ROSA, MY LOVE
CHAPTER 5
She paused for about twenty seconds. She stayed silent for that long without saying anything. You know how long twenty seconds feel like when you are on the phone. I knew she was shocked beyond words that I was able to figure out where she was going, and that she had been lying to me all along.
“How did you know I was going to Abuja.” She asked in a calm and shocked voice.
“I don’t reveal the secrets to my trade.” I told her. “I was supposed to be a cop. I missed my calling.”
“So, what am I going to do now?” She asked. Her voice was shaky. “I am already on a bus, bound for Abuja.“
“That is of course, your business. However, it will become my business if I don’t see you here in the next twenty minutes.”
“Please, don’t be angry. I am so sorry.”
“Like I said, that is your business, you cheat. I want you back here immediately.” I said and dropped the call.
I thought she wasn’t going to come. This is because I waited for about two hours before I heard a knock on the door. Someone shifted the drapes and walked in. It was Sandy, looking like a dog that had been caught stealing smoked fish.
“Sandy, do you know that you are such a cheat?” I asked, fuming. “You lied to me that you were going to see your aunt in town, whereas you were going to see your boyfriend in Abuja.”
“I am sorry, Obi. Please, forgive me. I am so ashamed of myself. I don’t know what to say. Please, tell me how I can make it up to you. Just say anything and I will do it.”
“The only thing I can say is that you should pack your bags and leave my house immediately.”
“Please, you can’t do this. If you say that, it means you are breaking up with me. I don’t want to lose you, please. It’s the work of the devil.”
Sandy begged and begged for about two hours. I finally let her stay, but in my mind, I had already broken up with her. I was hoping that once she finally left, that would be the end. I would never allow her come to my house again. That same day, in the night, we slept like two strangers. She wanted to touch me at night but I warned her to keep her hands off me. The next morning, when I was about to go to work, she made breakfast, but I refused to eat. I was doing everything to make her know that I no longer wanted her and wanted her gone.
I was having a busy day at work when my phone rang. It was Sandy.
“Hello!”
“I want to leave. Please when are you closing?” She asked.
“I will be closing by four. However, if you want to go, leave my key under the doormat.”
“I will wait for you to close. 4:00 PM won’t be too late.”
When I got home, her bags were already packed.
“Why didn’t you just leave my keys under the doormat? I asked.
“I needed to see you first.”
“What for?”
“Are we breaking up?” She asked.
“We already broke up.”
“Alright, in that case, I will be deleting your number. I still love you and it will be hard for me to still keep your number on my phone.” She spoke.
“Do as you please.”
“So, we will never see each other again?”
“Yes”
“Okay please, I need money for my fare.”
“You are stark, raving, mad. “I told her. “I don’t have any money for you.”
She left my house, sadly, dragging her big traveling bag. That was the last I saw of her. The next day, I went to see Rosa. But Rosa too had upped her game. She wanted some concessions before she could continue the relationship. She told me that she would love to move in with me. I wasn’t crazy about that idea at all. So, I gave her conditions under which she would move in with me.
“Do you really want to move in with me.” I asked, hoping she would change her mind.
“Yes, Daddy. I want to move in with you. I don’t like the fact that you cook your food yourself and wash your clothes on your own. I want to be there for you. I want to be of help. It is my duty to do all those things you are doing now.”
“Moving in with me means we will become very intimate. Do you understand that? Last time I checked, you said you were a church girl, and that you were only committing fornication because you love me too much. Am I correct?” I asked.
“Yes”
“So, do you think it will be proper for a church girl to be living under the same roof with a man she is not married to?”
“I will ask my prophet about that.”
“You better do.”
It looked like Rev. Prophet Pharrell gave her the greenlight to move in with me. That was because two days later. She called excitedly and told me that the prophet had accepted that we should move in together as long as we abstain from making love to each other.
“Is such a thing possible?” I asked when I met her the following day.
“What are you talking about, Daddy?”
“For a couple to live together without making love?”
“Daddy, we can try.”
“My friend, what do you mean by ‘we can try’? I asked, slightly irritated.
“I mean we can stay at home without doing anything.”
“You are saying that you can stay in the house with me for months without s*x?” I asked.
“Yes, Daddy.”
“I doubt you can. As for me, I can’t. Not with all these assets you have. Do you want me to r@pe?”
“You won’t, Daddy. God will give us strength.” She spoke.
“But I don’t want that kind of strength.” I said, harshly.
The truth was that I didn’t want her to move in with me, that is why I kept giving her tough choices. My next choice was even tougher than the rest. I told her that she would have to get pregnant for me before I would allow her into my home. She declined initially, citing her family tradition and her prophet’s opinion. When I told her that without her fulfilling that condition, she wouldn’t be able to move in with me, she conceded and agreed that she would carry my child.
She was doing everything to make me feel happy. She had found a husband in me and didn’t want to let go. In spite of the fact that I gave her difficult conditions, she kept compromising. The more she compromised, the more I made things difficult for her. I told her that for us to have a child, we of course, must have unprotected s*x. For that reason, she had to go do an HIV test. Much to my disappointment and dismay she was happy with the proposal. The very next day, she went to the hospital for the test for an HIV test because I had asked her to do it.
Late that evening, I had just come back from work and had been waiting for her call to tell me the outcome of the test. I wasn’t afraid that the test would be positive. I was just afraid that that was my last card. Now that she had gone for the test, what next. I had no more excuses to give. I would have to ask her to move in with me, something I didn’t want to do.
After waiting for her call all evening, I was beginning to be happy. I felt that since she hadn’t call me to tell me about the results, it could mean only one thing – that she hadn’t done the test. I was happy with myself. I smiled comfortably and started preparing for bed when my phone rang. It was Rosa. I picked.
“Good day, Rosa. How did the test go? I asked.
“Daddy, please come ohh. I am not okay. Please come immediately.
TO BE CONTINUED…
