Photo Credits:Danny O'Connor
"Next! Neext!, Hey my friend! will you move it, you think we have all day eh? Hurry up and look for your seat!" The big WOMAN standing in front of the examination hall had made it her business to ensure that the whole ID screening process was as tense as possible. She was burly, austere in the face and she was using it to her advantage. The girls were scared. Kay was fifth in line. To say, she was nervous would not begin to describe it. She was afraid that her nausea would take over;she was struggling to walk straight. "I have to make it through this paper" She kept reminding herself. She knew she would ace it, if only she could keep her head from swimming. Unconsciously her hand went to the small bump on her belly that was steadily growing. The thought of new life developing inside her made warmed her. "Hey! are you alright"? the burly WOMAN asked. Suddenly Kay was before the giant WOMAN. Clothes damp with sweat, she nodded quickly in response to the question. "Speak up!" the WOMAN commanded. "I'm..I'm... oo.." Before she could complete her sentence, she doubled over, liquid spewing out of her like a fountain;she could not hold it in. She was blind with dizziness. Surely soon after, she felt hands holding her up,. "Take her away! She's not ready for this, she will never be..!" those were the last words she heard the burly WOMAN call out, as she was dragged away from the hall
"Kay...KAY..!" Nana's sharp voice cut through Kay's slumber like a slap.. "Mtcheww!... I gotta get a lock on this door.. She murmured to herself. "What!.." She called back as she jolted back to this new reality. It took her a moment to realize where she was and what time it was. Her hands, she saw, were slack with a bolt pen that was hanging between her thumb and forefinger. She was sweating again. It was the same dream she had been having for the last weeks. it was more regular than it had ever been
Nana's rude voice kept invading her head. "Please, Please tell me your husband gave you some good loving with Adult music playing in the background last night. It has to be the only reason you're in the office at 10.00 am sleeping" She had her hand on her waist,posed in the doorway, files in the other with an expectant look on her face.
Nana was more of a friend than her secretary. "She just doesn't know when to stop", Kay thought to herself, irritably.Kay, who had blanked out for all of five minutes, blinked and said, "He didn't".
The fact that Kwame was not home last night dawned on her as she said it. At first she did not think it unusual since Kwame worked with a film production company. That meant there were peak seasons that kept him out of the house at irregular hours. Although... she thought to herself. She quickly forced down the dark thoughts that were threatening to consume her. Her defeated tone changed Nana's her disapproving look to one of concern. Smart enough to give her time to recover from her disoriented demeanour, Nana turned toward the wide-wood door frame and said flippantly to Kay, "You know we have a meeting on the Ababio closing n fifteen minutes right?"
"Yeah yeah.. take the lead, I will catch up in a bit" Kay said gathering her files off the table. Her mind was lingering. Memories of the quiet waves that were rocking her marriage flooded her mind.
Lately it had been tough; getting a promotion at the Aboagye &Associates, was supposed to be a blessing. Kwame's job meant that money had its high's and lows depending on when there was a project to do. Kay didn't mind because her career as a lawyer was setting off and as a couple, they could finally pay up for the house they had been saving up to buy. Childbirth had been put on hold until they were sure they could afford it but Kay's work hours dimmed the idea even more. Her hand went to her tummy again "How long has it been now..?, She wondered. "She would have been six today..." She shook her head violently as though the action would erase the thought.
No..There just was no time for a family; no time for her man even. How could she cut back now when she was handling the case that could make or break her career? She hated it; the drift it was bringing yet she had no idea what to do about it. She could not remember the last decent meal she cooked for him. She was embarrassed to think of the sex.. The sex was.. well.
Kwame said he understood. He said he understood, she told herself emphatically so she could believe it too.. Kwame had always given her room to grow.He was her support system. Perhaps it was his ability to see in the abstract. He had this devil-may-care attitude to taking risks. He would always urge her on. She would not have made this far. She knew that to be true. Her confidence, her will to live, to go back to school, to start over.. It had been Kwame. He had given her so much. Who was she to ask for more? But she could feel the change. Things were not the same.
He said he understood, She didn't believe it and she could do nothing about it now... She stood, halting at the door way of the conference room, her mind, miles and miles away. She needed a friend. It was time to talk to Babs...
