TEARS FOR A LIFETIME (EPISODE 14): FIRST PREGNANCY AT THIRTEEN
Jide said ‘Riri, stop crying. It’s alright. I’m always here for you. You saved me, Riri.’ I just couldn’t believe my ears. By that time, I had wrestled out of Jide’s arms ‘Jide, I’m pregnant? How? It’s not possible. It’s just not possible. I’m thirteen. THIRTEEN.’ ‘Riri, I know…’ ‘So, what am I going to do, Jide? You are my daddy’s sister’s husband; My aunty’s husband! It’s not right. It’s not right. It’s not right!’
He stood up ‘It’s not right? Stop it, Rita. Just stop. How do you think it makes me feel when you say things like that? You don’t even care about the fact that you just vindicated me. If you didn’t get pregnant, I would have resigned myself to being an impotent man…’ I was just so scared. It felt like my world was crashing down and there was no way out. ‘What am I going to do? What am I going to do? Oh, God! ’ Jide was trying to get me to calm down ‘Rita, as much as I want this baby. You’re just too young. We’ll get rid of it. It’s not yet 4 weeks old so it’ll be very easy.’
‘An abortion? I have to get an abortion? Hei!’ Jide was holding me ‘Rita, I’ll be here with you. Nothing will happen to you, I promise. Just calm down okay?’ (Easy for him to say, he wasn’t the one who would go through the pain). The abortion was scheduled for the next two days. I just wanted to be free and I didn’t want to go home while pregnant.
I’ll never forget that day. No matter how Doctor Bolu tried to take my mind off what was going on, he didn’t succeed. I was aware that at thirteen, I got pregnant for my uncle who I was in love with and I was getting rid of the baby. For the next few days, the pain was excruciating. I was up at nights crying for the pain and my regret(s) and most nights, Jide was there to comfort me or to try to anyways. Only God knows what excuse or reason he had given Aunty Toyosi for my stay in the hospital for two extra weeks.
I told myself that I was never going to let Jide touch me again. So when he came into my room two nights before I was scheduled to be discharged, I refused to kiss him back or even let him touch me. He begged, he tried to speak to me gently but all those things didn’t matter to me. All I remembered was the pain that I’d been through and it gave me more strength to refuse his advancements. He would try and try and when I would give excuses of pain or tenderness, he would back off for a short while only to try again. How long could I keep up with the charade though?
Jide said ‘Riri, stop crying. It’s alright. I’m always here for you. You saved me, Riri.’ I just couldn’t believe my ears. By that time, I had wrestled out of Jide’s arms ‘Jide, I’m pregnant? How? It’s not possible. It’s just not possible. I’m thirteen. THIRTEEN.’ ‘Riri, I know…’ ‘So, what am I going to do, Jide? You are my daddy’s sister’s husband; My aunty’s husband! It’s not right. It’s not right. It’s not right!’
He stood up ‘It’s not right? Stop it, Rita. Just stop. How do you think it makes me feel when you say things like that? You don’t even care about the fact that you just vindicated me. If you didn’t get pregnant, I would have resigned myself to being an impotent man…’ I was just so scared. It felt like my world was crashing down and there was no way out. ‘What am I going to do? What am I going to do? Oh, God! ’ Jide was trying to get me to calm down ‘Rita, as much as I want this baby. You’re just too young. We’ll get rid of it. It’s not yet 4 weeks old so it’ll be very easy.’
‘An abortion? I have to get an abortion? Hei!’ Jide was holding me ‘Rita, I’ll be here with you. Nothing will happen to you, I promise. Just calm down okay?’ (Easy for him to say, he wasn’t the one who would go through the pain). The abortion was scheduled for the next two days. I just wanted to be free and I didn’t want to go home while pregnant.
I’ll never forget that day. No matter how Doctor Bolu tried to take my mind off what was going on, he didn’t succeed. I was aware that at thirteen, I got pregnant for my uncle who I was in love with and I was getting rid of the baby. For the next few days, the pain was excruciating. I was up at nights crying for the pain and my regret(s) and most nights, Jide was there to comfort me or to try to anyways. Only God knows what excuse or reason he had given Aunty Toyosi for my stay in the hospital for two extra weeks.
I told myself that I was never going to let Jide touch me again. So when he came into my room two nights before I was scheduled to be discharged, I refused to kiss him back or even let him touch me. He begged, he tried to speak to me gently but all those things didn’t matter to me. All I remembered was the pain that I’d been through and it gave me more strength to refuse his advancements. He would try and try and when I would give excuses of pain or tenderness, he would back off for a short while only to try again. How long could I keep up with the charade though?
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