Mine (an African love story)

14. Doctor

"Good morning lady." Lena says to my mom, but my mom rolls her eyes at her. Lena awkwardly looks away and glances back at me.

"Anyway, Danny and I are back together. We took a break but our love is too strong for that." she smiles in my face with fakeness all over her voice.

Love? Interesting.

"Look, nobody asked for your life story. Now back to my question. Danny, are you coming or not?" my mom states harshly and I hold back a laugh. She dislikes Lena as much as I do.

Lena gasps dramatically and Danny sighs.

"Ma, I really can't go. I already promised Lena I would take her out today. But I hope everything goes well." he says to my mother and she scoffs.

"So, you won't go?" she asks one more time.

He shakes his head 'no' and my mother shakes her head in disapproval.

"Fine. Anima, yenko (let's go)." she says, a little anger in her voice, and she walks back to the car. I turn to follow her when Lena starts to speak.

"He won't be needing you around anymore sweetie. Save yourself the pain." she says rudely, and I walk away without turning back to look at her.

* * * 

"Alright, you can look at the screen now." the doctor nicely says to me, after rubbing the cold gel on my bare belly. My mom is next to me with a pissed look but a smile on her face regardless.

I look at the screen and I gasp at the image. There was a little head and a tiny body on the screen. The baby looked so small and vulnerable, and I just wanted to protect him/her. It finally hit me that I'm going to have a baby. That I'm going to be a mother. I hold back my tears of joy and smile at my mom.

"Okay, so all your tests were fine and the baby is healthy. The only thing I'd say is that you are close to being underweight for your height and age, so make sure you are taking all your vitamins and eating properly." the doctor tells me with a smile on his face and I nod at him.

My mother nods and looks at the doctor.

"Um, doctor, what vitamins should she be taking right now?" my mother asks him.

"Right now, get all  your vitamins that you normally take, but also use folic acid because it helps the baby to develop well." he says and we nod.

"Okay, best of luck, Anima. Have a great day, ladies." he tells us, before leaving the room.

* * *

"Okay, there's a pharmacy across the street. Go get the folic acid pills. I'm staying in the car." my mom tells me, giving me some money.

I get out of the car and quickly cross the street, before entering the pharmacy. As soon as I enter, I regret it. I see Lena standing there, facing me, and Danny with his back turned to me. As soon as Lena sees me, she quickly grabs Danny's face and kisses him roughly. He kisses her back, and she opens her eyes to look at me, with an evil smile on her face.

I ignore the anger in me and shake my head. I am not here for her. I'm here to get something that will help my baby and I. I walk up to the pharmacist who seems to be annoyed at the kissing scene in front of him.

"Good afternoon sir. Could I please get folic acid pills?" I ask  him and he nods, turning around to search for it.

I tap on the counter, waiting for him when Lena decides to open her big mouth.

"Are you following us? I know you're obsessed with my man but stalking us? Really? Do you not have anything else to do with your sad life?" she asks, evil dripping from her voice.

 She's such a witch for no reason. I'm tired of all her snide and rude comments towards me. I ignore her and I continue to wait for the pharmacist man. He comes back to me, holding out the bottle.

"10 cedis." he says, and I take out the money my mom gave me. I count it and find only 8 cedis. Crap. That's all the money we brought with us because we didn't think we were going to buy anything.

"Um, I only have 8 cedis." I tell him, feeling embarrassed.

I hear Lena giggle behind me but I ignore it.

"It's 10 cedis. Pay or you don't get it." the man says, a little harshly. Damn, did he run out of jollof rice at home?

"Please, sir. I need it." I plead, but he shakes his head.

"And I need 10 cedis. If you're not ready to pay, you can leave." he states coldly, and I sigh in defeat.

As I am walking towards the exit, I hear Danny's voice.

"Here you go, sir. 10 cedis. Can she get the pills now?" Danny asks the man, and he hands Danny the pills.

Lena's face scrunches up in anger and I raise my eyebrows in surprise. He just paid for me. Why? I don't deserve that. I don't deserve him.

He walks over to me and hands me the pills. I look up at him and hesitantly take it from him. He gives me a really small smile, but I can see it.

"Thank you. You didn't have to." I tell him quietly.

"It's not a big deal." he shrugs, looking away.

I awkwardly smile and turn to leave when Lena speaks again.

"Hold on. We came here so that you could buy me pills for my cramps, but instead of doing that, you pay for this thing's pills." Lena spits out in anger.

"Baby, calm down. She needs those pills." he tells her calmly.

"What, my health isn't important to you?" she replies with sass and he rolls his eyes.

"I never said that. You know exactly why she needs the pills." he says again.

I frown. I am still angry that Lena knows about my secret.

"Because she's a slut. But apparently, you're into sluts." she says coldly.

"Like yourself." I say, anger laced in my voice.

"Excuse me?" she asks in anger, inching towards me. I stand still while Danny holds her and stops her from moving any closer.

"Babe, I don't want her. I was just helping her out, okay? I love you and only you." he says to her, caressing her cheeks.

My heart breaks for the millionth time. I can't believe he just did that. In front of me. I hold back my tears and I turn to leave.

"Wait." he says, grabbing my elbow. I quickly turn and look at his hand touching my elbow. He quickly let go and cleared his throat.

"How did it go?" he asks me, referring to the ultrasound.

I sigh and glance at Lena before responding to him.

"It was great. I think next time, I'll bring Tyler with me because you know, he actually cares." I simply say, before walking out.

Tears slide down my face. I am a terrible person.