CHAPTER SEVEN

 At home Dennis lived a double life too, he would ' double faced

’ as it was called. He would leave home under the pretext of visiting classmates to attend parties. As hard as his parents tried, they couldn’t lay their hands on what Dennis had been introduced to; he never brought girl home and he steered clear of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, he had said alcohol tasted bitter and that if it had been sweet, nothing would stop him from drinking alcohol. But these things don’t hide for long, they have a way of catching up with people, it’s simple logic, ' what you sow is what you reap.’ 

He had met a girl at one of the parties he had been to and they grew close. They had both just completed their high school and had all the time they needed. She had invited him to her house after everyone had gone out. One thing led to another and another and another. Several weeks later, she called him and told him that they needed to talk. He had been a novice in this, if he had known ' the game,’ he would have known what had happened between them a few weeks ago, the thing they had done in secret, the exam he had written would soon be released. He would have known the lines guys dread would be read to him, but he didn’t, he wanted her to talk over the phone.

“Why don’t you just tell me over the phone?” he had said. 

“Baby, I don’t think I can, I would rather we talk face-to-face.” 

“Where are you right now?” he asked. 

“I’m at the shop, and I’ll be going to church from here.”

“Okk, I’ll meet you before you go to church, just hang on there.”

When he met her a few minutes later, she had drawn him aside and asked if he loved her. 

“Why would you ask me this? You know I love you.”

“I just needed to hear you say it. Turbulent times lie ahead, for me, for you, for us.”

“Turbulent times? For us? Wait, babe, why are you using this big grammar and parables? What’s up?”

She held his hands, squeezed it again and again, he squeezed her hand too, she needed it, she had been strong, she had been going through mental torture alone, what would her parents say if they found out? Her father would kill her, but what wouldn’t a girl who had fallen in love do? If she had her way, if it were possible, she would have kept it away from him, just to protect him, just to make sure he stayed happy, but she had to tell him, she knew she had to tell him, she didn’t do it alone, they had done it together, she was telling him not because she wanted to but because she had to. 

“Baby, I’m, I’m,” she sniffed as a tear strolled down her cheek. 

“You are what? Come on, tell me, what's up”

“I’m sorry, I think I’m pregnant, I’m pregnant.” She looked at him, to hear him say something but he didn’t, he couldn’t, what would he say. His heart beat faster, he began sweating. She needed him to say something, he knew she wanted him to say something, he tried to but the words wouldn’t come out. When finally he spoke, he spoke with fear, he had to be careful with his words. 

“Are you sure?” She simply nodded, he scratched his head, his head began to ache, his thoughts rushed to what would happen, how disappointed his parents would be, the embarrassment he would cause them in church, what people would say about him, how they would look at him, he had done it too before, he had felt pity for ladies who got pregnant, he would now truly understand what being in their shoes felt like. “What, what do we do now?” he asked.

“I don’t know, baby I don’t know, you are not ready, I am not ready, we are just , you are eighteen and I’m seventeen, I mean, I’ve hardly had a good night rest since I noticed, I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what food tastes like again, nothing appeals to me again, nothing, it’s just too much for me. God, please, please…..” she couldn’t finish her soliloquy, the tears wouldn’t let her finish. He grabbed her hands again, he felt pity for her, he wanted to cry with her too.

“Babe, if we were alone, I’ll draw you close, hug you right now and plant a kiss on your forehead,” he had heard those lines in a movie. She raised her head to look at him, she smiled and hugged him. 

“Thanks,” she said. 

“Thanks? We are in this together, I’ll stay with you and support whatever you decide.” He didn’t know how he said those words, maybe her tears had pushed him, ' let the worst happen,' he thought, ' I’m not the first person to impregnate a lady and I wouldn’t be the last, if they will kill me, so be it, I’ve made my bed, I should lie on it.’

“What do we do?” she asked, bringing him back from his thoughts. Now that he was back, he wondered if he had actually thought that, 

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” he smiled, “maybe I’ll tell my mother, perhaps I will tell my sister, she would be angry but she would know how to tell my parents.”

“Are you sure! Are you sure about that?”

“What’s the worst that could happen? Eh, what’s the worst, they would be mad, they would be disappointed, no doubt, they might even send us away from home, but after a while, after a while, after the baby comes, they would all forget what happened, they would love us, they would love the baby, I’ve seen it before, trust me.”

“Thanks, you have a good heart, another would have denied me and left me to carry the cross alone, but you, you have been a pillar.”