Struck

Andrew's Point of View.

I was completely spent when I got home. Beatrice was standing in front of the dresser mirror and tending to her acne face. “You seem exhausted,” She turned to face me.

“Yeah, It was such a long day at work today” My voice was strained. I paced around, darting my eyes away so as not to meet Beatrice's gaze that was staring back at me through the mirror.“I'm sure you had a great day at home? Babe,” 

“Of course yes. Olivia won't let me raise a finger.”  A smile stretched across her face…. Can you believe she did a manicure and pedicure for me today? I think we should consider upping Olivia's pay…..Never have I met such a hardworking fellow.”

Mentally, I rehearsed my response before I could speak. “Let's watch her for the first three months, okay? If she doesn't change then we can consider upping her pay.”

She shrugged her shoulders in agreement. “Guess what?” She stood up, walking towards me.

“What?” 

“I have missed you all day, babe.” She threw her arms around me. “I know you are tired, so let me ease you off the stress.” 

She inched closer and placed her hand on my shoulder. I was so spent that my knees gave out just when Beatrice gave me the slightest nudge towards the bed. “I am tired, Beatrice.”

“First of all, let's pull off your clothes, and then you can trust me to deal with the tiredness soon enough.” She grabbed my thigh and snaked her hand upward. Reaching my pocket area her hand crinkled on something, and before I could realize what it was, she pulled out a pack of condoms.

Shit! I wanted to yell. How could I have forgotten to use a condom while having sex with Olivia? I questioned myself mentally.

“Andrew,” Her tone reduced to a whisper. “What is this for?” Her face started to draw together in rage.

Never had I seen Beatrice looking so serious.

My head spun and I felt my heart pulling out of my chest. . “Oh,” I voiced out thinly. “I presumed your period could start any moment from now, and you know I wouldn't want anything to stop us from having sex, so I decided to get those.

“I don't understand, Andrew.” Her nostrils twitched. 

“It's medically okay to have sex with women in their period, but only with condoms to prevent any sort of STIs.”

Her face softened and she flashed me a disarming smile. “I feel so desired by that idea, you know.” She pulled down my pants and reached for the condoms. Even though I had just talked myself out of this danger, my body still trembled at the thought of the grave mistake I had made with Olivia.

Beatrice pushed her weight on me and started to kiss me all over my face. Like a prisoner taking an order from the warden, the sex felt like obligatory labour. 

               

                  ****************

It had been three weeks since Beatrice saw condoms in my pocket, and just like Olivia, she too had buried the memory behind her.

All this while Olivia had been keeping a good distance between me and her: she seemed to be more invested in her job now as she had already buried the past we shared. I, also, barely thought of her except on a weekend like today that I had little to do to keep myself busy.

“It's the weekend and you should be resting, babe,” Beatrice crouched over my work desk, thumping on it.

“I have less than 10 minutes to finish.”  I held the tip of her thumb and gave it a gentle squeeze.

The doorbell rang and Nana's mellow voice followed. Without hesitation Beatrice rushed towards the door and ushered Nana inside.

“There's no better way to pull a surprise visit.” Nana rolled her eyes, smiling. “You won't believe I joined a taxi down to this place.” 

I stood up and bowed to Nana in a greeting gesture. “It's good to have you around, ma.” 

“It's good to see you, Andrew.” She glanced around before settling into the sofa.”How has married life been?”

“Fulfilling!” Beatrice responded before I could speak. “Let me get you something to drink first,” She added.

Nana scrunched her face up when Beatrice placed the glass of water before her. “Where is Olivia? Is she not supposed to be here?”

Unsure of what response to give, Beatrice's eyes met mine. “Olivia stays in the BQ,” I said calmly. “She only comes to do her work and then goes back.”

“Oh, I see..” She took a sip from her drink. “But, that's not a perfect idea. Beatrice needs her closer all the time, you know. I want to make sure Beatrice faces no stress at all, so as to keep her body safe to sustain pregnancy.”

Beatrice started laughing. “But, I am not pregnant yet, Nana.” She proclaimed and started rubbing hand on her belly.

Nana ignored her and brought out her phone and dialed Olivia's number, demanding her presence in the apartment right away. After a few minutes Olivia arrived looking a bit sick in the face.

“You seem unwell,” Beatrice was the first to speak to her.

“Is everything okay?” Nana added.

Olivia made a tired face and said, “Not really. I am having a severe menstrual cramp.” 

Hearing her make that statement felt like a big surprise of hitting a good jackpot. Goodness! Her period came!

“Oh oh….the things women go through. I'm sorry about that.” Beatrice walked closer to Olivia, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Silence hung around for a while until Nana cleared her throat and spoke. “Olivia, I'm suggesting you move into one of the rooms downstairs….Beatrice needs you closer. We are highly expectant about her getting pregnant, so she needs to maintain a stress-free life as much as possible.”