“Girl, have you done that assignment from Dr. Sobanke? High risk pregnancies and Multigravida risks?” Dapo was lying on her bed, chewing her pen as she spoke.
“Check my laptop. I’ve typed something. I plan to still check Ten Teachers, hopefully, the textbook will help me add more flesh to the whole thing.”
“I don’t know what’s going on at home, Imma.”
I paused the Wordscapes game I was playing on my phone, “What do you mean?”
“A strange woman has been calling mum, talking about dad needing to confess before she exposes him.” There was a tremble in Dapo’s voice.
“Wow! For real? Are you sure it’s not just a prank?”
“Thats what we all thought… Till she sent mum some of dad’s pictures that mum didn’t even know existed. Old pictures.”
“Wow.. Okay.. How’s your father responding to this?”
“Babe, he has been avoiding mum, taking on extra work at church just to stay away.”
“He is acting guilty.”
“Yes. But of what? I mean, what could he have done? It is freaking me out. And mum…”
“How’s she doing? How many months now?”
“About seven and half months and you know she’s having twins.”
“I think you should just speak with your dad. He tends to listen to you.”
“I will. I don’t even know why they went ahead with this pregnancy. Tofunmi is like ten years old already. They should have just stopped after him.”
“Too late for that now but that strange woman needs to be stopped. I paused for a while, looking for a new topic to discuss to get my friend out of her sad state, “Dapo, I’d be going out soon.”
“Jed?”
“Jed.”
“I don’t feel right about that guy.” She turned on the bed to face me.
“Really??? Please who was passionately telling me to forget Folusho?”
“Yes, forget him. But I don’t remember telling you to go and hug this one.”
“Shioor. I’ve even kissed him.”
“Immaculate!!!”
“What now? He is actually a sweet guy.”
“No, chewing gum guy. What does he do? What do you even know about him?”
“He is 27years old, he makes shoes and suits for guys… The Jed Line-Up… That’s the name of his company.”
“Company ko, compound ni. Sha continue…”
“He is an only child, just like me, but was raised by only his mum right from the start.”
“What of his dad?”
“He does not know, he does not care.”
“Okay oh. That’s not a good sign.” Her head was down again, trying to concentrate on what she was writing.
“Dapo, it is not his fault that his father is not around and it does not mean he’d turn out a bad guy.”
“Okay o. Did I say anything like that? So, where are you guys going to?”
“Nowhere. Plan is to stay indoors and watch a movie.”
Dapo looked up from her books and faced me, “Are you sure you want to be alone with him?”
“I’d be fine and your number is on speed dial, my guardian Angel.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I’m short and thin and my family members still ask if my WAEC result is out while he is six foot and has the body of a boxer.”
“Talking of boxers…”
“I said boxer… Like boxing… Like sport…”
“Ehn, a boxing boxers now.”
We laughed and I continued with my game. In some minutes, I was going to see Jedidiah Famisola and I couldn’t wait.
*
I adjusted my knee length skirt and knocked on the door again. Music was booming from inside the house. I didn’t know the song or artiste but the lyrics were nice. By the time Jed finally opened the door, I had learnt the chorus of the song.
“Imma, welcome. You look amazing as always. Come in.”
“For a moment there, I thought you were banging some girl and using the music to drown out the noise ”
“Haaa, I see… Someone knows these things. She’s naughty.”
“Oh please, I don’t have to be naughty to think that.”
“Okay. Are you naughty, my lady?”
Jed had on a black singlet over a dark brown baggy short. He had the short loosely fastened with a belt, exposing some part of his boxers.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I know I can help pull up your short though.”
He moved closer and hugged me, then whispered, “Why not… Down?”
Having a hot, sexy guy that close was not a good idea. I gave a short, difficult laugh and moved away.
“Please, can I have water to drink?” I needed a quick distraction.
“Oh sure. Sit down please.”
This was my second time in his two bedroom flat and I was still amazed at the neatness and arrangement of the place. I figured The Jed Line-Up must be bringing him a lot of money for him to be living this comfortable or maybe he had some other side hustle.
“Sweetie, here you go.”
I froze. The black singlet was nowhere in sight.
*
“Akinjare, this is the fifth picture of you from this woman. Talk to me, please.”
“Fikayo, I’ve told you, ignore that woman. She sent you pictures, yes, but was I doing anything in them?”
“I don’t like that answer. Are we to wait till she sends one in which you are actually doing something?”
“It’s not like that. I did not mean it that way. All I’m saying is, she could have as well gotten those pictures off Facebook.”
“Your Facebook account does not have them.” His wife was eyeing him suspiciously.
Pastor Duduyemi was getting agitated. If he didn’t act soon, Fikayo would be hurt and his ministry was at risk too.
“Susan can be manipulative, she is just playing tricks on you.” He realized immediately that he had slipped.
“So, that’s her name. Jare, who is Susan and what confession is she talking about?”
*
“Immaculate. Immaculate James!”
“Yes, ma.”
“Your patient is in consulting room five. Clerk and examine her. You’d be presenting to me in ten minutes.”
“Ma, ten minutes? I don’t think I’d be…”
“Just go. Of course, I know you intend to spend eternity there. The rest of you, listen up…”
I smiled as I walked out of the consulting room. Dr. Mamoud was just sweet. She was the chief resident doctor in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G) unit of the University College Hospital. Everyone liked her. Personally, she was my role model. I loved the way she carried herself, physically and in her career. In the ever reducing number of females in the field, she had proven herself capable. And no one could beat her fashion sense.
It wouldn’t be pride to say I was her favorite. I had known her even before my postng in O&G. I got to clerk patients alone. I got special tutorials from her and I even chatted with her on WhatsApp. I had told her about the Folusho drama and was already looking forward to telling her about Jed.
I reached consulting room five and saw that my patient was a beautiful light skinned lady in a black gown whose neck line allowed for a nice but modest view of her cleavage. She looked educated and informed. I figured there was no point forming with her.
I greeted as I sat across her, “Good morning ma’am.”
“Good morning doctor.” Her voice was quite audible yet soft.
“I’m actually still a medical student.”
“I know. Your badge gave you away. Are you the only one clerking me?” She adjusted her little sling purse across the front of her gown.
“Yes”. I smiled. The lady had used the appropriate term for the questioning that was going to ensue. She sure knew what she was saying.
“Oh great. I thought I was going to get hit by a mob of medical students as usual and have to endure some of them pretending to be what they are not… yet.” There was a twinkle in her eye as she spoke.
“Hehehe. Forgive us. Sometimes, we need the bravado to speed things up. So, how are you? Your name, please.”
“Kezia. Kezia Nnamdi. 26years old. I work with Sweetco as a chemical analyst.”
“Oh. You’re Igbo. Your first name got me wondering.”
“Not surprising seeing as you won’t be the first. Sometimes, I pretend to be a non Nigerian just for the fun of it.”
“I know right! Your complexion sure gives that impression. So, how can I help you today, Miss Nnamdi?”
“Come on, Kezia is just fine. Yes…. I, uhm, noticed some strange discharge from my vagina about a month ago.”
“Alright. Can you please describe this discharge… color, quantity, smell… and is there any associated itching?”
I had an idea what it could be by the time I had asked her a few more questions.
“Kezia, how many partners do you have?”
“One.”
“Err… “, I slouched on my seat a bit. Asking patients about their sexual history was never fun. I could imagine myself being asked. Yet, it had become a totally necessary question in this era of yet increasing HIV incidence alongside sexually transmitted infections.
We had also been taught to go beyond asking only about alcohol and cigarettes. People were taking stronger stuff out there and unless you’re direct I’m asking, you’d get nothing.
“… I don’t mean boyfriend, I mean sexual partners.”
“I know what you mean and for me, it is one and the same.”
“Oh. Do you use condoms?” Yet another question perceived as strange.
There was a gaping hole of deficiency when it came to matters of sex education. Young people are being told to either be faithful or use condoms.
Have you tried buying a condom before in a supermarket? Oh boy! You become the spotlight. Everyone is suddenly interested in ‘attending’ to you. Oh, and nobody ever knows how much they are till they shout across miles to the next shop attendant, “how much this banana flavored condom?”
“Occasionally. He isn’t a fan of it.” She answered without so much as blink.
“Uhm, do you think he is faithful to you?” If she was faithful, maybe her boyfriend was the one bringing in ‘strange goods’.
I saw her smiling countenance fall. She put her head down and slowly shook her head.
“I’m sorry, Kezia. Can you… uhm… get him to also come for testing?”
“Is it that serious? I doubt he’d come though.” There was some iota of alarm in the way she asked.
“It isn’t about the seriousness. It is our protocol to ensure partners are also tested and treated.”
“Oh. I’d ask him.”
“Alright. I’d need to examine you and get a sample of the discharge for miscroscopy, culture and sensitivity. That’s to find out what exactly is causing the discharge and which antibiotics it is sensitive to.”
“Don’t you need your senior doctor’s directive for that?”
“Nah, I can handle this. I’m positive that she’d ask me to still take the sample. I’m still going to present my findngs to her though for conclusion on your diagnosis and subsequent treatment.”
While I examined her, I distracted her by asking about her relationship.
“I mean, if you know he sleeps around, why do yo still stay?”
“He would outgrow it. It is just him being childish. Besides, look at Davido and his Chioma.”
I looked up at her grinning face. “Heheheh, seriously? What assurance has he given you now?”
“None yet. But, I would be patient. Four years is still small, I know people that had to wait for more.”
“Well, I admire your courage. I hope that this his only vice sha.”
She laughed and averted her gaze. I had seen some scars on her thighs and noticed some others on her neck.
Is he physically abusing her too?
