The Black Girl

thirty two

After a nice afternoon with Lane, we go to his house and he shortly walks me to mine.

My dad is lying on the couch watching Two and A Half Men, he never liked going to church.

He did the churchly part, pray, Ten Commandments, just not the actual going to church part.

"Hey dad," I smile at him and drop my phone on the kitchen's island while I scavenge the fridge for leftovers to eat.

"Lolade, bawo ni," He asks how I'm doing, in Yoruba and frankly it had been a while since I'd been called by my full name.

My sisters and I all had names that could pass for English ones, and everyone just assumed that those were are full names.

Lola, Lolade. Jade, Jadesola. Sari, Adesari.

I tell my dad I'm fine, and tell him my sisters and mum are probably still at the church when he asks where they are.

"Wait, actually can you hold that for a second I want to quickly talk to you," He gestures for me to come over and I drop the bowl of pasta back in the fridge and walk over to him.

I sit on the solo cushion opposite from the couch he's sitting on and I can see a bit of nervousness growing in his eyes.

"So, yesterday when you were at your friends' house, your mum was going for doctor's appointment and I decided to tag along, you know, just cause I'm an amazing husband and all that," He flashes a smile of triumph while scratching his beard and I laugh.

"Okay dad, and then?" I roll my eyes amusingly and he continues.

"She has anaemia, I don't know if you know what that is, it has to do with those iron tablets she's been taking for the past few years," He stares at me straight in the eye.

"Can you explain what it is exactly," I say. Biology was never may strongest point.

He nods, "I'm going to be honest with you. A normal person has an iron level of about sixteen. The more iron the more red blood cells and haemoglobin is produced to carry oxygen around, you know all those stuff right?"

Surprisingly, from the little I'd taken in Mr Wyatt's class, I actually understood everything my dad was talking about.

"Right, so you need a level of sixteen to live like a normal person, your mum has a level of three." My dad says with no emotion in his face but I can't tell he's trying to keep it together for me.

"She has three?!" I shriek and I fight the tears threatening to built in my eyes.

"She's always tired because of that, and she has low oxygen levels, her heart rate is lower than normal, she could go anytime, she could collapse in the shower, or die in the her sleep but God forbid, she won't experience that in Jesus' name," He says the last two parts in Yoruba and I can feel my heart weighing heavy in my chest.

And I feel bad. I feel worse than bad I feel terrible.

All the times my mum stayed in her bed all day, or lost breath climbing the stairs, I thought she was just unfit or lazy like me. I didn't know she was actually out of breathe.

"When I go back to England, Lolade you have to help out, chores, your sisters, anything your mum needs, I'm begging you. Please." My dad presses his palms together and I promise I will.

"We're back!" Jade bursts through the door with Sari down in front of her, both carrying papers bags of KFC.

I watch my mum in the driveway through the window as she parks the car. I watch her let out a huge sigh as she takes her seat belt off.

This part is based more on me, however my mum isn't this ill, but please pray for my mum guys :(