One Night Stand with the CEO

A Mother

Three months later...

I walked out of the hospital clutching the results of the ultrasound scan to my chest as though my life depended on it.

The words of the doctor kept echoing in my eyes.

“You are three months pregnant,”

I had a baby growing inside me and I was tearing up just thinking about it.

My heart pounded loudly inside my chest as I tried to catch my breath. I was scared and anxious.

How am I going to take care of this baby?

I'm royally screwed, I thought to myself.

I had been sick for a while as I kept puking my lungs out at intervals but I just waved it off as a stomach bug.

Louisa had teased me a lot during my illness making jokes about me having “a bun in the oven.” My mind flashed back to when I was hunched over the toilet some months ago vomiting my lungs out while Louisa stayed behind me and rubbed my back.

‘’What if you are pregnant?’’ Louisa asked as she looked at me questioningly. I remembered laughing out loud at her statement as I wondered how possible it was for me to get pregnant just after one night.

‘’Come on Lou, who gets pregnant the first time they have s*x. You really need to stop with these pregnancy jokes. Besides, I think we used a condom,” I said as I wiped my mouth clean.

‘’If you had paid attention in s*x ed. class in high school rather than covering your ears anytime you heard the word ‘’p***s’’, you would know that one time is all it takes for you to get pregnant and what do you mean by ‘i think we used a condom’ You had s*x with a stranger and you are not sure he used a condom?’’ she asked in surprise as she held my hair up.

‘’We were both tipsy Lou. I don't remember the details of that night,’’ I groaned as I rubbed my forehead in frustration.

‘’Girl, you need to take a pregnancy test. I'm sure I have a pregnancy test strip somewhere around here somewhere. We are going to do a test right now just to be sure there is no bun in your oven’

I gave Louisa a strange look as to why she had a pregnancy test strip just laying about the house.

‘’What?’’ Lou asked.

‘’Nothing,’’ i replied coyly.

‘’You know I love being laid but I don’t want any accidents,’’ Lou said as she left to get the test strip.

I had not considered the possibility of being pregnant but now that Lou had mentioned it, what if I was pregnant? I was barely able to afford my basic needs not to talk of providing for a baby. I was still trying to apply for jobs but New York was like a maze.

“Calm down Angela, it's just a stomach bug,” I said to myself.

‘’Okay, let’s do this then,’’ said Louisa as she returned with the test kit in hand.

‘’Now, all you have to do is pee on this. After 10 minutes, we will know if you are pregnant or not. A single line shows you are not pregnant while a double line shows I am going to be an aunty,’’ Louisa said as she handed the kit to me.

“I really don't have to do this Lou. I know I'm not pregnant,” I said but Lou gave me a look.

I took the kit with a bit of hesitation but I did as Louisa had instructed. I just wanted to prove her wrong and get on with my life.

We both waited for the results of the test. Those were the longest 15 minutes of my life as I stared at the little strip that could decide my future right now.

Two lines.

‘’No,no,no,no. This can’t be right,’’ i told Lou in panic as I ran my hand through my hair.

‘’Sweetie, this clearly says that you are pregnant and if you really think about it,this could be the reason for all the puking earlier but these things aren’t 100% accurate so we could go to the hospital tomorrow morning to get checked by the doctor,’’ Louisa said.

‘’Why wait till tomorrow? The day is just starting, we can go now,’’ I replied still in denial of the test.

‘’Sorry Hun,I have to be at work in 40 minutes. My boss is such an asshole so i could get in trouble if I come late,’’

‘’Fine, I’ll go myself. I need to figure out what is wrong with me,’’ I said as I grabbed my toothbrush.

I had read in the pack that these pregnancy strips could have some errors and going to the doctor was still the best.

‘’Hey, look at me,’’ Louisa said as she placed her hand my shoulders and looked straight at me.

‘’Whatever happens, we will deal with it together okay?’’

I nodded as I watched her leave the bathroom to prepare for work.

I sighed as i remembered how I walked into the maternity section of the hospital and asked to see a doctor. It all felt awkward seeing women with baby bumps all over the place.

‘’Here, please fill this form. It’s just a basic procedure,nothing serious,’’ said the nurse as she handed a form to me.

True to the nurse’s words, it was all just basic information; Name, Address, Occupation, etc. I came across a column for partner, if any and i almost laughed.I had never had a boyfriend not to talk of ‘partner’. I just wrote down Louisa’s name incase of emergencies and handed the form back to the nurse.

‘’Okay follow me to this room so we can get your bloodwork done’’ the nurse said.

I just nodded and followed behind the nurse. I felt a little pinch in my arm as the nurse inserted the syringe and withdrew some blood.

‘’Your results will be ready in 30 minutes miss. You can wait in the lounge or you can come back later for it,” the nurse said.

“Okay, I’ll wait,” I replied not really in the mood for anywhere right now.

I left the room and went to wait for my results in the hospital lounge. The pictures of the babies on the wall did nothing to ease my nervousness instead it made me more tense.

“First baby?,” asked a lady beside me.

“Huh?” I replied absentmindedly.

“Is this your first baby?,” she asked me.

I nodded because there was no logical explanation. The pregnancy test I took earlier said I was pregnant and I was here just to confirm but I couldn't tell this lady all that.

“Yeah I could tell. Don’t worry, you’ll be okay. I was nervous about my first too but here I am, pregnant with my third child. It’ll be fine,” she said as she rubbed her bump and smiled kindly at me.

How do I tell this lady that I wasn’t ready for a baby?

She pulled out her phone and began to show me pictures of her kids. I admit she had very cute children but this did not help my nerves in any way.

It was as though the universe was trying to show me how cute a baby would look if I had one.

After waiting for what seemed like forever, the nurse from earlier approached me.

“The doctor will see you now miss,” I nodded and got up from my seat.

“I have to go now,” I said to the lady who had been keeping me occupied with pictures of her children.

“Of course dear, good luck.,” she said as she smiled kindly at me.

I walked towards a door that was labeled ‘doctor’s office’.

I knocked anxiously on the door as I waited for a response.

“Come in,” I heard from inside.

I shakily opened the door and walked inside to meet the doctor as I closed he door behind me.

The doctor was a young lady probably in her 30s. She had her hair in a slick bun. Her face was free of any makeup except for the lipgloss that stained her lips. She looked like she had Latina features with her thick eyebrows and full lips.

She had a nametag just above her right breast that read “Dr. Camilla”. Definitely had Latina heritage,” I thought to myself.

“Hello Miss Angela I have your test results with me. Please have a seat,” she said as she gestured at the seat opposite her

I sat down with my heart thumping loudly in my chest as I waited to hear what the doctor had to say.

“According to your test results, you are three months pregnant,” Dr.Camilla said as she smiled at me.

At that moment, I felt nothing but panic.

My world came crashing down all over again.

“Three months pregnant? But I haven’t even missed my period once in the past three months,how’s that possible?,” I asked in shock as I remembered groaning in pain from menstrual cramps just two weeks ago.

“It is very much possible to be pregnant and still see your period. It is called cryptic pregnancy. In fact, some women don’t get to know that they are pregnant until they go into labour,” Dr. Camilla said.

I did not know what to say as I was filled with anxiety.

How was I going to take care of this child without a father?

I didn’t even know how to find the father of her child because he was an absolute stranger.

This was the biggest fuckup in the history of fuckups.

“Hello, Miss? Can you hear me?”

I broke out of her thoughts and faced the doctor again.

“Are you okay?,” the doctor asked with concern.

“I’m okay. Sorry, I zoned out a bit,”I replied.

“That’s okay. Well since you’re almost at the end of your first trimester, I would suggest you go for an ultrasound to be sure your baby is healthy,” the doctor said.

“What if I don’t want this baby?” I asked the doctor.

“Well, umm...the option for abortion is always there,”

“Okay, I want to abort this baby,” I said without haste.

“Are you sure? I mean you mustn’t raise it alone. There are options for adoption and.....

“I’m sure, I want an abortion,” i replied with surity.

“Okay, sign these consent forms,” the doctor said as she handed a paper to me which i signed without hesitation.

“Come with me,” the doctor said as she stood up from her seat.

I followed her to a room which smelled of disinfectant and baby powder?

“Lie down on this bed please. I’ll be right back,” she said and left.

As I laid on the bed, I kept thinking of how life would be for me as a mother and i began to rethink my decision.

Shouldn't I just give this child a chance?

Maybe I shouldn’t do this,I thought as I climbed down from the bed.

“Okay, let’s begin,”the doctor said as she came in.

“I’m sorry but I don’t think I can do this,”I replied her as she stared at me in shock.

“I have to go,”

I didn’t wait for her response as I dashed out of the room immediately.

These memories were evergreen in my head as I clutched the ultrasound scan picture in her hand.

My baby was healthy and that is all that matters right now.