fine, only that she was still at the hospital with her son.
"Hospital?" I was shocked to hear that Tina was at the hospital with her son. I felt guilty for being a bad friend. I had only been interested in getting answers about my marriage, which was almost hitting the rock. After confirming that Tina was at St. Iris hospital, just where I was some minutes ago, I made a turn, heading back.
Tina gave me a quick hug as she sighted me. She looked like she had been crying. I felt pity for her, the burden of being a single mother did not seem like an easy one and the fear of being in Tina's position engulfed me for a minute. This was going to be my life in a couple of months to come if the divorce pulled through.
Was I ready to become a single mother? Hell no! That was never the plan. I prayed in my heart that Michael would come to his senses and realize he was making a mistake, one that he was too blind to see.
"Where is he now?" I asked Tina, who rested on my shoulder. "Still running some tests," Tina responded. I could sense the fear in her. Tina would do anything for her son, even if it meant giving up her life for him. What a motherly love! I knew I would have doubled that love for my child, love that his father had denied me.
I consoled Tina, assuring her that everything would be alright and that I would be there for her, through thick and thin. Tina was grateful. She had a friend in me. Not long after, the doctor came out smiling. Tina's face lit up immediately upon seeing the doctor's smile.
"Good news, Miss Banks," the doctor exclaimed, looking at Tina. "You have nothing to worry about." The doctor went on to explain that the test results came out great and there was nothing seriously wrong with Tina's son. Tina's joy knew no bounds as she thanked the doctor repeatedly.
In no time, we were all headed for Tina's house. I offered to take them home, saving her the stress of getting a taxi. Once settled in, Tina joined me in her living room. The atmosphere between us seemed a little tense. I still wished Tina had told me what she wanted to, but now wasn't the time to bring such a topic up.
Tina had just gone through her dose of stress, and I wasn't an insensitive person to know that the discussion would be saved for later. To break the silence that ensued, I told Tina about my incident, letting her know that it was probably because of my pregnant state that made me faint. I didn't want to bring up Michael's name so she wouldn't be forced to spill whatever she had wanted to earlier.
Tina was grateful I was fine and healthy. Changing the topic, we reminisced on our high school days and how we talked about the future, of what we wanted our lives to be like growing up. It was ironic because Tina had always wanted to be a nurse and I, a Chef. Sometimes life has other plans when you think you've got it under control.
Tina talked about her love life. We both remembered how she was madly in love with a certain Kelvin in our class, and how they both planned their future as husband and wife. What seemed like a relationship soon came to an end after Kelvin went for a new girl who he claimed was more beautiful than Tina.
I asked Tina about her baby's father. I wanted to know if they ever got married or if it was just a fling that led to her being pregnant. The silence that came after asking Tina about her past, made me regret why I had done so. I did not want to open up old wounds and make my friend feel uncomfortable in any way.
Tina was open to sharing. She narrated how she was engaged to be married before death struck. Her fiancé was involved in a car accident and died on the spot. After she realized she was pregnant, she told his family, who rejected her. It was a heartbreaking moment for her, judging from the way she thought she was loved by them, only to see them for who they truly were after the death of her fiancé.
She had to start life on her own after the birth of her child. She couldn't bring herself to tell her mother, which would only worsen the situation for her. She kept her child a secret from her until she discovered it. She wasn't surprised when her mother wanted nothing to do with her. The pain was too much to bear, and she moved to a new city some years later. It was then we reconnected, and our friendship continued like never before.
I was sorry to hear how much she had suffered. I moved to hug her as tears flowed freely from my eyes. We stayed in each other's arms for a while, allowing time to creep by slowly. We broke off the hug after Tina said she wanted to check on her son who was sleeping in the room. I also stood up to leave, promising to give her a call as soon as I got home.
I got home in no time and called Tina as I had promised. Afterward, I moved to the bathroom to take a quick shower. It had been a long day. I stepped out of the shower and remembered that Michael had not called me all day. I picked up my phone after putting on my nightgown to dial his number. I called several times, but he did not take any of my calls.
I heaved a deep sigh as I proceeded to lay on my bed. The mattress looked like it had been starved of all the numerous lovemaking Michael and I shared. If the mattress was a person, it surely would have wondered why the intimacy had stopped.
I wanted to have some rest, but sleep wouldn't come. I decided to pick my phone up and scroll through Facebook, just to get busy. As I opened the app, the first notification I got was Sophia's birthday. Oh my! It's Sophia's birthday today and I forgot about it. My bad! I closed the app immediately and dialed her number.
I knew she was going to be mad at me. I rehearsed the apology words I would use to say I was sorry, once she picked up the call. Sophia was big on birthdays. That I was sure of, and not calling to wish a happy birthday or get a birthday present, was very bad of me.
Sophia did not pick up my call after several attempts. Hmm! That's strange. Sophia was always on her phone, no matter what. I decided to call Michael again if he could pick up this time. I was going to remind him to call his cousin to wish her a happy birthday. After three rings, Michael picked.
"Hello?"
I heard a female voice from the other end that wasn't Michael's voice.
"Sophia?"
"Is that you?"