When she packed up and left, I was not surprised. The last few months had been hell. That’s the thing about relationships. You argue for so long that you forget why or what you were arguing about. Forgetting to buy milk would quickly turn into World War III. Her friends only made things worse. On days when things got so bad, I would go out with my boys. I would later return home to find a group of chatty ladies cosily seated in my living room. Silence would fill the room the moment I got in – an indication that I was the topic of conversation. After retreating to our room, they would resume their normal chatty behaviour until early into the morning.
Not to point fingers, but every time Sue met up with her friends, she came back with new material for our arguments. One week I was oppressing her and the other I was smothering her. I just could not keep up. So when she had finally had enough of our relationship, she left. I felt a bit of relief coupled with sadness. Sue had been the only girl I had been with for 5 years. I did not know how to be alone. I however needed to man up so to speak. I had to deal with the hand I was dealt and play to win. To be honest, the first couple of weeks were hard. Going into the second-month post the breakup was however bearable. I had begun to feel comfortable with doing things for myself and enjoying the solitude.
On one Thursday morning, as I was headed to work, I got a strange call from Mama Sue. While dating Sue, her mother and I had always been close. The call, however, was a little surprising.
‘Hello,’
‘Hello, Drew. It’s Mama Sue.’
‘Of course, I know who I am talking to,’ I replied smiling.
‘I had to to be sure. I did not think you would still have my number since you know…..’ her voice faded off into the background and there was an awkward silence.
‘Never Mum,’ I said enthusiastically, ‘You can always call me whenever you need to.’
‘Speaking of that, we need to talk, urgently.’ She quickly replied.
For a second, I was disoriented. So much so that I decided to park my car on the side of the road for a minute.
‘Is Sue okay?’ I asked
‘She is fine. She is very fine. I just need to have a little word with you,’ Mama Sue cordially replied.
I could breathe easily now. Sue and I did not part on the best of terms but my heart still held a soft spot for her. I definitely would not want any harm to come to her. However, Mama Sue piqued my curiosity. I wanted to meet her as soon as possible.
‘Okay, mum. We can meet today for lunch at Sue’s favourite restaurant. How is that?’
‘Today sounds perfect. Tell me when you get there,’
I started the engine of my car and rushed to work; I was already late. I could barely concentrate at work. My mind replayed different scenarios of Mama Sue’s agenda. At lunchtime, I hurriedly left the office and headed to Azura Restaurant. We had been there so many times with Sue I could practically get there blindfolded. I found her already settled down.
‘My son, it is so great to see you,’ she said as she stood up to hug me.
‘It is lovely to see you too Mum. I am glad we can talk even after what happened between me and your daughter,’
‘Speaking of Sue,‘ she started as she sat back down, ‘ there is something going on with her.’
‘I thought you told me that she is fine.’
‘She is. She is. It is just that ….She is pregnant.’
I have always thought people exaggerate a little when they say their minds were racing. However, at that moment, that is how my mind felt. Like I had just hurriedly chugged down 7 alcoholic shots at a go. Am I going to be a father? How was this going to work? How were we going to raise a child when…
‘She forbade me to tell you but I thought it necessary that you know. She is a little scared to share the news with you,’ Mama Sue cut short my thoughts.
‘Why would she be afraid to tell me? Mum you know I would take responsibility for my child regardless of where we are at with Sue. You know that.’
‘It is not that. It is because she is not sure if you are the father.’
‘Wait what? What does that mean?’ I asked shocked.
‘Well…’ She paused, ‘the very same day she left you, she got involved with another man.’
*****************************
You know that feeling you experience when you chug down 5 tequila shots at a go? Drew’s mind was doing an excellent job in mimicking it. Mama Sue’s words had plunged Drew’s mind into emotional turmoil. Drew could not figure out one emotion from the other. It was as if …
‘Look, I know what my daughter did was wrong,’ Mama Sue’s words cut short Drew’s thoughts, ‘But…
‘Are you trying to justify her actions?’ Drew snapped back angrily.
‘No, that is not what I am trying to do. All I am simply saying is that there is a bigger issue at hand here … The baby,’ Mama Sue completed her sentence.
Oh, the baby. Amid all the anger, the baby had slipped Drew’s mind. However, what joy was there in a child whose paternity was still in question? At this point, he was a semi-father if such a description even existed.
‘Sue should have been the one to tell you….’
‘Damn right, she should have told me’ Drew thought to himself.
…’But she was scared, and her second trimester was first approaching. I thought it right that you should know. Don’t worry, I will deal with her. She will be mad I came to you before I went for her, but she will understand that my heart was in the right place,’ Mama Sue said solemnly- almost with a dint of guilt edged behind her words, ‘Either way, you two should talk.’
Of course, they should talk. Drew definitely wanted to share his 2 cents with the woman who left him heartbroken and betrayed him with another man. Not to mention the sheer lack of decency to tell him about his ‘might be father’ status. Drew had tons to talk about!
‘Okay Mum, I will make time to see Sue,’ Drew replied as he started to calm down.
‘Great. That is all I wanted. She is living with me right now. You can drop by this weekend and you two can talk without unnecessary interruption.’
‘Smart woman,’ Drew thought. ‘She knows I cannot strangle her daughter in her own house.’
Checking the time, he realized that he needed to rush back to work. He bid Mama Sue goodbye and thanked her for sharing the information with him. The confusion that had plagued Drew’s morning spewed over into the afternoon session-now coupled with anger and feelings of betrayal. But what was a guy got to do? So, he waited, and oh so patiently he did.
On Friday evening he called Mama Sue just to ensure that they were still on as agreed. Now Drew is not an early bird; barely makes it to most early meetings on time. However, that particular Saturday, he was up early, quickly got ready, passed by a supermarket and drove to Mama Sue’s home. Hilariously, the only thing he could think about was how to say Hi to Sue without sounding murderous. Probably his mind trying to suppress the issue at hand.
When he got there, he rang Mama Sue to open the gate. She welcomed him warmly, almost as if he was still her son in some way. She then welcomed him into the house as she carried the supermarket products into the kitchen. That’s when he saw her, seated on the couch next to the television. She stood up the moment she saw him. For a moment he just stood there, staring. She looked different. Her smile was enough to make him forget his anger. Her face was radiant – must have been the pregnancy hormones. Drew was not sure why but in that moment, he felt himself falling for her again, just like he had those many years ago.
‘Hi,’ Sue broke the awkward silence, ‘Have a seat’.
‘Hi?’ Drew did not know what to say after that. They sat there for a few minutes not saying anything then Drew felt the need to ask, ‘Do you feel okay?’
‘I’m pregnant, not dying,’ Sue replied chuckling. ‘But I am doing good considering. How are you?’
‘I am good too,’ Drew replied, almost robotically.
More awkward silence.
‘I am sorry you had to hear it from my mum. I really am. I just couldn’t get myself to tell you.’
‘This could be my child, Sue. You did not see any need to tell me?’
‘No, no it is not that. I just did not know how to.’
‘Does he know? The other guy. Did you tell him?’
‘Yes, I did. When mum told me, she had told you I figured it was time to tell him too.’
‘And….?’ Drew knew it was wrong but for some reason he wanted the other guy to be a deadbeat ‘might be father’.
‘He wants to be a part of the child’s life if he turns out to be the father.’ Sue answered.
‘Okay!!!’ What else could Drew say?
‘So, I had a talk with my doctor yesterday. If you want to procure a paternity test, he can arrange it.’
‘Isn’t carrying out a DNA test this early dangerous for the baby?’ Drew interrupted.
‘It can be. However, he suggested a safer alternative for the baby. Nowadays it is possible to do a blood test which can enable them to tell who the father is.”
‘So, what does Jack think of this?’ Great. Knowing his name was starting to bring back those unwanted feelings of anger.
‘Well, we did not really know each other that well so he is okay with whatever I am comfortable with. ‘Sue said almost apologetically
‘She betrayed me with a one-night stand?’ Drew got lost in thought again. Yeah, the anger was starting to rush back.
‘Well okay, let’s set a date for the test. Then you can inform Jack.’
‘Okay. I’ll talk to my doctor.’ Sue replied. ‘I am really I’m sorry about what happe…
‘Let’s not talk about that right now,’ Drew cut her short and quickly excused himself.
Drew bid her and her mother goodbye and went on his way. He figured talking would make things worse for now. So as agreed, a date was a set-a month later just to be safe. For the course of the month, however, Drew found himself talking to Sue often. The excuse was, of course, checking up on her to see how she was doing but Drew could not deny that he missed her. For some reason, they started communicating better than they had in the last year of their relationship. Maybe it was the idea that they might be parents, but they were doing way better than before. The idea that Drew could actually have a family by the end of the year started to grow on him. The anger he felt towards Sue become almost none-excitant-she did after all seem remorseful.
On the day they were supposed to procure the DNA test, he picked up an already showing Sue at her mother’s house. He could get used to this; the idea of having his own family. As they walked into the hospital, a tall man adorned in khaki pants and a checked blue shirt stopped Sue.
‘Hey Jack,’ Sue said as she stretched her hand out to greet him.
So, this was the guy. Not wanting to look like the bad guy Drew stretched out his hand to greet Jack. When Sue noticed the tension that was openly developing, she suggested they walk towards the waiting room and check on their appointment. No one said a word to each through the process. They were advised to come back in a week to check on the results. It was the longest week of Drew’s life.
D-day. For some reason as much as Drew did not want to admit it, he had already pictured a life with his new family. So as per usual, he picked Sue up from her mother’s house and headed to the hospital. They found Jack already waiting. Poor bloke was as nervous as Drew was. When they walked into the Obstetrician’s office, Drew knew this was it – the moment of truth. The envelope containing the results was handed over to Sue. She slowly opened the letter that contained everybody’s fate. Drew will never forget Sue’s face. Her reaction of shock was enough to tell him all he needed to know. She looked at him briefly then looked down. Drew drowsily walked out of the room and sat in the waiting room to try and compose himself. It felt like his heart had been broken again. He was back to stage 1 – no girl and no baby.
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This story first appeared on this blog as A Girl, Two Guys And A Baby Bump and A Girl, Two Guys And A Baby Bump Part 2
