Читать книгу Married But Available - B. Nyamnjoh - Страница 13
ОглавлениеBritney quickly thumbed at the keys of her cell phone in response to a text message she had just received: ‘University closed down due to student riot, till God knows when. Problems with fence VC is building. More later. Love you.’
She was eager to impress Lilly Loveless who was raiding the magnificent Puttkamerstown Botanical Gardens with her digital camera, repeatedly whispering ‘tropical paradise’ with almost every shot she took. Finally satisfied she had captured every plant and flower that caught her fancy, including several shots from varied positions of the thorny imposing ‘lover’s tree’ at the centre of the Gardens, Lilly Loveless joined Britney on the bench where the latter was sitting, hungry to start.
“My ears have been filled. Ready for me to fill yours?” asked Britney. Lilly Loveless smiled in anticipation of what Britney had gathered since their last meeting over a week ago.
Although Lilly Loveless woke late after the night of dancing, musical and self exploration with Bobinga Iroko, she had made sure she stopped by a shop for cold juice, water and biscuits, which she brought along in an environmentally friendly plastic bag.
Britney was sitting beneath two flamboyant trees that met overhead, listening to the musical concert of a multitude of colourful birds in the trees. She sat with her beaded purse on her lap, her notebook grasped in her hands and her knees turned in, ready to share. Lilly Loveless simultaneously appreciated the morning breeze and noticed Britney’s flower print dress, sleeveless and tight fitting on top then flowing to her ankles as she sat. Did their meeting place influence Britney’s choice of attire or was it a complete coincidence? Lilly Loveless wondered.
Britney waited patiently for Lilly Loveless to open two bottles of juice, ready her recorder and open her notebook. When she could tell Lilly Loveless was all ears, she began.
“Let me start with two letters I collected from a classmate of mine on my way here, who, frustrated by a recent experience with a married man in Sawang, does not have a kind word to say about men right now,” began Britney.
“Go right ahead,” said Lilly Loveless.
***
“The girl is called Veronique, She writes: ‘Good morning Darling, How are you doing? And your business? I hope you find time to rest a bit. My Darling, I miss you terribly, I think of you every day. I’m already quite embarrassed passing at the telephone booth every time to find out if you have called, only to be told no message.
“‘I really used to love it when we saw each other regularly, when you used to tell me your beautiful stories. Even more, I used to adore your smile and especially your beautiful lips that made me always want to kiss you everywhere. Darling, I feel good with you. By your side, I momentarily forget about everyone surrounding us. You therefore can imagine how much pain your absence is causing me. You see, you promised to let me know whenever you were in town. But, since we last saw each other, something has changed. You could even call me from Sawang, just to let me know you are also thinking of me. In any case, you could call just to say good morning or good evening, and insist that the message be transmitted to me.
“‘All I wish is for us to see again and to be as we were before. If you’ve misplaced my telephone number, this is 77980674. Or you could leave a letter for me at the university. Do something, I would like to hear your voice or read your letter.
“‘Once more, I miss you terribly, I’ve borne too much and I suffer from your absence. Darling, remember one thing, I don’t want to lose you so soon, you’ve left your mark on me, I have a good impression of you; because every time we talked, you always came down to my level. Thus the chemistry was good between us. Let me leave you, and I think we’ve still got a long road to travel together. Till soon, I kiss you. Bye.’”
“She sounds sweet, but seems rather old fashioned, or is it her lover who doesn’t know how to send an email?” remarked Lilly Loveless.
“Perhaps the man didn’t give her an email address, or prefers letters that take time to compose and that are well thought out, to the easy and shabby emails people click to and fro without as much as reading over for spelling, grammar and structure.”
“Sorry, I didn’t think of that. Please continue.”
“In the second, she is even more desperate,” Britney went on: “‘Darling, I write to you one more time to remind you that I am alive. This is the second time I am writing to you and twice I have called to leave a message for you. I’m already tired, don’t you think? Do you remember what you told me one day that I couldn’t alone decide to end our relationship, as this was a matter for the two of us to decide? You would realise with me that you have done what you said I should never do. I would like you to keep your word. What I want now is for you to call me for a meeting. Let’s meet face to face, so you tell me that it is all over, that you’ve already found another girl, a girl better than me. Don’t you see that you would have freed me and perhaps you would have rendered me a great service? I also believe that it is important to be clear in life. To tell you the truth, you are making me do what I vowed never to do. To tell the truth, I’m ashamed of myself. I count on your understanding. I would like you to telephone in the evening, around six o’clock every day at the téléboutique where my sister works; as she would already be there, she assumes duty at this time every day except Fridays and Sundays. If you have forgotten the number, it is 77980674. Let me leave you, I count on you for the next meeting to say farewell the proper way.’”
“I notice that she doesn’t even have a cell phone of her own. Isn’t that odd?”
“New technology is a bit like Heaven,” replied Britney.
“In what way?”
“Many are called but few are chosen.”
“I like that.”
“Thanks.”
“Did she say how the guy reacted?” asked Lilly Loveless.
“That, I still have to find out,” replied Britney. “She was not in a mood to be interviewed, so she sort of wanted to chase me away by sharing her letters with me.”
“Do please follow up with her when she is in a better mood, as it seems you have quite some story to tell on this relationship,” recommended Lilly Loveless. “And remember to find out why letters and téléboutiques in this day and age when the email and cell phone are widely available.”
“I will,” Britney promised, noting the recommendation in her notebook.
“In the second case, what starts with a little light fun can lead up roads you didn’t imagine,” she started.
“I’m all ears,” said Lilly Loveless.
***
“Lionel, you see, is now 24 and a third year student here at Mimbo. In high school he dated Comfort, his classmate. At high school, junior students are called freshers. When school reopens in September, there is usually a rush by boys to pick up girl freshers, hence the name September Rush. No boy wants to be left out, for fear of being termed ‘chickless guy’ by peers. Lionel was thus lucky to have Comfort, whom he greatly admired and loved to show off amongst his friends and mates.”
“Sounds promising,” remarked Lilly Loveless, wetting her lips with some of the juice.
“Lionel had one thing in mind: how to convince Comfort to have sex with him as soon as possible. At school he would do everything, including visiting her room and staying late into the night, until Comfort would tell him to leave so she could sleep. One Friday night, he proposed an outing to a popular bar-cum-nightclub, where they stayed till 4am. Despite his efforts, he could only lay a kiss on her cheek. The next day he proposed going to a video projection hall with Comfort, where he managed to convince her to watch a pornographic film. His intentions were the same, to weaken her defences. He succeeded. As the film played, soon they were holding hands. Soon Comfort’s head was on his shoulder. Soon she was pressing hard on his arm. She moved closer to him. He pretended he didn’t know what was going on, but his body was telling its own story. When he spoke to her his voice was slower each time, taking longer pauses between sentences. He stared at her lips each time he spoke, oblivious of what exactly it was he was saying, or that the film was running. Without knowing it, he was getting closer and closer to Comfort. Slowly, he moved his eyes from Comfort’s mouth to her eyes and back again. Then, he placed his hand on her hip and brought her closer. Their lips met.
“After the film, Lionel feigned saying good night, but Comfort almost burst into tears, wouldn’t let him go and begged him to accompany her to her hostel which was off campus. Lionel went along, and spent the night with her. When he returned to his hostel the next day, his friends were teasing and hailing him at the same time: ‘Lionel don nang mboko eh’, ‘he don take baptism’, ‘Pa you strong’…
“Then Lionel’s relationship with Comfort intensified.”
“How so?” asked Lilly Loveless as Britney paused to sip her juice.
“He spent most of his time with her. She would prepare food at times and visit him at his hostel, where they would eat and study together.
Lionel’s feelings were centred on Comfort, and he saw no need to look at any other girl.
“On the other hand, little did he know she also had a relationship with a business tycoon. When she left school and went to town to see her tycoon, she would lie to Lionel that she was going to see her parents. Things came into the open one day when on her 18th birthday a terrible thing happened.”
“I hope nothing too serious,” Lilly Loveless interjected.
“You’ll find out if you let me continue.”
“Please proceed,” Lilly Loveless got the message.
“A party was organised in a bar owned by one of the discipline masters of the high school. The party took off at 4pm. There was the cutting of the cake, wishes by friends, and then dancing. The MC was a friend of Comfort, and had drawn up a list of who was to open the floor with whom. Naturally, Lionel was slated to have the opening dance with Comfort.
“What they didn’t know was that Comfort had invited what came to be known as her ‘illiterate business tycoon’ as well. As the couples went to the floor as programmed, there the tycoon walked in and saw his bloomy Comfort dancing with Lionel; and he was not amused. He stormed his way towards them, pushed Comfort down and removed the shoes she was wearing. He had bought her the shoes and would not let her use them to please a mere student, a ‘flying-shirt’ with no pockets and no wallet. He was terribly disappointed in Comfort, whom he had already introduced to his fellow traders at the Zintgraffstown main market, where he was highly regarded for going out with a high school girl. A rumour later surfaced that a medicine man had given him the task of impregnating a virgin school girl if he wanted his business to grow.”
“Such things happen?” asked Lilly Loveless.
“What do you expect of illiterate men like local market traders?” replied Britney. “If it is not a virgin school girl, it is the wife of your neighbour, your own daughter or even your mother, they ask you to sleep with. They ask for something impossible or very difficult, those fortunetellers, and you have to be illiterate enough to believe them,” she explained.
“So what happened in this case?” asked Lilly Loveless.
“The business tycoon probably withdrew to lick his wounds or look for another victim. But for Comfort, the disgrace was unbelievable. Everybody felt ashamed and confused. Lionel could not bear it, and gave Comfort a slap on the face. Their friends left. The following day, Lionel’s stained name was splashed all over the gossip corners of the campus, including what the students, for reasons of their own, had come to term ‘Radio Bagdad News,’ the dreadful lampooning service that, like a precision guided missile, never missed an opportunity to make an inferno of life on campus. Comfort’s reputation was heavily tarnished as well. Her name and story were posted on every street on campus and in the neighbourhood. Even the birds seemed to shame her with the music they made round the campus. Although her friends did their best to keep her company and reassured, she never felt free. She kept a low profile in school for weeks until the news reluctantly died down.”
“Things must not have been easy for her,” said Lilly Loveless.
“And it gets more complicated,” continued Britney. “Too shocked by Comfort’s behaviour, Lionel decided he would end the relationship. He was surprised a few days later by a note from her begging for pardon. She gave reasons for her infidelity: it was because he did not support her financially and she was not very sure of him, given that there were boyfriend snatchers all around the high school. She promised to bury the past and to turn a new page with him.
“It took Lionel some time to consider her request, but after a while and with the active intervention of their friends they came back together and were on good terms. The relationship became very intense again, and this time, Comfort was showing her love through love letters and postcards.
“One postcard read: ‘Thoughts for a best friend: One of the most special places in my heart will always be saved for you: the one person I can always talk to; the one person who understands; for making me laugh in the rain; for helping me shoulder my troubles; for loving me in spite of myself, and always putting me back on my feet again; for giving me someone to believe in; someone who lets me know that there really is goodness and kindness and laughter and love in the world; for being one of the best parts of my life, and proving it over and over again; for being so worthy of my love, for being my best friend.’
“Another read: ‘Falling in love with u and loving u are the most wonderful things that happened to me. Let’s never forget that a love like ours comes once in a lifetime. You are so loving and caring to me. No one else has ever made me feel as happy, as content, as complete, as full of smiles as you do. I love u forever.’ There were many others: ‘I love having you in my life: I love all the joy that being with you brings to me, from our most intimate moments alone, to the pride I feel in you when we’re out somewhere together...’
“It was clear that she had turned a new chapter: ‘Lionel Love, I wish you knew how I have longed for a day to tell you how much you mean to me, how much I’ve come to love you, and how it fills me with joy to know that we are birds of the same feathers. But I thank God because he made a wonderful and special day like this, for you and for me to say: You mean so much to me and above all, I LOVE YOU.’
“On his 20th birthday, she wrote: ‘I love all that we share. I love the laughter, the understanding, and the fact that so much about us – our minds, our bodies, our hearts, our feelings – should touch so closely and perfectly together. I love how gentle you are and how sensitive, but most of all, I love the tenderness you save for me and me alone. I could never tell you how much that means to me. Happy Birthday, with love.’
“In a Christmas note to him, she declared: ‘Lionel, you are an embodiment of God’s perfect creature. I could never have wished for somebody better than you. I pray for you today and always to be merry and may you remain blessed.’
“The first year was over and they were both promoted to upper sixth. This time they reduced their leisure time. Though they attended all booms, they never visited the popular drinking and dancing spots as they did in lower sixth. Lionel remained the bright student that he was, and was rewarded with an appointment as class proctor. He performed his duty well and everybody loved him.”
“Sounds like trouble,” Lilly Loveless anticipated.
“Yep. Lionel was masculine and sporty – a very articulate footballer nicknamed Kling-Kong-Kong by admirers of his ball control. There was a soft side to him as well. He was intelligent, but he was also spontaneous, and his sense of humour added to his charm. With this charm and his accomplishments he was popular, and his popularity attracted girls. There were always girls around him. One day he was tempted to date another girl called Mercy. The outcome was a merciless disaster, not because Comfort found out about the relationship, which she didn’t, but because he contracted gonorrhoea. Even when he was taken to the hospital, Comfort ignorantly visited him, bringing food. She was lied to by Lionel that he was suffering from severe stomach ache.
“He got well and came back to school, promising never to forget the lesson he had learnt. Henceforth, he would trust no other girl but his Comfort. It was second term and book was beginning to be serious even amongst those who loved play more than they did their studies. Unfortunately Comfort became pregnant, and this affected Lionel seriously. They thought of an abortion, but he hadn’t the money even to pay a traditional doctor, let alone to afford a D&C. He informed his friends and since they trusted and helped one another, they donated money. With the money Lionel went to see Comfort to agree to a solution. Comfort did not consent to his proposal to have an abortion. In fact, she felt insulted that Lionel should take a decision of that magnitude about her pregnancy without consulting her.”
“Typical,” whispered Lilly Loveless.
“Curiously, her refusal to abort made Lionel furious, almost to the point of beating her. Why men always spontaneously resort to such easy solutions, beats me. In his case, whatever changed his mind, he never knew. He just left without offering any other word, thinking that after sometime she may think about the proposal and send him a positive reply.
“A reply was not forthcoming. He sent his friends to talk to her but Comfort stood firm in her decision and would not let go of the pregnancy. Lionel was doubly disturbed. Many questions came up to his mind that he could not answer. How would he tell his parents he had impregnated a girl? How would he cope with all the rumour and finger-pointing that were going to circulate about him? And worst of all, how would he face Comfort’s parents?”
“I see what you mean about things getting more complicated,” volunteered Lilly Loveless.
“Quite surprisingly, Comfort was much calmer about the whole thing. She even tried to console Lionel, telling him not to worry. She told him she was going to inform her mother and assured him that wouldn’t be a problem. He relaxed for a moment, but when she came back with the news that her mother wanted to see him, he was tormented once again. He summoned courage and went there. Her mother being an understanding woman, they made an agreement. Lionel had to inform his parents about it, so that necessary preparations would be made.
“Although completely jolted by the experience, Lionel managed to sit for his GCE exams, after which he left for Nyamandem where his parents lived. His mother was the first to notice a change in her son, but Lionel never gave away what actually was his problem. It was a friend who finally told his mother and father about the issue. They became furious, and his mother threw insults at him daily. At one time she said ‘they send wonna say make wonna learn book wonna go learn na how for make pikin.’”
“That’s a mouthful!” Lilly Loveless couldn’t help interjecting. “But I understand, so my pidgin must be getting better by the day.”
“As for his father,” Britney ignored the interjection, “he told him the plans he had made for him had to change because he now had to use the money to prepare for his newborn. Unable to feel free in their home, Lionel disappeared for a year. While he was away, news reached him that Comfort had given birth to a baby girl and that they were both doing fine. Presently the child is with Lionel’s parents and in primary 3. Lionel has lost contact with Comfort, who unfortunately never made her GCE. He, on the other hand, is a student right here at UM.”
Britney tipped the bottle in her hand up to drink the last of the juice and asked “Have you ever had an abortion?”
Lilly Loveless was caught a bit off guard, shook her head slowly from side to side and said, “Nope, I haven’t.” And to change the subject, asked Britney if she wanted more juice or a bottle of water.
“Nope,” she said, “let’s get on with our work.”
Lilly Loveless nodded.
***
With that green light Britney proceeded: “Rebecca is about 21 years of age and attending school at Standard Comprehensive College, Form Five. Her father is late and her mother is carrying on with petty-businesses, such as frying puff puff and beans for sale. Rebecca is the fourth child to her mother. She is already blessed with a fair complexion, Rebecca, which she herself has added to by polishing with bleaching creams. Though she finds herself being maltreated by the O Levels, she is determined to pursue schooling.”
“What do you mean blessed with a fair complexion?” asked Lilly Loveless.
“Here in Mimboland, lighter skin women are valued higher than darker skin ones.”
“Whom by?”
“Men and women alike. In marriage for example, the bride price for those who are fair in complexion is usually higher, as these women tend to be more visible than some of us,” Britney explained. “Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the electricity supply is very low and unstable, and when the lights are off as is often the case, lighter skin women are more visible than the dark skin women.”
“So they are worth more for their capacity to attract attention in the dark?”
“Something like that,” said Britney.
“How fascinating,” said Lilly Loveless, nodding at the same time to say Britney could continue with her story.
“Rebecca’s past experience in life has been full of ups and downs as concerns relationships with boys. She had her very first boyfriend when she was quite young. Before him, she was being approached by so many boys and she raised her shoulders high because she thought she was very beautiful. The fact of overplaying her beauty meant that boys were not comfortable once they finally had something to do with her. She discovered she had had four boyfriends within two years.”
“Four boyfriends in two years?” asked Lilly Loveless.
“Luckily for her,” Britney continued, “she was being advised by her elder sister to stop messing around and spoiling the family name all over the place.
“Rebecca then decided to settle and to have one boyfriend. Richie was in Form Five but in a different school. His parents were rich: his father is a customs officer and his mother a civil servant, and he was hungry to make his circles see him as part of this wealth. Rebecca fell in love with Richie during one vacation. He invited her to their house under the pretext of giving her the address of one of her former boyfriends who was dismissed from school and had moved to Sawang. Richie welcomed her with cake biscuits and drinks. She was not all that used to him but they discussed each other superficially and the name of her former boyfriend only featured once. Rebecca promised to come back again after two days, to give Richie a letter to take to Sawang.
“Before the day she was to visit again, Richie went to the shop and bought a good pair of shoes for her.”
“Girls sure seem to like shoes,” noted Lilly Loveless. “Tell me though, a high school boy with money to buy a girl an expensive pair of shoes? It is difficult to imagine, especially given the images of Africa that are fed us, those of a continent crippled by poverty and by desire without affordability.”
“Haven’t you heard the saying that every crisis has its opportunists?” replied Britney. “Believe it or not, in major schools around major cities in the country, children are basically awash with more money than sense. They are wayward at school because of their economic might. Oh, they have nifty little cell phones, leading to some schools banning any kind of communication device which is not on the school list. This includes laptops, MP3s, CDs, VCDs, DVDs, flash sticks, etc. Calls are made at the school office or from other phones outside the school when children are allowed out if they are boarders. Some have cars either because parents have given them to compensate for their absence, or the cars are stolen from parents or guardians. The cars allow them to maintain girlfriends who are school children or even school leavers of the same age or older. Those who live alone have parties to die for on weekends, with booze, music, videos including porn and sex on the side. Maids paid for by parents to ease domestic chores may also be reigned in as girlfriends or sex partners. The kids are consumed by a fascination and fixation with designer clothes and shoes, original music and videos of trendy world class singers. The girls all want to look like Barbie doll, and believe that nothing larger than size zero is fashionable, but junk food and an easy life are making the realization of this dream size impossible for most of them. Too much lunch money for school or general discretionary spending means that they just can’t eat their cake and have it. Failure to slim down in reality is compensated for by a taste for luxury through trendy outfits, boutique shoes, jewellery and perfumes imported from Muzunguland, and not from China whose products they consider too cheap and too inferior to be of interest.”
Lilly Loveless was spellbound, and her notebook said so.
“Believe it or not,” added Britney. “And it was a real surprise when Rebecca was presented with the shoes. Instead of the words ‘I don’t take presents from boys I hardly know’, she thanked Richie for being more than kind. Little did she know he was building an intention of having her. This he made known to his friends, but to Rebecca he gave the impression his gift was obligation free.
“Rebecca was a strong chick who had given ‘tête’ to many boys trying to associate with her. Through repeated visits paid by Rebecca to Richie’s house, things finally changed into a love relationship. Jeff, her former boyfriend who had moved to Sawang, soon became forgotten. Now she thought of the fact that she had seen in Richie a new guy who could buy her ‘boutique shoes’ which at the time were not common. She gave the impression of not being aware that Richie could quite simply want to take advantage of her nose for material things.
“Their kind of relationship was that which was known all over the place. Richie was a student and had peers who liked to show off, such that when they went to the nightclub they bought beer, whisky, and chicken so that their table showed that they had money. He bought Rebecca expensive track suits, shoes, dresses…, and more of the same, again and again.”
“I smell trouble like burnt cooking,” Lilly Loveless insisted.
“Be patient,” Britney rebuked, gently. “They went out together for lunch, picnics, shopping and nightclubbing. Not once did she stop to ask where Richie, a simple student without a job, got the money to lavish on her.”
“Is it normal for girls to ask?”
“Shouldn’t a well brought up girl ask?”
“I suppose she should, but do they?”
“The fact that Rebecca didn’t doesn’t mean they don’t.”
“I give up,” smiled Lilly Loveless.
“Rebecca’s misinterpretation of dating led her into a gutter big time,” Britney went on. “She became pregnant and it was the worst time in her life. She had been despising her mother, not helping her, sleeping out for weeks and absenting herself from school because she had to satisfy the wants of her guy. So she did not know how to go about the pregnancy.”
Lilly Loveless looked perplexed. “Britney, don’t people use condoms?!”
“Not as much as you would think, especially with the risks of getting HIV. With the excuse that you cannot enjoy a bath with a raincoat on, or eat a sweet in its wrapping, some go to the extent of perforating their condoms, if they bother to wear them at all. Others start off with condoms and then abandon them into the relationship claiming familiarity – ‘I know you, you know me now, no?’ In some instances, the condom simply comes under too much pressure and explodes. And the consequences are frightening. A high school student who died recently was discovered to have kept a diary with 87 cases of girls he had infected with AIDS. A male university student diagnosed with AIDS had the audacity to tell the doctor: ‘I got this thing from the University of Mimbo, and I will take it back there. They will see red.’ Not to mention a highly placed customs officer in Sawang who uses the sumptuous bribes he receives daily to lure unsuspecting beauties to his lair, where he injects them with the most lethal strand of HIV known to exist, thanks to his frequent flyer status.” Britney was bitter. “If you investigate further, these are probably guys who had a chance to make a difference from the outset. Stories abound of girls who take a condom from their purse and ask a man to push it on only for the man to push it away saying: ‘You don’t expect me to eat banana without taking off the skin, do you? I’m not a pig, mind you.’”
“And the authorities do nothing to curb such irresponsible behaviour?” Lilly Loveless was scandalised.
“Mimboland na Mimboland,” said Britney.
Lilly Loveless nodded: It said it all.
“Anyway,” Britney continued, “Rebecca’s pregnancy was about three months old and she had not yet informed Richie. One day she gathered courage and told him and they decided to do a D&C, so she could once more be stable and could go about her daily activities and enjoying life unencumbered.”
“Interesting,” said Lilly Loveless, more to herself than to Britney. “In Comfort’s case abortion vehemently rejected, but readily accepted in Rebecca’s case. What accounts for these different attitudes?” She spoke out as she wrote in her notebook.
Noticing that the question was not addressed to her, Britney continued with her story. “Rebecca was faithful in her relationship, but Richie was not. He went out with a girl in their school called Annette. During his 17th birthday party there was a quarrel and a fight. Rebecca could not bear seeing him cheat on her because she had a jealous mind. She never wanted him to talk to any girl. So she was totally devastated when she realised that he had something to do with Annette. Rebecca could not feel free because she was not a ‘bed sharer’ with any other girl. She had become so close to Richie that her school life was affected. She loved him and always wanted him to be near her. And when he was good he was really good. At times, he went to Sawang and brought his father’s car and took her together with her friends to the beach. Rebecca did not believe there could be anyone more than Richie ever.
“They were both at school, but Richie was better able to combine what they did with studies, while Rebecca repeatedly failed her exams. The more time she spent away from class, the greater she failed. Richie would take her to all the nightclubs around, enjoy life, and yet pass his exams when he sat them. For Rebecca the story would be failure, however hard she tried to make up. Studying for exams was like the ‘callé callé’ of her life, and some of her friends would laugh at her behind her back by saying things such as: ‘Who needs brains when you’ve got tits?’
“So you can imagine how she felt when she failed the GCE and Richie passed. He organised a party but she did not bother attending.
“Things got worse when she discovered that she was pregnant yet again. She had a light fever and was vomiting. So she went for a pregnancy test. The results of which were positive. But she was not having things her way this time. Richie, her ‘jackpot,’ did not have money to afford her another D&C. He tried to play games with his parents in the hope of getting some money, to no avail. His aunt later got wind of the pregnancy, called for Rebecca and told her not to do away with the child. With no money forthcoming, Rebecca reported the matter to her uncle who was the assistant commissioner of police, and Richie was locked up.”
“Locked up?!” interrupted Lilly Loveless, looking up from her notebook.
“Yep, behind bars. News reached his parents and they were very angry because they petted him so much. At last Richie was released and a hundred and fifty thousand Mim dollars were given to Rebecca to start preparations for delivery. Instead Rebecca took the money and bought ‘boutique shoes’, expensive clothes and used the rest to visit a traditional doctor for concoctions to do away with the pregnancy. There was no mistaking or compromising her priorities. Yet the foetus refused to cooperate. It did not come out. She pretended to be attending antenatal classes after this failed attempt.
“After about six months and two weeks of pregnancy, she fell ill and was taken to hospital where she miscarried. Then it was discovered that she had administered some concoctions which affected the baby.”
Lilly Loveless pointed to a colourful butterfly that had just landed on Britney’s knee, now crossed over the other. Superstitious, Britney shooed it away and continued.
“Rebecca’s and Richie’s names were headline news in local newspapers, including The Talking Drum. Then she was forced to change colleges, because she could not bear the way friends and others in the community would burn her with their eyes.
“Distance and problems have made the relationship between Richie and Rebecca drift apart and peter out. She is still struggling to pass her O Level GCE, but she refuses to give up on the ‘high classes which Richie brought out in her.”
Lilly Loveless lifted her head and took in the variety of flowers around them. There was a lone student or couple that wandered by from time to time on one of the crisscrossing paths through the gardens. Lilly Loveless wondered about their stories, and resolved to dig up as much as possible from the stacks of newspapers and magazines in the Archives, with the assistance of Prince Anointed. A strange thought crossed her mind: What would a married woman do with flowers offered her by a secret lover at a secret meeting place like this? Take them home? No way! Dump them somewhere in the nearby bushes? More like it. She smiled. Marriage and formal relationships do take their toll on a woman’s freedom to express and explore her sexuality and happiness, don’t they? This was not the time to ask Britney for an opinion, but she would have to one of these days, as it was part of her work to understand the cultural dimensions of sex, power and consumerism in Mimboland.
As she prepared to ask Britney if she knew the name of one of the particularly beautiful orange flowers, Britney started sharing her third interview. She continued to fill the ears of Lilly Loveless who in turn filled her notebook, as butterflies celebrated their presence in the company of the singing birds in the trees.
