FED UP!

(…continued…)

Mabel and Cynthia left the office. The patients looked at them angrily so they just looked straight and walked past. When they got to the lab section, they met the lab attendant who Dr Obinna sent them to. She was a matured woman.

  “How many weeks are you?” she asked, looking at Mabel.

  “Weeks what?” Mabel asked, puzzled.

  “Pregnant.”

  “How do you know I am pregnant?”

  “You look pregnant.”

  “If it is a joke, please stop it ma,” Mabel said.

  “Is it not good news if you are pregnant?” the woman asked.

  “Not now.”

  “Oh you are not married.”

                She took the lab note Dr Obinna had written and went into a room, smiling.

  “She is kidding,” Cynthia said to a tensed up Mabel.

  “She had better be.”

                The woman came out with what she needed to carry out the test.

  “Madam, are you serious about what you said?” Mabel asked her.

  “Relax. The test will tell. Even though you look pregnant but I could be wrong.”

  “Ok.”

  “Even if you are, it is not a big deal. It is a joy to have children.”

  “Not when you are not…” Cynthia began to say.

  “…ready” Mabel finished it for her.

  “The nine months are not fun but when you carry your baby in your arms, you forget all the suffering.”

  “So I have heard ma. But it had better not be the case here.”

  “I would have wanted to use the kit but since you will like to be sure, we will have to take specimen from you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Blood and urine.”

  “Ok.”

  “Come with me.”

                She took Mabel into a room and collected the samples from her. Then Mabel came out.

  “Should we wait or should we go?” Cynthia asked Mabel.

  “Let me ask her.”

                Mabel went back in and asked the woman. She told them she would notify Dr Obinna when the result was ready. Mabel and Cynthia left. They got to Dr Obinna’s office and the crowd was still there.

  “If we enter there now, these people will bite us o,” Cynthia said.

  “Let me call him and inform him.”

  “Better.”

                Mabel called Dr Obinna and informed him. He told them to hang around until the result came out.

  “Where do we stay now?” Cynthia asked Mabel.

  “Do you want to eat anything?”

  “No. We are not going out of that gate until we are done with what we came here for.”

  “We can stay in their staff canteen or that kiosk under the tree over there.”

  “I prefer the kiosk. I don’t want any embarrassment in that canteen.”

  “Embarrassment from who? When I am here?”

  “Let us still stay in the kiosk.”

                They walked towards the kiosk. Mabel’s phone rang. She checked it. It was Glory. Mabel picked. Glory teased her about not caring to call her to know why she had not come around for some time.

  “It is not like that o. Several things have happened.”

                Glory told her she just heard about the incident with Segun and Kemi the previous day.

  “Who told you?”

                Glory told her that information flies and asked where she was. Mabel told her they were in the hospital. She shouted and asked what she was doing in a hospital. Mabel told her it was because of Cynthia. Cynthia childishly eyed her. Glory told her that she was not too far from there and that she was coming there as soon as possible. Then she hung up.

  “Glory is angry I didn’t call her,” Mabel said after Glory hung up.

  “You are not the calling type na,” Cynthia said. “The last thing you will do is to call somebody on phone.”

  “My dear, I have been trying to change but it is not working.

  “It is not good.”

  “My job has so taken my time that to call people is now difficult. I only call when extremely necessary”

  “It is not as if you don’t have money for airtime.”

  “That reminds me sef. Let me recharge and pay back the one I borrowed.”

  “Ok.”

                They got to the kiosk and Mabel recharged.

  “These people don’t waste time to collect their money o,” she said after checking her account balance.

                Cynthia laughed.

  “There is no way to avoid paying back.”

                In less than ten minutes, they saw Glory walking into the hospital.

  “See Glory,” Cynthia said, pointing in her direction.

                Mabel waved at Glory to call her attention. Glory saw them and walked towards them. When she got close, she hugged them and exchanged pleasantries.

  “What is wrong with you?” she asked Cynthia.

  “Nothing serious,” Cynthia said.

  “I thought I told you she was sick?” Mabel asked.

  “I think we chatted about it but I was sleep chatting that day. I was not really following what you were saying.”

  “Ok.”

  “Are you through with seeing the doctor?”

  “No,” Mabel replied.

  “We are just waiting…” Cynthia began to say.

  “…for one of Cynthia’s results to come out and we collect drugs.” Mabel finished it for her.

  “Ok. How soon?”

  “Anytime from now.”

  “Ehe I wanted to ask you whether what I heard is true.”

  “What did you hear?”

                Glory told her all she had heard about the previous day’s incident and how Mabel and Margret had put hand together to beat Kemi which made Kemi to be admitted in the hospital, and how Coker had caused Segun to have accident. While she was talking, Mabel looked at her in shock. When she was done, Mabel and Cynthia burst into laughter.

  “What’s funny?” Glory asked, looking confused.

  “Whoever told you that story added salt and pepper to it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what exactly happened?”

                Mabel told her the true story. All the while, they made sure they were not close to any eavesdropper. When Mabel was done, Glory shrugged and shook her head.

  “Margret took a big risk there,” she said. “What was she thinking?”

  “She was just trying to help.”

  “It would have gone awry o.”

  “If it had gone south, Margret would have born the consequences na. Na me carry myself go there?”

  “If I hear. This story I told you is spreading fast o. Imagine if it really happened, you could be locked up and you will answer for what you did not initiate.”

  “Well, thank God it did not.”

                Cynthia saw the lady doctor walking and looking around as though in search of someone. She called Mabel’s attention to her.

  “Maybe she is looking for us,” Mabel said.

  “Let me find out.”

                Cynthia walked towards the lady. She told her that Dr Obinna was calling them. Cynthia beckoned on Mabel.

  “The doctor wants to see us,” Mabel told Glory.

  “I will be going,” Glory said.

  “Why? We will not stay long.”

  “I was on my way to somewhere when I called you. I just wanted to confirm the story I heard.”

  “Ok. Now you know the truth.”

  “Yes. Let me go and spread the true version.”

                They hugged and Glory left. Mabel met Cynthia and they went to see Dr Obinna. When they entered his office, he asked them to sit down. Mabel tried to read his face but she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. If he was smiling, she would have concluded that all went well but he was not. He just held her result paper and swiveled on his seat.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac