Programmed Lives – Second Stage
Chapter Eleven
Green, Kyoko thought with desperation as the second pregnancy test turned that colour too. If it hadn't been because Kyoko was way too scared to do so, she'd have laughed at the absurdity of it all.
She stared at the two green sticks for several minutes before, very slowly, her brain started connecting the pieces of information together so it could form some sort of puzzle that brought Kyoko to one single conclusion: she needed help, professional help. She needed Akiko.
'Hello?' the pleasant voice of her friend answered the phone. Kyoko could tell that Akiko was walking for she was a bit out of breath.
'Sorry I'm interrupting anything?' Kyoko asked worried that she had disrupted Akiko's very busy schedule.
'Kyoko, don't be silly, you could interrupt me in the middle of an open heart surgery and I'd still pick up the phone,' Akiko said sounding extremely happy.
'Really?' Kyoko asked.
'Okay, maybe you'd have to leave a message but I'd definitely call you back,' Akiko admitted.
'Akiko, I really need to talk to you, when will you have some free time?' Kyoko said getting serious again.
'I'm following one of the doctor's rounds right now but I should be free in about an hour. Do you want me to come to your house?'
'No, no, I was thinking of going there to see you.'
'Alright, let's meet at my father's office in an hour, ok?'
'Sure thing,' Kyoko said.
Fifty-five minutes later and after getting dressed and having carefully packed the two now vividly green sticks into a piece of cloth, Kyoko found herself walking up to the elevator that would bring her up to Akiko's father's office.
'Iwase-san,' the secretary said seeing her getting off the elevator, 'Doctor Takahashi told me you'd come, she's not here yet. She told me to ask you to wait for her inside the office.'
'Alright, thank you,' Kyoko said feeling a bit overwhelmed at the luxury of Doctor Arakawa's office. Everywhere she looked there were expensive-looking objects and pieces of furniture. Only the chair on which she was sitting looked expensive enough to pay for several months of her apartment's rent.
'I'm sorry to keep you waiting,' Akiko said coming into the room. Kyoko noticed with concern that Akiko looked very tired and sleep-deprived.
'Don't worry. I'm really happy you could see me so quickly.'
'I'll say it again, Kyoko, you're like family to me and I'd do anything for my family.'
'Speaking of which, how are you dealing with Kyosuke?' Kyoko asked for she had been concerned about what Akiko would do regarding her baby.
'Oh, don't worry about that. He's now a permanent guest at the nursery. Since he's the oldest baby there, he's become some sort of leader and now, whenever he starts crying, everyone else cries and whenever he sleeps, everyone sleeps too. The nurses have all fallen in love with him so they don't care too much about any disruption he may cause. I guess the kid's inherited a large part of the Takahashi's charm,' Akiko explained smiling fondly.
'Probably,' Kyoko said laughing softly.
'What can I do for you Kyoko?' Akiko said then still smiling.
'Er…okay, so, hypothetically speaking, I just wanted to ask you if you've ever heard of a pregnancy test going green instead of pink or blue.'
Akiko's smile was replaced by a very concerned looking face.
'Are you asking me this as a friend or as a doctor?'
'What's the difference?' Kyoko said feeling all confused.
'Anything you tell me as a doctor will be protected by the patient-doctor confidentiality agreement. If you speak to me as a friend and I feel that what you tell me has an impact to other people, I may not guarantee that I'll keep it to myself,' Akiko explained with an almost brutal honesty.
'Then I'm talking to you as a doctor,' Kyoko decided.
'I get it,' Akiko said, 'just for the sake of clarity, we're not talking hypothetically here, are we?'
'No, we're not,' Kyoko admitted then, taking the little parcel out of her bag, she produced the two green pregnancy tests.
'Alright, you know how these work, don't you?' Akiko asked.
'More or less,' Kyoko said.
'The stick of a pregnancy test contains a reactor that, in contact with the right concentration of hCG, a hormone produced by the placenta in the first weeks of pregnancy, becomes either pink or, in other testers, it shows through a line or a circle.'
'Why is mine green? It was supposed to turn blue or pink.'
'Yes, there are several things that may make a test fail or produce false results. It could even mean that the tester itself is faulty. In any case, did you wait a couple of days before repeating the test or did you just repeat it straight away?'
'I did it straight away,' Kyoko admitted biting her lower lip.
'It's a lot more accurate if you repeat the test after a while. How late are you?'
'Ten days,' Kyoko said, 'at first I thought I was just stressed, you know, with all that's happened but now… Akiko, what am I going to do?'
Seeing that her friend was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Akiko got up from the chair and, kneeling next to her friend, she passed her arm around Kyoko's shoulders and hugged her.
'Baby, I take that if you're worried, there is a definite risk that you may be pregnant.'
Kyoko nodded.
'I should have a chat with you and Keisuke about the whole safe-sex thing,' Akiko said shaking her head.
'We only did it once without protection,' Kyoko defended herself.
'Kyoko, once is all you need to get pregnant,' Akiko said making Kyoko blush with embarrassment.
'Alright, this is what we're going to do: you're coming with me downstairs and we'll take a blood sample. This way we'll be absolutely certain about whether you're pregnant or not. Once we know for sure, we'll take it from there but rest assured that regardless of what happens, you can always count on me, okay?'
Kyoko nodded again.
'Good. Now, let's go.'
A few minutes later, both women were in one of the examination rooms of the hospital while Akiko took a blood sample from Kyoko.
'Did it hurt?' Akiko said concernedly.
'Nope, you're really good at this poking people thing,' Kyoko said laughing softly.
'Keep that in mind, will you?' Akiko said smiling, then turning round to a nurse that was standing by her side, she said, 'get this down to the labs and tell them I need the results with priority one, alright?'
'Sure,' the nurse said leaving the two women alone again.
'What's priority one?' Kyoko asked.
'It means getting the results within 4 hours.'
'Wow! I had to wait for a whole week the last time I got a blood test done,' Kyoko commented.
'Owning two hospitals has to have some advantages, doesn't it?' Akiko said chuckling softly.
'I guess so,' Kyoko said then, she added, 'sometimes I'm so jealous of you.'
'What? Why?' Akiko asked frowning.
'Well, you know, you're rich and you're already married to a fantastic man who adores you and you have such an adorable baby. Even Keisuke respects you and looks up to you in a way he'll never do with me.'
Akiko snorted loudly.
'Ha!' she exclaimed, 'let me enlighten you Kyoko: being rich has done nothing but cause me pain in my life, the fantastic husband I have wouldn't have noticed me even if I had stood on his foot if it hadn't been because I was literally forced into his life, giving birth to Kyosuke almost cost me my life and regarding Keisuke, he tried to terrify me in every way he knows out of marrying his brother. So, please, don't go and tell me you're jealous because if you want my life, you're welcome to have it.'
Kyoko didn't know what to say for she had never seen Akiko get so angry before.
'I'm sorry, it was a very stupid thing to say,' she finally said.
Seeing Kyoko looking so mortified made Akiko feel guilty:
'Kyoko, we all have our problems, it's how we deal with them that makes us weak or strong.'
'I know, I know,' Kyoko said.
'My sessions with the therapist have paid off, haven't they?' Akiko said now with a small smile and that finally made Kyoko smile too.
'Yeah, they have.'
'You really don't want to get back together with Keisuke, do you?' Akiko asked trying to be as careful as possible.
'I don't know. I was about to give in but now, with this whole pregnancy mess.'
'I know. Well, once we get the results you'll have to make a decision. After all, if you are pregnant, Keisuke has the right to at least know about it.'
'Yeah, I guess so,' Kyoko said.
Akiko took a quick look at her watch.
'I'm sorry to say this but I need to go back to work and then I'll have to go and check on Kyosuke. Why don't you go and see him? I'm sure he's missed you.'
'No offence Akiko, I absolutely adore your son but, right now and even if it's Kyo-chan, the last thing I want to see is a baby,' Kyoko said then, she added, 'I think I'll go home.'
'Alright. I'll call you as soon as I get the results,' Akiko said.
'Sure, see you later and thanks for everything Akiko,' Kyoko said getting up from the chair where she'd been sitting.
'Don't mention it. Anything I can do for you, I'll do it.'
'I know. Thanks,' Kyoko said.
'I'll walk you to your car, okay?'
A few minutes later, Akiko was walking back into the hospital, having seen Kyoko drive off with her FD, when she felt a strong hand grasping her arm.
She felt herself being dragged into a dark corner of the car park and, for a second, she considered screaming for her life when, looking up, she saw the very angry face of her brother-in-law glaring at her.
'Keisuke, what the...'
'What's wrong with Kyoko?' he shouted strengthening the grip on Akiko's already sore arm.
'You're hurting me!' she shouted back.
'I'll hurt you even more if you don't tell me what's wrong with Kyoko and why didn't you tell me you were going to see her today!' Keisuke shouted back, still not letting go of Akiko's arm.
'Threatening me again? Go ahead, hit me,' she challenged him while facing him with all the bravery she could muster.
'Yeah, so you can tell Aniki,' Keisuke said but this time he released her from his grasp.
'Keisuke, I don't need your brother to defend me. I'm a doctor, remember? I could kill you and make it look like an accident,' she said glaring back at him.
This seemed to finally calm him down enough so his brain could start reasoning again.
'Would you do that?' he asked frowning.
'Would you hit me?' she asked back. Keisuke then shook his head. 'Right, I thought so. Kyoko was here because she needed my medical advice and therefore, I can't tell you anything about it, however, if you want to find out what's wrong with her, you should go and talk to her.'
'Don't you think I've tried? The bloody woman doesn't want to see me!'
'And you blame her? Keisuke, you were extremely nasty to her when she had done nothing but being incredibly considered to us.'
'I know, I know: I screwed up, but now she's not even letting me ask her to forgive me!' he said with his voice full of frustration and regret.
'Keep trying,' Akiko said.
'Akiko, please, tell me what's wrong with her,' Keisuke insisted.
'I can't,' Akiko said shaking her head.
'Why not? She's not sick, is she?' he asked widening his eyes in fear.
'No, she's not but I really can't tell.'
'Is she pregnant or what?' Keisuke said almost jokingly.
It was the tiniest fraction of a second but long enough for Keisuke to see Akiko's reaction to his question betray her.
'Oh my...' he whispered then, without even finishing the sentence, he turned round and started running towards his car.
'Wait! Keisuke! What are you going to do?' Akiko asked extremely concerned.
He stopped and, without facing her, he said:
'I'm going to her place and I'm going to talk to her even if it's the last thing I do.'
With this, he started running again leaving a very worried Akiko behind.
To be continued…
