A Mother's Pride

Chapter 68

Mmampho's POV

I wake up in a room that reeks of medication. The first thing I see when I open my eyes is my kids, standing besides the bed. They ask me if I am okay and I nod.

"What happened?" I ask Chris who is standing on the other side. "Please tell me it was all a dream." And by the disappointment that's laced on his face, I can already see that it was not a dream. He really is my brother.

"You fainted." He answers briefly. I sit up and give my babies kisses on their foreheads. My mom walks in with a bottle of water in her hand.

"How are you?" She asks and I give her a death glare.

"Mom, grandma is talking to you." Naledi says and I still don't say a word. My mom asks the kids and Chris to leave so that she can talk to me in private. There is really nothing that I want to say or hear from this woman. As the three leave, the doctor comes in.

"How are you feeling Mmampho?" The chubby Indian woman asks me.

"I'm feeling alright. Is my baby okay?"

"Yes the baby is okay. Your fainting was either caused by dehydration, lack of nutrition, stress or shock." She tells me and I know that it's shock. If only she knew the news I heard today, she would also be in shock. My mother exits to give us privacy, saying she will come back to talk to me.

"For the baby's sake, I'm going to need you to avoid anything that brings stress to you okay? When a mother is stressed, it puts the baby in deep jeopardy and you could miscarry the baby, which is the last thing we want."

Is it? Is it the last thing that I want? What's the point of having this child because well, the father and I can't be together. And this time it's not because of some new woman, it's because we are related. Saying we are related is an understatement honestly, he is my freaking brother. So much anger is rumbling inside of me because of this.

Should I just go ahead and terminate this pregnancy? I still do not see how two siblings can co-parent a child. That will be some other level of awkwardness that I will not be able to handle. My life is full of some great impossibilities. If I told someone about my life from last year until now, they'd call me a straight up liar, saying I have one crazy imagination. What are the odds of such a thing happening? Why me? I don't get it honestly. I do not get what I have to do to get a normal life, where there are no crazy surprises that comes when I'm at my best. Ugh! I hate that.

"How long has it been?" I ask the doctor.

"Three weeks ma'am."

"Which would make aborting a lot easier right?" The doctor clearly seems confused by what I just asked.

"Uh, sure but why would you want to abort the child?" Is it her job to ask me that? She is supposed to do exactly as I say because at the end of the day, I'll be paying the bill.

"It's complicated." I say.

"You want to abort?" Chris enters the room with Mavis. I thought this was a private conversation.

"What choice do I have Chris? Clearly we can't be together and when have you heard siblings having a child?" I sound drained, like someone is constantly draining the oxygen out of me. He sighs, as if he can see that somehow I'm right. What good will keeping this baby do for us?

"Where are the kids?" I ask Mavis.

"Your mom is explaining the whole thing to them."