By Femi Abulude
I
enjoyed life to the fullest when I was in the University. I had to
reduce my social gyration on the Campus when I succumbed to the
advances of the School Chief Accountant, Mr. Akapo. This handsome man
was very generous about money and gifts. He was the one who advised
me to thread softly on the Campus so as not to embarrass him. Thus I
became reserved for him and him alone.
I
used to travel with him outside the town on official assignments and
on weekend outings. As a rule, Mr. Akapo would never visit me in my
hostel. The affair was only known to few of my close friends. I was
contemplating marrying him as a second wife when catastrophe struck.
He was accused of gross financial misappropriation and got suspended
from the school. Thus this lengthy legal tussle started. At the end
of it all, he was found guilty and jailed.
It
took me some time before I could get over the trauma. I did not know
which one pained me more, whether the financial flow that got stuck
or the love I had for this man. Imagine this happening to me at the
final year. At any rate, I managed to pass my examination and got
posted to Kwara state for my NYSC assignment.
It
was while I was in Ilorin that I met this handsome boy who was a
pharmacist in the general hospital. His name was Seyi. He proposed to
me and we became lovers. I was his live-in-lover throughout my stay
in Ilorin. I felt relaxed with this guy. This was strange. It was as
if we had known each other for years. He proposed marriage to me
before the end of the service year, but I was stalking until I left
the city.
When
I got back to Ibadan where my parents were, I could not secure a job.
I was at a cross road and running out of patience when Seyi came to
Ibadan to inform me that he had secured a job for me. I told my
parents about this development. I have informed them about Seyi. They
liked the idea. My father who had been pestering me about him took
liking in him instantly. My mummy confessed she liked him too. With
their supports, I went for the interview which was more or less a
formality and secured the job. That was how I became Seyi’s live in
lover for the second time. I agreed to marry him and we started the
marriage process. I had met his mother several times, but he would
not discuss his father.
I
made my own private investigation and got to know that Seyi was a
love child. I also learnt that the dad abandoned him and refused
paternity claiming that his pregnancy was shrouded in controversy.
The mother’s parents took care of him and gave him their family
name Odeyale.
In
one of my visits to mama Seyi, she assured us that efforts had been
made to reconcile Seyi with his father who had just come out of a
terrible trauma. True to her assurance, the reconciliation came
earlier than expected and that was the beginning of my present
predicament.
Seyi’s
father happened to be Mr. Akapo, my campus Aristo!
He had changed a lot. He seemed to have aged in prison. When I was
introduced to him, I fainted.
When
I recovered the following day, I saw my parents by the side of my
bed. There was a doctor and a nurse. I recognized the environment to
be the hospital where Seyi worked, but he was not in sight. I tried
to talk and ask questions but the doctor waved to me not to talk.
“Young
lady, you have just gone through some psychological trauma. You need
to relax and put the agony out of your system as early as possible.”
That was the doctor.
When
I saw my mother’s swollen eye lids and my father’s sad look, I
started crying. Without being told, I knew I had lost my pregnancy
and lost Seyi too for good!
