She slid out of bed, pulled on her tattered blue robe and went into the bathroom with a pregnancy test strip.
She was feeling strange and unusual, so she bought a test strip on her way back from work the previous day.
She urinated into the a small bottle, and inserted the strip in it. She was anxious, her heart trembled as she pulled it out and placed it on a pavement.
The first red line showed, followed by the a second. She held her tummy and smiled lightly.
She washed her hands and got back to the bedroom.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked in a sleepy tone.
"We are expecting a baby, I am pregnant!" she exclaimed.
Harry sat up on the bed and grabbed her to himself excitedly.
"How did you find out?"
"I haven't seen my period for four months now. The signs were there, but I wasn't sure. I tested few minutes ago, and it's positive." She said shyly.
Harry kissed her softly on the forehead and laid his hands gently on her stomach.
"I am going to be a daddy. My mom will be so happy."
He said and fell on the bed weakly.
"Let me sleep with the good news at heart my love. We are now three!" He chuckled. "I need to sleep a little longer, I will be opening the shop late today."
Harry slept off again as soon as his eyes got closed.
Atimma couldn't sleep anymore, she wrestled with the notion of discussing relocating to a bigger house in town.
She didn't want to grow her baby in a ghetto as Linda called it, she wanted a good life for herself, Harry and the unborn baby.
She had mentioned sometimes ago that she was uncomfortable cooking in the tight kitchen, and squeezing her body in the bathroom, so that her hands won't touch the walls.
She drifted off to sleep with the thoughts of getting a new apartment in her mind. Since she wasn't too buoyant, she was going to tell Harry to assist her with part of the money from his business.
****
The next morning, Atimma was shivering, she had fever.
She brushed her hair away from her face and sat up on the bed.
She opened her eyes, looking startled when she heard a cry from the sitting room.
She forcefully stood up, and walked gently to the sitting room.
"what happened?" She asked in a trembling tone. There were tears in Harry's eyes. she had never seen him that way before.
She held his head to his chest, his tears dampened his shirt, and she clutched at him, not willing to let him off.
"Tell me, who called you? Is mama okay, did you get a message from the village?" She asked soothingly in broken whispers.
"My shop...My Shop, my goods..." Harry cried out in a faint whisper.
She drew in a shuddering breath.
"What happened? Your rent hasn't expired yet."
"Fire! Fire burnt everything. Obinna...the guy that sells Motor parts, told me. His shop is just partly burnt." Harry cried out.
Atimma became weak. She laid tiredly on the couch. She was dry faced and tensed.
"Everything will be fine. We will find a way." She said soothingly, holding Harry's hands.
"Why now? Why now that you're pregnant? I invested all my money, my savings... into these last set of okirika that I bought.
I wanted to make you happy, I wanted to get us that dream apartment you've always wanted." Harry's voice broke. His eyes and his face where filled with tears.
She shook her head and nestled against him more securely.
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Written by Vicky Bon, 19th May, 2017
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