It had all started after I graduated from the
university in 2008 as a theater artiste.. I had
done the one year compulsory national youth
service, and then began the traditional job
hunting. For over a month, I was kept
absolute busy by the search for a good job.
Then one day, I ran into a man who
introduced himself as Richard. He told me that
he works in a bank, and he told me many
things about himself.
His family background, his area of origin, and
how he has been searching for the woman
that he will call his wife. And that was how we
became friends. I liked him. He was a kind
hearted man. Richard always gave me
money, even when I had not requested for it.
The relationship we had remained a casual
one for over two months. I still hadn’t found a
good job. Soon, out of the blues, he proposed
to me and I was not even expecting a
marriage proposal from him.
Understandably, marriage was the last thing
on my mind at the time.
“I have closely studied you all these while,
Jessica, you are my perfect choice for a wife.”
His eyes were steadily on me.
I was a bit shy. But I managed to regard him:
He is tall and handsome, above all, he is kind
hearted, caring and has a good job.
These are the qualities desirable in a man by
a woman.
“Will you mind if ! think about it?”
“No problem, Jessica. But do not forget that I
am wholly in love with you.”
We talked for a while, then parted ways.
For well over five days, we did not see each
other, but he often called me on phone,
though he never reminded me of the marriage
issue whenever he called. One pretty hot
Sunday; Richard visited me in my dreary
looking house and he brought up the marriage
proposal again. I eventually accepted his
proposal and he engaged me afterwards. I
packed into his well furnished apartment, and
we lived together as a prospective husband
and wife. At first, things started quite well
between us. We seemed like a perfect match,
like a union made in heaven. We were
enjoying each other’s company and I was
particularly looking forward to our wedding
day. But then, after a whole year, the
relationship had not even progressed beyond
a mere engagement. But that was not
bothering me that much because we had at
least started making plans for our marriage
ceremony. There was one thing that I thought
was wrong in the relationship, and that was
the fact that Richard had no time for me. It
was always work for him. He goes to work
very early and comes home late in the night,
sometimes I had to spend the nights alone
When he must have travelled out of town for
one office assignment or the other. In fact, the
relationship was characterized with lack of
seriousness and total dedication.
I did everything I could to make Richard see
things my way and change for the better, but
all of my efforts yielded no results. It
soon became a matter of time that I would
lose interest in the relationship. I easily got
irritated by most of Richard’s attitude. We
were often piking quarrels at each other. In
the heat of my frictions with Richard, I ran into
Emeka. He lived in the next street and owned
a big supermarket somewhere around
Oshodi. We agreed that I would be the one to
visit him occasionally in his house and that
would be when my husband must have gone
for work .
“You are such a beautiful lady. I wish you
were not engaged, I would have married you.”
He told me during one of my visits to his
house.
“Are you sure?” I had asked.
“If I am sure? If anything is far better than
sure, then that is what I am.”
I felt a sudden tingle of excitement in me.
Emeka is also tall and handsome, he had
some advantages over Richard. He is more
caring. loving and romantic than Richard and
he had time for me, we often played together
when I visited him in his house.
Emeka and I became even closer and we
began to see more of each other. Soon, I,
became fond of him and lost total interest in
Richard. One particular day, Emeka and I
were together in his house, sitting in a
lounging chair in his sitting-room, when I
decided to have serious discussions with him
…To Be Continued
