LIZZIE'S WORLD: A big surprise

Liz can’t get a hold of Fatma, so she decides to go to the hospital where she finds something unexpected. ILLUSTRATION| JOSEPH NGARI

What you need to know:

  • “Liz!” she gasps. “What are you doing here?”
  • “I came to see Louise…” I shrug. “I mean.. and you? What are you doing here?” It’s like we’re fighting.
  • “I came to see Louise too,” she frowns. “Did you know about all of this and you didn’t tell me?

Three hours later I have called Fatma’s office six times. On the final call, her PA sounds exasperated. “Is there something going on that I need to know about, Liz?” she asks rather sternly. “I’ve never known you to try her so many times. Is there some sort of deadline that we owe you? Because I can organise our creative department to get it ready for you.”

“No, no,” I interject hurriedly. “It’s just that her phone is off and…” And what? I am worried about her state of mind? “…and I need to talk to her because I have a personal emergency.”

“Riiiight,” she replies. Clearly my story is not holding water. “Well, I promise I’ll look for her and I will get her to call you as soon as possible, okay?”

I don’t like the patronising tone in her voice but I have no time to cause a fuss. “Yes, sure, thanks,” I say, then I hang up. I must find another way to distract myself, and so I consult with my watch to see if it’s possible for me to visit Louise and see how she’s doing today. It’s 11:30am. Perfect timing. I grab my handbag, tell Ciru where I am going and make a dash for it.

I remember to stop by the kiosks outside the hospital and pick up a bouquet of flowers and a large bottle of an energy drink – I don’t know why the energy drink, and I don’t even know if breastfeeding mothers should take it, but it’s what I see everyone carry to hospital so why not stick with tradition?

I walk into the hospital and let the maternity ward receptionist know where I am headed. “Oh, it looks like she has one other visitor besides the father, so you’re welcome to join them if you’d like.” I nod absently; I don’t have much time because I have to be back at the office soon. I nod and wave and make my way towards Louise’s room, thinking that one of her friends or family must be present along with Steve.

And so it is with great surprise and shock that I open the door and find… Louise, Steve, AND Fatma!

“Oh my goodness,” I gasp as I take in the scenario. Steve is standing next to Fatma, who is sitting on the bed holding Louise’s daughter. I turn quickly to Louise, who doesn’t look distressed or sad about this. Fatma and Steve both turn to look at me when I open the door, and Fatma well near drops the baby when she registers who it is.

“Liz!” she gasps. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see Louise…” I shrug. “I mean.. and you? What are you doing here?” It’s like we’re fighting.

“I came to see Louise too,” she frowns. “Did you know about all of this and you didn’t tell me?” Steve takes the child from her because she’s starting to look a little, um, passionate about things. She gets off the bed and stands up to come face me.

“Look, I brought Louise to hospital when she went into labour. That’s why I am here.”

Fatma is now face-to-face with me. I find it fit to pull her outside the room to talk, so I take her by the hand and pull her outside, then gently shut the door of the room behind us. “If you’re asking if I knew who the father of Louise’s child is, I did not,” I tell her.

“Nine months of pregnancy and you never once met the father of her child?” Fatma arches a doubtful brow.

“No!” I insist. “You know how secretive she is. And besides, if I had known I would have told you! I’ve been looking for you since yesterday when I found out!”

“Is that why you called me?” she leans back, not so combative now. I nod. She sighs heavily.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she nods. “I mean, what can I do? A baby is here… What can I do? He needs to take responsibility for the way things have gone.”

I gulp. I don’t know what to say, and all that I know is that relationships are really hard. “Ok, we’ll talk about this later, OK? I need to see Louise and get back to work but I’ll call you in the evening and we can talk about it.” She nods and we step back in Louise’s room to process everything.