Just a Little Sugar

Waffle towers, maple syrup and multiple toppings

Richard was in town. And so was Rahmat.

Rahmat's parents had suggested- forced Richard to move Rahmat to Lagos for the remaining twenty something weeks of her pregnancy.
Rahmat wasn't sure then pregnancy would stick, and if this didn't she was going to try something else. Something Richard didn't want to even hear of.

Surrogacy.

She had told Sugar but she hadn't told Richard yet. Because she knew Richard would hate the idea.

Sugar slid a plate towards her.

"Try it. Its just waffles" Sugar said

Rahmat sighed collecting the fork that sugar handed to her. Sugar took a seat opposite her in the booth she was seated.
She was in Sugar's place. They had closed for the day, and most of the staff were gone but sugar was still here. And Rahmat was because her husband was out with Mark and Rahmat didn't feel like being close to alcohol.

"It doesn't look like regular waffles" Rahmat mumured.

"It's waffle towers. Same ingredients different technique" Sugar explained cutting into the waffle towers with her fork. "What's on your mind?"

"Huh?" Rahmat hummed diverting her attention to Sugar

"What is bothering you?" Sugar asked again

"My baby's mortality" Rahmat said lifting her fork to her mouth. She chewed, slowly.

Sugar was at a loss. She didn't know what to say. So she just nodded and hummed, chewing on the waffle

"That's a bit dark isn't it?" Rahmat asked after a while

"A little" Sugar replied and Rahmat chuckled

"I thought getting pregnant was going to be the problem. I had mentally prepared myself for not getting pregnant at all. Not for losing one"

"I think I understand"

"I did a lot of treatments. I guess I should be happy that they worked... in the clinic there were a lot of women who had been trying for years"

"It's okay to be a little selfish... it's okay to think of yourself first"

Rahmat hummed taking more of the waffle on her fork, "Richard is so happy, I don't want to ruin it for him"

"Richard loves you. He'll understand..."

Rahmat shook her head, swallowing, "That I don't like my child?"

"You like your child, you're just skeptical. And that's because you fell in love with your child before, and then you lost it. And now you're afraid of falling again, you're afraid of how you would feel if you lost it again." Sugar said

"Yes. Wow you're good with words... and food. This definitely encompasses how I feel today" Rahmat chuckled raising her hand to brush her hair away from her eye.

Sugar couldn't help but stare at her ring. She had seen it before, but now, Sugar stared at it with a different thing in mind now. Will she ever get one of those? Did marriage mean anything?  Did having a ring on your finger feel any different?  Did she need one? Why hadn't she felt like she needed to marry someone?

"Do you want to look at it? " Rahmat asked pulling the ring off her finger and handing it to Sugar. Sugar collected it hesitantly. She held it between her thumb and index finger and stared at the large diamond.
"When he first proposed, I had to stop wearing it to school because I thought people were going to steal it from me."Rahmat chuckled.
Her hands looked bare without it. Her nails were done, expertly; acrylic, ballerina shaped, probably-two-inch nails with purple marble designs. She raised her hands to her face again. Her hands looked bare without it.