I Never Left You

3. Motherhood

Life as a pregnant teenager wasn't easy one bit especially in my town, I was always worried about going out to the mall and church when my bump started showing afraid that people will give me the judgmental look and use me as an example to teach their children not to open legs aimlessly. My parents would mostly do the shopping, Allan would take out the trash though I also had to explain to him that my stomach was growing big not because I was always eating food but because life was growing inside me. I didn't anticipate him to be clueless about pregnancy at his age. I couldn't help but laugh at his relieved face when he thought at some time his stomach would equally grow cause of overeating other things I was thankful for was that my parents were so understanding and patient that they would never force anything on me that I would not want to do. Mum would always escort me for antenatal care and dad that I ate anything I craved for. He was eager to have a grandchild.
Leah was the most supportive friend of all, she would always come home every free time she got, she went to the mall and got me all the maternal wear that I was going to need, ensured that as a pregnant woman I ate healthy food though I wasn't a fan of broccoli soup and she also emphasized that I exercise regularly with yoga in the house or drive me to the outskirts of the town for outdoor exercises. I was not only always afraid of bumping into people I knew but also from the negative criticism my family would face for having a daughter who couldn't keep her legs shut, my family's reputation was what mattered to me most.
Leah continued to be an angel with wings when she postponed her career and education for me, she refused to join the University that intake and promised to wait out for me till am ready to go back to school amidst my protests. That was touching although her parents of course were not happy with the decision she once Leah decides, it's always once and final. Her lame excuse was that school wouldn't be the same without me since I was the one always dragging her to study or help her with homework.
I didn't give up on trying to find Ray at first, I was determined to know what had transpired to the love of my life. Lots of thoughts were running through my mind, did he finally ditch me, sometimes I would lie down in my room and curse him bitterly asking myself why he had left me to raise our child on my own. Other days I would miss him dearly and wish I hadn't deleted our chats from my phone or our memories. At worst I would visualize that he got a new catch and moved on with her to a different side to hide his shameless face away from me, "why are men this cruel!" I constantly asked myself. I had seen so many kids in my neighborhood and school being raised by single mothers but had not known what it felt like as my parents were the best of friends and loved each other so much. I remember at one time asking them if they were related and dad told me that when you learn to be patient with someone, you learn to love being with them and that's what has kept them together this long.
With time I learned to be more patient with myself and the baby and soon forgot about Ray. I decided to raise my baby by myself and my parents and didn't even let the Fishers know that they had a relative on this side. Initially, I had thought about giving it up for adoption and move on but the more the baby continued to grow in my womb, the more I was eager to hold her in my arms and cherish her more than anything else in this world.
On 12th February, when Christabel Falls was born, she was the most beautiful small thing I knew, my parents loved her so much that it was like she was their own, Allan too was overjoyed to be an uncle. Mum nursed her and always ensured she slept full and we'll sing for. Leah immediately took on her godmother's job and spoilt Christa with all the gifts she could think of, she's even the one who bestowed her the pretty name. My journey to motherhood started on that well and when I was ready to go to work, my mother resigned from her job as a nurse and chose to raise her granddaughter while Leah and I went to work at Trudy's Diner. We later made arrangements to go back to school, graduate, and become the best business partners there would be. On my side, Leah was the best friend everyone ought to have and I couldn't ask for more.