Telenovela Fan

"Lola dear..." Maureen took Lola's hand tenderly into hers while holding her shimmering gaze. "...l was thinking. How about we conduct a second HIV test on your blood sample in a different hospital?"

"Huh!" Lola arched a brow as though Maureen was speaking gibberish.

"It's just a safety measure to reconfirm the results from Glove clinic."

Staring into Maureen's sparkling eyes and wondering what was going through her mind, Lola replied calmly.

"I don't think there would be any need for that. Remember, I already visited the Glove clinic and they reconfirmed the results earlier sent to my home."

"That doesn't stop us from checking in another hospital." Maureen pushed on.

"I think, my cutie pie is right."

Jamal supported his fiancee, earning him an appreciation smile.

Since the discussion at hand required Jamal to maintain constant eye contact with the ladies, he took a left turn and pulled over his truck by the side of the road. Turning his head backwards to face the two women, he spoke convincingly.

"Thanks to some interesting movies I have watched in the past, some hospitals sometimes make mistakes with such results. Also, some unscrupulous staff may be paid to sabotage a patient result."

"Ha..., my baby and telenovela." Maureen shook her head from side to side causing Lola to giggle. "Is this what you spend your time doing in the coffee shop while I'm at the hospital."

"Come on, my sweet mango...those series are gotten from true life stories. Sometimes they make a full grown man cry." Jamal gestured animatedly making both women crack up with laughter.

"Here I was thinking telenovelas are for women and sports for men." Maureen wiped a single tear drop that escaped her humor-filled eyes.

"No," Jamal shook his head in disagreement. "There is no limit to what a man or woman can watch. All that matters is your interest. Take, for example, a recent episode of my favourite telenovela; Conquered Mistress, an unscrupulous staff of a hospital tried to manipulate Clementine's pregnancy result after he received huge payment from Claudia."

"Huh..." Lola's lost expression stroked another chord of laughter in the pickup truck.

"You will have to watch the next episode of Conquered Mistress with me tonight to understand my drift." Jamal winked at Maureen.

"In the meantime, let's come back to your case. Do you remember telling me that only Chelsea and you were aware of the hospital destination you visited for the test?" Jamal asked.

"Yes." Lola nodded her head.

"Good. Do you also remember not providing your home address to the hospital?" Jamal asked again.

"Yes." Lola's deep blue eyes brightened as realization slowly dawned on her.

"Then how did the delivery guy find his way to your home?" Jamal dropped the final question, grinning happily to himself.

"I have no idea," Lola whispered.

"Wow! I never thought of that. Impressive!" Maureen gave her fiance a thumbs up.

"Thanks, baby." Jamal's lips curled up in a broad smile, as though Maureen had just awarded him a gold medal.

"Allow me to further suggest what might have happened. Somebody amongst your husband's family members, who wants you badly destroyed was probably behind this." Jamal pointed out. "Can you think of anyone in particular?"

Rosemary and Clara's name popped up in Lola's thoughts but she said nothing.

"Don't get me wrong Lola," Jamal said calmly due to Lola's withdrawn behaviour. "This hypothesis of mine is just a speculation. I may be wrong or I may be right. Let's just go to a nearby hospital, redo the test and confirm your status before proceeding to the hotel. Okay."

Lola turned her gaze to Maureen as if seeking her approval.

"Redoing the test won't hurt anyone." Maureen concurred with her fiance.

"Alright..." Lola took in a deep breath to push out the anxiety slowly growing wings in her heart. "Let's do this."

-

-

A few moments later, Lola and her friends were seated in the reception room, waiting for the results of the test. They were chatting happily when Lola felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen.

"Ah..." Lola winced slightly, biting down on her lower lips. She clutched her stomach, her deeply scrunched face expressing her pain.

"Lola!"

Jamal turned to face her while Maureen stood up and crouched before her.

"What is wrong, dear?" Maureen placed her right hand on Lola's shoulder, stroking it tenderly.

Lola bit down on her lower lips to stifle the pain before speaking up.

"I just felt a sharp pain here..." Lola massaged her lower abdomen.

"Okay, just take a deep breath and relax. There is no need to panic. We are in a hospital and we can quickly see a doctor." Maureen signalled Jamal to assist her with the handbags while she helped Lola up to her feet.

"Alright...deep breath...deep...ah..." Lola winced, tightening her grip around Maureen's neck.

"Gently, baby girl, we are almost there." Maureen non-verbally communicated to Jamal, instructing him to get a standby doctor.

After a few minutes of examination and administration of appropriate medication by a proficient doctor, Lola was instructed to go for an ultrasound scan.

Thirty minutes later, Lola was seated before the doctor, listening to an explanation for the cause behind her abdominal pain.

"Preeclampsia is characterized by pregnancy-induced high blood pressure." The doctor stated categorically. "It may also be accompanied by an abnormal amount of protein in the urine. How often do you check your blood pressure?"

"Umm...you see...I have...umm..." Lola moistened her lips and scratched her head as she thought of the right answer to give.

"Mrs Hart, you don't have to be embarrassed about anything." The doctor said subtly when he observed her uneasiness. "There is no one in this office aside from the two of us. Moreover, the question I asked is a simple one."

"Not regularly." Lola finally blurted out.

"Hmm..." The doctor picked up Lola's ultrasound scan report and browsed through it while tapping a finger on his desk.

"Mrs Hart, I would advise that you regularly check your blood pressure. Preeclampsia can be very dangerous if not properly managed. It could lead to eclampsia; which is a more severe form, defined by seizures. Eclampsia may result in coma, permanent disabilities or even death."

"Really!" Lola raised her right hand to her chest, her heartbeat tripling in its momentum.

"Yes." The doctor answered emphatically. " At ten weeks of pregnancy, you must ensure that..."

"Hold on a second, Doctor. Did you say ten weeks of pregnancy?" Lola asked in confusion.

"Yes, Mrs Hart, your pregnancy is already ten weeks old." The doctor reaffirmed.

"No...you are wrong. My pregnancy is roughly four weeks old." Lola stated confidently.