"Her urinalysis shows she has a urinary tract infection," the doctor explained after she flipped the pages of the chart. “And that explains her chills and fever.”
“Is stress the cause of the infection?” I asked, having nothing else in mind to blame for her illness.
The doctor looked at me and smiled, and her eyes fell on my abdomen afterward. I wondered if an obstetrician can tell if a woman is pregnant or not by just looking at you, but that gaze she threw at my lower abdomen suggested that she thought I was one. However, she didn’t say anything about it but answered my question instead.
“Pregnant women are at increased risk for UTIs because of the changes in the urinary tract. Since the uterus sits directly on top of the bladder, its increased weight over time can block the drainage of urine from the bladder, trapping bacteria inside it. And that causes the infection.”
I nodded and smiled, subconsciously rubbing my lower abdomen.
“Pregnant?” asked the doctor.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Congratulations to both of you! Looking forward to a healthy and beautiful baby."
Zed placed an arm around my shoulders and smiled. “Thank you, doc.”
She also nodded and smiled back, then excused herself. I then hurried to sit beside Ara to comfort her, assuring her that it was nothing serious. After a course of treatment, she could then be discharged with a healthy fetus inside.
“Do you want me to call Tim?” Which I already did. I could still even hear Tim's humiliating answer at the back of my mind. But I wanted to gauge the depth of Ara's emotional status and her longing to be with him at this moment.
Ara smiled, but there were glints of bitterness in her eyes. “I don’t want to beg for attention, Yen. His actions are enough to tell me that everything is already over between us. So don’t worry about me. I may be hurting, but I will survive. And as I already told you, I will stand with my head up high.”
I was moved by what Ara said. Never did I expect that she was this strong. But, of course, she was pregnant, and this stage should have been shared between two lovers who look forward to the coming of their fruit of love. But Ara was alone. Even if Zed and I were there for her, there was always that kind of loneliness and emptiness that I thought only Tim could fill.
“You’re right,” was all I could say. My welling emotion at that moment seemed to choke me already that my voice wouldn’t come out.
To my surprise, Ara suddenly laughed, and his laughter brought my attention back to her.
“Don’t be too dramatic. I’m fine.”
This made me frown, but I burst out laughing afterward. “You said it, so I believe."
“Of course. I have even packed Tim’s belongings already and placed them in the living room. If you have time, please tell him to pick it up.”
And as Ara requested, I called Tim to meet me at their house later so I could give his things to him. Ara changed the locks in their house so that Tim couldn’t get in anymore without Ara’s permission.
Since Zed had to go to his speaking engagement, I went to Ara’s house alone. Looking at the house from outside the gate, I noticed that the lights were on. I pulled my brows together, wondering why they were on. I always checked for plugged appliances and lights every time I went out of a house, may it be ours, Ara’s, or my parents’ home. And I was sure I didn't miss any.
I slowly opened the door, and my eyes flew wide at what I saw. Tim was on top of Maezy on the sofa, his butt shining against the light. Their clothes were scattered on the floor, and the well-arranged sofa set in my mind was then in a huge mess!
Tim quickly dropped himself on the floor and crawled to the side of the couch, but Maezy stood up like nothing happened, flaunting her nudity. She picked up Tim's clothes and threw them at him. Then she tilted her face and gazed at me while slowly putting on her clothes.
“Why are you here?” she asked, her tone sarcastic.
“How dare you stain this house with your shamelessness? And you want to know why I'm here? it's because the owner of the house whom you have robbed of, asks me to come over.”
"Oh, look who's talking?" she said, looking at me with a jeering face before she continued.
“And Tim also lives here,” she argued. “And he has the right to come here anytime he wants. And as for the sex, it’s an art to do it anywhere we like it.”
Art, her ass! My hands immediately itched, urging me to slap the shamelessness out of her. I could never imagine how cheap and trashy the woman Kim picked for a live-in partner. I also remembered her saying the same line about sex being art when she showed her sex toys to us.
“Can you please shut up?” Tim roared, glaring at Maezy. He had already changed into his pair of shirts and pants.
I smirked. At least, he still had some sense of shame.
“We got in through the back door. I still have the key,” Tim told me, but he avoided my eyes.
I knew he was ashamed of having been caught doing sex at Ara’s house. If he had some decency left in him, he should haven’t done it here out of respect to the woman he had shared his life with. It’s something too animalistic and unimaginable. Ara was in the hospital, shivering in discomfort while he’s here, lusting after another woman.
I looked at him with scorn in my eyes before I pointed to him the suitcases lined up by the door. If I were Ara, I wouldn’t pack his belongings decently. I would rather throw it outside the house!
“I’ll put them outside, but I’ll take them with me next time. We still have to go somewhere.”
“Up to you,” I said, turning my back on them.
I neither wait for his answer. Instead, I headed upstairs right away, ignoring Maezy, whose lips got zipped after Tim roared at her. Ara needed stuff right now, so I decided not to waste time on them anymore.
While I got absorbed in packing Ara’s things that she might need at the hospital, my phone rang. I pulled it out from my bag and saw Kim's name on the screen.
“Where are you now?” Kim asked. “I passed by your house and saw that your lights are off.”
“At Ara’s house. I’m packing some things she may need in the hospital.”
“What happened to her?”
“Fever and chills. She has UTI.”
He paused, and I heard him sigh. “I also saw Maezy and Tim coming out of her house.”
“Yes, because I called Tim so that he could pick up his things. Ara drives him out already.”
“And why do I see them empty-handed?”
“Tim said he would pack it up later because they were too exhausted to do that."
"Why?" Kim's tone sounded confused.
"Because I caught them making babies around the living room."
There was a short pause before his voice came out again. "I’ll bring it to him now.”
I stared at the phone, wondering if he was kidding only or not. But I soon got the answer when Maezy suddenly appeared at the doorway while I was still busy running around.
“You’re looking at Tim with contempt now. But don’t ever think you married some saints,” Maezy’s voice cracked, and I could tell she was furious. I wondered what Kim did to them.
I smirked and answered, “Of course, I know it. No man is perfect."
“When you ran out of the room naked, I followed you. And has it ever occurred to you that I saw Zed entering your room? Your saint husband is a devil, Miss Jakara, don’t you know about that? He’s the one who ruined you and caused you to forget everything, even your name!"