STORY BY DEBORAH PAUL
OJO-CHENE-MI MY VILLAGE BRIDE
EPISODE 21
OSCAR POV
I was still in my room waiting for my order when tony barged into my room without knocking.
TONY
here you are…. what’s up?
OSCAR
I’m okay
(I replied coldly and he smiled)
TONY
I came to inform you I’m going home.
have you ever had that feeling as a child, your parents are out of town and suddenly they call telling you they are on their way back… the excitment you feel isn’t because you miss them too much, it’s because of the gifts they are bringing for you.
hearing my friend said he was leaving made me felt like a child who is waiting for candy.
OSCAR
really?
(I said with happiness in my voice)
TONY
(He looked at me strangely)
obviously someone wasn’t happy I came to spend a night.
I had to swallow ha-rd, I didn’t know I made it too obvious that he wasn’t welcome in my house….
OSCAR
what are you talking about? I’m just mad that you will choose to have fun with chenemi instead of me.
TONY
that’s new too
OSCAR
and what’s new again, tony
TONY
I have never heard you mentioned her name…. you always refer to her as either a bush girl or a bush….
He was saying but I cut h short, like hell yes I remember the names I use to call her… well I don’t feel like calling her that again so what’s the big deal?
OSCAR
why are you even leaving?
TONY
oh that, Maria came back home…. i think she had an issue with her mum or something..I nee-d to go be with her.
OSCAR
that’s very nice, you should go….. you know it’s not good to leave your woman alone and sad.
TONY
(He shook his head)
says a man who doesn’t even un-derstand his own feelings…. oga I’m out of here.
OSCAR
should I still see you off?
TONY
not to worry, Chenemi would do that…. ehen, that reminds me…. dont let your pride take away something very special fr you.
he said and walked out before I could even process what he meant.
I quickly rushed to the window to see the drama that would happen when his leaving and my guess was right.
tony opened his arm wide and she filled it with her body hu-gging him ti-ghtly too.
I couldn’t hear what they were saying but they were definitely saying something and I know they were gossiping about me.
Tony entered his car and drove away while chenemi came back to the house.
I returned from the window back to my seat and carried my laptop…. my stomach reminded me again that I had not eat…. I took my phone to call the restaurant I ordered food from… and I was rudely told to have patience that it’s human being that is cooking the meal and not machine.
What nerve, I yelled at the idiot and told them I cancel my order and ended my call…. knowing how well the manager begged me to be patronizing them…i put a call throu-ghto him immediately and complained bitterly, how bad an attendant had treated me….. he started to apologize immediately and that made me very proude of myself.
I was still forming anger when miss chenemi barged into my ro and collected my phone from my ear.
OSCAR
(Shocked)
what is the meaning of what you just did?
OJO-CHENE-MI
can we talk?
OSCAR
not right now… I’m hungry I nee-d to eat first and that call you just ended was my means to food.
OJOCHENEMI
I cooked, didn’t I? but like always you don’t want to eat my posion because I come from the village…. but seriously I’m not even bordered by that.
OSCAR
so if you ain’t bordered by it, what are you doing in my room?
OJOCHENEMI
I came to find out why you will think I’m fli-rting with Tony.
I didn’t expect that statement from her, but how did she know I discussed something like that with Tony? well, it only means that tony sold me out…. that bastard.
OSCAR
correct me if I’m wrong, you were obviously enjoying his hu-g…. forgetting you are a married woman.
OJOCHENEMI
(Shocked)
a married what?
I was shocked myself, what has gotten into me today, this is the second time in a roll that I have address this bush girl as my wife.
OSCAR
I didn’t mean you are legally my wife, or that I accept you as my wife…. what I meant to say is that you live in my house so you should respect me and not mess with my friend.
OJOCHENEMI
looking at you and listening to you right now just made me realize something…..and it’s a pity.
OSCAR
And what’s that?
OJOCHENEMI
I just realized how bitter you are… look at you, apart from tony which other friends do you have? no tell me? no one wants to be a friend to a sadiest and a nerd like you….. you are bitter my darling…. and it’s enough reason for me to pity you
Her words hit me very ha-rd, how dare her insult me… truly tony is the only friend I have but who told her I couldn’t make other friends? not that I couldn’t but I didn’t want to…. looking at her face it shows her satisfied she is giving me a piece of her mind…. but oscar never takes defeat.
OSCAR
you are just talking nonsense, and trying to avoid the main point here… stop fli-rting with my friend….wait, have you no shame? I thought he told you he has a girlfriend who stays at his place…. okay fine, let’s as-sume he forgot to tell you… I’m telling you now….tony is taken so stay away from him.
I could see the sadness in her eyes but what I wasn’t sure about was if my statement was what brou-ght the sadness or the fact I said tony is taken.
She turned her back and wanted to leave but I pulled her back for-cefully and she bumped into me….. her che-st opon mine.
It was the first time we have really come this close…. when I had that accident, the one she cause… she was close though but it was un-der pity and I was accepting the closeness un-der pretence….. but today i wasn’t pretending and for the first time in my entire life I un-derstood the true meaning of hu-gging.
she pulled away quickly and gave me a dirty slap…which immediately sent me backwards.
OJOCHENEMI
don’t you ever pull me like your slave ever again…. I’m not your maid,neither I’m I your slave.
(her eyes were already teary)
I was in total shock and disbelief, she is the one who slapped me…. but why is she the one acting like the abused?
This girl is just too dramatic for my liking…
OSCAR
I told you never to hit me again….. didn’t I?
I said charging towards her to return my own slap…. to my surprise she didn’t stand boldly looking at me eye ball to eye ball just like she did the first day we met and she slapped me.
If I could even drew closer she burst into a loud cry like a pregnant woman craving for cat fish in the middle of the night.
L
STORY BY DEBORAH PAUL
OJOCHENEMI MY VILLAGE BRIDE
EPISODE 22
TONY’S POV
Truthfully Maria didn’t leave the house and beside Oscar already knows that I find it difficult sleeping in people’s house.
oscar and I have been friends for a long time and should be comfortable in sleeping at his place by now…. but like they always say “one can learn how to use left hand when his old”
I only told Oscar that to see his reaction and his mother was right…. the fool has fallen in love without realizing it.
immediately I left their compound I parked my car at a conner and called mum.
MRS STELLA
hello son, how are you?
TONY
I’m fine mum… how are you?
MRS STELLA
I’m fine too….so how did it go?
TONY
(I smiled as if she could see me)
you were right mum, Oscar is truly in love with that girl but he doesn’t even know it.
MRS STELLA
you don’t mean it…. tell me, what really happened?
TONY
mum, oscar referred to her as his wife.
MRS STELLA
oh wow he did?
TONY
but i don’t think the girl in question likes him mum…. whenever I look into her eyes I don’t see love….i just see a girl who is busy living her life.
MRS STELLA
Then we have to make her love my son too…. do you know what this might cause my oscar if this girl doesn’t love him back?
TONY
so what should we do mum?
MRS STELLA
keep pushing the two of them….. I’m sure they will love each other as time goes.
TONY
I will try my best ma….
we talked about other stuff before I hung up…. you can’t be around chenemi and not fall in love with her…. though mum and Oscar have told me how crazy she is but I have never witness it….I have only seen her good side and I love it…. I am now afraid to even go closer to her because my feelings are beginning to change and that would only leave everyone sad and broken.
I know Maria is there, but she doesn’t even love me… since the first night I brou-ght her into my home I had admire her as a woman… but she told me plainly that she has a boyfriend who stays in turkey and would one day return to marry her.
even when I asked her how long the guy has been away and how sure is she that he would come back to her… she insisted that stanley would always he faithful and would come back to her.
I couldn’t send her away, where would my humanity go if I sent her away because she’s not in love with me or becasue she doesn’t want me.
The day oscar came over to my place and I introduce her as my lover…. she got so angry after oscar left and threaten to leave my house if I ever say she’s my woman to anyone…. In her words she said “you calling me your woman makes me feel like I’m cheating on my boyfriend, Stan would come back for me… he went to turkey so our future could be bright, I can’t hurt him”
it hurts a lot but as time went by, I started to consider her a sister and a close friend hoping I meet a woman that would love me.
I’m not supposed to fall in love with chenemi, I was only sent there to make them love each other…. what the hell is happening to me?
What would Oscar’s mum think when she finds out I’m falling in love with the same woman I’m sent to make fall in love with another man?
I started my car and drove hone feeling very sad and confused.
why ain’t I lucky with love?
OJOCHENEMI POV
It was that time of the month when my craving and crying unnecessarily start.
whenever I am on my period or expecting it, I always feel like a pregnant woman.
if I’m not crying, I’m craving for something ridiculously ha-rd to find.
I know Oscar was very shocked when he saw me crying, the confusion was written all over his face.
Normally I would stand bold whenever we are having issues, but after slapping him I felt sick inside of me and very emotional…. I tried to control my tear but it failed me and dropped like a river.
OSCAR
(he moved back from me)
I’m not slapping you again, so you can stop crying now please.
As he said that, I increa-sed my voice and even sat on the floor crying… he was confused, he didn’t know if he should touch me or yell at me….. he would bring his hand closer to my shoulder and quickly take it back…. He would yell at me asking why I’m crying as if he had done something bad to me and I will increase the tempo of voice.
After crying for close to twenty minutes, I guess he finally decided on what he really wanted…. he stretch his left hand to me and I refuse to grab it…. he bent down in front of me and grabbed my hand slowly and pulled me up to my feet.
Before I could say jack he pulled me into his arms .
OSCAR POV
I have seen people cry in front of me and beg that they keep their jobs but never, I have never been moved by anyone’s cry except my mother….. how come this girl’s tears is having effect on me?
I tried to console her, even scold her but the one I tried the more she increase her cry and it made me very restless and unhappy.
I have never seen her like this, today is totally different and she looks very different too.
First it was when tony came, she had tears in her eyes like someone who was going to break down anytime soon… and now again she’s crying like someone who had been broken.
Immediately I hu-gged her she kept quiet and relaxed her head on my shoulder like she has been crying because of the hu-g.
that moment I was convince that she likes tony and she’s hurt because I told her tony has a woman…
thinking of that made me angry even though I didn’t know why it bordered me so much that she likes tony…. I pulled her from my body and look into her eyes.
OSCAR
you are crying because of a man who already had someone he loves? how pathetic can you be.
I angrily picked my car keys and left her standing there in my room…
I had already lost my appetite for food, I will just go out and have a bottle of drink or go clubbing.
OJO-CHENE-MI POV
what is wrong with this guy? why does he think I like tony? well if tony doesn’t have a woman and he ask me out I will definitely accept…. his a cool guy and his caring unlike oscar who is just full of himself…. I left his room and went into my to take my bath and wait for my period, I know it would come because the signs were already out.
STORY CONTINUES
NOT EDITED