“You scared me, ma. What you doing in the dark?” I asked.
“Jemar, just dropped you off?” She asked.
“Yes. I’m headed up to take a shower and change for our girls’ night.” I said then started to head the stairs again. I heard my mother laugh as I made my way to my room. However, once I got to my room, it looked like it had been stripped of everything I owned. I ran back downstairs, and that’s when I noticed that all of my things were sitting in the living room, neatly packed up.
“Is this a joke?” I asked, annoyed. My mother was never a prankster, so this caught me off guard. I honestly wasn’t in the mood, but if my mother was being funny, I could appreciate it since she was always so serious. However, she could’ve settled with something more basic.
“You got me. Ha.Ha.ha.” I said as I started to grab my things.
“You should probably call Jemar back.”
“Why? We agreed that you would meet him in about two months.”
“Things changed.” She said nonchalantly.
“Like?”
“I don’t know. Maybe you being fucking pregnant.” She said, banging her fist on the table. I jumped but tried to remain calm.
“What?” I played off, but I was scared as shit.
“Don’t fucking “what” me! You heard what I said. Your fast ass done got pregnant, trying to hide the shit from me.” She yelled.
“Mommy, what are you talking about?”
“I got a call from my job about a clinic calling for me, saying they needed my permission for an abortion for you.”
“WHAT!?” I screamed, not at her, but at what she shared. I never signed up for an abortion. Why would they call her when I never gave them her information? And I thought there was a patient to doctor privacy policy. Why would they need to call her? And why would they lie about me getting an abortion? Did they have my information mixed up with another patient?
“Don’t worry, I gave them my permission, your appointment is on Monday, and I’m going with you.”
“I’m not getting an abortion. I’m almost four months, ma.” I finally confessed.
“See, I was hoping that this was a misunderstanding, and they called the wrong person, but you didn’t even deny it.”
“I’m sorry,” I said slowly. I was trying to hold back my tears, but they were coming down on their own.
“I trusted you! I fucking trusted you! You lied in my face for months.” She said as she put her hands over her face.
“It was an accident, and I was going to tell you.”
“When? When you’re going into labor?”
“No, soon because I know I couldn’t keep this secret anymore. I’m sorry, mommy. I really am. This wasn’t my plan, but I’m going to be responsible and handle everything.”
“Being responsible is aborting that thing and going about your business. You’re not old enough to raise a baby, hell you’re still being raised. You have school, college, and a future. A baby will ruin that for you!”
“But, you did it.”
“And you think I was happy? I struggled, dropped out of school, got my GED years later, and settled with a hospital job. You think I wanted to be an RN? No, but it was a great opportunity to feed my family and support us. I ruined my life getting pregnant early in life.”
“But you made stuff happen and survived.”
“Life shouldn’t be about surviving, Bre. That’s all I’m doing, surviving. I’m not living, I’m not happy, I have to do what I have to do because of the choices and mistakes I made. Don’t be like me, and I thought I instilled that in you.”
“You wasn’t this vocal with Wayne.”
“That’s what you think? I didn’t have a say in Aniyah’s life. You don’t think I tried to get Wayne to convince her to abort or even told her mama. Aniyah’s freeloading ass was on a mission and had that child for security. That bitch thought Wayne was going to take her out of the hood, but the joke was on her ass.”
“I don’t need this baby for security. I will do whatever I have to raise this baby.”
“But you don’t have to, Bre. Why make life hard when you don’t have to? You can always have another baby or babies, now is not the time.”
“Ma, please don’t make me.” I cried out.
“If you want to stay under this roof, you have no other choice. I’m not allowing another bastard in here!”
“I’m too far long.”
“I know someone who will do it. You don’t have to share that information with them, as far as they know, you just found out.” She said calmly like she had this planned out. I was honestly disgusted with her. How could my mother be like this? Did she really hate her life that much? Did she despise Wayne’s kids that much? Would she despise mine?
“NO!” I said.
“Part of me was hoping you be as smart as you claim to be, but some people who are smart on paper are not as smart as they appear in real life. You better call that fucking deadbeat, because that’s what he’ll be and tell him to come to pick your ass up. You have ten minutes to get your shit and get the fuck out of my house, bitch.” She said as she folded her arms. I wanted to break down and beg her to change her mind, but I hated her now. How could a mother treat her own child like this? She didn’t even
