Weeks passed and she didn’t really hear much about Alvin except one time, he saw her talking to one of her nurses and came to her. He looked sad and tired, like he hadn’t slept in a while.
“What do you want?”
“I have come to say I’m sorry,” he said, taking off his beret.
“The one you should be apologizing to, is in his office.” She called the nurse who had excused them, “Marie, let’s go.”
“Chorale!” He shouted. “Don’t walk out on me, Chorale!”
“Watch me.” She said angrily and left.
That was the last she heard of him. To be honest, after that incident where he had her followed, she had been careful of him. And then the scene he caused at the parking lot made it a lot worse. Now she was scared of him all together. She was thankful for his help, but his attitude was so uncalled for. She was even considering getting a restraining order against him from the police.
Work had been quite smooth so far. One month had successfully passed, and it was soon going to be two months since she moved to Mexico. She liked the place so far. She liked the people she had come to meet too. It seemed like a healthy environment to nurture her baby. She was five months pregnant now. She was not trying to hide her baby or anything, but Jose Luis had not mentioned anything about it. She didn’t know if he was just being a gentleman and not bring it up, or he could not tell, because of the maternity dresses she wore. She also remembered that Margarita had once mentioned that Chorale was one of those women whose pregnancies liked to hide. She didn’t even know what that meant.
She had noticed that he kind of liked her but she was not ready to go into another relationship now. He was a good man, but she was not ready. They would be better being friends.
Today, she picked an orange straight dress that had black polka dots in it. Esmeralda had helped her choose it when they went shopping that day but it was different from the others. It wasn’t totally like a maternity dress. It was a really pretty dress that ended mid-thigh and hugged her body a bit. When she looked in the mirror, she felt it looked good. She matched it with her black dress shoes and off she went. Margarita was not at the reception, it was just Antonio. She remembered Margarita told her Carmen was unwell so she gave her the week off. She said goodbye to Antonio, sat in the car and left for work.
*****
She was sitting at her desk, checking something on her computer when Luis barged in, as always. He came to inform her that they had to go on ward rounds before proceeding with the day’s work.
“Let me get my coat.” She stood up and walked towards her drawer. She put it on and turned to face him, “Shall we-,” she was cut short by Jose Luis’ loud masculine laughter.
“What?” she asked, wondering where the joke was.
He continued laughing for almost two minutes, Chorale just stood there watching him.
“Did I make a mistake introducing you to Mexican food, because…” He started laughing all over again. “Chorale, you ate too many tamales last night huh?”
It took a full minute before she got it. He really didn’t know she was pregnant. The dress too may have made her belly a bit more prominent today. She started to laugh too.
“You want to visit the loo or what?” He was still laughing, clutching his belly even.
She walked close to him, took his hand and placed it over her belly. “Does that feel like food to you?” His eyes widened like saucers. It was her turn to laugh now.
“You….you’re pregnant?” He stuttered.
She nodded her head.
“I don’t understand.” He still looked confused. “You had sex last night and you’re pregnant this morning? Because you were not pregnant yesterday,”
She threw her head back and laughed till she had tears in her eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous Jose Luis,” she slapped his arm. “I am five months and two days gone.”
His eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “So you’ve been pregnant all this while?” he asked.
“All this while,” she smiled.
“Damn girl! This petite body has advantages after all.” He mocked, earning him a pinch on the cheek.
Chorale noticed his face fell for a split moment, before he smiled. “You’ll tell me more over lunch today, won’t you?”
“Of course, I will.” She smiled back at him.
He took her hand in his. “Come on, angel. We have ward rounds to go to.
YOU ARE READING
CHORALE SANDERS
Romance"I cannot tell you anything right now, but promise me, Mama Rica. Promise me you'll take care of him for me, now that I won't be here to." She took the older lady's face in her hands, looking at her with very teary eyes. "Don't leave him like I am...
