“What the hell’s taking them so long?” I was wearing a hole in the waiting room floor, I’d been pacing back and forth for so long. I slumped down into the seat beside my sister, who was being so damn calm I wanted to smack her.
“I don’t know, Steph.” Jasmine patted my knee. “There’s a lot of people in here. You’re just gonna have to be patient. It shouldn’t be too much longer.”
“I don’t wanna be patient. I wanna know if that motherfucker burnt me.”
“Will you calm down?” Jasmine hissed. “People are staring at us.” She gave a weak smile to two women sitting across from us. They’d been all up in our conversation ever since we sat down.
“I don’t give a shit who’s staring. Everybody in here’s got the same damn problem as me, so they need to mind they fucking’ business ’fore I take my frustration out on them.” I glared at the women until they turned away.
Yeah, I know I was being a bitch. But we’d been sitting in that damn clinic lobby waiting for my test results for over an hour. And Jasmine had the nerve to tell me to calm down. How the hell did she expect me to do that? She wasn’t the one waiting to find out if she had gonorrhea. Just thinking about some microscopic shit crawling in between my legs gave me the heebie-jeebies. How the fuck did I let Malek do this to me? I slumped over and held my head in my hands until I finally heard the nurse call my name.
“See, I told you it wouldn’t be long.” Jasmine picked up her bag from the seat next to her, stood up, and offered me her hand.
“Yeah, but why the hell’s she yelling my name like I won the lottery? I don’t want these nosey-ass people to know who I am.” It felt like every eye in the place was on me as I walked toward the nurse.
“Please, these people aren’t worried about you,” Jasmine sighed. “They got their own problems.”
“Are you Stephanie Johnson?” The nurse was staring at Jasmine.
“Who, me? No, I’m not Stephanie. She’s Stephanie,” Jasmine said it loud enough for everyone in the lobby to hear. I wanted to smack her hand out of my face, pointing at me like the nurse couldn’t see me standing right next to her ass.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” The nurse directed me into an office. “Have a seat in here, Ms. Johnson. The doctor will be with you in a moment.”
“Damn. Put me in another room to do some more waiting,” I grumbled. Really I was just trying to hide how nervous I was.
The doctor finally came in, shuffling some papers as she sat behind her desk.
“Hi, Ms. Johnson. My name is Dr. Reed. I’m sorry I didn’t have a chance to introduce myself when I examined you earlier. But as you can see, it’s a little busy around here.”
“Look, I don’t wanna hear all that shit. I just wanna know if that motherfucker burnt me.”
“Stephanie,” Jasmine growled in embarrassment, “don’t be rude.”
“No, it’s perfectly all right, Miss. Under the circumstances, I understand her being a little impatient. So why don’t we get to the point.” The doctor glanced down at a folder in front of her. The sympathetic smile she gave me told me all I needed to know, but it hurt even worse when she said the words. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Ms. Johnson, but you’ve tested positive for gonorrhea.”
“Oh, Godl” All of a sudden Jasmine wasn’t so calm. She covered her face with her hands. The way she was acting, you’d think she was the one with the shit. I sat as still as I could in my chair, trying to hold back tears. The only thing I could think of was how much I regretted sleeping with Travis the night before.
“How do I get rid of it?” I asked in a grim tone.
“I’m going to give you two prescriptions. One is Zithromax for the gonorrhea. It’s four pills that you take at once. It’s probably going to make you pretty nauseous, but that should subside in about a day.” She scribbled on a prescription pad. “The other prescription is to treat chlamydia.”
“Chlamydia? I’ve got that too?” I yelled. “I swear to God I’ma kill Malek.”
“Well.” The doctor shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “We’re not sure about the chlamydia. We don’t do the test for it here. We send it out to a lab. What happens in a lot of cases is that chlamydia piggybacks on gonorrhea. The prescription is just precautionary, but better safe than sorry.”
“So I don’t have to take this one until you get the results?” I stared at the two slips she handed me.
“Well, we suggest you take it right away since we won’t have the results back for a few days, and it’s better to treat these things quickly. We also suggest that you refrain from any sexual contact for at least ten days.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I don’t wanna see another dick the rest of my life.” I stared at her, dying to get out of there. “Is that it, Dr. Reed?” As if that wasn’t enough.
“Yes. The only other thing I need to know is how many sexual partners you have. I know it’s a little embarrassing, but it’s a health department requirement.”
I was about to lie and say one, but Jasmine cleared her throat to get my attention. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her fold her arms across her chest, daring me to lie.
“Two.” I lowered my eyes.
“Have they been notified? Because if you’d like, we can notify them for you. Sometimes it’s easier that way.”
“No, I’ll take care of it,” I mumbled, not looking forward at all to the prospect of telling Travis that he had VD.
“Okay, Ms. Johnson.” The doctor stood. “Good luck.”
“Thanks, Dr. Reed.” I glanced at the picture of Travis on my key chain. “I’m gonna need it. Let’s go, Jasmine. I wanna get to the pharmacy and take these pills as quickly as possible.”
Jasmine pulled into my driveway, then turned to me with an ominous look. We’d just made a quick stop at the pharmacy to fill my prescription. I was about to go in the house and wait for Travis when she asked the most obvious question.
“You all right, Steph?”
“What d’you think, Jasmine?” I snapped. “I gotta go in that house, fix dinner for Travis, then wait till he gets home with the kids so I can tell him I gave him gonorrhea. So you tell me. Do you think I’m all right?” Tears were welling up in my eyes as I waited for her reply.
“No, I guess you’re not.” She took my hand and smiled weakly. “If you’d like, I’ll go in and wait with you. Travis might not act so crazy if I’m here when you tell him.”
“Nah, it’s not gonna make any difference.” I shook my head. “You go on home. Besides, I made this mess by myself, so I gotta clean it up by myself. I just hope I can think of a way to do that before Travis gets home.”
“Don’t play games with this, Stephanie,” she advised. “Tell him the truth. Lying is just gonna make it worse.” She grabbed my hand as I moved to step out of the car. “I love you, little sister. I’m here if you need me.”
“You know what, Jasmine?” I smiled at my sister with newfound respect. “I’m really starting to believe that. But why? I’ve been a bitch to you all my life.”
“Yeah, but you’re also my sister. Except for Momma and Derrick, you’re all I got.”
“I hope you feel that way after I tell Travis about this gonorrhea. ’Cause I might be knocking on your door to sleep on your couch.”
“I don’t think it’s gonna come down to that.” Jasmine tried to sound upbeat. “But if it does, you’re always welcome.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” This newfound sisterhood was hard to believe, although it was touching me. Me and Jasmine had never been close, but it was great to have someone to lean on, especially now that I’d made such a mess of my life.
“Yeah, I am serious,” Jasmine said.
I leaned over and kissed my sister’s cheek.
“Thanks, Jazz, for everything. I don’t think I coulda made it through this without you.” I stepped out of the car but stuck my head back in when a thought came to me. “Listen. I’m not sure if I’ll still be gettin’ married after all this, but if I do, I’d like you to be my maid of honor. I was gonna ask LaShawn, but with everything that’s happened, I want it to be you.” I smiled at my sister. “Think you can handle the job?”
“You damn right. I’ll be the best maid of honor a sister could ever have. I’ma throw you a shower you’ll never forget,” she promised.
“Good.” I felt good until I remembered the CVS package I was holding. “Lemme go inside and take this medicine.
“I love you, Stephanie.”
“I love you, too, Jasmine.” I closed the car door and walked toward the house, dreading the rest of my evening.
Today had probably been the worst day of my life. I had made a big mistake messin’ around with Malek, and now I was payin’ for my mistakes big-time. And I knew things would only get worse once I told Travis the truth. But as bad as things were, I was glad. I’d made a new friend today. I just couldn’t believe it was my sister.