As soon as I entered my barely functioning apartment, I went straight to my room and collapsed on the bed and soon was dead to the world.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
I loved mornings but this one was not one of them. Simply because I had to go and paint the walls of one of the richest men in Delaware, and I was in no mood. Don't get me wrong, I loved my job as a painter, but there were some day where I just wanted to spend the rest of my days in bed.
Scrambling out of bed was no fun, but I did it anyway as I didn't want to be late for work. I quickly went in the bathroom and did my business in under 10 minutes.
After putting on a pink top with jeans I donned on my sandals and made my way to the kitchen for some breakfast.
Call me cliche, but I always started my breakfast with a hot cup of bittersweet beverage that the regular people referred to as coffee. I quickly made a cup for myself, but just as the aroma travelled up my nose, my stomach turned and I had the strongest urge to throw up. I put the cup on the kitchen counter and made a mad dash to the bathroom and puked out God knows what.
After 10 minutes of puking, I felt myself stabilize. I got up and vigorously brushed my teeth. I had no idea what was wrong with me - maybe I caught the stomach flu - but I also knew that I couldn't just skip work. It was my only source of income.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
A week passed and my condition didn't abate. In fact, it only seemed to have gotten worse. Not only did I throw up every morning, I felt dizzy and suffered from exhaustion every time I came across my paints. I had absolutely no idea what was wrong with me.
Despite not wanting to, I scheduled an appointment with a doctor. I really wanted to get better as this illness was not only messing with my private life but my occupational life as well.
At the hospital a middle-aged female doctor told me that she would be dealing with me. She had red hair with gentle green eyes that instantly relaxed you whenever you looked into them. Her smile was soft and she had a light spray of freckles on her pale cheeks.
"Good morning, I'm Dr. Smith and I'll be your doctor today. Now Ms. Drake, you have complained of nausea, fatigue and dizziness, am I right?" The good doctor asked. I nodded weakly.
"When was the last time you had your period?" The doctor inquired.
"Two weeks ago." I answered.
The doctor nodded and picked up a plastic cup from where it lay on her desk and handed it to me.
"I'm going to need a urine sample, take this cup and bring it to me after you're done." The doctor instructed and I did as was told.
After a couple of minutes I emerged from the toilet carrying the plastic cup in my hand. I handed the cup to the doctor who smiled at me reassuringly.
The doctor dipped a stick in the sample and smiled.
"Congratulations, you're pregnant."
The world stopped. My heart slammed into my chest. What the hell! I couldn't be pregnant, I just couldn't be. How was it possible? But the answer to this came to me in a flash. Malcolm. Date. Sex. No protection. Shoot!
"Are you alright?" The doctor asked with concern etched on her pretty features.
"Uh, yeah. Just shocked that I'm pregnant. Wasn't expecting it to tell you the truth." I answered her.
"It's okay, pregnancies aren't always planned," the doctor went and sat down behind her desk.
"No they aren't." I mumbled to myself.
"I'm writing a prescription for you for vitamins and something that will help you with your morning sickness," the doctor scribbled on her note pad while I stood there, frozen like an idiot.
She ripped the paper and handed it to me and told to get the medicines as soon as possible. She also told me to come to her immediately if I experience pain or bleeding. I nodded and left the hospital, my mind whirling in confusion.
I was pregnant.
My mind immediately flew to Malcolm and what he would think about the baby. Would he be happy? Would he be upset? Would he accept the child?
I had a horrible feeling in my stomach that he would not take this news happily. After what I had experienced with him, the man did not seem to be father material.
But I wasn't going to lose hope. I'm going to go visit him at his work place tomorrow and would tell him the good news that he was going to be a father, because I wanted my baby to have a family with a proud dad and a loving mom, and I was sure Malcolm would also want me to tell him about the baby.
The thought of being a mom brought a smile on my face. I was going to do everything in my power to give this baby a life that he/she deserved, even if I had to do it all by myself.
I hurriedly hailed a cab and went home. Eager for tomorrow to come so I could go and give Malcolm the good news.
We were going to be a family.