Best Regards, Feli

Chapter 7

Feli's jaw dropped and her mind raced upon hearing this new information. How were they going to raise a baby when they couldn't even manage to stay afloat because of bills? Maybe the father of the baby could help? How was Fatima going to finish college? She was only in third year!

But she had to tone down her internal panic because she was not the one carrying a child. Fatima needed someone level headed right now.

"Okay. Okay. We have to visit the ob-gyne tomorrow to have you checked. How are you feeling? When did you find out?" She asked, hoping that Fatima would spill everything.

But her sister laughed hysterically. She was confused.

"Oh my gosh, I'm s-sorry. I can't believe that you believed me right away!" Fatma was still laughing. "I should've taken a video. Your face was priceless."

"What? I don't understand."

"I'm not really pregnant, Ate Feli."

"Are you sure? I'm not mad I swear," Feli tried to coax her sister to be comfortable with her.

"I'm sure I'm not pregnant." She was laughing again.

Feli slapped her sister in the arm. "You know what? You're worse than August!"

"You're just so serious. Chill."

"You can't say chill. Pregnancy is no laughing matter."

"I know. I'm sorry I shouldn't joke about it especially with the overpopulation in our country," Fatima sincerely said.

"And there are women out there who have a hard time getting pregnant but they can't," she pointed out.

"Sorry, it was a bad joke."

"But really, you won't make a joke about it if there's something bothering you."

"You're right. One of my friends got pregnant but the guy wouldn't support her. I'm scared for her because her parents wanted her to stop her studies."

Feli was quiet.

"I told her maybe she can still finish this semester. She can continue studying after she gives birth."

"That would be a good plan. But who will take care of the baby while she goes to college? And who will pay for the expenses?"

"Her parents were going to help but I think that they were mad at her," Fatima shared.

"Did your friend ever thought about... abortion? I'm not suggesting it. I'm just curious."

Fatima shook her head. "No, she will take responsibility for her decisions. Unlike the father who ran away at the first sign of liability."

"Yeah. Some people are like that. They're just happy to be doing the act of having babies," Feli nodded in agreement.

"You mean they're just happy having sex. Come on say it, Ate Feli," Fatima teased her.

"Yes. They're just happy doing sex. Now carry on with your story."

And they continued to talk about Fatima's friend and how she could help with the pregnancy.

"You sure it's your friend that's pregnant and not you?" Feli asked again just to make everything clear.

"Yup. But I have a secret of my own. I... have a boyfriend," Fatima confessed.

"Are you teasing again?"

"No. This time I'm telling the truth."

Fatima was already twenty-one years old. Thinking about it, she was of the appropriate age to have a boyfriend but in their family, there's a rule that they can't have partners until they graduated from college. Actually, this rule was common to households with strict parents.