CHAPTER NINE
1307 Words
MANNY
“How? When? why now?” Avery asked dozens of questions all at the same time.
She was confused.
Why would Manny want a child now? and her mother approved of it?
Unless… Avery thought.
Kari had already decided to give her daughter the fashion house. A frown appeared on her confused face.
“How is it even possible? You don't even have a boyfriend. No one agrees to date because of your appearance and you can't even get up from the chair without causing the table to shake." Avery pointed out angrily.
She ran all the errands and now Manny was going to take her spot in the company? No way.
Not wanting to hear the details, Avery quickly left Manny's office finding her way home.
Manny clenched the side of her desk to suppress her emotions.
So what if she caused things to topple over when she stood up? Couldn't she still have a family? A child?
Manny tried several things to make her lose weight—dieting, exercising, detox—but nothing seemed to work for her.
So she gave up and instead ate more junk food, and took more and more soda, so when her peers were trying out small dresses for parties, Manny always bought the plus size dresses.
Eventually, she lost friends, nobody wanted to be seen with the fat girl. Except for Josie who was always with her.
Manny tried shaking off the words of Avery and continued scribbling. Andrew already took her time with his non-negotiable request, and now Avery's words wouldn't leave her head.
An hour later, she was through and she headed home.
The night outing with Josie would just have to wait. She wasn't feeling very good.
She managed to drive herself home without having a blackout.
Not minding anyone, she went to bed immediately–although it was a bit early for that–she slept for the remaining hours of the day, escaping reality
****
Ever since the day Andrew came to her office, Manny has been having more episodes of dizziness.
She felt nauseated, had no appetite, and some days she had weird cravings.
On a particular night, Manny could hardly sleep. She kept throwing up even when there was nothing left to vomit out and the next day, she was craving pickles– which she disliked.
When she finally realized the symptoms, it clicked. Pregnancy. She was finally pregnant.
She immediately picked up the phone and called Josie.
“Josie, guess what?” she said, using her hands to muffle her tears.
Josie was immediately on alert hearing Manny cry from the other side.
“Manny? What's wrong?” worried that something might have happened, Josie jumped out of her bed getting ready to head over to Manny's.
“I think I'm pregnant.” Manny finally said, calming herself.
“Really?” Josie asked, excitement laced with her voice.
“But why are you crying then? This is good news!”
“I know, I know. They're just happy tears.” Manny answered, cleaning off the remaining tears.
“So will you tell your mum or Andrew? They would want to know.” Josie spoke, her voice echoing as Manny placed her phone in the empty bathroom.
“I will but not yet, I need confirmation first. Perhaps these symptoms may be signs of food poisoning.”
“I’ll go to the doctor's office Saturday for a check-up, will you come with me?” Manny pleaded till Josie gave in.
“Sure Manny, whenever you're ready let me know.” Putting Manny at ease, Josie hung up and retired to her bed.
For the next four days, Manny avoided Avery and anything that had to do with Andrew. She wouldn't even go to the party they threw for the succession of their contract.
She made up her mind to keep the pregnancy a secret. She planned to sneak away from everyone without notice, to a small and quiet place. Where she could raise her child and possibly hide her from Andrew.
No one was taking her baby.
Throughout the week, Manny packed bags; both for her and the child, she went house hunting and did everything necessary for a stealthy move.
But she failed to notice the people in black that had been tailing her.
They monitored her every move.
What she ate, where she went, and what she did. They kept a record of everything she had been doing.
And while they did this, Manny cluelessly went about her daily life.
After a lot of searching, Manny finally found the perfect place. Leura.
A small town in the west that was located far away from her family.
It was the perfect place for hiding and also bringing up her baby.
She had to go and check the house, so she decided to bring Josie along.
‘What’s the harm in one person knowing?’ she thought to herself.
Picking up her phone, she dialled Josie's number.
“What is it, Manny?" A sleepy Josie answered from the other side of the call.
“Hello to you too." Manny retorted.
“I’m going to purchase a new house, I was hoping you could come with me."
“I’m running away with the child." She gave out. Josie was going to find out about it anyway.
“You want to run? With Andrew's child?" Josie was bemused and suddenly not sleepy anymore.
She wasn't expecting such a bold decision from her. Manny was many things and daring wasn't one of them.
“What if Andrew finds out? You of all people know what he can do." Josie was worried. She wasn't going to allow her friend to make such a stupid decision because of a child.
“He is not going to. No one knows except us, now are you coming or not?" Manny said firmly.
There was no talking her out of it. Manny had made her decision and it was final. Josie had no choice.
“I’ll be right there in a minute." Josie answered in defeat. Not bothering to hang up, she dressed up and headed out.
—------------------------------------------------------
Saturday came sooner than expected and Manny and Josie went to the hospital to confirm the pregnancy but this time, it was a different hospital. If it was positive, she didn't want anyone, especially Andrew, to know.
She just hoped this doctor wasn't a tattletale.
But unknown to her, someone was watching closely.
Like Manny's personal driver, Josie parked right in front of the hospital with the large billboard that said, St Clair's Hospital.
The hospital was a lot larger than the previous one she visited and entering the hospital, it was even bigger than the outside. There were enough rooms and beds for everyone.
It wasn't as cramped as her last hospital.
After meeting with the doctor, they both went to the test lab while Josie waited for her in the lobby and in no time, the test was done.
Manny sat with Josie in the lobby as anxiety gnawed at her.
A few minutes later the test result was out.
“Ms Larson, please follow me." The doctor said, gesturing to the path that led to his office.
He led them to a large office covered with carts of the women's bodies and different displays of their organs.
‘Weird’ Manny thought.
After getting comfortable in his seat, he slowly reached for the white envelope that contained the test result which only made Manny more nervous.
She gripped the hem of her blouse tightly to avoid digging her nails into her palms.
Josie noticed and then placed a hand on Manny's assuring her that it was all good.
“Congratulations Ms Larson, the test confirms that you're pregnant." The Doctor announced, handing Manny the white envelope with a smile.
- Writer
