End
“Ow,ow,ow. Stop, that hurts.” Veronica slid off his manhood.
“What the hell is the matter Veronica, every time we change positions you complain about pain. I’m not a Goddamn porn star. If you don’t want to have sex with me anymore just tell me instead of making up all these stupid excuses,” Desmond said sitting at the edge of the bed.
“So what? It must all be about you, fuck what I want, if I’m in pain I must grin and bear it for your pleasure and enjoyment? Why don’t you just rape me while you’re at it,”
“Veronica that’s not what I meant,”
“Sure seems like it. Don’t pull out now all because of a guilty conscience. I’ve been telling you about this pain I’ve been having near my waist but you’ve done nothing but ignore me. Maybe If I told you it’s near your favourite organ you would’ve listened to me since you seem to pay more attention to it than me,”
“Veronica,” he said, running his hands through his head. “We both know it’s not like that. It’s just that… and I know this may sound a bit vain, but I really want a child. And we’ve been at it for how long now? And we’re running out of time,”
“What do I look like to you, Mary? Must I have one out of thin air? If it’s not meant to be then it’s not meant to be,”
“I know, I know. I just really want someone who I can endow with an experience I never had growing up. Someone to teach math, run after, cheer on at schooling outings and even gossip about you when you make me mad. I can’t do those things with you simply because you’re too old.”
Veronica held her rebuttal halfway. It wasn’t worth it, she thought to herself returning her fists back to her waist. “Who you calling old?” she smiled before crouching over him with a hug from behind and a kiss at the back of his neck. “We’re going to get that child okay?” she whispered.
“ Okay,” he sighed. “I love you,”
“I love you too,” she said before squeezing him, forcing him to part with some body heat.
And that was the end of that. As the two lay in bed together and fell asleep. Little did they know what was to come.
A few weeks later
Desmond starred from left to right. It’s not like this was a new place, he understood why they had to exist but he wasn’t exactly fond of hospitals and Veronica knew this as she gently squeezed his hand as they made their way into the lift. The doors of the elevator dinged open and spat them out onto the fourth floor. In Desmond’s eye’s, the doctor’s consultation rooms were worse than the disorganised mess beneath them because at least there, you knew your fate instantly. “We can’t treat you, you’ll have to pay for this cash,″ or a hospital’s personal favourite, “Your medical aid doesn’t cover this,” but if you had luck on your side and things weren’t going well in terms of your health, there was always a nurse to do the things you never could, to nurse you back to health or keep you company as you perished before her. But here. Here is where you slowly came to die and could do nothing about it. Where they apologised before giving you a death sentence, what scathing oxymoron was that?
Desmond and his partner did what all people in Dr Naicker’s consultation rooms did. Sat patiently and waited to be attended to, it sounded simple enough. The longer they sat, the more laboured Desmonds breathing became and the tighter Veronica squeezed his hand. The visits weren’t cheap, not that any visit to any kind of specialist ever was but what made this one an exception was that they’d budgeted for it and made a few financial sacrifices for it along the way. That said, it still didn’t change the bottom line, it didn’t matter how good of a specialist Naicker was, Desmond didn’t want to be here and he could bet his wife didn’t want the same despite how much she tried to hide it.
“Mrs Banda,” the receptionist cooed, automatically raising the couple to their feet. She moved the couple from one pair of seats to another for more privacy. They weren’t left alone for much time before Dr Naicker walked in with Veronica’s file in hand, pleasantries aside, they got straight into the purpose of their visit.
“To my understanding, you’re in the process of trying to conceive?”
“That’s correct doctor,”
“That’s great news,” Naicker smiled.
“I’m sure it is. If it really were so then there wouldn’t be a need for us to see a Gynaecology oncologist now would there?”
“Desmond!” Veronica gasped.
“No, it’s fine, Mrs Banda. Your husband is right,” Dr Naicker responded after enough of an awkward silence had put in the work.
“Please forgive my husband,”
“No, no. Don’t be silly, there’s nothing to forgive. He is just as worried if not more concerned about you than you are. I know this might sound cliche and a tad misogynistic coming from a male doctor but, consider yourself fortunate, not many spouses would be here with their wives. Every consultation pre and post-surgery,”
“Can you stop harassing my wife now and tell us what’s wrong?”
“Desmond,” She shouted.
“So there’s good news and bad news,” The doctor sighed. “The good news is that it’s not ovarian cancer,”
