Chapter 23

I was sleepy but I tried to keep myself awake. I checked the time on the wall of the hospital, it was about half past 3am. Or was it 2am? I didn't see because my eyes were already blurry. Mom had been inside the ward for an hour or so.

Jack was fully awake, watching over me. God too. Lol. He noticed that I was sleepy and offered to take me home but I told him not to mind, that I was fine. He asked if I was hungry but I said no, even though my stomach was rumbling. I just wanted to sleep but I wanted to see the baby first. I wanted to be sure mom was okay, including the baby, and I could tell from Jack's confused expression that he as well as I needed to know what transpired between mom and Cameron, how she got to the foot of the tree, how her phone's screen broke, and the streak of blood from her leg? For now, she had to be fine first. They had fought again, obviously. Only God knew what they fought over, this time. But deep down, I was glad that the baby in mom's stomach was not affected. Or was it? Time would tell.

After a while, mom's phone started to ring. It was in my pocket. I lifted it up to see the caller and stared at the phone and then stared at Jack. It was Cameron.

Why was he calling now? Like he cared? Jack put a finger to his mouth and shook his head. So I declined the call. I myself didn't want to tell him mom's whereabouts. I wanted him out of our lives. He called again, and again and sent several annoying messages that didn't include any iota of concern. So I switched off the phone, and dozed off on Jack's chest.

When I opened my eyes, it was morning. The sun's rays permeated through my eyeballs and I yawned sleepily. I was still sleeping, but not as sleepy as before. I realized that Jack was no longer seated beside me, and that I was laying down on the seat. I sat up and stretched. I looked around; there were more people in the reception now but all of their faces were strange to me. I looked at the clock; it was 10am. I got up immediately and ran around the reception room, looking worried. I wanted to puke and brush and bathe and eat. The smell coming from the hospital was nauseating--smell of disinfectant, and wounds and whatever it was. I was almost going towards the receptionist when Jack appeared, in one of the rooms. I could see him clearly now since it was morning. He was not very tall, but he was a little taller than mom was. He had short, thick and fine black hair. He had hazel eyes like mom's, and had a quiet aura around him.

He walked up to me quickly. "Hey, you good?" He asked. His voice sounded happy. He had a smile on his face. A big smile that reached his eyes

"How's Mom?" I asked.

"Come with me" the moment he said that, I knew it was good news. I mean, who pulls a young girl like that into a ward only to find her mom dead? No that wasn't it.

At the entrance, I hesitated. But immediately I heard some shrill cries like that of a baby, I rushed in excitedly. There on the bed laid mom with her two eyes closed and her heartbeat rising and resting, her leg was bandaged(the part that bled the other night)and beside her in a big brown cot was a little baby girl. Mom's stomach was now flat, so I knew it was her baby. The baby she's been carrying all this while. I ran over to the cot and jumped excitedly. Jack came over to me hurriedly and quietened me:

"Shh, I know you're excited but don't wake her up; she needs to rest. Please. You know she has been in labour for eleven hours. Come out here" he pulled me out quickly. I kept looking back with a smile on my face. I only saw the baby faintly-- she had long black hair and chubby arms, she looked so cute and vivacious, but it was still too early to decipher who between our parents she looked like.

Outside, Jack congratulated me and told me that I needed to go home, to wash and eat. "Since you've already seen that your mom and the babies are safe, now please let me take you home. You must be really hungry"

"Babies?" I asked, puzzled. He pulled me in again, and showed me the other baby behind mom's bed, in another cot. "Oh my!" I squealed but Jack hurriedly covered my mouth.

"Twins!!!!" I yelled. They were both girls, very pretty girls. This particular one was a blonde. I was so happy that I began to cry.

"I don't want to go home" i insisted. "I'll sit with mom. I promise not to shout. I'll just sit there until she wakes up, please Jack" I held on to him, giving him a puppy eye look and pleading. "I want to stay here" I begged. After a while, he shrugged and let me go back in, and then he left after saying: " I'll bring food for all of us". Of course, a woman who I supposed to be mom's gynaecologist came in and asked me out of the room, politely after congratulating me and giving me cogent reasons as to why she had to be left alone at that moment to enjoy her well deserved rest. Mom actually looked peaceful but a little fatigued.

So I went back to the reception and hoped that mom woke up on time. Soon, Jack returned with two big food flasks and some water and fruits. He took me outside the hospital to brush my teeth, and then fed me by himself. I felt so loved, so i let him even though I didn't know this guy that much yet.

By the time he returned to the hospital, mom had woken up. So we both went in together to see her and the babies. I couldn't contain my joy seeing that I have not one little sister but two!, and that my mom is doing fine. It was a lot of good news for me. I was beyond excited. It made me look past all the pains and tears of the days before. For those moments, I didn't even remember that Cameron existed. He still kept calling her phone but none of us was ready to take his calls. If we let him know which hospital she's in, he might come there to cause trouble. We would tell him later, but only after we are sure that mom will be safe. Jack and I agreed to tell the doctor.She already assumed Jack was my father and Mom's husband, so he had to clear the air by saying:

"Her husband is home, ma'am." He said. "It's a complicated story". The woman sighed.

"Such an irresponsible one he is" she muttered, demonstrating with her fingers. She was an older woman and she sounded so experienced.

"We would have needed his signature permission if his wife were to undergo C.S. Thank God she was delivered of the babies naturally" she said, wiping her hands with a towel. She looked happy and annoyed at the same time. "She's such a strong lady. What did you say the name of her husband is?" She asked.

"Cameron" Jack uttered

"Cameron what?" She suddenly waited, a scowl growing on her face. Something must have popped into her head.

"Cameron Peyton, ma'am. He's a popular business mogul in town" Jack replied. "Though I have never met him one on one"

"That poop!! He doesn't deserve a woman like Ruby!" She yelled. She sounded a little angrier than it is normal. "He doesn't deserve any good woman in this world, such a rascal!" Her voice was loud but she didn't mind. Mom stared at us weakly, took my hands and tried to smile but I could see it was even painful to smile. Was it effrontery this woman had, or was she just naturally so loud?

"Hmm" Jack mumbled, looking puzzled. She was saying the truth but she sounded a little extra that we couldn't help but wonder if she had had an encounter with him as well.

"I'd advise you stay here for a few days, say 2 days more or three before going home. I want you, Ruby to be in a right state of mind, and I do not want you to be stressed. If possible, I'd rather you go from here to a safer place until you're agile again" she said, touching mom's face."I'll give you all the help you need. It's not easy to give birth to two big babies naturally"

Mom smiled weakly and thanked her. Mom looked like she could do with some more sleep but her smile was still beautiful.

"Look at you, such a beautiful young woman.. This is your first daughter, right?" She asked, pointing at me.

Mom nodded and smiled. "She's so pretty. Y'all are so pretty, have you seen your babies yet? Are you strong enough to get up now?" She asked, trying to help mom up. Mom nodded and helped herself before she could. I blushed. This woman was lovely and caring, even if she was a little extra but who gives you permission to stay in the hospital for as long as you want, to avoid the stress and irresponsibility that waited for you at home? I mean, the woman told her she could wait even after she was discharged. She was not discharged yet then, but she said "you could stay here, even if I discharge you"

I wondered what power she had to say that until when she left the room for a brief moment to bring new plaster for mom's leg. I quickly turned to Jack.

"What is CS?" I asked.

"What?"

"The doctor said she could have gone through CS. What is that?" I asked curiously.

"Oh. Ceaserian Operation is what it means. It is used to help a woman deliver her baby if she's too weak to do it naturally"

"Oh. But who's that woman?" I asked again.

"A gynaecologist, a doctor, what else? She owns this place"

"Oh wow. No wonder" No wonder she could talk that way. It was soothing when she returned and re-bandaged mom's leg.

"In a day or two, you can take it off. For now, let it be" she said. She wasn't doing her work professionally or formally. She sounded and behaved so informally and politely. I watched them and imagined that she was my grandmother, Jack was mom's husband and the twins and I belonged to Jack and mom--a big happy family. It made me smile. Actually it always makes me smile knowing that there are still a few kind people out there. They did not have to know you, their duty is to be kind to you, whether you're human or an animal. As long as you had life in you, no matter your status or whatever, they were indebted to you. And they'd never judge you.

The world would be a much better place if we had more kind people, for real. Mom soon gathered some strength and before you knew it, she was already grinning from ear to ear, carrying her babies in her arms and breastfeeding them with both of her breasts.

Jack took pictures of her upon request. He actually did take those pictures with a digital camera, and it was then I realized that he was a photographer and not just a photographer but a very brilliant one. Mom smiled In all of the pictures. Jack carried the babies too and played with them. But mom didn't let me carry them; I could only stare and touch. Carefully that is. The twins laughed when I tickled them. It was fun to watch. That day, we were all really happy.

Mom was still breastfeeding the babies Cameron's call came in through mom's phone. Mom stared at me and asked me to hand it to her. She took the call and listened to him. After being quiet for a while, she said, "Cameron I had my babies this morning. They're twins" she sounded disappointed. Maybe a bit hurt too. I just watched the babies suckling with reckless abandon. Jack sighed. The babies giggled and played with their legs. These twins made me bubble with excitement. They were not identical but they were so cute.

Mom placed the receiver on loudspeaker so we could hear Cameron on the other end.

"Babe, What did you say?" He asked softly. Like he didn't hear? He sounded like he was in the parking lot, because I heard him slamming the door of his car. Maybe he was surprised she had twins. I was not too surprised because mom's stomach was really big when she was pregnant.

"My babies are here, I'm breastfeeding them right now" Mom said, again more cheerfully this time. And for some reason, I was glad mom said "my babies" instead of "our babies".

"Wow! Twins!!???" he screamed with what sounded like delight. "Are they pretty?" I shook my head. Jack laughed. I don't know why he did but he made me laugh too. Mom looked at us both in amazement and Cameron's tone changed. "Whose voice is that?"

"That's just my first daughter. So, do you want to come see...

"I said whose voice is that I heard? Isn't that that same guy I fought with you over? He's right there with you again?"

"Look, you were not available, and I needed help. Who else could I have called? I have said what I want to say--The babies are here already. Please don't disturb me with calls because I need to rest, and I won't be coming home anytime soon. Bye"

"Wait, where...

But mom hung up the call quickly. "Good riddance to bad rubbish" she said and held her head in her hands. So they had fought the previous night. Over Jack.

"At least I'll be free from him for a while. I know what he is going to do to me if I go home, despite my stitches and pain. I just have to stay away from him, Dr Wendy's right after all" mom said. Jack rubbed her fingers and kissed her on the forehead.

Just then, mom let out a shrill cry of pain. Jack slapped one of the twins(the blonde) on the back gently saying, "Don't be silly, baby girl" and she laughed. She was biting mom's nipple. I laughed because it was funny. I wondered if that's how I did at my time too.

I was already excited that mom was fine, and the babies too but I was even more excited that we were not going home, at least not yet.

Jack took us home the next day. Not to his home, but to an apartment he got for mom. He said it was safer and wiser for us to be there than to be with him. So we stayed there. It was fun living with mom and my baby sisters. The place was about three hours away from the hospital where mom was delivered of her baby girls

I guessed that was where mom met with him on most nights. It was a two-room apartment with a dining room and two bathrooms. There was a bar in the third room but it was not considered one of the rooms since it was secluded from the others. In all, the house was beautiful. Jack didn't look like he was wealthy but he was comfortable for sure. That was enough for me. On our first night in that house, Jack cooked dinner of Chicken Sandwich and Soup, and after we had all eaten and made sure we were fine, he left. He came back the next day and prepared breakfast, and also came with several baby wears and foot wear, bibs and shower soap etc.

Living there was enjoyable and peaceful but you know, everything has disadvantages. The disadvantage of living there for me was, I felt haunted everyday. Someone was watching me. I didn't know why or who it was but I was definitely certain that I was being watched

One night actually, I was behind the house painting on my own, a drawing of my twin sisters, and in the woods near me, I saw a figure pass by. For some reason, I felt it was staring at me. I don't know why I'm including this in my story but it was the only time I ever got as scared as I was that night. His moves were sinister and I mostly went inside with mom whenever the sun was going down. When I told Mom, she told me that I was probably being paranoid, and that it could have been just an animal in the woods but I knew what I saw. This probably doesn't make sense but it did make sense later

All that while, I had stopped going to school. I started attending some painting lessons in an art school near our apartment. Mom was concerned. She called me one night and we discussed into the night with the babies sleeping quietly in their cot, beside us. She asked me if I was ready to return to school. I told her that I would, as long as she changed my school. I was not ready to return to Enchanting Promises High School after all that had happened there. Mom said she would do something about it. Cameron kept calling and calling until I started to get scared that mom would succumb to him one day. Could he just stop calling?

Let him get another life! We've moved on. I thought in my mind but it was not that easy. And so one afternoon, when I returned from my painting lesson, I saw mom packing our stuffs together and placing the babies in a large baby holder affixed to her chest. The drawing materials in my hands dropped to the floor, and mom looked up from the box she was zipping up.

"Darling" she said with a worried look on her face. She came over to me and hugged me tight. "I'm sorry but we have to go back. Don't you miss your Uncle Mike Tony?" She asked patting my back.

"I miss him but I already said goodbye to him" i cried. "Do we have to go back, mom?"

"Darling, be calm, okay. Nothing bad will happen to us. I'm still Cameron's wife, Until I'm no longer his wife, we'll have to keep living with him. Besides, he really wants to see his babies. He's been blowing my phone with calls. He's not even threatening, he's begging me to come back"

Now mom said "His babies" instead of "My babies" like she said earlier, and I was so mad that I just went over to my corner in the room and cried. I was going to miss this place, I was going to miss my painting lessons. I was going to miss living life without worries. I held on to hope and stored Jack's cell number in my memory in case I needed him to come fetch us again.

We waited outside the house, with our luggage, just one box and a medium sized bag after mom locked the door. The babies were sleeping on mom's chest. Mom was dressed in a yellow jumpsuit that hugged her curves so tightly. She looked so gorgeous. Her hair shone in the light and her lips shone with nude lipstick. She had two round earrings dangling from her ears, had a necklace on her neck and two wristwatches on her wrists, and she was wearing these shoes that looked so expensive. I had never seen mom like this. The jumpsuit revealed some cleavage. She looked so different and much more attractive. I wondered why we waited when we could just walk to the park to get a taxi. For some seconds, I asked myself who this woman beside me was. I had to remind myself she was my mother.

"Mom, are you changing your mind?" I asked with hope in my eyes.

"No baby, Jack's coming with a car" she said, smiling. "Don't worry, it'll be fine, I have a good feeling about the future" she told me.

"Mom, we don't have to go. It might be a trap" i begged.

"Are you telling me not to go back to my husband?" She frowned. I was shocked. But then she laughed. "You know what, baby? It'll be fine. I want to make him see the reasons he should let me move on, okay? I do not love Cameron anymore. Maybe I never did"

She said without any iota of regret in her voice. Just then, Jack drove over and parked beside us. Mom got into the driver's seat, and he helped her collect one of the babies, and then sat beside her. I sat in the back, the baby he collected was placed in a small cot beside me, our luggages were in the boot. I didn't know mom could drive!

Fifteen minutes to reaching the Kangaroo Estate, Jack alighted and left after kissing mom goodbye and kissing my forehead.

"Where's he going to? Why's he leaving his car with you?" I was confused

"Well, this is my car. He got this for me but I couldn't use it until I learnt to drive. He taught me that as well" Mom replied, beaming with excitement. It was a white Benz, posh and new, that made you look classy and confident.

"What if Cameron sees it?" I asked. I was actually pleased about Jack's kindness but was more concerned about Cameron's reaction to his wife's new car.

"Exactly what I wanna do, I want to make him see reasons why we should separate. Since he's refusing to sign the papers or let me go, then I'd have to frustrate him until he gets tired of me and releases me himself" mom concluded. She slowed the car as soon as we got to the estate and drove in like a confident woman.

I thought about her decision. Was it a wise one?