Mansa placed the cup of tea on the small coffee table and stared at it without drinking. The steam curled lazily into the air, as if even the tea understood that the evening was unfolding slowly.
"Focus," she told herself.
She leaned back into the couch and crossed her arms. The excitement bubbling inside her chest refused to settle down. Every few seconds she felt the urge to laugh again.
"Five years," she murmured.
Five years of waiting.
Five years of doctors speaking in careful, professional tones.
Five years of smiling politely when people said things like, 'Don't worry, it will happen when the time is right.'
Mansa shook her head.
"If one more person had said that to me, I might have sued them for emotional disturbance," she muttered.
She picked up the tea and took a sip.
Still warm.
Still calming.
But not nearly enough to calm the storm of thoughts running through her head.
"Alright," she said, sitting upright. "Back to the important matter."
How exactly should she tell John?
Option one: Walk up to him and say it directly.
She imagined it.
John enters the house.
She smiles.
"John, I'm pregnant."
He faints immediately.
"Hmm," she said, shaking her head. "Too dangerous. Im not planning my child's father's funeral".
Option two: Write it on paper.
Mansa imagined leaving a note on the table.
Dear husband, congratulations. You are about to become a father.
She pictures John reading it slowly, blinking twice, then running around the apartment screaming like he had just won the World Cup.
"Also risky, I don't need a mad man drama" ,she decided.
An idea sundenly dropped into her bag, causing Mansa to smile wickedly.Surprise attack!
She grinned.
"Yes," she said slowly.
Thais one had potential.
She stood up and walked toward the bedroom mirror again. Her reflection looked calmer now, but the excitement in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Practice," she said.
She cleared her throat dramatically.
"John… we need to talk."
She paused.
"Hmm. Too serious."
She tried again.
"John, I have shocking news."
She frowned, then let out a loud laugh. Joy was indeed driving her insane.
"That sounds like someone has died. Absolutely not."
She rubbed her forehead.
"Think, Mansa, think."
Then suddenly she snapped her fingers.
"Yes! I know."
Her smile slowly widened into something mischievous.
"I will confuse thus handsome man I love so much."
She grabbed her handbag from the couch and opened it. The pregnancy test sat quietly inside like a tiny secret holding enormous power.
"You," she said softly to it, "are going to cause chaos tonight."
She tucked it deeper into the bag.
Now she puts the plan into stages and steps, just to make it look perfect.
Step one: Pretend something serious is wrong.
Step two: Watch John panic.
Step three: Deliver the good news.
She nodded with satisfaction.
"Perfect courtroom strategy," she said proudly.
The clock on the wall ticked loudly. The sound of its thicks has always been ignored, but today was very different. Every stroke was clearly heard on this special day.
6:42 PM.
John would be home soon.
Mansa suddenly felt nervous again.
Not the playful kind of nervous.
The real kind.
The kind that made her hands slightly shaky.
She sat down again and pressed her palms together.
"God," she whispered softly.
"Thank you. Am grateful o maker. Without you I am nothing. You have made this day too special for a sinner like me. Jehovah Nyame,(Jehovah God), thank you."
For a moment she simply sat there, breathing slowly.
The apartment felt different now.
Full.
Hopeful.
As if the walls themselves understood that something important had finally happened.
Then she laughed quietly again.
"Poor John," she said, shaking her head.
"He has absolutely no idea what is waiting for him."
Outside, a car horn sounded from the street.
Mansa glanced toward the door instinctively.
Her heartbeat sped up again.
"Showtime soon," she whispered.
She straightened her posture and adjusted the pillows on the couch as if preparing a stage.
Her handbag sat beside her, silent and mysterious.
Inside it, the small plastic test waited patiently.
The evening had begun like any other.
But before the night ended, their lives would change forever.