©Opeyemi Akintunde
He was silent…
“Leni, I will send you a phone number right away, contact him, he is a friend of mine. Send your C.V. to him, he will help you with a job placement” Uncle just said sharply. I knew that voice. It was the formal voice. I understood the cue.
I got the job of a marketing executive in an Oil and Gas company, thanks to Uncle Teju’s connection.
It was a new life, a big girl life. A life of earning my own money in six digits. My life was going smoothly until…
My one year freedom was what I needed to gain back my sanity. I had a good time learning more about the fashion. I made new friends.
Over there, I was the African orphan boy, who was very creative and everyone loved me. When I concluded my study, I got a lot of offers from different fashion companies to stay back but Promise was not having it
She kept telling me to return home as she had a surprise waiting for me.
My thought was that she had renovated my business space.
On getting home, I was surprised at the chubby looking Promise I saw, plus she had a baby in her hand…
We did a lot of video calls, and truly I knew she added some weight but not the level I was seeing.
“Whose baby?” was the first question I asked.
Promise was all smiles initially, but my question threw her off balance.
“Whose baby?” she repeated my question
“Yes whose baby?” I asked again
“Our baby” Promise answered
“How is that possible” I have been gone for a year and a month”
“Do the math, she is four months old” Promise walked towards the bedroom angry.
I did the Math, and if truly the girl was mine, then she got pregnant before I travelled…
But…
My soul didn‟t believe it.
I followed her into the room and met her crying…
“Why didn‟t you tell me all this while” I asked
“I wanted you to concentrate on your studies”
“Can I carry her?” I said wanting to see her face.
She gave her to me, and I stared at the baby.
She was not mine. I knew it, she didn‟t look like me, nor Greg…
“Everyone says she looks a lot like me” Promise said shooting herself in the
leg.
I was definitely going to take the baby for a DNA…
I was waiting for the child to turn one, I was going to pretend all was well for the eight months left.
Life was going well until…
Don‟t blame me for doing what I did. I needed the one year space, so I could do what I needed to do… I kept wondering why I was unable to conceive for F.D. I decided to try other men. I had started the game plan some months before he travelled, and two months before he left I became pregnant for another man.
The baby‟s real age at the time F.D came back was 6 months, but I had to lie she was four months, so it could tally with the last time we made love before he left…
I thought he would be happy seeing the baby, but instead he turned cold on seeing the child.
That got me thinking more seriously…
I was beginning to sense that F.D didn‟t want anything lasting with me…
“Is it true he has a woman and son? Maybe that‟s why he doesn‟t want a child with me”
I employed a spy to monitor my husband‟s movement for about two months and nothing sneaky was found.
I went back to the particular herbalist who told me about the woman and the child.
“What kind of herbalist do you think I am? I know what I saw…”
“Come here” He said angrily. He felt insulted by me insinuating he was lying.
The priest dragged me to a pot…
“Take the water from the pot, and wipe your face. Look into the water afterwards.”
I did as he had instructed, and I saw F.D and Leni with Greg’s Image in the water…
“What!” I shouted
“That’s your husband’s wife with her child”
My Life clock stopped ticking…
“No…. She is his Sister ..”
“Is that what he told you?” The herbalist said
“Leni is his…..” I said but Greg’s face clicked.
Greg was a replica of F.D…
To be continued…
