UNHOLY MATRIMONY
CHAPTER 2
I was happy to see her, and I approached her with all smiles.
“You are the same lady who helped me the other day, right?” I asked, smiling.
“Yes, it was me.”
“My God! It’s such a small world.”
“For real”
“You guys have met each other before?” My mum asked.
“Yes, Mum. A fortuitous turn of events brought Olamma and me together.”
“That’s great. So, I can now safely assume that everything is already divinely arranged. Olamma, I hereby present to you, your husband to be.”
I was so happy that Olamma was the lady chosen to be my wife. For a start, she was beautiful. She also had good manners. I was so grateful to my mum. To cut a long story short, our wedding arrangements were made and Olamma and I got married. That was the happiest day in my life. Olamma looked so serene, beautiful and angelic in her wedding dress. I thanked and blessed God for giving her to me.
The wedding was over now. Olamma and I had settled to becoming husband and wife. We were newly married couples and had all the time to consummate our new marriage.
The holiday was over now, and it was time for me to return to Cameroon where I lived and worked. For a marriage so new, it would have been improper for me to leave Olamma behind. So, after haven consulted with my mum and Olamma’s parents, it was unanimously agreed that I would be taking her to Cameroon with me. She was overjoyed when I broke the news to her. She was a very jovial person. So, I broke the news to her in a jovial way.
“I will be taking you to see a new country, my love.”
“Whaaaattttt???!!! Oh, my gosh! I am so excited.”
“Of course, you should be, after all you have never left the shores of this country before.” I joked.
“I don’t blame you. Are you trying to insult me or not?” She asked, playfully hurt.
“I am not insulting you, my love. But you should be happy that at least I am giving you the opportunity to use a new currency for the first time in your life.” I said, laughing.
“You are talking as if it’s Euro or Dollar. Is it not ordinary CEFA?” She replied with a smile.
“It’s CFA not CEFA, bush girl.” I laughed.
“Who is a bush girl?” She asked, chasing me around the living room. She caught up with me and I carried her in my arms and kissed her tenderly. I thanked God for bringing her to me.
The day for our departure came and after we had said goodbye to our families, we hit the road. I don’t want to bother you about all the immigration wahala. But we did get to Cameroon safely. Everything seemed strange to Olamma. I had to begin teaching her a lot of new things about life in Cameroon, especially how to use Cameroon money. Since I went to work every day, I always made sure to spend as much time with her when I was home.
Since I had returned to Cameroon with a wife, I made sure I put an end to whatever relationship I had before going to Nigeria. I didn’t want any trouble from anybody. I didn’t want to put my wife’s safety at risk. She was a calm, faithful, committed and dedicated woman. Hence, I had to try as much as possible to reciprocate. That was my intent, but fate had decreed otherwise.
One day, I was at work when my phone buzzed. I checked and it was a notification from WhatsApp. I opened the app and to my greatest surprise, it was a message from Celine. It read:
“Hi Dozié, hope you are good. I am back to Cameroon. I wish to see you.”
The smartest thing I would have done was to tell her that I wasn’t available, or better still tell her that we should see on a later date. However, I decided to see her. An act that would cost me dearly. I replied to her immediately.
“Hi Celine, I am happy to hear from you again. So, are you in town now?”
She was online and replied immediately.
“Yes, I am in town.”
“Okay, I am at work now and I can only see you after I have closed.” I explained.
“That’s ok by me, as long as you keep to your words.”
After work, I went straight home. After I had bathed and eaten, I told my wife that I was going to see a friend. Since she had a blind trust for me, she didn’t ask any questions. However, I felt guilty lying to her that I was going to see a friend. I gave her the impression that the friend I was going to see was a male. She didn’t know I was going to see a female.
I got into my car and drove out of the compound. On my way out, I called Celine.
“Hello, where are you now?” I asked Celine.
“I am at my brother’s place. Do you know Azi Motel?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Alright, when you get there, let me know and I will come and get you.”
“Ok”
A few minutes later, I was at Azi Motel. She was already at the motel waiting for me. I signaled her and she saw me. She happily came to the car and got in. She was all smiles seeing me again.
“Dozié, I am happy to see you again. So, why couldn’t call me all this while?”
“I am sorry. I completely forgot. You look good. How was your trip back to Cameroon?”
“It was good, thank God. I have been trying to get to you all this while. I badly wanted to see you again.”
“Why? Is anything the matter?”
“No, I just wanted to say thank you for the help you rendered to me on our way to Nigeria.” She spoke.
“I thought you did that already. Besides, it was no big deal. I help people every now and then.”
“No, Dozié. To me it’s a big deal, a very big deal and I want to pay you back in a special way.”
“Hmm!! That’s interesting. Tell me about it.” I was wondering what she had in store for me.
“My brother is throwing a small party for his newborn child. It’s going on as we speak. Do you mind us going there?”
“That’s okay by me.”
We got to her brother’s house and I was warmly welcomed. I was given a special seat and provided with lots of food and drinks. In fact, I was treated as a special guest, even more special than the newborn baby. It was beginning to look like it was my coming that was being celebrated. I wondered what she must have told her family about me. That was because they all treated me as if I was an in-law to the family, whereas I was not. I was just an acquaintance.
It was about 11:00 PM now and the party was over now. I said goodbye to everyone and got into my car. I was about to drive off when I saw Celine approaching. She came to the car and sat down of the passenger side.
“I want to thank you again, Celine, for the good time. Your family is very generous. Such a lovely family you have.”
“Please, don’t mention. My family is also your family.”
I didn’t like the way that sounded but I let it pass.
“Thank you again, Celine. I have to go home now. God willing, I will see you again.”
“Why the hurry, I was hoping that we would go clubbing after this. It’s not even up to midnight.”
“No, I can’t. I had a long day at work and didn’t even have time to rest because I had to come here. Now, I have to go home and rest myself because very early tomorrow morning, I will be going to work.” I explained to her.
“Awwwnnn!! I really wanted to spend more time with you. What am I going to do now? Okay, let me follow you to your house. Let’s spend the night together.”
“What? That’s not possible. We are not dating. We are not in any relationship. What do you mean by spending the night with me?”
“Stop acting like you are a small boy. You don’t need a magician to tell you that I love you and I want to be with you.” She spoke.
I looked at her for about thirty seconds before speaking again.
“I am sorry, Celine. I am a married man now. Yes, I am legally married to a beautiful and dedicated woman. So, please, what you think can happen between us cannot happen.”
“You are married?” She asked wide-eyed. “I didn’t know that you were married. Since when did you get married?”
“That was one of my purposes of going to Nigeria, to go get a wife. I am sorry but that’s the way it is.”
“So, what becomes of us now?” She asked.
“Us? There has never been us. We are just friends and we have only met twice. There is nothing between us.”
“Dozié please, you are such a nice man. I can’t just let you go like that. Please, make love to me, at least.”
“Are you mad? I thought I just told you that I was a married man. Please, stop this.”
“Please na, okay just once. I promise if you make love to me just this once, I will never bother you again, never.”
“What purpose would it serve?” I asked.
“Maybe it will reduce my wanting for you. I need you, please. Just this one time.”
I thought for a long while, weighing the pros and cons of sleeping with Celine. Then I asked.
“You promise that this will be the first, last and only time?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Promise?”
“Promise”
TO BE CONTINUED…
