Chapter 10 The Pregnancy Symptoms

Sharon left the house earlier, and when she returned, she saw that Patrick was with some of his business visitors that arrived at his home, as some were his close friends, and they were all discussing and laughing.

"Good evening, all." Sharon greeted them and walked past them while going to her room, and Patrick wasn't able to question her on where she went the previous night or where she was coming from again?. He let it slide because he wasn't even in the mood to confront her.

After seeing off his friends and business partners, Patrick decided to sleep in his room, but just as he stepped into the parlor and walked to the corridor leading to their rooms, Sharon stepped out of her room, and she stopped him.

"Brother, what happened between you and Tina the previous night, while I was away?" Sharon asked, and Patrick paused, but he kept mute as he turned to face Sharon, while Sharon said, "Well, I just want to know what happened between you and that yellow wench?."

"Yellow wench?" Patrick asked her as he frowned, and he met her questioning gaze on him, then he replied coldly, "Nothing happened."

"Really? You said nothing happened?. Oh my! Please, that's a lie, as I saw fresh blood stained on your bedsheet this morning when I entered your room to know what happened by myself. So you broke her virginity; how did you?"

"Shut up!! And don't ever say such nonsense again!" Patrick cut Sharon off from finishing her words, and he walked away angrily while Sharon gulped all that she wanted to say, and she asked out, "He just asked me to keep shut, really?" Sharon smirked, and she returned to her room.

Patrick couldn't believe that his sister actually saw the dried stain on the mattress, and she already knew what happened between him and Tina. He murmured, "What's Sharon even finding here in my room?. Oh! I remembered I forgot to lock my room door because I had rushed out to catch up with Tina."

Patrick shook his head sadly while he walked to his bed and sat down on it, as he had already changed the bed spread away, and he later slept off on his bed.

~~~~~

Mama-Tina returned back home from the market with Jude, and they sat in their parlor discussing as they had their dinners together.

And after their dinner ended, Mama-Tina called Tina back to come and sit with her, and she gist to Tina all that had happened earlier at the market square, but she noticed that Tina wasn't really responding, like how Tina used to react and laugh out loud before, as Tina was now silent and finding it difficult to laugh, even as her two brothers were laughing out loudly and narrating all that had happened in the market square to Tina, but still, Tina wasn't laughing, as she was quiet and trying to force a fake smile, but she wasn't happy.

Mama-Tina sighed, and not liking how Tina was quiet, she asked Tina, "Tina, why're you not laughing with us? Or you're still thinking about the place that you went to enjoy yourself yesterday night and leaving all of us worried about you?."

Mama-Tina laughed, but Tina shook her head quietly and was still unable to speak a word, and her mother continued, "Well, since you have refused to tell us where you went to spend your night, we've decided to tell you our own." Mama-Tina laughed again, and Tina only managed to laugh back, still not responding, while Richmond said, "Mom, I have told you to come and officially register me, so I can learn Alex's craft."

"Hmph. I know my son; I will go see him. But you know that the money for the Alex Father apprenticeship program is too much, and I cannot afford that for now. Besides, you're still young and also going to school. So there's still a lot of time for you to learn it, but you don't have to worry now; I will register you later, okay? Try and understand with me."

"Okay mom" Richmond subtly frowned, and Mama-Tina replied, "Good. First, face your studies for now. Once you've finished high school, we will all be able to gather more money and send you through the apprenticeship program, and by that time, you won't be distracted at all. unlike now that you're still going to school." Mama-Tina explained further, as she saw that Richmond frowned.

"Okay, mom," Richmond finally agreed, and Mama-Tina replied, "Fine, go inside the room with your brother and sleep, as it's already late." Mama-Tina dismissed Richmond and left with sleepy Jude. Mama-Tina went to check on them as they went inside the room, and she saw that they were already sleeping peacefully on the bed.

Mama-Tina sighed, and she went out back to their parlor to meet Tina, and she asked Tina, "Tina, Are you sure that you're okay?. Or is there anything troubling you because you don't seem to look happy to me? What's wrong?."

Mama-Tina drew closer to Tina, and she touched her daughter's face and neck to examine Tina's bodily temperature, but Tina quickly replied to her mother, "Nothing, Mom, I'm fine."

"Hmm.." Mama-Tina sighed, as she still didn't believe that Tina was fine, but she agreed and said, "Is it alright? Go and check if the parlor door is properly locked. Then you come inside and sleep."

"Okay mom," Tina stood up from their parlor couch, and she left to lock the parlor door properly while Mama-Tina sighed and decided to let the matter be since Tina has also refused to talk to her about it, and they both went back inside the room to sleep on the big bed that they shared.

===>

a few months later.

While Mama-Tina was in her market space and attending to some of her customers, a fine young man pulled over his car to a halt along the other side of the road, and he came down from his car and walked up to her shade.

Patrick had always been passing by and hoping that he would see Tina again, especially whenever he was traveling down to his village to visit his parents, but he never got to see her again since the last time that he touched her and slept with her. And he couldn't just bear to pass again, so he stopped and pretended like he wanted to buy some fruits from her mother's shade. So he could use the style to inquire about Tina's whereabouts from her mother and get to know how Tina is faring as well?.

Patrick had packed his car and waited a little when he arrived before he finally stepped down and walked over to Mama Tina's shade to greet her.

"Good afternoon, ma." Patrick greeted him as he stood in front of Mama Tina's shade, and Mama Tina paused the fruit that she's arranging, and she replied to him, "Welcome, sir, what do you want to buy?."

Patrick was quite at first as he stared at her fruit, and he asked her, "How much are these fruits?."

"100 cash," Mama-Tina replied, and Patrick bought a few while Mama-Tina packaged them, but Patrick immediately asked her, "Excuse me, Ma, What of that fair-looking yellow lady that used to help you here?. I guess she's your daughter, right?. I haven't been seeing her around; I hope she's fine?."

Mama- Tina stared at Patrick's face, and she smiled and replied, "Yes, she's my daughter, and she's fine. She's preparing for her senior school scholarship exams to gain a free scholarship into the university and to study whatever course she wants to, since she's among the best graduating students. So I asked her not to come to the market again but to stay at home and study her books in preparation for the exam. That's why she hasn't been coming to the market with me."

"Oh!" Patrick exclaimed, as he was surprised to hear that Tina was good with her studies, and he smiled back to Mama-Tina and said, "That's fine, ma; I'm just asking to know how she's doing."

"Okay," Mama-Tina replied, while Patrick paid for his fruit and left.

a few days later.

Tina had just rounded up her last exam paper when she felt her stomach cringe like she was going to vomit, and she quickly submitted her last answer sheet and dashed out of the exam hall while rushing out to the school restroom to vomit all the food that she had eaten since morning.

This was the third time Tina was throwing up in the week, and after washing her face with tap water, Tina left and greeted her teachers, "Goodbye," as she awaited the school scholarship results.

While on her way home, Tina saw Prisca and some other street girls discussing and laughing out loudly like mad women, as they seemed to be making jokes of her, but she ignored them and walked past them quickly as she was going home, but she heard one of the girls scream out to her, "Pretender!."

Tina didn't stop by nor respond to them, as she and Prisca were no longer friends, nor were they talking to each other since the night of the event and the following morning confrontation.

Tina avoided Prisca like plague, as another of her classmates had told her that Prisca had told almost all of their classmates, and anyone who cared to listen, that she had been deflowered and no longer the Holy Mary they used to know, and that "Tina had slept with a man," and she (Prisca) saw it because she knew the man whom Tina had slept with.

Some believed Prisca while others didn't, as they felt probably Prisca just wanted to condemn Tina out of jealousy since they weren't talking anymore.

When Tina got home, she felt tired and slept off, not even taking off her uniform, and when she woke up, it was already evening and her mom had already arrived. As she entered their parlor, she was surprised to still see Tina in her school uniform, while Tina greeted her, "Good evening, mom."

"Good evening, Tina, Why're you still in your school uniform?. Did you just close school now, or did you go somewhere else?." Mama-Tina questioned her with narrowed eyes as she eyed Tina suspiciously.

"No, mom, I was just tired, so I slept off without even knowing when I slept," Tina said as she yawned tirelessly and stretched, and Mama-Tina asked her, "Hmm, how about your exams? I hope that you wrote them very well?."

"Yes, mom, I did. But I think I am not feeling too fine. As I had vomited in school today and since this week," Tina spoke, and her mother stared at her and asked her, "Are you sure?. Or maybe it's just malaria. I pray you pass the school scholarship exam and win it."

Mama-Tina smiled at Tina, and she left Tina and went to their kitchen in the backyard to prepare their dinner before the night fell.