#TheWifeINeverHad
PART 6
I got into the room to meet my girlfriend curled up at one end, her eyes dilated with hunger.
Her : Boo where you go naa ? (In her weakest voice I have ever heard)
Me : Sisi
Her : Eh (Yes)
Me : Oya wear cloth.
Her : eeeh ?(Really)
Me : eeh (Yes), come escort me go beg Mama Ozioma, abeg.
Her : Ok, but I doubt she will sell on credit oooo and I don’t like this idea ooooo (she reluctantly jumps into a pair of jean trouser and a good blouse)
Me: make we go try first, abi you no believe in miracles ?
Her : Oya naa, I don ready oooo.
We left the room and I could see she was really itching for a bite.
As We approached Mama Ozioma’s kiosk, I could see hope in her eyes, I just looked d other way and shook my head in pity.
Getting to the kiosk, she was slowing down, but I kept moving and walked past the kiosk, she hurried to catch up with me and she asked in a hushed tone:
Her : Boo, where you dey go naa?
Me : (Looking towards a cafeteria just ahead) Sisi, liver cut me, I no sabi as I want take start, oya make we waka front small come turn, I go now go beg am.
Her : Boo na wah oooo, I never do dis kind tin before ooo.
Me : u don see am say condition na wetin make crayfish bend.
We got to the cafeteria and I walked in, she was still outside and I beckoned on a surprised her to come in and have a sit.
She promptly did and in a whisper asked me :
Her : Boo wetin we dey do here ?
I smiled and asked her in return
Me : Wetin people dey come here come do ?
Her : Where you wan get money pay ?
A waiter had come to take orders
Waiter : Oga wetin una wan chop ?
Me : Na Madam go chop, no be Me.
Her : why you no wan chop naa?
Me : order your food first, then hear me out.
She ordered a plate of fufu and okro soup which she promptly pounced on, on delivery.
I watched her with pity and very happily as she ate hungrily, finishing the meal in no time.
I made her have more and she happily ate to her fill.
It was while she ate that I narrated how I met James and Chidolue.
As we went back, she was now livelier and spoke louder.
Few hours after our return to my room, I convinced her to return to the hostel, which she reluctantly accepted to.
While seeing her off to the bus stop her phone rang, Professor Madu was on the line requesting for her location so that His driver could bring her a package on her father’s request.
We were at the bus stop when 20 minutes later, Prof’s driver pulled over, handed her the brown envelope and drove off.
We opened the envelope and its content were two minty wraps of N200 notes.
She spoke to the money in a small still voice saying ” So na your eye be this”.
TBC
#TheWifeINeverHad
PART 7
From that evening till the end of the exams we never went hungry again.
In few months we were mobilized for National Youth Service and we were very happy about it.
Then came time for me to raise money to shop for things I would need for service.
Many times she would beg me to go and seek funds from home, but I was determined to do it myself, to prove a point that I had problems and I fixed it myself, to drive home the point that I had become a full fledged independent man.
So after searching for part time jobs to no avail, I took up a job at a construction site as a labourer, serving brick layers and making concrete mixtures from sand, stones and cement for a paltry daily wage of N1000.
On the second day of work at the site, by noon we had gathered to take instructions from the site manager and then go for break, the site manager was addressing us and midway into his address everyone was looking towards one particular direction, I too was forced to turn towards the direction the workers and the site engineer were all looking at and surprisingly there was Sisi approaching armed with a food flask and few satchets of cold water.
I broke free from the gathering and ran towards my Girlfriend who stood smiling and opened her arms for me to embrace.
On getting close I began with;
Me : who told you, How did you find here ?
She : I no fit loss for Aba naa, won’t you hug me ?
Me : I dirty naa, see cement and sand full my body.
She : Abeg hug me joor, but no rub me cement ooo !!
We burst into laugher as we hugged briefly.
She : Good Afternoon Sirs ( she shouted at the workers who were still staring at us, they responded differently and began to disperse for break as well)
We moved towards a shade, sat down on a makeshift bench and I proceeded in devouring the contents of the food flask she had come with.
From that day till I stopped working at that site, she paid regular visits and brought food along with her.
I was called up to serve at Edo state and she was called up to serve at Enugu. We weren’t happy but were still thankful that none of us was to serve in Northern Nigeria.
I was posted to Fugar, in Etsako Central L.G.A. of Edo State, 20 minutes drive after Auchi and she was posted to Ukehe in Igbo Etiti L.G.A. of Enugu State, 20 minutes drive from Nsukka as well.
We did visit each other and stayed in constant touch until the service year ended.
She was the first to visit and she spent 6 hours on the road to Fugar from Ukehe.
On the day I visited, I did so unannounced and did really take her by surprise, I took a 15 minutes Agenobode bound taxi, then crossed over to Idah in Kogi State on a speed boat over the Niger river in 12 minutes, then took an Nsukka bound taxi, in 50 minutes I was in Nsukka and with mental note of her description of how to get to her Place of Primary assignment from Nsukka, I located the place.
She almost fainted with Joy when one of her lodge mates ushered me into her room. She wondered if I had been in Enugu earlier on due to how short my journey had been.
Tbc
