Disclaimer: This story is not based on any particular person's life story. It is a combination of several life stories.
I had heard so many "man-problem" and "confusion" stories this year and I've been struggling for a bit to find a way to pass on the moral of the stories without jeopardizing confidentiality and trust. I finally figured it was better to piece it all together in a single short story, taking a bit from everything I know.
To all my readers, I hope you find yourself or the person you're with in one of the characters and in the process, find inspiration to decipher whether you're choosing the right one...
*Contains Nigerian/Igbo slangs.
Enjoy :-)
Chapter
1
“What's up with the solemn
faces, ladies?” Nne sashayed into the room to meet her 3 best friends.
“And what’s that smell?” she added almost
in a hiss.
“Sit down abeg. Always trying to
cause a ruckus. The smell is from my neighbors cooking their native food” Chi
said shifting her balance on the couch. Her face weirdly still in a question
mark.
“Hey Nne” Yinka said dryly as her fingers
returned to dancing on her Blackberry.
Sandra didn’t say a word. She just looked
up and gave Nne a half smile.
“Oya spill it! What’s going on? Who
died?” Nne said as she placed her bag on the glass table in Chi’s parlor and
gave everyone of her best friends a quick good-to-see-you
hug.
“We’re in deliberation right now,” Yinka
said without looking up.
Nne chuckled. “Please today is Saturday.
Leave all the law talk for class on Monday”
“Seriously Nne stop playing. This is
serious” Sandra finally spoke.
“Ok ok” Nne said mimicking a Blackberry
emoticon straight face. “What’s up?”
Silence.
“Is anyone going to...”?
“I’m in a dilemma ok!?” Sandra blurted
out almost angrily, wrinkling her pretty face. Sandra had always been a
head-turner since their high school days. And 8 years later in final year of law
school, she still could not go out and not get asked for her number. Born to a
German mother and an Igbo father, at about 5’5, she had a tanned half-caste
skin, a roundish cute face with a small pointed nose and was proportionately
endowed in the right places.
“Spill.” Nne said almost in a mimicky whisper.
“Chi tell her,” Sandra said
Nne waited.
“So, Obinna proposed to her”
“OMG!” Nne said jumping up. Biko, Is that
what you’re hiding and acting like someone died? It's great news! Where are we going
to celebrate? Ashebi, here I come…Congratula..”
“Nne relax you haven’t even heard the end
of story.”
“Listening”, Nne said sitting back down.
“Ok, so I haven’t responded to Tony’s
proposal” Sandra said. “I’m so confused.”
“Ohhhh” Nne said suddenly realizing the root of her friend's confusion.
Chapter
2
Sandra had been dating Obinna for about a
year before she met Tony. Obinna was incredibly handsome. At 6’2, he looked
like he just stepped out of a magazine cover and commanded attention from men
and women alike. He had narrow eyes that looked like they could permeate your
soul and chocolate skin that was clearer than a new mirror.
Obinna was from old
money. His great-grandfather had been an oil tycoon in Nigeria starting an oil
company shortly before his early death. His grandfather and granduncles,
however, didn’t let the company die, expanding it to an international
enterprise. While his uncle was the current CEO of the company, his father was
deeply involved, balancing it with his duty as the current Minister of
Petroleum in Nigeria.
Obinna couldn’t have it any better and
when he expressed interest in Sandra, the news spread pretty fast, exciting her friends especially. When
Sandra expressed her worry about his reputation as a “bad boy”, all her friends
told her she’d be foolish to pass on him. Well, all her friends, except Chi.
She had said solemnly, “mmm Sandy I don’t
know. Obinna is a big boy. Remember he dated Lucy from high school last year
and dumped her before she knew what was happening. And he chased her harrddddd exactly this same way. Lucy disappeared from public eye for months just to deal with the heartbreak”, her eyes dimmed with concern.
“Please Chi stop being such a kill-joy.
Obinna has said he has met his wife. Sandra is whom he wants to marry. He must’ve
have changed for her sake” Nne said angrily. “Allow the girl to enjoy her luck. You and I
need to find out if Obinna has cousins that look like him” she added beaming
with her trademark naughty smile.
“Of course that’s what you’d say. Sandra,
I’ve said my own. Just make sure this guy is for real. Make sure your heart is
not one of his playing fields”. Chi hissed back.
While Sandra wasted time deciding whether
to accept Obinna’s invitation to date, some girls she actually called friends
had tried to throw themselves at him. But somehow, Obinna never relented in his
chase. It seemed almost as if Sandra had become an highly-staked oil contract.
He sent flowers, teddy bears and lovenotes to campus and dropped by in a
different car every day of the week, just to take Sandra to class.
Three weeks
of chasing had barely passed when Sandra gave in.
Yinka, Nne and Chi rarely saw Sandra and
almost every time they saw her, she was with Obinna. Sandra seemed to be happy, so they let her be.
Eight months into the
relationship, Sandra strolled into Obinna's house unexpectedly only to see
another girl in his bed. He begged. She forgave.
One month later, Yinka spotted him in a
party in London, while she was vacationing, making out with another girl. She
called Nne and Chi to report the incident. Nne voted against telling Sandra.
Chi was the one who called Sandra with the news.
Of course, Nne said in her usual
boisterous manner “Biko its nothing. Men cheat. If you love him and he loves
you, just set your mind to it. He will cheat but you’re the one he will marry. Hang in there.”
Chi disagreed. “This is a bad sign o. He
has cheated twice. No wait, you have caught him only twice. God knows what or
who else he has done that you don't know about.”
“Ok, well, just see what he has to say.
That’s the least you can do”
Sandra listened to Nne. She listened to
Obinna. He said, “baby you know I love you, I’m sorry. Girls just can’t keep
their hands off me. There’s only so much I can do to resist but it was just sexual.
You and I have the real deal.” Then he hugged and kissed her like only he could.
She forgave him. Again. Then, and 4 other
times. For every transgression, he bought her a gift. She had gotten a brand
new Toyota, an Iphone, at least 4 blackberry phones, one trip to London, one
trip to Jamaica for her and 3 of her friends and several watches, clothes,
shoes and purses. Sometimes, he’d just call a boutique and tell them his girl
was coming to shop. She’d go and shop, and he’d pay later. But Obinna couldn’t
resist the attention he got from the girls.
In fact, he didn’t want to.
Chapter
3
One hot Sunday afternoon, Sandra received
a call.
“Hello”
“Hello” the voice said in a whisper. It
was a female voice.
“Yes, who’s this?”
“It doesn’t matter. I just called to tell
you about your boyfriend Obinna. You don’t know me but I know you. I’ve seen
you around campus and I hear you’re such a nice girl, that’s why I’m calling”
“What? So, who are you?”
“Just listen. I slept with Obinna
yesterday. Two of my friends have also slept with him. The guy is a dog. He
thinks because he has money he can sleep with anyone he wants. My only regret
was that I'm now just a number in his books. I’m not proud of what I did but it
was a dare. I hear its you he’s serious about but I just thought you should
know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“I don’t believe you. You don’t know
Obinna. You don't know me either.”
“I knew you’d doubt me. Does he have a
black scar on his upper inner thigh? On the right one?”
“Silence”
“I thought as much.” The voice said, and
then hung up.
Chapter
4
Obinna did have a black scar in his inner
right thigh.
It was on that day that Sandra met Tony.
She had tried to call Obinna immediately but all 3 of his lines were busy. She
then called Chi.
“Na wa o!” Chi said with concern as they
settled under a canopy at Skyline Sports Club.
“Good afternoon Madam. What can I get for
you?” a waiter asked. They hadn’t even noticed him following them to their
seat.
“A malt and a meat pie” Chi said not
taking her eyes away from Sandra.
“I’ll take a Smirnoff and a meat pie
please,” Sandra said dismissing the waiter.
“How do you feel?” Chi asked
“I’m just so confused. When will Obinna
stop doing this to me? Is it a crime to love someone?”
Chi bit her tongue, resisting the strong
urge to shout, “Did I not tell you so?” Her best friend needed her now and she
had to just be there for her.
Sandra continued, “I mean, how many apologies will he give?
You know, the sad part of it is that when I look into his eyes, I believe him.
This love is blind o. Eh, Chi, what should I do?”
“Well…I just think you deserve someone
who loves you and treats you like the queen you are” Chi said solemnly
“But Obinna loves me. So does his mom and sister”
“If he loves you, why is he putting you
through this? Let me tell you my dear, my mother always told me one thing ‘a
man may love you and still cheat on you but if he respects you enough, he’d do
everything to make sure his weakness does not make you a public spectacle or
hurt you. Obviously Obinna is not doing that. He’s doing his thing shamelessly. He's sleeping with people who sit
in the same class as you for Christ's sake. Sandy, you don’t deserve this but it’s always your
choice. If you’re strong enough, you can deal with it. Me, I no fit”.
Sandy sighed and could only manage to sadly
mutter “I hear you…I hear you.”
They ate in silence, each wondering what the other was thinking.
As they walked alongside the pool towards
Chi's car, they noticed a black Toyota Camry that looked like it had seen better
days, pull into the parking lot, parking right next to Chi’s car. Two young
attractive men came out. The driver was about 5’11 with a body that looked like
he lived on the soccer field but with a face that didn’t completely match it. The
other one was shorter at about 5’9, was dark in complexion and took a
resemblance to an older Davido.
As Chi and Sandra walked past the guys,
they couldn’t have missed the eyes of the shorter guy burning through their
bodies.
“Hey pretty ladies. Why are you so hot?”
the Davido look-alike said in a high-pitched voice
“Hey”, they both said dryly and in unison
“Charles, let the pretty ladies go their
way. You no dey take eye see woman” the driver said smiling.
“Boy relax, I’m sure they don’t mind”
Charles said smiling.
The driver approached them just as the
girls got to their car.
“Please pardon my friend’s excesses.” He
said with a smile that seemed awfully familiar to Sandra.
“It's ok.” Chi said with a “thank-you-but-leave-us-alone”
smile and grabbed Sandra’s hand.
Sandra obliged. They had walked barely 3
steps when she turned back. The men had just turned towards the entrance to the sports club.
“Please, what’s your name?” she said to
the driver.
“Tony.”
“Last name, please”
“Okehie. Tony Okehie”
“No way!” Sandra almost screamed,
realizing where she knew him from.
“Didn’t you go to Babylon Primary School
in Ikeja, Lagos?”
“I did.”
“Didn’t you finish in 1997? Isn’t your
sister’s name Meso?”
“Yes and yes. What’s your name?” Tony
said wondering where he knew this pretty face from.”
“I’m Sandra Ameni. We went to the same
primary school and I was friends with Meso”
“Oh my!” Tony said suddenly recognizing her.
“How’s Meso? I’ve been trying to find
that girl”
That’s how Tony and Sandra met. They
exchanged numbers and started hanging out. Tony just graduated medical school
and was looking for a visa because he wanted to move to the United States and
pursue residency there. He was attractive in his own right. He had a long face
with full lips and narrow eyes. Tony didn’t have a fulltime job yet and so he
spent most of his days volunteering at the local health clinic.
Sandra told Tony of all the events in her
life. Her parents had died in a ghastly motor accident during her final year of
secondary school and her only brother had moved to London in search of a better
life. She now stayed with her mom’s sister in town who, as an international
reporter, was hardly home.
After primary school, Tony and Meso had
moved to South Africa where his father was transferred. His father died during
his first year in University and he had to move back with his family to Nigeria
to complete University and medical school. Meso was in University of Ibadan
studying architecture.
To Sandra, Tony was just a friend and she
enjoyed catching up with him. She was so comfortable with him; she shared with
him her biggest fears and hopes.
Tony made good company for Sandra and he
helped her get through her continuous tough times with Obinna. Whenever Obinna
cheated, he was there to lend his shoulder for her to cry on.
Chapter
5
Nine months after they met, one Saturday
afternoon, Tony called and asked her if she wanted to accompany him to meet up
with some friends at the beach. He promised her some old friends from primary
school would be in attendance. Sandra couldn’t control her excitement. Obinna
had been in London for 3 weeks now and she hadn’t heard from him in 3 days. He
claimed he was “busy” closing some deals for his dad’s company.
It was exciting to see so many old faces.
Sandra loved hearing where they had gone after primary school and what they were
doing now. Mid-way into the party, Tony invited Sandra to take a walk with him
along the beach.
As they walked, on the sand, Sandra had gushing
about their old friends for about 5 minutes, when she noticed Tony was silent.
“What’s wrong Tony?” she asked looking up
at her friend.
“The question is what’s right Sandra”
Tony said as he scooted in front of her stopping her in her tracks.
She still had a puzzled look on her face
when he went down on one knee and said and he opened a small jewelry box to
reveal a diamond ring, “Sandra, ever since I ran into you, my life has been
going right. We’ve gotten to know each other for almost a year now and each
moment I’m away from you, I can’t stop thinking about you. You have become a
best friend to me and I couldn’t ask for anything better. My life is moving and
I want you by my side for the ride. I want to grow with you, loving you each step of the way. I got accepted into a residency program in San
Francisco, California and my visa just came through. Please marry me. Come with
me and make me the happiest man alive. Be my wife, Sandra”.
Chapter
6
Sandra wasn’t sure how her legs moved or
why they carried her away from Tony when he was on his knees, a disappointed
expression on his face. She hadn't even realized she could move that fast. She had run all the way to the main road and hailed a
cab to Chi’s house.
“I didn’t know what to say. Why did he have to ruin our
friendship like this? Doesn’t he know I have a boyfriend?” She had asked Chi.
That was a week ago. Tony had called 3
times a day since then and she hadn’t picked up his calls. When she went to let
her aunty know she was staying at chi’s place for a couple of weeks, the
gateman told her Tony had shown up numerous times asking for her.
Obinna finally came back two days prior.
It was during their first dinner together since his return that Obinna pulled
out a ring and set it on the table. While chowing down his fried rice, he said,
“Darling, here’s your ring. We have to start planning this wedding. My mom
doesn’t want me to hit 28 without a wife. It's necessary for me as her only son
to carry on the family name.”
Sandra picked up the 3-carat diamond ring
and stared at it with mixed feelings.
“Since you’re graduating in 6 months, we
can plan the traditional wedding for around that time and then the white wedding
in December so your brother can attend.”
She just managed to mutter “Okay” before
taking a sip of her sprite to quench her sudden scorching thirst.
“Baby, please put the ring on. Everyone
needs to know you’re my wife. That’s what you want abi? Besides we’re going to
my parent’s house from here. I need them to see it on you” he said as he chewed
and took a gulp of his beer, stopping only for a second to look at her.
Sandra obeyed.
Chapter
7
“So, the question now is who should I
marry?”, Sandra said jilting Nne from her thoughts.
“Yinka, you haven’t said anything. Ngwa
contribute” Nne said almost ignoring Sandra’s question
“I would vote Tony. But Sandy that will
mean you’d go and struggle in America. He has no money plus he’s just ok,
looks-wise.” Yinka said. She was notorious for riding the gray area
“But that’s only for a short time. Tony
is a good man. I hear residency is only 3 years or so, then he’ll start making
money” Chi chimed in.
“Biko that’s too long. Sandy you know
you’re now used to the nice things of life. How will you adjust? Besides Tony
is not too much of a looker. How can you resist Obinna? The dude is hot! Don’t
you know they call you guys the showstopper couple? Please don’t pass on that
jor,” Nne blurted using hand gestures to illustrate her points.
“How can you even say that? Is that how
shallow you are?” Chi said hissing and turning away.
“Chi please stop this holier than thou
attitude. Shut up jor, if it was
you who had the opportunity to marry a minister’s son would you resist? She’s
even wearing Obinna’s ring.” Nne hissed back pointing to the ring on Sandra’s
finger.
Yinka took Sandra’s hand to admire it one
more time.
“Nne, I won’t even fight with you today.
I’m just saying marriage is deeper than money and looks. You of all people should
know that.” Chi blurted in anger.
She wanted to take the words back as soon
as they came out. She was referring to the broken home, in which Nne had grown
up. Her father had been a legislator with loads of cash to spend. Story around
town was that her mother chased him down but when he wouldn’t settle down, she
got pregnant just so he will marry her. He did but it didn’t last long. They
were divorced by Nne’s third birthday.
The look on Nne’s face gave away her
burning anger and just as she was about to say something, Sandra intervened.
“Stop it you guys!” Sandra said
“Chi you were wrong for saying that”
Yinka contributed.
“I’m sorry Nne but I still stand by my
opinion” Chi admitted.
“Whatever”
And that was the debate. Yinka couldn’t
pick a side. Chi stood her ground for team Tony and Nne kept trying to convince
Sandra to choose Obinna.
At that point, Sandra knew she needed
higher authority.
She carried on as Obinna’s fiancée for
one week, even attending a dinner his mother threw in their honor at their
mansion on the Island, while she waited for her aunty to come back from her trip to Canada.
Tony stopped calling or showing up.
According to his Davido-look-alike friend, he was leaving for the States in two
weeks. I’m sure he heard about her engagement to Obinna. Who hadn’t heard? A picture of Sandra and Obinna smiling and looking into each other's eyes was front page in the local magazine with the caption “Most Eligible Bachelor in Town Set to Tie the Knot to Law Student”.
When her aunty walked in the door, thirteen days later, Sandra could barely wait for her to settle down before she poured
her heart out to her.
Sandra's aunty was about 47, still young and beautiful but
single. She immersed herself in her work as a top international reporter.
Her aunt gave her a long hug and sat
beside her. She said, “Let me tell you a story. Sandy, I was you 24 years ago.
I married an 'Obinna' and dumped a Tony. It only lasted 10 years. He slept with
our housemaid. He slept with 4 of my friends. He slept with anyone who would
let him. I thought I could do it. I thought I could distract myself with the
trips to Milan and Paris and the fleet of cars at my disposal. I thought the
big house and the numerous designer clothes and shoes would be enough. It
wasn’t. I was lonely. But I stayed. I loved the money, the prestige and the man
I married. I hope he would change. He never did. The day I decided to leave
was the day I walked in on him and my cousin. That day I woke up and I had spent 10
years of my life waiting for a man to change, and to realize I was enough for
him.”
She stood up and as set her suitcase down to
unpack, she solemnly said, “Don’t be me”
“What do you mean?” Sandy inquired.
“Choose
the man who can’t live without you”. She said, almost in a tone designed for secrets.
Sandra nodded, gave her aunty a tight hug and
whispered “thank you”, knowing then who her husband would be.
She had
better hurry. He was leaving the next day.
***May be continued****
I'm curious to know what you think..... Team Obinna or Team Tony??? Comment away :-)
Stay Inspired.....
