A Rich Man's Baby. Daaimah S. Poole

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СКАЧАТЬ sooner did a representative answer than I heard a loud smack and it was followed with, “Somebody call security!”

      I ran out of my cubicle to see what the hell was going on. It was the nurse on top of Jeremy, punching him in his face.

      “Get her off of me,” he yelled. He was curled up in a ball trying to block her shots.

      I was trying to get her off him, but she was not letting go. She was crying and pounding on him. Her hair was shaking back and forth like a mop. She just kept hitting him and scratching him. She was like a wildcat. She was moving so fast I couldn’t get a handle on her. I finally got a hold of one of her arms, and she started punching and grabbing with the other. Reginald ran up and grabbed her other arm. She was still kicking. I let her go, and she tried to go after him again.

      “Calm down, calm down. He is not worth it,” I said as I pulled her toward the bathroom.

      She was crying and heaving, still in a rage. Once we were inside the ladies’ room, she began to calm down. I soaked a brown paper towel and gave it to her to wash her face. When she looked in the mirror, that must have been when she realized she was not only at work, but that she had attacked him. In that same second, security came knocking on the bathroom door and asked if everything was okay. I said yeah, but they could tell from looking at Jeremy that somebody had assaulted him.

      When I came out the bathroom, they asked me if I saw what happened. I said no. Even though I was acting like I didn’t know what happened and Jeremy didn’t talk, security still escorted her out of the building.

      When I got back to my cubicle, they were laughing at Jeremy. He had a red, busted lip, scratches everywhere, and a long welt running down the side of his face. I couldn’t believe everything that had just happened. I looked at Alberta, then Reginald, and I tried to contain my laughter.

      “This not funny, Tanisha.” Jeremy frowned as he held ice to his face.

      “You deserved it. I told you one of these days you were going to meet your match. She had every right to go off on you. You sent naked pictures of her around the hospital.”

      “She is a slut anyway. She just broke up with her boyfriend and she had me all in her bed already sucking all over me. She don’t even know me like that.”

      “I think she must have hurt your feelings. I never seen you act like this before.” Miss Alberta laughed as she touched one of his many scratches.

      “I don’t know, I think it was some feelings involved with that one. You were taking her out and spending a lot of time,” Reginald said, teasing him.

      “No, I wasn’t. Don’t lie on me, man.”

      Chapter 11

      Adrienne

      On my way to the baby shower, I heard “Looking good” one too many times. I thought maybe my thong was hanging out or something, or my nipples were showing through my bra. The man who was mopping the floor even blew a kiss at me and winked. Then he asked me for my phone number. He wasn’t usually that forward. He was always polite and mannerly. He told me I smelled good a couple of times, but never looked at me this lustfully. It actually scared me.

      I went into the bathroom and checked myself out. Everything appeared to be normal, so I shrugged it off as nothing. I questioned why I was getting so many compliments. I thought I looked kind of frumpy in my pink scrubs and Crocs.

      I got off the elevator. I was so happy that baby shower was over. On my way back Liz pulled me into a corner and said, “I love ya like you my chile, ya know. I not let nobody talk about you, gal. I’m not listening to the bad talk going round the hospital.”

      “Huh? What bad talk, Liz?”

      “Pictures with no clothes on.”

      “What?” I said as it all sank in.

      I bit my lip. How would she know about pictures with no clothes on? I was instantly embarrassed. I walked around all day and no one said anything to me. After that point, everything was fuzzy. I don’t remember getting on the elevator, going to billing, or beating the shit out of Jeremy. A voice kept shouting to me, “He’s not worth it.” That was the only thing that brought me back. I came back to reality just before the police arrived and took me outside to question me. I was so embarrassed that I had been so unprofessional. I was at work having a domestic situation with my boyfriend.

      There were sick people and patients and people with life-and-death matters there, and I was acting deranged. It was just that I felt so violated. Liz told me I should have gone to Human Resources and Jeremy would have been fired. Instead, I was sitting in the back of a police van with handcuffs on for the past hour. I didn’t even know what I was being charged with. I probably was already fired. I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best.

      Another fifteen minutes had passed, and I heard the doors open. The policewoman told me to step down, uncuffed me, and said, “You’re very lucky. They are not pressing charges.”

      She returned my handbag to me. Once she said I was free to go, I didn’t bother going back to the job. I walked straight to the parking lot. I had dealt with enough humiliation for the day.

      I opened my apartment door and my phone was bombarded with calls. I just began crying uncontrollably on the floor. I couldn’t even imagine what all my coworkers were thinking and saying about me. I was still in disbelief that my little argument with Jeremy had turned into all this. I always found the best of the worst. Every time I got comfortable with someone, I got burned. It always ended the same: I couldn’t trust anyone. I had no one to lean on, not even my mother. If I told her what Jeremy had done, she would go up there and literally kill him.

      I never wanted to go back to work. I knew I was acting childish, but I didn’t think I really liked nursing anymore.

      I took off the next week. I talked to my department head; he suggested I go see a doctor. He assured me that my position was safe, but I should be evaluated for anxiety and stress. Liz called and said she would help get me a medical leave.

      The doctor my boss recommended had an office right downtown. I had a urinalysis and he took blood. He gave me a routine physical and asked me what types of symptoms I was having. I told him I was experiencing headaches, back pain, chest pain, I couldn’t sleep, and that I was having thoughts of fear sometimes. I said anything and everything so he could approve my medical leave. He wrote down notes and then left the room. I put my clothes back on and hoped he believed me. He came back in with my chart. He slid the rolling stool over to me and spoke while still writing on his lap.

      “You are experiencing symptoms of panic attacks and anxiety. More than likely, it is work related. I see it all the time. And it is normal for a woman to have elevated levels of stress in the first trimester of pregnancy.”

      His words shocked me. “First trimester of pregnancy?” I repeated. “I’m pregnant?”

      “Yes, you’re pregnant. I’m sorry you didn’t know. So I can’t prescribe anything for you. However, I’m going to put you out of work for a few months. I’ll call your department head and fax the paperwork over to him. You go home and relax, and try to slow down,” he said as he handed me my form for medical leave.

      I walked out of the doctor’s office in shock. Oh my God, what the hell am I going to do? I thought. Then it dawned on me that I didn’t even know СКАЧАТЬ