Her periods were missing. They were nowhere to be seen. She prayed and wished and cried a river but the only thing that flowed were her acerbic tears. Then, one languorous Sunday, she discovered the truth. The pastor that day preached of Peter, the Biblical denier, and just like the character, she decided to deny the missing periods. Unfortunately, the morning sickness and incessant fatigue she felt were undeniable and relentless.
After the church service, she passed by a chemist and purchased a pregnancy kit. Then she went home and, despite her weaknesses in chemistry, she embarked on the litmus test. And there it was. Two blue lines on the test kit to confirm without a doubt that indeed, God had placed a baby in her womb. She could only hope that the creature would come with an inbuilt plate. The confirmation left her devastated. She groped her handbag and took out her phone. The calls of distress ensued. Her bad-man-looking-good-in-Dior boyfriend wasn’t answering the phone. On WhatsApp, the guy grey ticked all her long messages.
Since mums are God number two with the ability to be omniscient, her mother called. Nicole burst into tears. She doubled over and sobbed uncontrollably, telling her mum of the misfortune that had befallen her. Surprisingly, Nicole’s mother was supportive. She tearfully listened to her mother’s good counsel laced with questions: You are just in your first year. Are you ready to give up your flat tummy, gain weight and deal with insane cravings?
Later that evening, her boyfriend, Brayo, dropped in at her single room. Apparently he had been shooting breeze at a local joint. His scrawny self usually had meals at Nicole’s single room. He was totally oblivious of the high tensions that reigned in the sweet smelling bedsitter.
Upon seeing him, Nicole erupted like a volcano, with lava hot invectives directed at him. He was as confounded as a pata potea victim. Kwani Postinor 2 (P2) had decided to be like water to bullets during the Maji Maji rebellion? Brayo thought of throwing her under a heavy chassis bus and denying the growing baby, but he backtracked. He decided he was no steeple chase athlete so he wouldn’t jump the hurdle. Furthermore, Nicole had formally introduced him to her parents and they knew of the blossoming campus affair. Out of both shock and respect, Brayo requested for time to think through the disturbing and life changing information.
‘I cannot even bring forth good results, how can I ever manage to be someone’s daddy?’ he thought. In silence, the father to be ruminated over the startling piece of information like the cow that had been sold two years prior to raise school fees for his university studies.
His mind was cloudy. He didn’t want to cause Nicole any further anguish. but was being a deadbeat dad an option? Should he just own up and take responsibility? Brayo shared his dilemma with his pals, who pledged their full support. They encouraged him to keep the baby, but the math wasn’t adding up. His needs, multiplied by the new baby’s requirements, added to Nicole’s demands. Eventually he decided that he was not ready to handle a toddler. But also, he was not ready to be separated from Nicole. What a dilemma! BY DAILY NATION