What A Life

Episode 10

A month later, after some threats from Mama Eno to take up the matter with relevant authorities, and disrupt his mother’s political ambition, coupled with the pressure from his father, Dozie succumbed into accepting the pregnancy.

Dozie: “Mum, I am just accepting this arrangement because you have insisted on saving the face of this family from unnecessary publicity else I would have insisted on us going for a paternity test to determine the owner of her pregnancy”.

Mama Dozie: “Please, my son. Just do this for me, I don’t want anything that will bring unnecessary attention to this family. After she gives birth, we shall go for a DNA test after which we will quietly send her away if the child is not yours. If you ask for paternity test to determine the owner of the pregnancy now, her mother will say you got her daughter pregnant and because we are rich we paid the hospital to falsify the results in our favour, before you know, the press will be involved and people will forget their problems and start gossiping with our name up and down. That can ruin my political ambition for life”.

For the sake of the love he has for his family, he had sacrificed his future and married her quietly without any publicity. He was present albeit reluctantly at the arrangement which was done in her mother’s house with just four family members in attendance. All through the day, he had stayed away from her as much as he could and as soon as the everything was over, he had driven home forgetting that he was to leave with his bride as a couple. He rushed to his house and grabbed a can of Black Bullet drink, the aim was to intoxicate himself so that he could forget all about the happenings of the day. An hour later, his parents drove in accompanied by Eno, his supposed wife.

Baba Dozie: “Why did you have to rush home without waiting for your wife? Don’t you know that you are supposed to come back together as newlyweds? And to think that no one saw you leave the venue, we were busy searching for you everywhere”.

Dozie: “My wife? Which wife are you talking about here?” he tried to get up but staggered and fell on the chair for he was drunk.

Mama Dozie: “You have been drinking again. What the hell is wrong with you? How can you get drunk on the day you got married? What sort of first impression are you giving to your wife?”

Dozie: “Which wife? I don’t want to hear that word around me again. If any of you mentions wife around here, I will just run far away to a place where you will never find me”. He screamed.

Baba Dozie: “It is okay, my dear. Let us go to our house and leave the couple alone. I am sure they can handle this better as husband and wife”. He said to his wife.

They turned back and drove back to their house leaving Eno who was struggling with her box of clothes behind.

Eno stood on the spot where she was standing before his parents left for more than 10 minutes. Four times she stole glances at the man whom she just married and even though they established eye contact, he didn’t even acknowledge her presence. Tired, she moved close and sat down beside him on the same sofa.

“Get your filthy a-s from my chair!” Dozie barked causing her to jump up with fright.
Eno: “I…I am sorry, I only wanted to sit down close to you”. She closed her mouth when she noticed that he wasn’t even listening to her.

She remained standing and after some minutes, she summoned enough courage and sat on the chair opposite him with her box of cloth lying beside her. Exhausted from the marriage stress, she fell asleep there on the sofa.

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Samantha tried to get across to Dozie but he refused to pick her calls and after some days, he switched off his phones and went off social media. Tired from listening to the computer voice telling her that his number is switched off, she decided to pay him a visit. She got to his family house and the security man informed her that he had finally moved in to his house.

Jonny: “Madam, oga Dozie don pack commot from this house kpatakpata o, na him house wey dey Garki area 8 him dey stay now”.

Samantha: “Dozie packed out and he didn’t tell me? I thought he said he will call me back the last time I was here. Do you know why he had to move out in such a hurry?”

Jonny: “I no know o, but since that woman wey get big bakasi and her daughter come here, na so so argument oga Dozie and him parents dey inside”.

Samantha: “Who? You mean Eno and her mother?”

Jonny: “Exactly. Na Eno I hear them call her that day. My sister, that mama Eno get big behind no be small, she push me with her back, I nearly jam wall”.

He stopped talking when he saw that Samantha had entered her car and was driving back.

Jonny: “Aunty, you don dey go be that? You no go even give me anything to take buy something cool throat today? Na wa, this recession reach your side too?”

Samantha drove to Eno’s house in deep thoughts. She was wondering what Jonny meant by saying that Eno and her mother had been in Dozie’s house several times to make trouble. “Could this be the reason why Eno has refused to visit me or pick my calls these days? But she told me she was travelling to Dubai for the weekend now?”

She drove to Eno’s house and when she got to the compound and met two people who were dressed as in if they came for an occasion. She asked what was happening and while she was waiting for an answer, Eno’s mother came down from upstairs.

Mama Eno: “Samantha, you are here, we were expecting you to come in and be with your friend since morning. I don’t even know the kind of friends that my daughter has, none of you could even come for her”.

Samantha: “I don’t get you, ma. What are you talking about?”

Mama Eno: “Oh common, Samantha. I know it is painful but you have just to accept whatever happened in good faith. Destiny cannot be altered”.

Samantha: “Please mum where is Eno? I really need to talk to her, its urgent”.

Mama Eno: “She is in her husband’s house”.

Samantha tried her best to curtail her shock at the fact that Eno got married without inviting her. She drove quickly to the address Mama Eno gladly provided as Eno’s husband’s house.

Mama Eno: “The earlier she knows the truth, the better. I want her to let go of all the love that she has for my son in law. Nonsense girl!” she said when Samantha drove away.

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Eno was on the sofa she slept off on when she heard a knock. Quickly, she got and made for the door thinking it was one or more of Dozie’s friend who had come to wish them a happy married life. She opened the door and was shocked to see Samantha standing at the door.

Eno: “You? What are you doing here? I mean how did you know that I am here?”

Samantha: “It is a small world, Eno. Is this the Dubai you said you were going to for the weekend?”

Eno: “And what is that supposed to mean?”

Samantha: “So you got married and you didn’t tell me? What were you afraid off? That I will s£duce your boyfriend just the way you s£duced my man?”

Eno: “And why must I invite you to my wedding or give you details about my whereabouts? Are you a monitoring spirit now or what?”

Samantha: “Why you must invite me to your wedding? Because you are supposed to be my best friend. Because I tell you everything about me and so I do not expect that you will hide anything from me. Because I love you the same way I would love my sister. Because we have come a long way. Because…”

Eno: “Just cut it short there, Samantha. Because, because, because. Because of what? Listen I just got married and we are supposed to be in there enjoying our honeymoon before your knock interrupted us”.

Samantha: “What has come over you, Eno. You have been behaving strangely these days. This is how you will mess up and then you will come and start begging me to forgive you. The same thing you did during my wedding and now…”

Eno: “I see that you have not gotten over the fact that you were ditched by Dozie on your wedding day. Well, how is that my fault? Did I ask him to ditch you? The guy saw that I am better than you in everything and that was why he chosed me over you, who no like better thing? Abegi”

Samantha: “Alright then, can I at least meet your husband and congratulate him? At least we are still friends right?”

Eno: “Now you are talking. Only that my husband is not at home right now”.

Samantha: “Really? I thought you said you were enjoying your honeymoon before I knocked, how comes he is suddenly not at home anymore?”

Eno: “Yes, I mean no. in fact, why am I answering you? Please, come and be going, I am tired of standing and answering your questions, I am not your patient in your hospital”.

Emilly: “You are asking me to leave your compound without even inviting me inside your house?”

Eno: “Yes o. Come and leave. Abeg which kind problem be this? Hian! Come dey go, na. I am a married woman now and I don’t want friends around me because I don’t trust friends, what you have these days are friendly enemies everywhere. They will be laughing with you and yet turn around to stab you. I can’t risk any of my friends coming close to my man, I go just wound person”.
“Okay, then. I guess I am the fool for not knowing there is something called friendly enemies. if I knew, I wouldn’t have even thought of using you as my maid of honour when I wanted to get married. All the same, I am wiser now and I wish you all the joy and fulfillment that marriage brings”. Samantha was about to turn when Dozie who heard voices in his sleep walked out.

“Dummy Eno, who are you talking with? He asked as he walked out.

Samantha turned when she heard his voice and it felt like time stood still as tension mounted between the three of them.