Omolade Ayisat
RAINA
“And this is where you will be staying,” Ronald said as he opened the door to the guest room, completing the tour. He walked in first, and Raina followed suit.
“I hope you like it,” he said to her.
The room was big enough, painted with warm colors, and decorated with expensive furniture. But it was kind of empty, perhaps because no one had occupied the room in a while.
A queen-size bed was in the middle of the room, with a nightstand and a lamp at the end of both sides. The room had a TV and two resting couches.
Raina noticed two doors were attached to the room, but she couldn’t tell where they led. Perhaps her room was connected to another person’s room, she thought.
“I like it,” she mumbled after assessing the room.
Ronald seemed delighted when Raina accepted his offer to move in with him, though she had insisted that when she fully recovered, she would return to her old job or look for another job to earn money to help him with the rent.
Ronald smiled when she said that. He told her he was happy knowing she was willing to help but said he had bought his house and wasn’t inclined to charge rent.
Then she volunteered to be the one to start buying foodstuff in the house when she went back to work and started earning.
“This is your bathroom,” Ronald said as he opened one of the doors connected to the room.
As soon as Raina stepped into the bathroom, she fell in love with it. It had everything she would need, as well as a couple of feminine products.
After that, they both exited the bathroom. Ronald opened the second door connected to her room. It was her walk-in closet, but it was empty and clean.
“I don’t know your clothes and shoe size, so I couldn’t order for you. Clarice will get something for you to sleep in. Then, tomorrow, you can go with her to get all that you need.
“We wanted to shop for Adrie too, but we decided to wait for you so we could do the shopping at once,” he said.
She nodded as she remembered she had left her former home with nothing.
“Are you sure you are not hungry?” Ronald asked her again.
As soon as he arrived with her from the hospital, before he started the house tour, Clarice offered her some food, but she declined, saying she was okay.
The truth is that Raina had not been eating well. She was kind of punishing herself for the loss of her baby.
She did not get to see the girls because they were already asleep by the time she and Ronald arrived.
“I’m okay. Thanks for asking,” she mumbled as she sat on the edge of the bed.
Ronald sighed as he went over to where she was and crouched before her.
“You have to move on, Ray. You’re being too hard on yourself,” he said, looking into her eyes, welled with tears.
Raina felt guilty about her miscarriage.
After Ronald’s first visit, when she was still at the hospital, they had wanted to visit her the next day since it was a Sunday, but she told them not to bother her, that she needed to be alone.
“Try to get some rest. Clarice will bring a nightdress for you. I will see you tomorrow morning before I go to work,” he said, after which he stood up and gave her shoulder a light squeeze, then exited the room.
As soon as Ronald walked out of the guest room, which was now Raina’s room, Clarice came in with a tray and a nightdress for her. The tray contained some cookies and bottled water.
“I know you said you’re not hungry, but I couldn’t watch you sleep on an empty stomach, so I brought this for you,” Clarice said as she placed the tray on the nightstand.
“Thank you,” Raina whispered.
Clarice took a seat beside Raina on the bed.
“You will go through this, my dear. Stay strong,” she encouraged, giving Raina’s hand a light squeeze.
“I hope this will fit you,” she said as she handed Raina the nightdress.
Raina collected it from her and assessed if it was her size. She could tell it was new because the tag was still on it.
“It’s my size. Thank you. Thanks for everything,” she said.
“You’re welcome, dear. Have a good night’s rest,” Clarice said, after which she hugged Raina.
“I assume Ronald showed you my room. It’s just next to yours, so feel free to come to me if you need anything.”
After Clarice exited Raina’s room, the first thing she did was lock the door, then proceeded to the bathroom to take a shower.
She felt relaxed as soon as the cold water met her body. It felt so good to be away from the hospital.
Raina wiped herself with a fresh towel she found in the bathroom, and then she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself.
Her focus was more on her stomach. She wondered how she had never noticed she was pregnant.
Her mind flashed back to almost two months ago; it was the last time she had sex with her so-called partner. He wanted it that night, and she gave in, even though she was not in the mood for it.
She thought things would improve between them after that, but it only worsened. Even during intercourse, she felt nothing. No passion. No love. It was just sex to her.
She shook her head and reached for her nightgown. She put it on and exited the bathroom.
Getting to the bedroom, Raina sat on her bed and glanced at the cookie. It looked so yummy. She couldn’t resist it, so she took one and another one, then drank a little bit of water.
She stood up and located the switch that controlled the light in her room, then turned off the light.
Raina went back to her bed, covered herself with the duvet, hugged a pillow, and cried.
As she cried, she prayed to God to forgive her for being a bad mother. She prayed to God to take care of the baby she miscarried, and most importantly, she prayed to God to give her the strength to move on.
Raina’s eyes eventually got heavy, and she fell asleep.