"Ah, where’s my doctor?" she asked.
"Ma’am, he’ll be with you shortly," the voice from the box barked back.
Persha rolled her eyes and swallowed back tears. She needed to know what was going on, even if it wasn’t going to be good news. Some news was better than no news at all, she had determined.
Now lying there with Clarke and his father whispering in the corner, Persha had never felt more alone. Why wasn’t anyone talking to her? Didn’t they know what she was going through? The anguish was killing her. As if reading her mind, Cricket stuck her head in the room door.
"You okay over there?" Cricket asked. When Persha didn’t respond, Cricket walked over to the bed. "You’ve got to remember what the doctor said. You can’t sit here stressing and worrying."
"I know, but I just wish he’d tell me something. It’s killing me not knowing," Persha said.
"Just be patient. I think they got your results mixed up or something, so your doctor had the lab rush over the right ones. Just stay calm," Cricket said sweetly.
Persha closed her eyes and begged sleep to take over. She wanted this mess wrapped up so that she could go back home and relax. She just wanted to have her baby which they already knew was a boy, then her, Clarke and the baby could enjoy their future together as a real family.
The next afternoon, Doctor Blendshe walked into the room with another doctor. Persha looked up at the two and immediately started crying.
"Ms. Townsend, this is Doctor Kingston," Doctor Blendshe stated. "She’s a high risk pregnancy specialist."
"Cricket!" Persha started screaming. "Cricket," she was grabbed at the sheet and trying to lift her body into an upright position. "Cricket! Oh God Cricket," she hollered.
The doctors started looking around. "Ms. Townsend, we need you to calm down. This isn’t good for you or the baby.
A few minutes later, the door swung open.
"What’s the matter," Cricket said, rushing up to the bed.
"I know I’m about to get bad news. I just feel it. Have you heard from my mother yet?"
"Yes, Kori went to meet her at Hobby. She’s on her way. Try to calm down," Cricket urged.
"What do they want? Why are they both here? What’s a high-risk pregnancy specialist? Why do I need one of those?" Persha questioned.
Cricket started stroking her hand. "You need to calm down and hear them out. You’re so panicked right now. This isn’t good for the baby, Persha."
"Doctor Kingston, this is Ms. Townsend’s good friend," Doctor Blendshe, said. "She’s a nurse."
Doctor Kingston shook her head, taking in the information.
"Please, just tell Cricket," Persha begged. "I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to know. Is the baby okay? Oh, God! My baby’s gonna die!" Persha started crying. "OH God! Wwwhhhy!" she shrieked.
"Ssssssh," Cricket said, reaching down to take Persha into her arms. "It’s going to be fine; you and the baby. But you’ve got to calm down. Let’s hear the doctors out. If you didn’t need a specialist, she wouldn’t be here. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be bad news."
Persha looked up at Cricket. "You’ve always been straight with me," she said. "Don’t start sugar coating things now. I may be stupid when it comes to that man of mine, but if things were okay, I wouldn’t need a specialist," she snapped.
Doctor Blendshe stepped forward and said, "Ms. Townsend, there is a problem, but I think your friend is just trying to help you calm down a bit."
Persha pushed a button and eased her bed to an upright position for comfort and to be at attention to hear the doctor‘s every word. She knew it was bad news all the way around. Cricket held her hand tightly, but that wasn’t providing the soothing effect she needed. What she needed was comfort from her man. He should be there with her, he should be holding her in his arms.
"Just tell me. Cut the crap and tell me," Persha said as she blew out a breath then looked at Cricket. "Tell him I can handle it. I can. I just need to know."
"You have Preeclampsia," Doctor Blendshe started. "At this point what we’d like to do is a test called amniocentesis."
"Amnio what? And what is Preeclampsia?" Persha asked. "How’d I get it? What are you saying?" She turned to Cricket. "Cricket, what’s he saying?"
"He’s trying to tell you, sweetie," Cricket said, rubbing her hand, "You really need to calm down right now, that’s the best thing you can do."
"Okay. Okay. But what does this all mean?" Persha snapped. She could feel herself sweating. She wondered where Clarke was. She didn’t want him walking in on any of this. If he knew there was a chance that his son wouldn’t survive, she didn’t know what that would mean to their relationship. But she did know it wouldn’t be good.
"In simple terms," Doctor Blendshe continued, "Preeclampsia is pregnancy-induced hypertension."
The specialist stepped forward and added, "This is a common disease and it only occurs during pregnancy." Persha’s eyebrows were squeezing together. She still didn’t get it.
"The swelling, the high blood pressure; You must deliver now," the specialist said.
Persha looked back and forth between the specialist, the doctor and Cricket. She didn’t know what to do or say. Where was her mother? Why couldn’t anyone understand just how much she needed this baby? There was no way he’d survive.
"I’m not ready to deliver. This baby, he won’t make it," Persha wailed, placing her free hand on her stomach.
"Where’s the child’s father?" Doctor Blendshe said. "We need to move on this right away. We need you to take the test then we need to deliver the baby."
"I want my mama!" Persha shouted. "Cricket, please, tell them. I can’t have this baby right now. He’s not ready to come. I can’t lose this baby!"
"Persha, if they say it’s time," Cricket said, "it’s time. It’s that simple. Now you said you could handle this! Handle it!"
"But how did I get this?" Persha sobbed. "Where did it come from and what’s this amnic-whatever test? Why do I need it?"
"Hon, they’re going to insert a needle into the uterus and remove some fluid from around the baby," Cricket explained. "After that, they’ll decide if he’s ready to be delivered."
Cricket’s head turned when the specialist touched her shoulder.
"Normally that would be the procedure," Doctor Kingston said to Cricket, "But at this point, we need to deliver Ms. Townsend’s baby right away."
"Is it that severe?" Cricket asked.
"Well, based on our tests," Doctor Kingston continued, "her placenta is damaged. We’ll need to take the baby by C-section. Actually…" She looked at Persha. "Is there anyway we could talk about this over there?"
Persha’s eyes lit up. "What?" she hollered. "No! You talk right here. What’s wrong? Tell me! Is my baby going to make it? Is he going to be okay?"
"That’s why you need to take the test, and let them do what they need to do Persha," Cricket said firmly.
Still clutching on to Cricket’s hand, Persha sighed. She knew they were right. She needed to do whatever was necessary to save the baby.
"Okay, I’ll do it," Persha gave in. "Please, just save my baby."
As they prepared to wheel Persha into another room for the test, her mother Paula appeared at the door, Kori was standing next to her.
"Oh, Persha!" Paula squealed. "Baby, you just hang in there and be strong. You’re gonna be just fine. I’ve been praying since I got word. I’m only sorry I didn’t get here faster, but God’s got this under control."
"Keep praying, Ma. I can’t lose this baby. I just can’t," she yelled as she passed her mother, Cricket and Kori.
"Where’s this Clarke person?" Persha heard her mother ask. Suddenly she was glad she was being taken to another part of the hospital. She knew the moment her mother realized Clarke was nowhere to be found, heads would roll, and scripture would begin to flow non stop.
~ Clarke
"So you see, Pop, that’s why I’m sitting here all confused," Clarke explained to his father. "I don’t love Persha, not like I love Kelsa, but I know that once she finds out about this baby, it’ll be over for good."
Clarke popped the last shrimp into his mouth. He and Clarke Sr. were enjoying a late lunch on the patio at Papasitos restaurant near the hospital.
He had stayed with his father in his hotel room the night before, and they’d had a long, overdue talk. Clarke told his father what he’d done to Kelsa, and how he wound up crawling back to Persha. He left out the part about slapping her because he knew his old man wouldn’t tolerate that no matter what. But other than that, he was open and candid.
"Son," Clarke Sr. started, "I don’t have to tell you where your mistakes started. I’m no saint. I had an affair once, and your mother, bless her soul, found out about it."
Clarke moved to the edge of his chair. "What happened?"
Clarke Sr. cleared his throat; he waited for the waitress to refill his drink, smiled at her, and then watched as she walked away. "Well Son, your mother threw me out. It’s just that simple. She threw my cheating-ass out on the streets and tossed out everything I owned."
"No shit, Pops? I can’t believe you ever cheated on Ma. It looked like y’all had it all wrapped up; A real solid relationship, even after she got sick."
"We did, and if she were alive, I’d still be trying to make it up to her. I was young and dumb. Extra pussy is not all it’s cracked up to be. So after staying in a cheap motel for about a month, your mother finally took me back. But trust me, I had learned my lesson."
With a perplexed look on his face, Clarke scratched his head.
"What’s the problem?" Clarke Sr. asked, coolly sipping his tea.
"Nothing. I just don’t remember you ever leaving for a month."
"Son, this was shortly after you were born. It was a mistake and I spent the rest of your mother’s days paying for it. Sometimes the wrong head goes to thinking and we get into trouble."
"No joke!" Clarke leaned back. "So who was this woman anyway? Whatever happened to her?"
"I met her on a business trip. Her lips were red, her skirts were short and tight, and her sweaters were even tighter. She was a real hot number. Problem was, she said she understood about me being married, but when I wanted to cut it off, she wasn’t ready and didn’t agree. She even moved to the same city we were living in back then."
Clarke’s eyes widened. "What? Pops, you had a fatal attraction going on? How come you never told me about this before?"
"Son, there’s no pride in lying and cheating. I was wrong. I was just lucky your mother was able to forgive me. See, when you young guys try to chase as many skirts as you can, I look back and laugh. That’s not what life’s about." Clarke Sr. sipped his tea again. "Life’s about finding someone you love, settling down, and building a life together. Marriage isn’t easy, but shit, nothing good ever is. You’ve got to work hard for what you want. If your mother were still alive, I’d still be loving her more and more each day. I don’t need a string of women to prove my manhood. One good woman who loved me was enough, and once that sunk in, I was good to go."
"Yeah, Pop, I know you’re right. But when I was with Kelsa, I couldn’t stop thinking about Persha. Now that I’m with her, all I want to do is make things work with Kelsa again."
"Son, sometimes what you want and what you get are two different things."
"Did you ever see that woman again?"
"Didn’t need to. She had her own agenda. She wanted a husband and it didn’t matter that he might belong to someone else. I wanted my life with my wife and son, so I didn’t give her an option. I ended things and never saw her again."
"You make it sound so easy," Clarke said.
"But it is. It’s just that simple. Now unlike you, I didn’t have a child with my lover to deal with, so the decision to go back to my wife was easy once she agreed to take me back."
"So you think I still have a shot with Kelsa?"
"I can’t say. You’ve been married for what? Five years? That’s nothing to throw away. But Son, if she doesn’t want you back, you need to respect that and move on. And I don’t mean move on to Persha. I mean move on. Support your child, but move on. You’ve caused enough pain for both women. If you still love your wife, you’re not doing Persha any good by sticking around. Soon you’ll start comparing her to your wife, then you’ll start making life miserable for you both."
"I’m ready to step, Pop, but honestly, I feel so trapped with the baby and all."
Clarke Sr. shook his head. "I can see how you’d feel that way. But staying with a woman you don’t love won’t help that child one bit. Now, I’m gonna love my grandson no matter where you lay your head." Clarke Sr. leaned in. "And more importantly, I’m gonna love you too."
For a moment they sat there taking in the noises of the atmosphere; drivers sped along the highway 59-feeder road. People were honking horns, other customers were chattering and laughing. Clarke Sr. was glad to be with his son. Their dispute, years ago, had eaten away at him.
Clarke Sr. knew Persha just about as well as he knew Kelsa. Since he and his son weren’t talking, he never had a relationship with either one of the women.
"Pop? What would you do?" Clarke asked.
After hesitating a second, his father looked him in the eyes and a grinned spread across his face. "Son, I’d do the right thing. People can’t fault you when you do the right thing. They may not like it, but they can’t fault you." He looked at his glass. "And speaking of the right thing, I think we need to head over to the hospital. I don’t want to miss my grandson’s first day on earth."
Clarke prepared to go, but he didn’t want to. And more importantly, he knew for him, doing the right thing wasn’t quite as easy as his father made it sound.
~ Persha
After the test, the decision was confirmed and Persha was afraid. Even with her mother at her side, reassuring her, she still couldn’t shake the fear that struck deep in her bones. Something was wrong. There was no way in hell she should be having her baby so soon. And if something went wrong with the baby, she knew for sure she’d lose Clarke.
"So where’s Clarke honey?" Persha’s mother asked.
This was exactly what Persha was hoping to avoid. One single moment alone with her mother and she wanted to know where the hell Clarke was. Well, she wished she knew her damn self. And where were Kori and Cricket. She didn’t want to be alone under her mother’s close scrutiny.