#EMOTIONALLY_DETACHED
_09_
The sight of 27th made me see my life in the blink of an eye, I wasn’t a fool not to realize that this was the end of Camy and I, she said no word to me. She didn’t even bother to ask if at all it were true but then just stood up and congratulated me on the new development.
As she left I felt like a part of me was leaving as well, I couldn’t believe that this was it. That this was the end for me but another part of me didn’t want to go without a fight.
‘You just had to destroy the only good thing in my life.’ I said as I stood up ‘Steph you never picked up any of my calls, I never made this baby on my own so one way or the other you had to find out.’ She said on top of her voice
I looked at her and asked myself for the millionth time what I saw in her, she was so ghetto whilst I was polished and well groomed.
I walked out of the hotel and drove straight home; all my phones were now off because I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I was a bad person yes and I had made a lot of bad mistakes but I wasn’t the kind of man to overlook something as huge as a baby and I knew that my family, my father especially wasn’t going to allow me to deny the pregnancy as long as I had a thing with the lady.
The next few days were quiet for me, I had not yet called Camy. I didn’t know how to explain myself, like honestly where would I start from? I didn’t have the courage to tell her that I had been sleeping around whilst with her, then questions like how many women would pop up. Where did you sleep with them from? Did you even use protection? All those and many more would come and Lord knows I didn’t have the courage to break it to her the kind of man I had been.
Days turned into weeks then a month without hearing from either 27th or Camy, I tried to stalk Camy on social media but it was like she had varnished just like that. No one wanted to tell me anything about her and Stella also said that she had not heard a thing about or from her.
It was a Saturday morning and like the past weeks I just wanted to be indoors the whole day, so I woke up and went for my usual road run before heading back to take a shower.
I was shocked to find so many missed calls from my parents and a part of me dreaded why they had called.
I wanted to go to the bathroom when it started to ring again, this time it was Stella. ‘Hey kiddo.’ I said
‘Get your whoring self at mum’s in the next twenty minutes!’ she yelled before hanging up.
I took a deep breath and prepared myself for whatever was going to happen, this is what I had been afraid of but certain things in life have to be faced.
So after taking a bath, I quickly drove to Mum’s without paying much attention to what I was wearing.
When I got there the atmosphere was not welcoming, I could see dad seated in his favorite chair with the look of disappointment written all over his face. Mum was trying so hard not to break down and she was seated with an angry Stella who wasn’t even hiding it.
On the other side was a plump woman I couldn’t recognize with 27th on her side. ‘He is finally here.’ Stella said and they all turned to look at me ‘Son please take a seat.’ Dad said as mature as possible
I walked across the room and sat in one chair that made me face all of them. ‘Without wasting much time, I will get straight to the point.’ He said again ‘Stephen do you know this woman here?’ he asked pointing at 27th ‘I have seen her twice.’ I responded truthfully
‘See, I told you. She is lying, he only saw her twice.’ My mother said Stella clicked her tongue
‘Watch your mouth young lady, he is still your elder brother.’ Dad rebuked
‘How can you say he is the one that impregnated you when he only met you twice? What sort of shame do you want to bring upon me?’ the plump lady asked ‘Aunty Rose I told you, he is the one responsible.’ 27th responded facing down ‘But how? What haven’t I done for you honestly? You have everything at your disposal and you had to embarrass me like this?’
Everyone in the room was now quiet as the two ladies talked.
‘Enough of all this, Stephen I don’t care how you met or where you met all I want to know is whether you are the one responsible for this pregnancy.’ Dad cut in ‘I think I am.’ I said
‘You think?’ Stella asked
‘Oh well don’t even respond.’ She said again
‘Ma’am since we know that our son is responsible, we will be in touch with you and by next week the marriage preparations will begin.’ Dad said ‘What?’ both I and 27th said at the same time
‘No grandchild of mine is going to be born outside marriage, now deal with it.’ Our guests said their goodbyes and now I was left with my family.
‘Stephen how can you do this to Camy?’ Stella asked ‘Oh Lord poor girl.’ Mum responded shaking her head Dad was just looking at me from the corner of his eye. ‘How did you meet Raquel?’ he asked ‘Who is Raquel?’
All three gave me a questioning look.
‘You mean you don’t even know her name?’ mum asked
‘Sorry, I just have so much on my mind. I think it just slipped.’ I said quickly ‘Right.’ Stella responded
‘I don’t have much to say to you Stephen, you have let me down and now you have to lay in the bed that you have created. Next week we are starting with the marriage negotiations, cancel all your programs.’ Dad said dismissively
All this while I was just quiet and not saying a word, I had let them down already and now I just had to deal with it.
I said my goodbyes even though no one seemed to care but instead of going home I decided to call Raquel to meet me at Uncle T’s in kabwata.
I was there in less than an hour and she joined me twenty minutes later. ‘A bar? Really?’ she asked after spotting me
‘As far as I am concerned we met in a place like this, so why are you worried?’ I asked sipping on my bottle of miller
‘I see.’
‘Do you want anything to drink?’
‘I am carrying a human you fool.’ She said before clicking her tongue ‘So why didn’t you terminate it? I paid you for the s£x not so?’
She looked at me intently before shifting her eyes
‘Being twenty six, pregnant and in school is something that I never imagined. But it happened and before I knew it, aunty rose did and I couldn’t do anything about it.’
‘You are in school?’
‘Stephen you might have picked me up in a bar but I am not a hooker, we will get
married for the sake of our parents and in the next two years we can get divorced.
Trust me you are not the kind of man I ever imagined spending the rest of my life
with.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘I did some digging on your girlfriend, apparently we are in the same school so what I will do is apologize on your behalf. You guys can continue with whatever you had and I won’t even meddle, the only reason we are together is this child nothing more nothing less.’
I looked at her in shock.
‘Come on, you don’t strike me as the husband type and I would have to be dead to involve myself emotionally with you.’ She said standing up
‘I will talk to Camy.’ She screamed on top of her voice as she walked out
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