I HAVE DRUNK STRANGE WATERS - Episode 24

EPISODE 24

“What are we going to do now?” she whispered slowly.

“Get married” 

“Get married?” she asked stunned

“You don’t want to marry me?”

“No, I just don’t like you,” she said eyeing me with hate.

“We are going to do what is best for our baby,” I said smiling.

“Are you sure about this? Is this a trick or something? If I found out that you are lying to me I will kill you” she said looking serious.

I heard a knock on the door and she stood up promptly.

“Go back to work, we will talk later,” I said hurriedly and watched her walk out of the office. My secretary walked in to tell me I have a visitor and I asked her to let him in.

I was busy throughout the day. I got home late as usual but I made sure I didn’t go home empty-handed. I bought a dress for Kike with shoes and a bag to match; I also bought her expensive perfumes and a wristwatch.

“Thank you dear, but isn’t this too much? We can’t afford to be spending like this when we have debts to settle” Kike said looking worried.

“Your husband is rich now, I want to spoil you, Baby” I crooned and Kike hugged me tightly.

“I knew it, I knew my friends and families are wrong about you; you are not the type of man they are thinking,” she said with tears in her eyes.

“What happened?”

“I disagreed with our science teacher in school today and she was mean to me” 

“It’s Okay,” I said hugging her again.

“She called me an old woman; she said I looked like a rag because I wasted my life taking care of a man. She said I will die of shock when you dump me for a better-looking woman”

“Some people are really wicked, how can she say such things to you? I thought you said you and the science teacher are close ?”

“Yes, she is jealous. I have been losing friends since you got that job; why can’t they be happy for me”

“I will like to see the look on their eyes when I build a house for you in Banana Island”

“They will die of envy,” Kike said and burst into laughter.

“They can’t die yet, they need to live to see me buy you a car too and take you shopping in Dubai, honeymoon in France, holiday in the UK”

“Awn! My husband is romantic. Come and eat before your food gets cold”

My relationship with Kike kept getting better: I spoil the slightest chance I get and my mom is always calling her and sending her things. She felt so secure that she didn’t suspect anything when I started getting constant calls from Cynthia when I get home from work. We spoke for several minutes at times; I had saved her name with “Supervisor” so that Kike won’t suspect anything.

“This your supervisor is calling you again, they are going to will that company to you one day; they are behaving as if they cannot breathe without you” she would comment jokingly Most times she would be the one to bring the phone to me when Cynthia called.

Mama supported me in my plans to marry Cynthia; she agreed to follow me to Calabar for our traditional wedding. I was scared and told her I don’t know how to tell Kike I would be traveling for three days without her but Mama came up with a solution.

“I will tell her you are driving my friends and me to an occasion in the village, just be extra nice to her so that she will not suspect anything.

Cynthia agreed to go to her village to collect the Engagement list from her family, Salary for the month was just transferred to my account when she walked into my office that day.

“Good afternoon Femi” 

“Afternoon Babe”

She came to where I was sitting and planted a kiss on my mouth “Hope you didn’t forget I will be traveling this weekend”

“I didn’t forget,” I said smiling.

“Well, I received a call from my father last night and he said I should come with my husband,” she said pouting.

“But this is not our agreement, where do I tell Kike I am going?”

“I don’t know, can you stop mentioning her name, please? Anytime I hear it I get headaches” she said frowning.

“I am sorry” 

“Father said you have to come for introduction first before engagement, he said that is how it is being done”

“Tell him I am a busy person, and I won’t be able to make it for the introduction”

“I have been thinking of what to do really and I have an idea. We can always perform the introduction ceremony with your photograph and you can show up for the proper wedding. Just that we will need your family too”

“Don’t worry, my mom can go with you for the introduction” I said hurriedly. 

“I think that should be OK, my father also got my step-brother to mail the introduction list to me”

“There is a list for the introduction?”

“Of course”

“I didn’t get a list when I went for Kike’s introduction; her parent just asked me to bring soft drinks”

“Well, I am not your cheap Kike; didn’t I ask you to stop mentioning her name?” Cynthia said angrily.

“I am sorry, can I see the list?”

Cynthia brought out the list and it was printed on two pages, I collected it and scanned it through. It was twice as long as the list I got for my traditional engagement with Kike and I have not even heard all the items mentioned in it in my life before.

“Is this for engagement or introduction?” I asked sweating.

“It is for the introduction alone. You don’t have to worry your head about all those items, I asked someone in the village to give me a rough estimate on the cost of all the items on the list and she said it is just six hundred and fifty thousand”

“Six hundred and what? How am I supposed to get the money?”

“How much is six hundred and fifty thousand? Is it too much to spend on our baby? Didn’t you say you can do anything for the sake of our child?”

“My salary is just three hundred and fifty thousand Cynthia” 

“I don’t care how much your salary is Femi, I told you to allow me to abort this pregnancy and you insisted on going ahead with the engagement. This is our custom; I can’t do anything about it”

“If the introduction list costs about seven hundred thousand naira how much will the engagement list cost?” I asked in dread.

“We just have to wait to find out,” Cynthia said and walked out of the officer angrily.

To be continued…

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