THE AGONY OF MARRIAGE
EPISODE 15
VICTORIA’S SPEAKING
I had checked into an h0tel that day after I had left my husband’s house but I had lived in fear. I lived in fear of him finding me but with time, that fear slowly desipated. After staying indoors for a week too scared to go out, I finally summoned courage to step into the outside world once again and I felt free like a child and less tensed than before. I went for an interview that I had applied for online and I was instantly accepted. I was told to resume work the next day and when the month ended and I was paid the sum of seventy thousand naira, although, it was nothing compared to what Daniel spent on me weekly but it felt so good to finally have my own money.
I still had close to seven hundred thousand naira which I had stolen from Daniel but I decided that living in the h0tel was fast draining my money, so I decided to rent a self contain ap@rtment where I could manage my expenses properly. I made new friends at work but I never told them anything about my past. I felt young and vibr@nt and I knew that I was finally free from the moodiness in which Daniel had imprisoned me. Sometimes, I would think of my parents and wondered what they were doing and what they thought about me but I knew that Daniel must have reported and my father must have disowned me. I didn’t care anymore anyway. It was high time I st©pped living my life for them and answering to their every whim. If my parents wanted money, then they should work for it and st©p relying on their children to marry rich men who ended up treating them like cra-p.
I felt sad whenever I thought of Chris. I had only known him for a few days but yet it felt like I had known him for years. I missed him but it was a pity that things didn’t go as planned for he had proved to me that almost all men were the same, once it c@m£ to their man-hood, they could do just about anything to get the plea-sure and relief. I had tucked him into a sweet p@rt of my memory but I knew that we were never meant to be. Although, I was still in Lagos but I had moved far away to the p@rt that I knew both men ha-rd ly ever went. Being single had earned me a lot of admirers. I even had suitors begging for my hand in marriage, but marriage was a race I didn’t want to run again, at least not yet. I still nee-ded time to heal and recover from the bondage my parents had pushed me into. All I nee-ded was a man who would prove to me that I deserve to be treated like a queen and that all men were not the same, as for now, I was going to remain single till I get tired of all the perks attached to it.
Well, on a Friday evening, after work, I had decided to go shopping in order to restock my fridge and also get some new toiletries. I was going down one aisle of the mall, checking for the things I nee-ded and unknown to me, Chris walked into the same mall and into the opposite aisle and what was only separating us was the shelf. I picked some things that I nee-ded, oblivious to his pres£nce just as he was to mine and then I turned into another aisle just as he was turning into the one I had just left. I finished shopping, paid at the counter and left. Just then Chris caught a glimpse of me throu-gh the glas-s door, he dashed outside to st©p me, calling out my name but I didn’t hear him and I got into a cab and was gone.
LINDA’S SPEAKING
My parents had given me a serious talk back at home and all I had done was meekly nod my head to whatever they said. They stated that they were in serious dilemma and if I wanted to save the family and also finish my education, then it was up to me to be the hero. Later that day, my mother had asked me to put on the most s£dûçt!vedress I had. At first, I was reluctant because I only dressed in such a way whenever I was in school but never at home because I knew that my father would be pissed if he knew the kind of lifestyle I lived in school. Although, Victoria was my sister but I was nothing like her. She was more beautiful than I was, smart, eloquent, intelligent and had a good heart. I was almost the opposite of all her qualities and that was why she had easily captured Daniel’s heart but now that Daniel had threatened to abandon us, it was also her fault and my parents couldn’t bear to return to the penury Daniel had rescued us from.
My father never saved the money he got from Daniel, all he did was spend it on getting an unnecessary chieftaincy title and also spent the rest on Big Mama, a hvge woman who ran a beer parlour two streets away. I had caught papa k!ss!ngher in her shop one night when I had gone to buy some peppersoup and he had instantly pu-ll-ed me aside and had warned me never to tell my mother. My mother on the other hand was a spendthrift. Her business was always crashing no matter how much Daniel replenished it with. She was a showoff, always wanting to attend every p@rty to show off her expensive clothes and accessories whether she was invited or not. She spent money on a lot of irrelevant things because she had the belief that Daniel would always s£nd more but now that Daniel was pu-lling out, they started to bem0@n about how they would have saved if they had known that things would turn out this way.
Well, it was my turn now and my parents had put this task to me. I was just twenty-two and in my third year in the university and it was my turn to shoulder the biggest responsibility of the family which Victoria had cast down. I was in a public transport bus, sitting next to my mother but I didn’t like the way the conductor kept oggling my expo-sed l@ps. When he glanced down at it for the umpteenth time, I slowly reached for the hem of my go-wn and tried to f0rç£ it down to my knees and my mother noticed.
“Will you st©p that, my friend?” She whispered harshly so that the other commuters wouldn’t hear her. “Leave the go-wn alone! You wore it for a purpose! How will you s£dûç£Daniel if it’s up to your knees? Don’t you know that l@ps easily attra-ct men?”
“But Mama, he is staring at my l@p.” I grumbled, gesturing with a swing of my head towards the conductor.
My mother fixed angry eyes on the conductor now and luckily caught him l!çk!ng his lower l!pas he stared at my l@p. “Bia, you dey craze?!” She snapped. “we-tin you dey look?! If f–k dey hungry you, you no fit go carry ashawo? we-tin make you dey look my pikin like that? You no dey fear? You think say na your type, common conductor supposed to dey look am? If you no respect yourself now commot your eyes from her l@p, I go woze you! (What are you staring at? If you are h—y, can’t you go patronize a prostitute? Are you not afraid? Do you think it’s your kind that’s supposed to be staring at her? If you do not respect yourself now and look away, I’ll give you a resounding sl@p!)”
“ki n lo n se iya yi gan? (What’s even wrong with this woman?!)” The conductor rasped in a gruff voice. “Iya, calm down! we-tin happen sef? Na you get my eyes? Why you just dey para anyhow? Itori kini? Itori l@p lasan! l@p wey full everywhere! l@p pere! Come, no let me change am for you o! Na your l@p I dey look?! (Mama, calm down! What’s it? Are you the owner of my eyes? Why are you just yelling anyhow? Because of what?! All because of ordinary l@p! l@p that’s available everywhere! Come, do not make me retaliate! Was it your l@p that I was staring at?)”
“You dey craze! (You are crazy!)” My mother yelled and placed her hand on my l@p, feisty as ever. “Na my pikin l@p you dey look, anupama! (It’s my daughter’s l@p you are looking at!)”
“Shiooo! See me see wahala o! Mama, cool down, this your pikin na fine girl. Na admire I just dey admire am!” He defended, rolling his shi-t to fan himself as he shouted a busst©p name.
“Admire kee you there! (Admiring will kill you!)” She almost jabbe-d a f!nger into his eye. “Go house go look your sister l@p! Useless someb©dy! (Go to your house and look at your own sister’s l@p!)”
“we-tin sef? You just dey shine eye! I no fit marry your pikin? If no be condition, you think say na conductor I wan be, I for be engineer by now!” The conductor stated.
“So you go build bridge wey go kill Lagos people abi? Abeg, commot for road, I don reach my busst©p!” My mother snapped.
The conductor tapped the roof of the bus and said, “Owa o!” The driver slowed to a st©p and the conductor stepped down and I got down.
As my mother got down, she said, “I get load for boot o. (I have a luggage in the boot)”
As the conductor walked into the boot, he mumbled, “You supposed pay owo eru o. Just give me waso. (You are supposed to pay for this load. Just give me fifty naira)”
My mother eyed him menacingly. “Come collect am na, no be only waso. Onyochi! All the look wey you look my pikin l@p, you pay?!” (Come and take it, it’s not only fifty naira. Thief! Did you pay for oggling my daughter’s l@p?)
“Sha dey go! Na so una dey do, alaroro. (You can go! That’s how people like you behave. Stingy person.)” The conductor tea-sed as he pu-ll-ed down the door of the boot then he smiled as he watched us walk away then he began to praised me. “Ha! Omo to san! Omo to dun! Fine baby! Fresh lekpa! Ha! You dey kill me! My blood dey h0t!(Ha! A girl that’s perfect! A girl that’s sweet! Fresh slim girl! Ha! You are killing me! My blood is boiling!) He jumped happily, wra-pping his arms around himself.
My mother turned and sh0t out her five f!ngerswith an open palm at him. “Waka! Oloshi! No go work! Die for there! (Don’t go and work! Die there!)” Then she r0ûghly dragged my arm and started pu-lling me towards the estate gate while I struggled with my luggage.
“Mama, forget that thing! You dey vex because I no look your own. (You are only angry because I’m not admiring yours!)” The conductor stated as he returned to seat at the edge of the seat in the doorway. Your own don crash! Your husband don knack am so tey, e don expire! (Yours has fallen! Your husband has smashed it to the extent that it has expired!)”
“Na your mama own don expire! (It’s your mother’s bu-ttocks that has expired!) My mother yelled back while the conductor simply laughed in mockery as the bus pu-ll-ed away and joined the Lagos traffic once again.
Ten minutes later, we were inside the estate in front of Daniel’s gate. The gateman who was alre-ady familiar with us ushered us in and when my mother asked if Daniel was around and the gateman replied in the affirmative. When we got into the house without knocking, we met Daniel watching soccer with a leg folded on the other knee and a remote in his hand! He rise immediately to receive us with an unplea-sant demeanor.
“What are you people doing here?!” He asked angrily. “And when did you start coming to my house unannounced?”
My mother maintained her charming smile while I finally dropped my luggage on the floor. “Ahan, in-law in-law, it hasn’t gotten to this na? No matter what has happened, we are still in-laws and you should at least welcome us first.” My mother glanced behind me and was about to sit down when Daniel st©pped her.
“I didn’t ask you to sit down and I have told you that we are no longer in-laws! If it’s not my one million naira that brou-ght you here, plea-se get out!” He pointed at the door.
My mother straightened up and her smile seemed to falter a bit. “My in-law, I know that you are still angry but that’s why I’ve come, bikonunu, plea-se calm down and at least listen to why we are here first.”
He stared ha-rd at us for a moment then sat down, resuming his former position but he was tensed and one could tell from how his foot kept tapping the floor. “It had better be worth it.” He said, muting the TV with the remote.
My mother sat down now and began, “We know that what Adanna did was very wicked and callous and her father and I have alre-ady disowned her. Do not worry, I bet you that she will realize her mistake and come begging soon. The living God that I serve has never failed me and I’m sure that wherever Adanna is right now, she’s regretting by now, because the almighty God I serve is alre-ady punishing her for us… Well…” She hit her palm with the back of the other hand and continued. “My husband and I discussed at length two days ago and we have reached a decision that will be for the good of all of us… You see Linda there?” She pointed to me who was still standing. “We have brou-ght her to you to replace Adanna.”
“What!” Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
My mother quic-kly said. “No, no, no, it’s not what you are thinking o. You can have her free. You don’t nee-d to pay any bride price at all. We will use the one you paid on Adanna’s head on her. Linda is still very young and she’s beautiful too. I un-derstand that she’s not done with school yet but she can be going from here. I can as-sure you that Linda will treat you better than her sister did and even give you a lot of children, eh? plea-se, for our sake and that of God, plea-se marry Linda as your wife and treat her well. She’s obe-dient to the core. There’s nothing that you’ll tell her that she will not do. She won’t starve you of S-x.” I cringed when my mother said that. “She will always cook your meals on time and also treat you like the king you truly are.”
My heart was pounding in my che-st now as I watched Daniel scrutinize me for a moment then he gesture with his f!nger and said after contemplating for a while. “Turn around.”
I hesitated and glanced at my mother but she s-en-sed how uncomfortable I was then snapped. “Turn around!”
Reluctantly, I awkwardly turned around, shuffling my feet. Daniel nodded in satisfaction and asked, “How old are you again?”
“I’ll be twenty two by October sir.” I answered.
“Alright.” He said then placed his other foot on the floor, sli-pping it into his sli-pper then rose. “Mama, I’ve heard you. You will have to give me some time to consider your offer but you can go now.”
My mother slowly rose to her feet and skeptically said, “Ehennn, I can go abi?”
“Yes.” Daniel nodded.
“Just like that?”
Daniel nodded again.
My mother yet hesitated, holding her handbag against her l@p. “In-law, are you sure?”
“I’m very sure, just go!” Daniel almost snapped.
“Okay o. Odinmma! (All is well)” She said then gestured to me. “Oya, Linda kai ga. (Linda, let’s go)” She gestured with her hand towards the door.
Daniel quic-kly said now. “No Mama, without her.”
My mother gave him a confused look. “Without her?”
“Yes Mama.”
“You want her to stay here with you?” She pointed at the floor with her two index f!ngerswith her eyes fixed on him over her shoulder.
“Yes, how else do you expect me to test her and see if she will be any different from her elder sister if she does not stay here with me?” He said.
“Oh…” Then she chuckled. “You are right…” She glanced at me and grinned. “Linda, plea-se don’t fail us, O? Treat him very well.”
“Yes Mama.”
“I’ll come tomorrow to check on you.”
“Okay Mama.”
She started for the door when she remembered something then paused then she slowly turned to look at Daniel with a weird smile on her face that I felt that she was grinning too much and she only did that when she wanted something. “Erhhh… In-law…” She began carefully. “You know we spent a lot to get here… Just give me small…” She fli-cked three f!ngersof her right hand on the palm of her left hand to indicate money. “…ego… You know that man is nothing without money.”
Daniel simply shook his head and went upstairs. As soon as he was gone, my mother began to tell me all the things to do and what not to do. She even told me to pu-ll my go-wn higher so that I showed more skin. Daniel returned soon and handed her fifty thousand naira. She praised him, blessed him, thanked him and finally left. When we were all alone in the house, I shyly stared at the floor, even too scared to breathe out loud. Daniel approached me now, placed his f!ngersun-der my chin and lifted my face up to his. He scrutinized my facial pictures for a moment then let me go as he said,
“You are quite pretty but you don’t have all the curves of your sister, but since your parents are desperate to keep me as an in-law, I think you’ll do. You’ll pay every dime your sister stole from me.” He stated then started to take off his shi-t while I stared at him, puzzled.
“Uncle, what are you doing?”had regarded as my uncle for years.
“Are you deaf?” He asked harshly. “Take your clothes off! I’m sure that this is p@rt of the reason your mother brou-ght you here and I’m intend to make the best out of it.
I watched him take off his shorts to reveal his bo-xers which was so low on his h!pthat I could see the V line of his pvb!c and the t©p of his pvb!c hair and when I saw him growing in his bo-xers, my eyes grew round and I began to sweat in dre-ad.
To Be Continued