Asaal

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Nurain

It has been 2 weeks, since the meeting at mama's house and today my friend Aliyu is finally coming over for lunch, Auntie Khadija and Mama were here, Asaal and Fati were arranging everything for lunch
"Nurain!" I heard Asaal shouting
"Yes sweetheart!" I answered
I went to the kitchen and saw fati cooking something
"Could you help me remove something from the cupboard" She said
I opened the cupboard
"What am I looking for?" I asked
"A set of glass plates" she said
I brought them down and I gave it to her, she dropped it in the sink and washed it
"Have you eaten today" I asked
"No but I'll eat with everyone" she said
I eyed her slowly
"Okay then" I said
I left the kitchen and I went to my room, Aliyu called me and told me he was at the gate, I had to call the gate to let him pass, then I went downstairs to tell mama and auntie Khadija he was here, as soon as the door bell rang i opened the door
"Asalamu Alaykum" He said
"WaAlaykumusalam" i said
I shook him and then he took off his shoes, then 3 people came in with baskets, I led him to living room were mama and auntie Khadija were sitting
"Ina wuni" he said squatting
"Ina wuni, ya kake?" Mama and auntie Khadija asked
"Lafiya kallau" He said
He sat down on the couch with me
"Ya gida?" Mama asked
"Lafiya kallau, ya mutanen gida?" He asked back
"Sunanan lafiya, Alhamdulillah" Mama said
"So Aliyu, this is my wife's mother" I said pointing at mama
"Ah I see the resemblance Ma Sha Allah" He said smiling
"And this is Na'eems mother" i said pointing at auntie Khadija
"Oh? Inalillahi, I already thought I met her mom? Is she a twin?" He asked
Then auntie Khadija laughed
"No that was Nurains mom you met, I'm her mother" She said with her accent
"Oh, how's America?" He asked
"She told you?" She asked
"Yes, she's always speaking about you" he said
"Aliyu how old are you?" Auntie Khadija asked
"25" he said
"And what do you do for a living?" She asked
"So i actually do 2 things, I work in CBN and I own a restaurant" he said
"One the best in Abuja" I said
"What's the name of this restaurant?" Mama asked
"Lirus" he said
"Oh I see it all the time when I'm in Maitama, a lot of people go there, that's wonderful" Auntie Khadija said
"Oh hello Aliyu" Asaal said
"Mrs Dansari, I was literally about to ask after you" Aliyu said
"I've been in the kitchen with fati, please you guys should come and eat" She said
We all went to the dining while she went upstairs, I'm guessing she wants to change, she came back downstairs 5 minutes later and sat down with us on the table, we served ourselves food and we started eating, as soon as Asaal took the first bite, she gagged, but covered her mouth, she quickly excused herself and went upstairs, I saw her mom giving fati a signal to go upstairs and she did, 5 minutes later I stood up and went upstairs too, I entered her room quietly, and I heard she and fati talking
"Asaal are you bulimic again?" She asked
She kept on throwing up
"Answer me, you're having eating disorders? Again?!" Fati asked her
"Im adding weight again Fati, I don't like it" I heard her say
"Are you crazy? I'm going to tell Nurain right now!" She said
"Fati stop, you can't tell anyone, please" I heard her begging
I went to the toilet door and I stood there, she went pale
"I'm just feeling a little bit sick I'll be down in a minute" she said going to the sink to wash her face
"Fati you can go back downstairs, I'll make sure she rests" I said to fati
She nodded her head and left the room
"You know sometimes I wonder where you get your bad habit of lying" I said
She stopped what she was doing and looked at me
"How much did you hear?" She asked
"Everything" I said
She came out of the bathroom and now she was sitting down on the bed
"No wonder you've been sleeping frequently, to avoid meals, what is wrong with you?" I asked
"I have an eating disorder, I can't stand the thought of me being fat" she said
"Fat? Asi you look sick, I've been observing you" I said
"That means I've lost weight" She said
"What is wrong with you?! I don't care, if you're fat, what matters is you being okay, skin and bones isn't pretty, you're not even healthy!" I shouted
Then mama entered the room
"What's happening?" She asked closing the door
"Mama are you aware that Asaal is bulimic?" I asked
"She's what?!" Mama shouted
Mama came over to her
"No wonder you look sick, what is wrong with you?! Do you want to die?! Are you out of your mind?! Another thing those white people taught you when you were in boarding school ko?! I made a big mistake taking you there!" Mama shouted
"It's not anyone's fault! I've been like this since primary! I was bullied for being fat mama, and now the thought of being fat is even scarier than dying!" Asaal shouted
I was shocked, this is more of a psychological thing, there was no way I could talk her out of this, even her own mother couldn't talk her out of it
"You look pale, like a ghost, like Bella from twilight when she got pregnant" I said
"But atleast I'm skinny" she said
"No you can look skinny and healthy, not skinny and sick, please" I said
"I'm taking you to the hospital, now" Mama said
"Mama theres no need "  Asaal said
"I am taking you, I don't care, we have to test you for anything else at least" mama said
"There's a visitor down stairs mama" Asaal said
"I'll go with you" Fati said
"Yes Fati should go with you" Mama said
"Fati what ever the doctor says, tell me directly okay?" I said
She nodded her head, Asaal put on her crocs and sprayed some perfume and she and Fati left the house.

Asaal
On my way to the hospital I just kept on feeling nauseous, I hope I'm not pregnant. As soon as we got to the hospital I ran to the toilet and threw up, fati told them my hospital and everything, and we were told to check my weight, temperature and blood pressure, after that I went in to see a doctor

"Good afternoon" i said
"Good afternoon ma'am, what's your complaint?" She asked
"I've been throwing up for a week now, and anytime I eat something it just comes out" I said
"When last did you see your period?" She asked
"Last month, and it's just the first week of this month" i said
"Okay so I'm going to refer you to a gynaecologist, her office is the next door" she said
"Okay thank you" we both said, gynaecologist? I hope it's a period issue, we knocked on the door and entered, I told the gynaecologist the exact problems I told the doctor and she told me to do a urine test, I went to the lab and they gave me a tube, I went to the toilet and peed inside and I gave it back to the lab, they told us the result would be ready in 2 hours, we left the hospital building and went to the car
"Gynaecologist and urine test only means one thing Asi" Fati said
"Don't even think of saying the word, not now please, I just hope that's not the case" I said
"You're going to have a blessing not a burden, don't be silly" she said
I rolled my eyes and I told the driver to take us to Hanis house, we got there and we saw big Hani, she should be due any moment from now, we sat down and we were just talking about random things, I think we spent three hours talking
"Asi your hospital results, let's go" Fati said
"Aww, Asi get well soon, and eat well, you don't look okay" she said
"I will hani, thank you" i said
We hugged her and we left, time to face the results in the hospital, we went back to the gynaecologists office and we sat down waiting for the results, I crossed my fingers hoping it wasn't what i thought it was
"Okay Mrs Dansari, the results say you're pregnant, 2 weeks to be precise, congratulations" She said
As soon as she said that everything started spinning, I held Fatis hand and we both left the hospital, we got into the car and I broke down into tears
"Fati I can't be a mother yet, my baby can't see the mess her mother is, Fati I can't do this" I said sobbing hardly now
"Do you want me to be realistic with you?" Fati asked
"Yes" i said
"You have to get your shit together Asi, we're not kids anymore, you can't keep on crying anytime something small happens, you are like this cause you've refused to let go of somethings, I see your husband trying with all his might, trying to fix you but you don't let him in, what's wrong with you?" Fati said
"I'm trying fati" i said
"Not enough" Fati said
"Fati you can't tell him when we get back home" I said
"Why?" She asked
Just for now, please" I said
She kept quiet, that meant okay, we went back home and Nurain was downstairs, I told fati goodnight and went and sat down with him
"Hi baby" i said
"You're back, what did they say?" He asked
"Just low blood level, but I'll be fine" I said
"No medicine" He said
"I'm collecting it tomorrow" i said then I stood up and went to the kitchen, he followed behind me, I was infront of the fridge and he was behind me, i ignored him and looked for grapes in the fridge
"You're such a terrible liar, what's wrong with you?" He asked
"What do you mean, I told you what happened" I said trying to play it off
"Asaal the hospital sent me an email, you're pregnant, and you tried hiding it from me, you've made this lying of a thing a habit and I hate it" He said
I stopped everything I was doing, and I turned around to look at him, he was already at the kitchen door, I followed him and he didn't stop walking
"Nurain, I'm sorry, theres just so much going on with me, I promise you I was going to tell you" I said crying
He didn't answer me, he was going upstairs now and he still ignored me, now he was at his room door
"Baby please" I said, he looked at me in a way that I've never been looked at in my life, I was scared.
I left him and he entered the room and locked the door, I went to my room and changed out of my clothes to my pyjamas , why did I lie? What's my issue? I laid down on my bed and I couldn't even cry, the thought of that look, kept me awake, I quickly stood up and threw up in the toilet.

The next morning, someone came into my room
"Nurain?" I asked
"Get up, you have to eat"
It was Fati.
"I'm not hungry" I said
"Well too bad your husband isn't here to feed you or beg you to eat, it's either you eat or your condition becomes worse" She said
I started crying again, and I went to the bathroom to throw up, Fati's perfume  was disgusting, I brushed my teeth and sat down on the bed, they brought my food and it was fruits with bread and sausage, I forced myself to eat while crying, Fati left my room with whole tray when I was done and I laid back down, I can't do this anymore.