Here is the second episode of The Poisoned Chalice, written by myself – Elsie Godwin. Do enjoy:

Click HERE for the first episode.

Doyin looked down at the result as it flashed positive. Under normal circumstances, she would have been happy but no, she didn’t know what to feel or how to feel it.

When most people think about what to know about their future spouse before marriage, they bother about stuff like the possibility of having kids, religious beliefs, habits like smoking, drinking or drug addiction, and whether their potential partner has a history of infidelity or sexually transmitted diseases.

Why should she have to be the one to contend with the strong possibility of having a child with sickle-cell anaemia? After suffering at the hands of men, she finally found a good one only for him to have an incompatible genotype. What was she to do? She didn’t regret falsifying her genotype but her pregnancy might now be the undoing of her marriage if the child ever got to be a sickler. She could have an AS or AA but what were the odds? Now she just might be playing a gamble with her child’s life.

What would happen when Hassan found out? Will love still see them through or will it be their eventual end? Doyin felt that her singular action that day in the lab was tantamount to letting the devil tempt her. Why didn’t she just walk away?

“Hello madam!”

The constant calls from the Doctor who was ignorantly beaming at delivering the good news brought her back to reality.

Doyin wiped the lingering tears off her eyes and returned a fake smile to the doctor. Doctor Gbemi asked what was wrong but she simply responded with ‘tears of joy ma’am’. They soon said their goodbyes.

As she settled in her car she let out a loud sigh and began sobbing loudly. She could not begin to imagine how it took her this long to get married but still made the worst decision of her life. Of course Hassan had been the best husband ever; the type any right thinking woman would settle for, but he wasn’t meant to be her man. She took him by force. How do I look Hassan in the eyes to tell him I lied about something this huge? She thought.

She couldn’t control the tears. Her makeup was ruined. The words of the Doctor at the seminar organised by the World Health Organisation to create awareness on sickle-cell and the possible eradication kept ringing in her head.

Do not gamble with it, there is a possibility that all your children will be sicklers.

This was contrary to the information about sickle-cell she had held on to for a long time – She believed her first two kids would be healthy, after which she would stop having more to prevent the risk of having a sick one. That conviction informed her decision to go on with the marriage.

Doyin felt less than shit.

“How did I wait this long to mess up my life?” She screamed.

Her loud sob was interrupted by her ringtone. It was an unknown number but she pressed the answer key after doing the best she could to conceal her sobs from the person at the other end.

“Hello”

“D for Doyin. D for everything doable! How far my mega D?”

Ada!

She would never mistake Ada for anyone else. Ada was always her go-to girl. The kind of relationship she had with Folake and Kate can be considered sane compared to the one she had with Ada back in the day before she travelled to the states to further her education. They’d been in touch, but with Ada having to be part of a team of science researchers in the States, their level of communication soon reduced.  Ada however didn’t fail to check in every once in a while by writing her lengthy mails once in three months, to give her full details of what she has been working on with her team; her sexcapdes and other related stuff.

Ada was back in the country. She got in a night before and was still disappointed that she was not there at her friend’s wedding. When she got the last mail from Doyin who didn’t fail to relive her wedding experience while writing, she promised herself to make out time to visit her friend. Without informing Doyin, she made arrangements and in three months, she was already checked into one of the exquisite rooms in Eko hotel, surprising the hell out of her friend who thought she was crazy. Doyin promised to drive down immediately as she needed to see Ada now more than ever. She sent a text to Hassan to inform him that she would be late.

***

Doyin pulled into the car park at Eko Hotels and exhaled before getting out. Although the tears were still dropping, she was going to see Ada and that was enough to suppress her worries for a while. Barely seconds after she rang the doorbell, Ada opened the door and wrapped her friend in a tight embrace. She noticed her friend’s ruined makeup and asked what was wrong.

Doyin responded, ‘babe I am a mess right now.’

‘Oh well, you still look and smell expensive so I am sure my babe is not broke’

The both laughed as Doyin landed on the bed. Ada sat beside her and nudged her friend, ‘How has marriage been so far?’

Doyin pulled out her phone to read a text from Hassan in reply to the one she sent earlier, ‘Do you baby, papi is fine’.

She started sobbing again. Ada bent to look into her friend’s face but she was thrown off balance with an intense kiss from Doyin. She’s definitely missed her but she wasn’t going to do this if Doyin was not totally down with it. Yes they did it all before she left but that was five years ago. So many things must have changed about her friend and Ada didn’t want to take advantage of Doyin even though she wanted her badly too.

She pulled away and asked gently, ’Babe what is it?’

“Baby let’s have the type of moment we used to; then I will explain everything. Please don’t deny me this need,” Doyin said as she pulled her friend’s head closer and continued kissing her.

Ada’s hand went under Doyin’s blouse to caress her boobs. She chuckled, ’looks bigger,’ she murmured.

They both chuckled and….

***

“You know I missed you right?” Ada asked as she poured her friend a glass from a bottle of Vodka.

“I missed you too cupcake.”

“Oh, you didn’t forget that.”

“How can I? That’s what I will always call you”

Ada leaned over, kissed Doyin and said, “Now tell me what’s eating you up”

***

Doyin got home very happy and relaxed. Speaking to Ada always brought solutions. No matter how bad the problem was, she always had her way of making it all seem worth whatever risk they were going to take. They had agreed on something and she was fine.

Hassan welcomed his wife as she handed him the envelope from the doctor. He read it, grabbed his wife and lifted her out of joy.

I am going to be a father! He screamed.