Series

Mended Mirror - Part 4

 

Standing was a startled Nurse Yinka, her white overall pulled up indecently to her fair fleshy thighs, three buttons was undone revealing a white lace bra barely holding together her coconut coloured, coconut shaped substantial boobs begging to be freed. Emeka himself was shocked, his mouth formed into a big ‘O’. I swallowed hard. I was about to address Yinka when she hurriedly gathered herself and bolted out of the office. I made to follow her when Emeka’s voice stopped me on my tracks.

“Please Sophia, don’t do this. It’s not what you think”

I turned around and faced him. He was right. Our elders used to say that if you went home and saw another man having fun with your wife on your matrimonial bed, you shouldn’t blame the man, blame your wife.

“It’s not what I think? I just saw a nurse half naked in your office with you staring at her like someone whose hormones is over the roof and you stand there telling me it’s not what I think?” I was careful with the tone of my voice because I didn’t want to draw attention from outside the office.

“Please hon, just calm down. I know what you’re thinking based on what you just saw. You are thinking that I’m cheating on you and I understand. Who wouldn’t think that given the scenario but it’s not what happened”.

“Then what the heck happened?” my gentle tone was a betrayal of the turmoil raging in me.

“You know Yinka always had a thing for me but I never thought she would go as far as seducing me. She came into my office to deliver the report I had asked for and then she started her tricks” he really sounded cool for someone who just got caught in the act.

“Really now? How come your face looked like someone who was ready to pounce on her and eat her?”

“I was surprised, shocked to say the least. Please you have to believe me. There is nothing between Yinka and I would never hurt you intentionally, you know that.” I kept quiet. His voice reeked of honesty. He could be telling the truth. He had ample excuses to cheat on me while we were still in school but he never did. He was a fine gentleman with high moral standards. Another thing, I didn’t really catch him doing the ‘Act’. I looked up at him.

“You do believe me, right?” he asked me beaming that smashing, dimpled smile of his that I could never get used to. I merely nodded to his question and returned his smile. He heaved a sigh of relief and gave me a hug. He finished up with what he was doing and was about leading me out of his office.

“What are you doing?” I asked him a bit surprised.

“We are going for our date?” he answered looking puzzled.

“Dressed like this?” I waved at his overall. He followed my gesture.

“Oh my! I think I’m beginning to have amnesia. I’m getting old you know” he winked at me “give me a sec,” he rushed back into the office and alighted few minutes after in an entirely new outfit.

“I don’t think I’ve seen that before” I said looking him all over

“You mean this? It’s a gift from Yinka,”

“You don’t mean to tell me that …” I was saying but he cut me short with his laughter.

“Come on, loosen up. It’s not from her; it’s a gift from a patient. A female patient” he added, emphasizing on the female.

“You think it’s funny?” I asked him in mock anger.

“Nope, I think you look adorable when you are angry?” he laughed and pulled me closer to him as we strode out of the building.

The venue for our date happened to be in his house. He had ordered a well prepared sumptuous meal of coconut rice, a chilled bottle of wine in ice cubes and a sizzling sweet looking pizza with the inscription “YOU HV MY HEART” engraved on it with pepperoni. My stomach grumbled rather loudly in approval of the feast set before it and I laughed.

“Ohh! That’s very sweet of you honey” I turned to him and gave him a kiss, playing with his cheeks, he laughed.

“Thank you very much for this appetizing surprise. I appreciate this”

“You are very welcome my love. Now, enough of that talk, let’s eat before the underfed worms in your bowels eat us all” I laughed. Yes, we laughed. We ate our food before settling down to the romantic pizza.

As we ate it, we watched the ongoing series of “ARROW”. We played chess (you don’t think I play chess? I do - I was a sore looser). We cuddled while listening to soft music. We cuddled more, kissed and smooched. We had a wonderful time that evening before I decided it was time I went home. When he brought me home, we cuddled, smooched and kissed more before waving goodbyes. It was an exciting date if you asked me – not quite the one I imagined, but way better. Did we discuss the “BIG” problem? Nope, I didn’t want to spoil the evening with my problems, tomorrow is another day.

I had to knock like this three times before the gateman lazily opened the gate, stretching his arm, rubbing his eyes, yawning and in the process spreading the glory of his breath.

“Good evening madam”

“Good evening Taiye, I thought you are a night owl, why did you go to bed so early today”.

“Ha – madam me no be owl. I just tire na im make me sleep” he replied me in a slurry voice. I glanced at my watch and let out a gasp when I saw the time. It was past 11. I hurried to the house as Taiye went back to his beauty sleep after closing the gate. The lights suddenly came on as I quietly closed the door so as not to awake my family. I spurned to see my father in his night gown staring at me, hands akimbo.

“Where are you coming from Sophia?” he asked me his gaze boring into my very skin.

“Good evening Dad. I’m just coming from Emeka’s place” I answered him.

“You mean Emeka your fiancé, the one you are yet to get married to? And he, being so much of a gentleman, thought it right to bring you home at this ungodly hour? And you didn’t bother to place a call to your family who was worried sick for you?”

“She called me” I heard my mum’s voice. I glanced up to see her descending the stairs in the elegant form and manner of someone who had seen better years.

“Really now?” My father asked cocking his right eye brow which meant that he knew what my mother was trying to do, but my mother maintained a straight face.

“I called her with Emeka’s cell phone. My battery was down” I intervened with another invention.

“I see!” he said nodding his head “then what about your car? If he brought you home, that only means you didn’t go out with your car which I happened not to see parked in the compound either when I returned from work.”

I kept quiet. That was the real trouble. How do I tell him that I just sold the car he bought for me?

“Sophia, where is your car?” he said slowly this time, fixing his gaze on me, he must have noticed my uneasiness and knew something was wrong because he asked me again, this time his voice went a notch high.

“Hmm…” I cleared my throat and faced him. “Dad, there is no easy way to say this, so, I’ll just say it. I sold it. I’m really sorry but I didn’t think a car was a required luxury right now, given our situation”.

“How dare you Sophia? How dare you sell the car I bought for you?” He was furious now.

“Dad, like I said earlier I’m really sorry. I was desperate, I needed the money.”

“Will you shut up? Do you know what you’ve just done? This is not just about you. You don’t sell a gift given to you by someone not to talk of your own father.”

“Sophia, I think you’ve lost it. You shouldn’t have sold the car, that was your father’s gift to you” my mum spoke up.

“Mum, I was desperate. I didn’t really have much of a choice.”

“You know you do have a choice. One that’s so easy” he was saying.

“And what would that be? To marry Samuel? I would never do that”.

“Oh! So that’s why you were inimical to him when he came to take you out for lunch?”

“So, its about Samuel, right? It has always been about him. You are not really concerned about the car, you are just angry I didn’t give in to your schemes with Samuel. So, what now? He reports to you every encounter he has with me?”

“You can say whatever you want to say Sophia but I’ll never forgive you for what you did, for selling my gift to you” he turned and went upstairs. As soon as he was out of earshot, my mum drew close to me.

“You went quite overboard this time Sophia? You know I’m with you but you are totally out of line this time. You are losing your grip. I can’t believe you just talked to your father like that. Where is the sweet little girl I used to know?”

“I’m sorry mum. I know I’m not quite myself but then who would be in my shoes?” I asked her, spreading my hands. She smiled ruefully and instead of answering my question, said.

“You know, you’re quite your father’s daughter. You maybe a woman but whenever I look at you, I see a younger him. You have his looks, his brilliance and of course his stubbornness. I hope you two get past this but I’m not sure he’ll ever forgive you for selling that car. Take it easy” she patted my back and then followed my Dad upstairs.

I slumped into the nearest sofa and held my head in my hands. The whole thing was driving me crazy. My father has changed a great deal and so have I. The sweet haven I’ve always longed to come home to was gone. This house had become a living hell for me. I could see and feel the toll this marriage issue was taking on my family and my relationship with them. When will this end? I asked myself for the umpteenth time.

Mended Mirror (Part 3)

I walked away from their room and headed to my own room to start my day properly by giving thanks to my Creator. My sis was already in the kitchen by the time I was done with my devotion. The morning passed in a blur as I couldn’t concentrate on anything. Nobody wanted to be the first to say anything as if we all had an unspoken agreement to let the matter rest for a while. Even on the dining table, apart from the ‘Good morning’ which rolled mechanically out of our lips and flimsy attempts by Mabel to start a little conversation, we all ate in silence and then drove to church.

The tension in the car was stifling, I was just too glad when we finally arrived the church premises. As I walked into the church I felt relieved. As always, the esteemed choir of Christ the Ark Mission did their rendition, singing, with their glorious voices, praises to God even as the congregation joined in. There is nothing like being in the presence of God. I felt refreshed and rejuvenated in the spirit.

When the pastor climbed the pulpit and started his sermon on ‘Obedience brings blessing’ I felt as if he was in secret connivance with my father to stop my marriage to Emeka. In his high-pitched voice, he gave bible references, emphasizing on each one, where obedience brought goodness and blessings. He also cited quotations in the bible where disobedience had brought about strife, pain and misfortune. As I listened to him, I couldn’t help but reflect on my plight. I knew my stand in this issue but then what about my family problems? What was I going to do about them? I was confused. I was still thinking when I heard the pastor say “let’s us rise up and pray”. Whoa! The service was already drawing to a close. I felt someone nudge me from behind as I stood up; I swirled around to see Emeka smiling at me. He looked dashing as always. Once the service was dismissed, he came over to me.

“Hey babe, surprised?” he asked arching his right eye brow

“I never thought you will give in to my request” I replied him, wide eyed

“Well, I thought it was high time I got acquainted with your church. How are you doing? Not bad I guess, judging from how gorgeous you look”

“Apart from the wedding hiccups, I guess I’m doing okay. What about you? How are you coping?” I asked him as we made to the car park.

“I’m doing ok. Babe, I wish I could stay a bit longer to greet your parents but I really have to rush to the hospital now. My shift is almost due” he gave me a peck on the forehead “please extend my greetings to your family and tell them I’ll visit very soon and don’t worry, this won’t be the first time I will visit your church” he added when he noticed the small frown on my face, then hurried to his car.

I stood there and watched him drive out as I waited for my family to come out from the auditorium.

The evening of that same day, as we sat in the parlour like a council of elders having a meeting, the issue was raised. My father related the family problems to us. He didn’t forget to make mention of how my getting married to Sam would put an end to the problems. When he finished, he sat down. He looked from one face to the other, trying to discern what we were thinking, as we all kept silent and were in deep thought. Once or twice when our eyes met and locked, he made sure to give me a frightening glare as if to scare me into changing my mind before dragging his eyes off me. After what seemed like ages, my brother Andrew broke the cold silence by clearing his throat.

“Dad, Mum, with the situation of things, I don’t think it’ll be wise for us to continue our studies abroad. We could transfer to good schools here in Nigeria. I’m already in my fourth year in Mech. Engine, I don’t mind finishing…”

“I’ll never let that happen” Dad cut him short “My children, I mean each and every one of them, must finish their studies abroad. I cannot entertain the idea of having them transfer to schools here given the corrupt educational system we have in Nigeria. I won’t allow that”.

“But Dad, what do you want to happen? I bet the money that is spent on our tuition three semesters will be enough to clear whatever debt we owe. Mum’s clinic can wait for awhile” it was Mabel this time voicing her thoughts. I mentally thanked my siblings for being on my side.

“My answer is no. I’m still the head of this family and my decision is final. None of you will transfer here; in fact, you will do well to continue your studies without any disruption. I’d rather go to jail than to bear the thought of having you transfer here” his voice was growing louder by each word he uttered.

“And how do you intend to still take care of this family from jail?” my mother who has been keeping silent all this while finally spoke up. “How do you intend to pay their fees? How do you intend to continue running your law firm and brush up Sophia while rotting in jail?” she continued spewing question after question while her gaze trained unwaveringly on my father, challenging him.

From the way he was clenching and unclenching his right fist, what he normally does whenever he is tensed up, I could see he was trying to maintain his cool. My heart went out to him, for a man who had suffered all through his youth and who had single handedly sponsored himself and his siblings through school, I really understood where he was coming from. I understood him from his point of view. I understood what he was fighting for. Without so much as responding to my mother’s rhetorical questions, he stood up and went for the stairs. At the top of the flight of stairs that led to our bedrooms he turned over his shoulder and said, “we will continue this meeting later when you all are in the right presence of mind or when you have better alternatives to solving this problems aside from Sophia getting married to Sam” with that he turned and continued his journey to his room.

We glanced at each other and kept quiet. All through the meeting I didn’t say a word for fear of escalating the already stifling tension but I was deep in thought. As much as I’m grateful for my siblings’ willingness to help me, I couldn’t bear the thought of having them transfer to Nigeria. That would be selfish of me and I’m sure that it definitely will have future repercussions. I didn’t want them regretting making this sacrifice for me in the near future, especially for Andrew who was in his final year. As the first child and graduate in the family, all eyes were on me to do something and something I was going to do. I had reached my decision.

“Andrew, Mabel, I won’t let you guys suffer for my own selfish desires. You will continue your studies abroad. This is what we gonna do. You two are smart enough, so, obtaining scholarship grants won’t be that much of a hassle. The money from my shares in Shell should be able to cover your tuition for the next semester and take care of your miscellaneous expenses to give you enough time to apply for the grants and look for other ways of sustaining yourselves in school like the work study programme. As for Dad’s debts, we’ll find a way round it” I turned to my mum, “Mum, how did Dad come about such exorbitant debts?”

“About 7 years ago when my clinic was erected, your Dad took a long term loan to cover for the building expenses and the acquisition of the necessary facilities and equipments” she swallowed and continued “we’ve been paying the money and the interests from the returns I got from the hospital but lately things got complicated, we’ve not been able pay the yearly returns for two years and it just accumulated. The bank is demanding for their yearly returns with the accrued interests on top by the end of this year, that’s 6 months from now, else, my facility will be shut down and claimed by the bank” she blinked to hold back tears from spilling down her face “my life work would go down the drain but I really don’t care if that happens, all I care about now is for…” her voice was croaky by now.

“That won’t happen mum” I interrupted her before she could break down “I promise I will do everything in my power to prevent that from happening” I assured her and hugged her tightly. This was time for Plan B. I would need to meet with Emeka.

***

The early morning sun found me in the office of one of my friends who was a car dealer, negotiating on the amount I was selling my car. The new car my father had bought me for my success party was a Toyota Camry 2013 model; it was still brand new because I hardly used it. My plan had been to use it for office work but I had to sell it now. I knew my father would never forgive me for selling his present from him to me but that was the least of my worries now, first things first. I had less than one week to set my plans in motion before I start working in my father’s firm, so, I had to do whatever I had in mind fast.

Immediately we reached an agreement, I zoomed off to Shell office in Lagos Island to sell my shares there. It was a rigorous process, by the time I was done, it was already evening and I was famished. I rushed home to prepare for my date with Emeka as we had discussed earlier on phone just to meet Sam talking to our gateman. Mtchw! Had it been I really had to change into something suitable for my date with Emeka, I would make a U-turn and gone somewhere else. When he saw me, he beamed his fake, gorgeous smile, stretching his arms for a hug but I turned from him.

“Ah…so you are still doing this? By the way, where is your car? I don’t see it anywhere” he asked me, a tinge of mockery in his voice like he knew about my family’s financial snag. I mentally slapped myself for not making a U-turn when I had the chance.

“It’s none of your business. Why are you here?” I asked him putting up my most disgusting serious face.

“Come on… a little courtesy here, I’m not preying on you” he said self-righteously “How about we go out for dinner?”

“Sam, how many times do I have to tell you that I have a fiancée I’m engaged to marry? If you are looking for someone to flirt with, you are chasing the wrong person. I don’t have time for your games” I blurted out at him. He rolled his eyes and said.

“I really wonder what you see in that goon that you want him so badly. Do you really think he’s a saint as you make him out to be? Hey! Look at me, I’m handsome, intelligent and super rich, why don’t you love me?”

Hehe! Who does this guy think he is sef? And how dare he call my Emeka a goon? If he was looking for some drama, he just got himself one.

“How dare you call Emeka, my darling, a goon?” I asked him in measured tones “who do you even think you are?” the tone of my voice was raising “Huh! President Obama’s son? See, you are not even half the man Emeka is. I won’t stand for you insulting Emeka, you hear me? In fact, the next time I hear you call him names, only God knows what will happen to you that day” by now I was yelling at him. He just stared at me, mouth agape, not knowing what he did wrong to have caused such outburst from me. I hissed, turned and got into the house, slamming the door behind me.

He must have gone when he recovered from my outburst because when I came out from the house after dressing up for my date, he was nowhere to be found. I heaved a sigh of relief and trotted out of the compound.

I waved down a cab and boarded it to LUTH (that’s where Emeka worked). Instead of him picking me up, I was going to him, “I was going to surprise him” I thought, smiling to myself. I glanced at my watch, it was 5:30pm, one hour clean from our agreed time. What do I care? I had a lot to discuss with him anyways. I took a cursory look at my reflection in the upheld mirror on my palm, satisfied by what I saw; I alighted when the taxi man pulled up in the front of the big gate that led to the hospital complex, paid him and made my way into the hospital to Emeka’s office.

A few heads turned as I strode elegantly down the hallway, I greeted some nurses and halted in the front of Emeka’s office to adjust my knee length move coloured gown, taking a moment to control the excitement that rose to my face before turning the door knob. I opened the door, smiling at the image I created in my head of his surprised expression as I shouted “Surprise!” swerving round in delight to face him, but what I saw quelled whatever funny feelings I had at that moment, distorting the perfect picture I had painted of our evening out. Even the grumbling in my stomach by hungry worms begging to be fed fell silent as if perceiving the tense atmosphere.

Mended Mirror (Part 2)

The next Saturday, Emeka came to our house with his father, two of his kin and a few friends. I was in the kitchen preparing a sumptuous meal of vegetable soup with goat meat and pounded yam for the dinner when I heard my mum welcome them. The soup teemed with sungu, kanda and other little, little fish cut into tiny bits just the way my father liked it. I quickly rinsed my hands and went to peep. My eyes fell on him. He looked more handsome and fresh in his Senator’s Ankara shirt and trousers. I don’t know for how long I stood there looking at him when I felt someone nudge me from behind.

“Hmmm… love nwa nti nti. What are you doing here behind the curtain? Won’t you go and greet your prospective husband” she teased. My little sister had a scary way of sneaking up on people.

“What? I can’t go there looking like this Mabel. I’ll have to change into something suitable”

“Go on then. I’ll finish up with the dishes and set the table” she said warmly.
I quickly went to freshen up and in a matter of minutes I was bending on one knee as I greeted my future fathers-in-law, Emeka and his friends.

“Nwa oma. Acharaugo. Bia nwokem isara anya” one of the elders was saying. My mum informed them that food was ready and as we went to the dining; Emeka discreetly snatched my hand and gave it a tight squeeze, grinning from ear to ear.

The meal was a good one. I heaved a sigh of relief as they ceaselessly complimented my cooking in their Ugwueke accent, some of them even asking for more. When dinner was done with, they went back to the parlour with my parents as I and Mabel cleared the table. I was about to return to my peeping when my mum came rushing to me.

“Ada, you’ve been summoned” I followed her to the parlour.

“Emeka, is she the one?” Emeka’s father asked him, pointing at me.

“Yes Dad” he replied nodding his head gently.

I was asked to go back to what I was doing as they continued their discussion. I went to join my sister in the kitchen.

“Sis, you are really lucky to have Emeka. He is not just handsome; he is everything a woman wants in a man. He is matured, good-natured and he has a good heart, very much different from Sam”.

“Yea, I know” I agreed with her “but I think Sam is a nice guy too. He may be childish and very conceited, but he is a good man. He’s just not my type”.

“You could be right but I prefer Emeka to him” she said in a matter of fact manner

“Shee you are preparing to have a dozen of cute children?” she winked at me.

“Dozen ke? You are not serious. I think I’ll just have four – two boys and two girls” I said dreamily.

Just then my younger brother Andrew came in from the wedding of one of his closest friends. We filled him in on everything and he never stopped smiling.

“Wow! That means I won’t be seeing you often in no time. I’d really miss you”.

“I will miss you guys as well but I’ll be with the love of my life and that’s what matters most, that’s if Dad and Mom will stop their craziness about Sam”.

“I’m sure they’ll come around soon enough especially now Emeka has taken the first step” my kid sister assured me.

“Yea, I agree. Whoa! One gone, one more to go. I wonder when someone will come thief this one here” my brother said jokingly, pointing at my kid sister who threw a playful punch at him in mock anger. We all laughed.

“Nne, your guests are about to go, come and bid them goodbye” my Mum said from the door, startling us.

We went to the parlour and bid our farewells. I walked Emeka to his car.

“You really look ravishing in this your Senagalese…abi Senator” I complimented him. He smiled.

“And you look rather sumptuous in your off-shoulder cultural outfit just like your food”. I laughed. We kissed. What started out as a mild kiss turned into a deep and passionate one. I was pleasantly surprised. We’d never kissed so passionately in the public before. I watched him enter his car and waved at him as he and his train drove out of our compound.

I turned and went into the house to meet my father pacing up and down impatiently, his face a mixture of uncertainly and confusion. I walked up to him.

“Dad, is there any problem? You don’t look too happy for someone who just met his prospective in-laws”.

“Why would I be happy?” he barked “didn’t I make myself clear that you are going to marry Sam. What’s even wrong with you?”

I was shocked. My Dad had never had such an outburst before ever since I knew him. He seemed to realise that I was shocked because he calmed down and spoke more composedly.

“Ada, I’m only doing this for your own sake. I don’t want you or your siblings to experience what I had to go through to reach where I am today. Please, listen to me”.

“Dad, if you really love me and want the best for me as you claim, you would consent to my marrying Emeka” I replied him.

“No dear, you have to marry Sam, he will guaranty you a good life and future. You will never have to work or suffer”.

“On the contrary Dad, I would love to earn my own money and not depend on my man. I’ll never consent to being a housewife or anything close to it. If you don’t want me to work in your firm that’s okay by me, I’ll just look for job elsewhere” I stood my ground.

“No!” he said furiously “you will marry Sam and that is final” he turned to leave. I finally lost it.

“Dad! What’s this with Sam anyway? You know, I’ve tried to understand you but I just don’t get it anymore. About two years ago, when I came back to Nigeria to introduce Emeka to you, you were all smiles. We got engaged right away. In fact you and Mum wanted us to get married immediately but we decided to a least finish school and stand on our own first. I wonder what is wrong with the same person you approved of for me two years ago now” I was frenzied; tears were rolling freely down my cheeks. He looked at me. I could tell by the sadness in his eyes that he didn’t like what was going on. He slowly gathered himself and went upstairs while I kept crying. My mother and siblings came to console me.

“Don’t worry dear. I’ll talk to him. Its okay” my Mum consoled me.

That night I couldn’t sleep. I rolled from one end of my bed to the other end. I was restless. I kept praying for the morning to come. Finally around 4am, I slept off. It was like I hadn’t slept for 10 minutes when my alarm clock started buzzing annoyingly, indicating that it was already 5am. I dragged myself out of the bed to the bathroom to pee when I heard voices from my parents’ bedroom. I remembered instantly that Mum promised to talk to Dad and hurriedly tip toed to their bedroom door to eavesdrop, that’s when I heard it all.

“Darling, you went quite overboard yesterday. First, you threatened her and yesterday of all days; you couldn’t even keep your cool ten minutes after your prospective in-laws drove out before bursting out on your daughter. It’s just too much. I think we should stop this”.

“Nnem, I apologise for the way I reacted yesterday and I know that I owe our daughter one too. But you understand why I have to do this. We are in great debt and you need to upgrade your beauty clinic to international standard by purchasing the latest techs. You are also aware that our two children are still in school overseas and you know how costly their tuition fee is not to talk of other miscellaneous expenses, but all these can be attended to if Sophia get married to Sam. His father will invest in your clinic and our debts will be settled” he said.

“I’m well aware of all that but we can’t sacrifice the happiness of our daughter. The initial plan was to see if she could at least like Sam before we cajole her into marrying him but the love she has for Emeka is too strong. You saw how she broke down before you and honestly I really like Emeka for her. Please, Dim, let’s reconsider this. We can always find a way out of our current predicament. Our children can transfer to good schools here in Nigeria and we can use the money from the Forex business to settle our debts. My clinic can wait for awhile”.

“That’s another thing” there was a little silence, then he continued “I was informed yesterday by my PA that Liberty Reserve has been shut down. My account is empty”.

I was shocked. How could they keep so much from us? Do they think we are still kids? For Christ’s sake we are adults, we could contribute, no matter how little to lessen the burdens on their shoulders. After a long pause, I heard my Mum shout.

“Oh my God, what do we do? We are done for!” I couldn’t bear it anymore. I rapped on the door. There was a little hesitation and then the door swung open. I stormed in.

“Dad, how could you? How could you keep all these from us? For crying out aloud we are a family and no matter what we stick together. No matter what we stay together, we suffer together. I don’t know why you hid all these from us for so long. Did you think we couldn’t handle it? How come you still see us as kids?”

All the while I talked to him, he was quite. I went to my mother and consoled her, reassuring her that all will be well.

“If you’ve been eavesdropping, which is a very bad attitude on your side, I guess you heard everything and I presume that you understand why you should marry Sam” he said calmly.

I looked at him incredulously. I believe my Mum was amazed as well because she shook her head and said.

“No darling, we are not going to stand in the way of our daughter’s happiness. We’ll find pull through this. We will” she said confidently “Sophia, could you please excuse us for a while?” as I was about to leave she said “hey, no eavesdropping”. I nodded and went out. As I left I could hear them arguing.

Mended Mirror (Part One)

He made a face in response to what the little girl said drawing a chain of protests from the child but then he whispered something into her ear and her face lit up immediately. He tickled her and she laughed convulsively. The mother just looked on as the kind doctor played with her daughter. Her face bore the expression of someone who was surprised at something.

Emeka had always been like that since the first day I met him. It happened that I was admitted into the University of Birmingham and was having a hard time sorting myself out at the Administrator’s office on that particular day when he walked in. He was tall, dark and handsome but what I liked most about him was his cute dimples which deepened whenever he smiled at something the pretty young woman attending to him said. He was done in no time and was about to leave when I approached him for help. He willingly agreed to help me and ever since I’d always depended on him. He had been the shoulder I cry on in times of difficulty, the ear that listens to all my problems, the eyes that see more than I could say and the mouth from whose depth oozed words of wisdom and encouragement. He understood the feelings of people very well and always knew the right thing to say to make you feel better whenever you are down. It’s like he was a fountain of happiness. He was more than a friend. He was like a father, a brother and a best friend, all combined in one, to me. Being with him I was able to pull through the loneliness of studying far away from my family and friends. But all that changed when Sam came into the picture.

Unlike Emeka who came from a humble background and was only studying under scholarship, Sam was the only heir to his father’s oil company and never really worked for anything all his life. He reeked of oil money and his arrogance stank to the heavens. He had walked up to me at the counter in a shopping mall, overtly confident that he’ll sway me by offering to foot my bill but when I politely rejected his offer he was surprised. As I made to walk past him after paying for the things I bought, he grabbed my hand and willed me to listen to me. He flashed me a charming smile which revealed a perfect set of teeth and at that moment I took a little time to take in his elegant stance. He was clad casually in a white dotted brown shirt and a pair of white trousers which fitted perfectly his slightly built tall frame and complemented his light skin. He had on a matching brown Moccasin shoes and a Hamilton Jazz Master Traveler GMT watch. He looked simple yet gorgeous. I looked up at him and met his beautiful brown eyes. I had no idea that my jaw slightly drooped till he lifted his hand from my wrist and touched my jaw. My cheeks were aflame with embarrassment, just then he said something annoying to me. I was embarrassed all the more and to rescue myself from the awkwardness I felt, I hauled abuses at him and stormed out, conscious of the side glances I got from the people around. Who does he think he is anyway? Just because of the way I looked at him he already thought I’d fallen for him? Mtchew! If there was anything I didn’t like in men, that was conceit. I didn’t like guys who are overblown with whatever they have especially all this spoilt rich kids who don’t know a thing about life.

I actually thought that was the very last I’d see of him till few months ago when I returned to Nigeria after my graduation from the law school to take over my father’s chambers. My dad had organized a party to celebrate my outstanding performance and also used the opportunity to introduce me to his big clients of which Sam’s father happened to be one of them. How did I know? Sam was with him, his face lit up in smug satisfaction as he saw my shock and confusion. The appropriate introduction was made and what followed next from that day onwards was a stream of irritating visits from him and the inevitable matchmaking of my parents. All this while I kept this from Emeka, I thought of it as something insignificant to worry about till it reached the extent my father made it an issue and never failed to coax me, at the slightest opportunity, to grab with both hands the opportunity to live a life of affluence. I tried to make my parents see reason, that even if Sam appears to be good looking, wealthy and maybe smart, he wasn’t my type and even if he was that I was already in love with someone else. My two siblings were on my side but my parents would have none of it. They were of the opinion that I’ll eventually love him and that even if Emeka was a good catch, he still would not guaranty me a good future. Now I really had to talk with Emeka over this but as I watched him from the see-through door of a patient’s ward and saw how happy he was, laughing and joking around, I lost the heart to relay to him what I had in mind. I had no intention of putting a frown on that happy face of his.

“Ah…Sophia, you are here. Looking good as I always” Nurse Yinka said, jerking me out of my reverie.

“Good day Nurse. How’s everything going? ” I managed to say.

“Good. We thank God. I suppose you are here to see Doctor Emeka…ah, here he is. I’ll go ahead”.

“Alright then. Have a nice day”. She sashayed away, her hips swinging more than normal. I stifled a laugh as I noted the obvious reason for the extra swing.

“Hi babe. How are you doing? Wait … are you stalking me?” he asked, he lips curling slightly into a smile.

“I see I’m disrupting your booming network of admirers. I sha hope it doesn’t turn into a Doctor-Nurses thingy” I said, a mock frown on my face.

“Hey, come on. This is a free world. We have freedom of expression”. He said, his smile widening into a big grin. He pulled me into a tight embrace with him.

“I’ve missed you dear. I miss you every passing minute. I wish you were a nurse so that I’ll never lose sight of you”.

“I love you hon” I said burying my face on his shoulder. God! I could stay with him like this for eternity. After some time, I withdrew from the embrace.

“Let’s get moving hon if we don’t want to be late for our reservation”. And with that we walked out of the hospital to the car park, huddled against each other like a long lost couple who just found themselves.

The drive to the restaurant was short and in no time we were seated at our table in Drumstick. The pretty waitress approached us and took our order. In no time, she reappeared with our food and left us. I stared at the sumptuous food of Fried Rice and Snails before me and made an attempt to eat but I had no appetite. I managed to swallow three spoonfuls of rice after long intervals of idly turning over the rice as I contemplated on what I was about to tell him.

“Darling, what’s wrong? You’ve hardly touched your food and you seem really worried” he asked concerned.

“Honey, there is something I want to discuss with you. The thing is I really don’t know where to start” I replied him, confused on how to start.

“You can start from anywhere. You know I will understand, okay? Tell me, what’s troubling you?” he urged me on.

I related to him everything that had transpired between Sam, my parents and I. When I was done with my story he said nothing. He seemed in thought and the few minutes it took him before he finally spoke seemed like eternity to me.

“Babe, I can’t believe that you kept this from me for too long. It would have been better if you had told me earlier; it wouldn’t have gotten to this point” he said coolly.

“I’m really sorry. I never imagined it would reach this extent. I’ve always known my parents to be reasonable people. I have no idea what has gotten into them. I apologise”.

“It’s alright” he said touching my hand “we’ll get through this. We’ll find a way around it but you have to promise me that you won’t hide anything from me again. I mean anything.”

“I promise. I will never keep anything from you again. I wouldn’t spare even the minutest detail of my lingerie collection”. He laughed.

“Hey, I’m serious”

“Of course you are and I mean what I’ve just said” He gave my hand a light squeeze then he said

“So, um… I guess we’ll have to speed up our arrangement”

“Yea, I guess so” he seemed a little worried “hey, don’t worry. I got everything under control”. I assured him.

“Okay, I’m a tad worried but I trust you” he beamed me a smile “let’s get back to our dinner”.