Perfect Mother

CELIA and her mother-in-law IDORENYIN are having a discussion at the breakfast table.
IDORENYIN:  My daughter, Itoro is five years old now. It’s time for you to try for another child. Remember, you are yet to produce a son.
CELIA:  Mama, it is God who gives children and God’s time is the best. He decided when I should conceive, just as He has decided the sex of my children.
IDORENYIN:  Don’t get me wrong, Celia. I’m not blaming you. I am only pointing out the obvious. [She holds up her hand formed into a fist with one finger pointing up.] One, you are not getting younger. [She raises another finger.] Two, you have to give my son a son. I love my granddaughters, but my son needs a son to carry on his name.
CELIA:  Mama, Ani has so many uncles and cousins. There is no danger of the family name dying out.  
IDORENYIN:  [looking shocked] What are you saying? Ani’s cousin’s children are not his children! Do you want him to be the laughing stock of the whole village?
CELIA:  Of course not. But why should people laugh at him? Times have changed, Mama. People don’t place emphasis on that any more.
IDORENYIN:  Is that what you think? Because you are living here in Lagos? Let me tell you, nothing has changed in the village. I’m saying all this for your own good, Celia. My son must have a son. It is to your own advantage to be the one who gives it to him.
CELIA:  [looking at her sharply] What are you suggesting, Mama?
IDORENYIN:  I’m suggesting that you give Ani a son.
CELIA: Or else what? You will find another woman to give him one?
IDORENYIN:  You know our culture allows a man more than one wife. But you also know it is not compulsory he marry more than one. In this case, the decision is entirely in your hands. There is nothing stopping you from having a son, is there?
CELIA:  I’m not God, Mama. There is no guarantee that the next pregnancy will yield a boy.
IDORENYIN:  Then you keep on trying. That’s why it is important not to leave all these long gaps between pregnancies. I have said my piece, Celia. Think it over. Remember, I am not saying it to humiliate you. Rather, I want to save you from humiliation.
IDORENYIN leaves. CELIA rests her elbows on the table, her chin in her hand. She starts remembering.
Flashback.
CELIA is lying on a hospital bed in a private room. She is on a blood infusion. Wires connect her to a monitoring device that beeps intermittently. Her friend SANDRA is in the room with her.
SANDRA:  How are you feeling now?
CELIA:  A bit woozy. The nurse just gave me something for the pain.
SANDRA:  What did the doctor say?
CELIA:  He agrees that I am miscarrying, but he’s waiting for the results of some tests before taking further action. Did you get through to Ani?
SANDRA:  No, but I left a message with his secretary, she is trying to get him.
DR BOLU enters. 
CELIA:  Doctor is there any hope that this baby will be OK?
DR BOLU:  I’m afraid not. Nothing we have given you has controlled the bleeding. The only option we have left is surgery, and we need to do it immediately.
CELIA:   I hope this won’t happen again during my next pregnancy.
DR BOLU:  You don’t understand. The operation I want to perform is hysterectomy. I want to remove the uterus.
CELIA:  [aghast] Why?
DR BOLU:  Because we cannot control the bleeding. I have to take into account your past history. When you delivered your last child, we had problems controlling the bleeding then, too. In addition, your blood results show that your platelets are low. Those are the cells responsible for blood clotting. I warned you after your last delivery that it was inadvisable for you to have any more children, Celia. [CELIA starts crying.]
CELIA:  That means I can never have a male child.
DR BOLU:  I know this is coming as a shock to you but we’re pressed for time. We need you to sign the consent forms so we can get started. The less blood you lose the better. Is your husband going to be here soon?
CELIA:  I’m not sure. He’s on field inspection today.
DR BOLU:  We need him to sign the forms, too, if possible. 
CELIA:  For my husband to sign, the operation has to be explained to him, doesn’t it?
SANDRA:  What is it, Celia? You don’t want him to know, do you?
CELIA:  No. I don’t.
DR BOLU:  How will you hide it from him? He will know you underwent surgery.
CELIA:  But he doesn’t have to know what for. 
DR BOLU:  But from what I’ve seen of your husband, he strikes me as a very reasonable fellow.
SANDRA:  Ha! Doctor, in marriage it is better to be safe than sorry. She’s right. There is no need for him to know. 
DR BOLU:  [sighing] Your husband has a moral and legal right to know.
SANDRA:  You are her doctor. Your first duty is to her. I think the Hippocratic Oath that says something to that effect, doesn’t it?
DR BOLU is silent.
CELIA:  Unless you promise me that you won’t tell him, I will refuse to sign the consent form.
DR BOLU:  Celia! You can’t use your life as a bargaining chip.
CELIA:  [sobbing] I’d rather die than have Ani turn me out of the house and marry another woman.
DR BOLU:  Then you must hold your life very cheap. And what about your three lovely daughters?
CELIA:  Promise me, Doctor, promise me. 
DR BOLU:  OK. Stop crying. I’ll tell him you had an ectopic pregnancy and we had to operate immediately. I hope I don’t regret this.
Fade.
Refocus. CELIA is still sitting at the table.
IDORENYIN’S VOICE:  There’s nothing stopping you from having a son is there?
Fade.