Free A Rich Man's Baby by Daaimah S. Poole Page A

doctor’s office. I signed my name and had a seat. I was so embarrassed, I wished I had a bag to put over my head. As I sat down, the only thing I thought was that I couldn’t let anything like this happen to me again.
    I will never in my life deal with a man who is not worthy. I swear I won’t. This is a wake-up call.
    They told me I had to be there by seven AM and that I should be out by eleven. But by twelve, I still hadn’t been seen. I was getting nervous. I knew I was doing the right thing. I just didn’t like sitting there and having time to think. There were too many things going through my head.
    I thought about my unborn child and what would happen if I had it. I thought about calling Kyle or Jeremy just to see what he would say. Kyle wouldn’t answer the telephone, and Jeremy would probably tape the conversation. I was not going to tell anybody. That’s why I came by myself. “Hurry up and call me,” I wanted to scream to the doctor in the back. I wanted to leave. I was getting tired of looking at the other women in the room. I was surrounded by teenagers and grandmoms who shouldn’t have even been having sex, let alone be pregnant.
    Finally, my name was called. Once I got to the back they gave me a gown. They instructed me to take off my clothes and gave me a pill. I closed my eyes and waited for it to be over. I put my legs up on the stirrups and waited for them to begin. I was so nervous. The machine clicked on and I was told to relax. I did as much as I could, but the pain was unbearable. I could feel the scraping and pulling going on inside my body. I tried to let the doctor know I was in pain, but he ignored me. The medicine must not have kicked in yet.
    When it was over they brought me into a recovery room, and I was groggy but still in pain. I sat there for two hours; then they woke me and asked me if my ride was outside. I lied and said yes. I didn’t have a ride. My plan was to drive myself home.
    I walked outside and was met by heavy rain coming down. I couldn’t run, so I just walked slowly around the corner to my car. My car was a half block away, but it seemed like miles. I was trying to make my feet move faster, but they wouldn’t. By the time I reached my car, my hair was sticking to my face and the rain had soaked my back. I opened the car door and sat in the car, grabbing my sweatshirt from the backseat and putting it over my cold body. I had really underestimated how bad I would feel. The thought of driving made me sick. I wished I could just close my eyes and be home.
    A few minutes later, I thought I was better, but I wasn’t. My back felt cold and my head was warm like I had a temperature. I turned the car on and rolled down the window. My mouth was full with saliva and I had to spit it out. I opened the door, spat, and closed it back. I couldn’t pull off yet. My body was still too heavy. I just moved my seat back and rested. I started to call my mom, but I didn’t want her to know what was going on. I started the car and turned on the air. I felt a little bit better, so I began driving to the pharmacy. The rain wouldn’t stop hurling against the window. I wanted some soup and a warm bed, and just to ball up and cry, but I had to get my pain medicine.
    I made it to the pharmacy. I slumped over the counter as I gave the woman in the white lab coat my prescription. The pharmacy tech asked if I needed help. I told her I just needed to sit for a moment and get myself together. I had a seat, and I clenched my stomach.

Chapter 14
Tanisha
    â€œM om, Kierra’s screaming that her ear hurt,” Jamil said as he interrupted my sleep.
    I got up sleepily and walked into Kierra’s junky room. I stepped over LEGOs and dolls to get to her bed. I felt her head, and she was hot. I took her temperature. It was 102. I gave her Children’s Tylenol and sent her back to sleep. If her fever didn’t go down by the morning, I was