The lady took the money from him before quietly taking her leave. He turned to me. “So, my dear, you will be attended to very soon. But first, why are you in this foul mood today?”
“I am not in any foul mood, this is just me,” I responded.
“But I know you were not like this when you first came and I suspect your mood has to do with the reception I gave you the last time, right?”
“Oh, so you know? Then, you shouldn’t be asking a question to which you already know the answer.”
“Anita, calm down, you don’t need all this drama, you know,” Aunty Meg said to me.
I leaned close to Aunty Meg and whispered into her ears, “I can’t stand this man, I swear!”
“We might have a problem here, you know,” the man said to me. “Professionally, it is not advisable for me to operate on somebody that has personal issue with me. Anything could go wrong, you know.”
Aunty Meg looked at me and then turned back to Doctor Bambi. “Doctor, what does that mean? Are you saying you won’t operate on her anymore?”
“No, of course not, that’s not what I’m saying,” the man shook his head. “I am suggesting somebody else, another doctor in my hospital should handle the D&C for her.”
There was a spell of silence. The man was waiting for my consent. He probably wanted me to apologise for my behavior but that was certainly the last thing I would do.
“But doctor, that wasn’t the arrangement now. Besides, is this doctor capable enough to….?”
“Of course, he’s more than capable,” the man cut in. “But like I said earlier, it is best we let somebody else do it for her…”
“I am okay with that,” I cut in, keeping a straight face.
“That’s great. So, let me get him for you,” he said as he picked up his phone, dialed a number and pressed the phone to his ear.
“Junior, let me see you in my office,” he said and then dropped the phone. Moments after, the door opened and a young, good-looking doctor stepped in. He was the finest looking doctor I had ever set my eyes on.
“This is Doctor David, he will operate on you,” the man said. I tried to smile as he waved at me. He smiled back. He had such good dentition.
“But doctor, he’s quite young, are you sure….” Aunty Meg was still unsure about him.
“Don’t you worry about him, you’re in capable hands,” the man assured us and then dropped the unexpected. “And besides, he is my son, so I should know!”
“Hello, ladies, how are you doing?” he had such sonorous voice. And the charm he exuded was something else, he came across as a man who knew his way around women.
“Hello,” Aunty Meg waved. I simply gave him a nod.
“So, dad, you called me, I assume one of these two beautiful ladies needs my help?” he asked Doctor Bambi. The way they both related, one could tell they’re pretty closer and there’s probably a lot of Doctor Bambi in Doctor David.
Doctor Bambi opened my file that was right there on his table and showed the content to him. He just smiled with a nod of his head and asked his dad, “which one of them?” And the man pointed to me. Doctor David’s smile widened. He looked intently at me for a moment like a man who was excited at the prospects of possibly devouring me.
“I am wondering, dad, why are you pushing this over to me? You know I still have a couple of things to do today before I call it a day,” the younger doctor asked his dad.
The man chuckled, looked at me from the corner of his eyes and then turned to his son, “she doesn’t seem to like me, so I figured she should be handled by somebody she doesn’t have a problem with and would be more comfortable with.”
“Are you serious?” he turned to me. I was looking at him with a blank expression on my face. “What did my old man do to you that made you dislike him?”
I shook my head. “I don’t dislike him, and to be honest, I don’t have any problem with him. But please, can we get on with the D&C? I really want to get this thing out of my womb as soon as possible.”
Doctor David wasn’t expecting the cold response. Surprised, he looked over to his dad who gave him an “I told you’ kind of look.
“Hmm, it’s like somebody’s not in a good mood today, but it’s alright,” Doctor David said to me. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be back to get you ready, okay?”
I nodded slightly and he left the office. I felt a little bad that I was cold to him, he seems a really nice guy. But I really wasn’t interested in all that drama he and his dad were putting up. I had got the money he asked for, now it was time for me to call the shots.
Aunty Meg obviously didn’t like the attitude I was putting up. But to be honest, I was past caring. All that mattered to me at that time was to be done with what I came for and head back to my home.
“Meg, is your friend always like this or she can be much friendlier sometimes?” Doctor Bambi asked Aunty Meg. I wasn’t even paying attention to them.
“I apologise for her edgy nature but I assure she is a much warmer and nicer person. It’s just that she’s not been feeling good lately about her situation,” Aunty Meg tried to put up some defense for me.
“But why should her pregnancy get this riled up? Last time you guys were here, she wasn’t any better, though,” the man said. I was miffed but I tried to keep my anger in check.
“Or, could it be that she got pregnant for someone who is not ready to accept responsibility for it?”
“And that’s none of your business, if you don’t mind, sir!” I’d growled at the man. He was shocked at the fiery tone of my voice. “How can you even be talking about me like am not here?” I turned to Aunty Meg, the anger in my eyes showing clearly that I disapprove of her conversation with the man.
“Take it easy, young lady, I was only trying to get you to lighten up. You’re being too uptight, don’t you think?” Doctor Bambi said to me. His voice had changed and his eyes lit up with fury. The man was already pissed off. “Listen here, pretty one, I don’t know what your problem is, or why you’re acting the way you’re acting. But if this has anything to do with my rule of full payment before service is rendered, then trust me, I have no apologies for that. That’s the way I run my business. Now, if you make your money tomorrow and you start your own business, you can start rendering services on credit, that’s your cup of tea. But, here, this is how I run my hospital and if you’re not satisfied with it, then, quietly take your money and leave. I do not need you, you are the one who needs me at this point in time.
There was a deafening silence. I didn’t say a word. Nobody did. The man had hit me where it hurts. He didn’t need me, I needed them. So, I couldn’t call his bluff. I let out an exasperated sigh and kept quiet.
And just then, his son, the doctor, came in. “We are good to go now, madam,” he said to me. I forced a smile and got up from the chair. Aunty Meg followed suit. Then, as we got to the door, I turned and looked at Doctor Bambi. Perhaps the man was right, I had no reason to be angry with him. “Sir,” I called out just as I made to leave, “I’m sorry.”
The man merely smiled and waved me away. Then Aunty Meg and I followed the young looking doctor to his office, that was where the business of the day began. Finally, I was going to get rid of the baby growing inside me…
