Halal returned home once it was past nine, she and Daria had gone to the mall from the coffee shop. The both of them had been so engrossed with browsing every store at the and making up for lost time that they'd lost track of time.

"I hope we can meet up again Halal, how about you come over to my house on Sunday. You can come with your husband if you like, I'd like you to meet my family" Daria had said right before they parted.

"You know that I'll clear my schedule for you, not that I'm busy these days anyway. I'd love to meet your family this sunday" Halal smiled. She didn't bother to add that she wouldn't be coming with her husband.

"Great, I'll call you soon. Good night Halal, it was wonderful seeing you again" Daria hugged her.

Halal grinned and patted her back. "Take care of yourself Dar" Halal said before pulling away.

"I will, thanks" Daria smiled. "And I'll forward your number to the repair guy, so you both can be in touch okay?" Halal said right before Daria walked away.

"Okay Hallie, thanks a lot" Daria said and waved again before walking into the awaiting car. They'd both phoned a car hire network but Halal's ride was yet to arrive. About ten minutes after Daria's cab left, hers arrived. She hopped into the car dreading what was awaiting her at home.

She expected Valentino to be out of the house or at least in bed but he was home and very much awake. In fact he'd opened the door for her before she could even turn the door knob.

"Good evening" she said and pushed past him into the house. She waited for him to rage and rant as she took off her sandals.

"Where have you been?" he asked quite calmly. Not quite what Halal had been expecting.

"I needed a breather" Halal responded not looking at him.

Valentino sighed before moving closer to her. "Halal about our conversation earlier..." he began but She cut him off instantly.

"Look I think we've established the fact that you don't care about me, you care more about children. The way you treat me Valentino, I don't understand how one could treat their partner that way" Halal said. She didn't want to talk much because anytime she poured out her feelings to him, he mocked her or accused her of trying to guilt him.

"I care about you Halal, you're my wife. If you were in my position, what would you do? It's been eight years Halal" Valentino said placing his palm gently on her shoulder.

She pulled away from his touch sharply as if he burned her "You forget something husband, we're in the same position. I got pregnant, in case you have forgotten. I carried those babies for nine months, nine, like any other woman. At the end of those months, a dead child was placed in my arms. How do you think I felt?" she asked him tears slipping out of her eyes.

"I never got to hear them cry, never got to see their eyes look up at me in wonder, have them suck at my breasts. How do you think I'm feeling, how do you think I feel every time I see children, baby clothes or even toys! Do you realize I've not stepped in to the nursery ever since the miscarriage? I can't go in there without thinking about what I've lost" Halal said shaking her head.

"And with everything I'm going through, you still throw it in my face that I can't give you children" Halal said glaring at him.

"I understand Halal, believe me. I'm frustrated too, when I see my friends with children, I'm frustrated too" Valentino pressed a palm to his forehead. He looked genuinely distressed.

"I want us to have children, I don't know what is wrong Halal. It's been how many years, why do our children die the minute they are born into the world?" Valentino asked thin air.

Halal stared at her husband now feeling numb. "I don't know, I've given up on getting the answer to that same question. God knows, I don't know what exactly he's punishing me for" Halal said. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Whatever happens Valentino, you should be with me. We both want children, we should work together. You avoid me like a disease, one minute you're here and the next you're in the other side of the country. I love you, and I want you to be happy but I don't know how else you want me to prove this to you. If something is wrong with me then we should work side by side to find out what's wrong" Halal said softly.

"Do you really love me Halal?" Valentino asked meeting her eyes.

Halal stared at her husband a little confused now. He'd never questioned her love for him before.

"I love you Valentino" Halal said sincerely.

"Are you in love with me?" Valentino asked again his eyes not leaving hers.

Halal shook her head in confusion "Why the questions, did I do something, is that why you've been treating me like crap?" Halal asked.

Valentino sighed and pulled away from her. "Halal, some problems are psychological. I don't know why our children die but I do know that a woman who doesn't love her husband can't give him anything productive" Valentino said.

Halal narrowed her eyes at him. "Now you're blaming me for the death of our children . Why am I not surprised?" Halal asked herself.

"Do you still think about him Halal?" Valentino asked. He turned to look at her and saw her expression falter a bit.

"I don't want to talk about this Valentino. I almost had an accident today thanks to you, bringing up my mother and making me so vulnerable. The car is at the repair shop but you haven't bothered to ask me about it. You didn't notice because you don't care" Halal spat and stalked out of the living room.

Valentino followed her "You almost had an accident, what happened, why didn't you call me?" Valentino asked.

"I don't know, the brakes were not working. I bumped into another car, thank God I was able to control the situation" Halal replied taking off her caftan.

"Baby I'm so sorry. You should have called me. I'm sorry I brought up your mother Halal, I promise, I'll never do that again. I'm sorry" Valentino said standing by the door.

Halal nodded easily, at least he had the decency to apologize this time. He'd said worse before and he'd never apologized for it.

"Have you had dinner, I made porridge this morning. It's in the deep freezer, did you heat it up for your dinner?" Halal asked taking a silk robe out of her wardrobe.

Valentino cleared his throat. "No, we can do that later. Let's talk a little bit, Doctor Femi called me today" he said.

Halal sighed "I'm not seeing him again Val, he's not been able to help me. I'm not seeing him again. I'm sure there are other doctors" Halal said quickly. She didn't look at Valentino as she spoke.

"Honey please call him, he says it's urgent. Please, maybe he can help this time" Valentino pleaded.

Halal closed her eyes. "I want a baby so bad Valentino but I'm tired of people taking advantage of us. Doctor Femi has failed us countless times" Halal said.

When she opened her eyes again, Valentino was right in front of her. "Honey, let's not stop trying. Call Doctor Femi, I have faith that he can help us this time. Do it for me hm, I want to father our children. I don't care about the money, as long as there are results" Valentino said.

Halal hated to sound negative so she nodded. "I'll call him in the morning" she said.

"How about you call him after dinner?" Valentino asked.

"Fine, I'll call him after dinner" Halal responded.

After dinner, Valentino went into the nursery. Halal had no idea what he was doing in there, but she didn't want to know. She couldn't go into the nursery without thinking about her babies.

She and Valentino had worked on the nursery together. She painted the walls while Valentino had fixed the crib. They'd bought different toys, clothes, baby this and that.

Going into the room would break her. She thought of her bump, a baby bump that was present a year ago. It was painful to look at the mirror too, seeing a flat stomach instead of a protruding one.

Halal stared at her phone for a few minutes before picking up her phone to call her doctor. Doctor Femi, a man who had failed her so many times.

Doctor Femi answered on the third ring.

"Good evening doctor Femi" Halal spoke first. She pictured the doctor, probably still in his office at this time. The dark, bald, potbellied, short man she'd known for years now.

"Hello Halal, I've been trying to phone you all day. Why have you been rejecting my calls?" Doctor Femi asked.

"Doctor I've been very busy. Valentino tells me you called him, you have something important to tell me?" Halal asked nonchalantly.

"Valentino? Halal I can't talk to you now. I'm at the hospital, I'm a little busy. Just know that it's important that you see me tomorrow. As early as possible" Doctor Femi said.

"Doctor what is this about?" Halal asked.

"Halal I've discovered your problem, how to solve it. I'll like to share it with you, the reason why the babies never......" pause... "......you won't have to lose another child again. Halal please come in to see me tomorrow. And please, this is a woman, Doctor discussion. I don't think your husband will like what I've discovered. You know how Valentino gets angry over little things" Doctor Femi said.

"You've discovered my problem, Doctor can you fix it?" Halal asked standing up immediately.

"It's a very small matter, something I ignored before. I've just discovered what to do now, you won't have to lose your children again" Doctor Femi spoke.

Halal breathed a sigh. She still couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I will have children....they won't die again?" she asked quietly now.

"Yes Halal, please see me tomorrow" Doctor Femi said. "I will Doctor, I will. I'll see you tomorrow as early as possible" Halal said breathlessly.

"Good night Halal" Doctor Femi said and ended the call.

"Oh my God....Valentino!" Halal yelled. She walked out of the living room into the hall way.

"Valentino...come quickly" she said pausing outside the nursery.

"Coming" Valentino replied and stepped out. He was holding an orange colored stuffed rabbit. Something he'd gotten for Olive a year ago when they'd been shopping for the baby.

"Valentino" her eyes watered when she saw the rabbit. She placed both hands on his shoulders.

"Halal what's wrong?" Valentino asked concerned.

"Valentino, we're going to have children. We're going to have children, Doctor Femi. He has discovered the problem, he's going to tell me tomorrow" Halal sobbed. It wasn't out of sadness or pain this time, just sheer joy.

"My prayers, my prayers have been answered. I'm going to be a mom, our children won't have to die anymore. The nursery won't have to be empty anymore" Halal said. She brought one hand to her mouth.

"Halal, are you serious? He's discovered the problem?" Valentino asked. He was grinning.

Halal nodded frantically. "He asked me to come see him early in the morning" Halal replied Valentino.

"That's goodnews, tomorrow I'll drive you to the hospital by seven" Valentino cupped her face.

Halal nodded "I think I should go alone" She muttered.

"Why? This concerns both of us" Valentino said looking confused.

"I know, just let me do this by myself okay? I love you. I promise I'll tell you everything" Halal said.

"It's okay, I love you too" Valentino kissed her.

Halal smiled feeling overwhelmed. Everything would fall into place now, she was sure.

Tomorrow, every wrong would be righted. "Thank you God" she muttered.

Halal was in high spirits when she woke up early in the morning the following day.  Valentino on the other hand seemed like a boy excited about presents. They were still overwhelmed by the news they had gotten the other night.

Seeing him so excited equally excited her. "Oh God....please let this not be a mirage or a dream" she whispered to herself but Valentino heard her.

"It can't be a dream sweetheart, it's real.  You're going to see Doctor Femi and he's going to tell us our problem.  We're going to fix it and we're going to have so many children. This house is going to  be a loud house" Valentino said.

"I know, I know ....it's been eight years Val.  This just feels surreal" Halal sobbed.

Valentino cupped her jaw gently "Hey look at me Halal. Don't cry,  our problems are going to end soon. Why are you crying?" Valentino asked.

"I'm so happy that's why I'm crying" Halal said wiping tears off her face. "I've waited..." she began but Valentino pressed a kiss to her lips silencing her.

"We've waited,  soon we won't have to wait anymore" Valentino said placing a palm on her stomach.

"I miss seeing you with a bump Halal,  anticipating a baby.  I want to see a baby in our nursery Halal, I want us to be happy" Valentino said.

"I want all that too" Halal said.  She smiled a little. "I can already picture it in my head" Halal said. She couldn't stop the tears that leaked out of her eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come to the hospital with you? I don't want you driving while you're so emotional" Valentino said.

"I'll be fine,  I'll see you in a few yeah?" Halal stood up and picked up her purple clutch.

"Yeah,  I'll call you" Valentino said hugging her.  He escorted out of the house, to the car. He wasn't still sure about letting her drive to the hospital by herself but she was insistent so he let it go.

"Careful Honey, eyes on the road okay?" Valentino said once she was in the car.

Halal nodded and turned on the ignition. "I'll see you soon,  don't forget to eat breakfast" she said.

"I will...Take care H" Valentino said before heading back into the house.

The drive to the hospital was just an hour away.  Halal listened to a Tiwa Savage song on the radio,  she could feel the weight on her shoulders lifting gradually.

Her phone rang as she stopped at the a zebra crossing, she waited patiently for some school kids to cross the road.  "I certainly won't let my child walk to school alone, some parents" she muttered as she turned down the volume of the radio. She answered the call and switched it to the speaker mode.

"Halal speaking" She said. She hadn't bothered to check for the caller ID before answering so she didn't know who she was speaking with.

"Halal it's Daria,  good morning" Daria's voice was super cheery.

"Sorry dear, I forgot to phone you last night when I got home. I got wrapped up in something else,  how are you?" Halal asked.

"I'm fine,  how are you this morning?" Daria asked. Halal heard a yawn and guessed Daria was still on bed.

"I'm great,  I'm driving actually. On my way to the hospital" Halal said.

"Hospital?" Daria asked alarmed. "Hope all is well Hallie" Daria said sounding distressed.

Halal mentally scolded herself for putting out the H- word like that.  Of course when Nigerians heard the word hospital, they naturally assumed something terrible had happened.

She didn't want Daria feeling distressed for her.  "Everything is fine Daria. I'm just going for a doctor's appointment. I'll call you later okay?" she said.

"Okay take care" Daria said. "Thanks Dar" Halal replied and ended the call. She turned up the volume of the radio and nodded to the beat of the song that was playing.

Getting to the hospital, the tempo of her heart beat increased. She walked into the reception and smiled at one of the nurses present.

"Nurse Laide" she smiled prettily. "Long time no see" she said.

She was familiar with every nurse in the hospital, Valentino condemned it. He said she was too friendly with everyone that's why they always took advantage of her.

"Aunt Halal, see how you just forget us. You no dey come here again, we offend you?" Laide asked sounding offended.

"Ahan, me forget you?  I can't. I've just been very busy you know" Halal said smiling.

"Welcome back, ehn aunty Halal.  This your watch ehn....it looks really nice. I like it, aunty mi. You know yesterday was my birthday, nobody even bought me anything. No meat pie, no coke,  no rice,  no spar, no Shoprite, no KFC, no chicken republic or cinema date.  Not even common ice cream from tantalizers. " Laide said pouting as she eyed the Movado on Halal's wrist.

"Not even your boyfriend?" Halal asked playfully.

"Boyfriend ke, boyfriend that cannot even buy me ordinary meat pie is that one boyfriend. See, I don't have boyfriend, nobody bought me anything, everybody is just carrying face like shït. In fact aunty mi, you're the only one I've seen smiling this morning" Laide said shrugging.

"Don't worry laide, I'll give you something else. I can't give you the watch because my husband bought it for me but I can give you sometime else" Halal said opening her clutch.

She took out five thousand naira from her clutch .  "Laide, Laide. Don't mind that your boyfriend. Take buy meat pie for yourself" Halal winked.

"Aunty Halal! Thank you very much. God bless you,  God will punish your enemies,  God will give you what you want, you will not lack, your husband will not lack. You will just be traveling from here to America up and down and as you're coming back you will be buying chocolate for laide, buying clothes for laide,  shoes, bags, accessories, in Jesus name!" Laide shouted attracting the attention of a few other nurses.

Halal chuckled "Amen Laide, amen" Halal said.

"Laide why are you making noise like this?" Another nurse named Ezinne  asked coming towards them.

"Shut up and mind your business. Tatafo, aproko, amebo business center" Laide hissed glaring at her fellow nurse.

The nurse ignored her and turned to Halal "Aunty Halal, I didn't even recognize you.  See how you just resemble one oyibo, I was just asking myself who is this white woman. You're looking takeaway as usual" Ezinne beamed.

"Hmm big head. You have come again with this your big mouth. Ta ta ta ta ta, up and down. You talk too much , busybody. Go away and don't disturb my aunty please!" Laide hissed.

Halal looked at the two of them and shook her head a little amused. "Is Doctor Femi in? I want to see him" Halal said.

"Yes, he's in his office. Let me take you to him" Ezinne said taking Halal's arm.

"Hey,  o girl don't talk too much so you won't remove my aunty ear o.  Ah! Talkative. God forbid you" Laide hissed.

Ezinne rolled her eyes as she walked away with Halal. "Aunty Halal, this your silk scarf is fine mmm,  you know that one you gave Brenda. I liked that one too,  but Brenda asked for it first.  Please when you don't want this one again, remember me.  You look like my sister,  are you Igbo?" Ezinne asked.

Halal shook her head at the question. "It doesn't matter, we're one in Nigeria. So you're my sister,  nne" Ezinne chattered till they got to Doctor Femi's office.

"Doctor Femi" Ezinne called loudly as they entered the office. There was one response, and no Doctor Femi  in sight.  It was Halal who saw him first.

Her heart skipped, he was on the floor, eagle spread looking lifeless.

"Oh my goodness!" Ezinne screamed as she saw Doctor Femi.

Halal stared wide eyed at the man on the ground. "Doctor Femi" she went over to him.

"Doctor Femi!" she called again. He was silent, he didn't move or shake as Ezinne touched him.

"Jesus! He's dead ooo" Ezinne screamed.

Halal's hand went to her forehead, she felt the world closing in on her. She felt the air around her getting thinner.

Ezinne rushed to her side once she noticed that she was having a panic attack. "Breathe,  breathe, breathe" she whispered.

It was Ezinne's voice that lulled her into unconsciousness.