Beautiful Onyinye-Episode Three

Episode Three

More than their mothers ever could, Ekaette loved knowing all the guys that mattered on camp. To their boxers if that was what it took. She did her best at that, within the brief stint NYSC afforded her with the guys. And she’d sworn to go on knowing them after camp was over. It was the one thing that bestowed her with a sense of invincibility. Her success with it meant she owned the exclusive rights to their relevance amongst her female friends. After knowing them, she passed them over to her favoured friends. On this particular occasion, Onyinye won the right to meet them. A shy personality with a pinch of salt for self esteem, was Onyinye. 

You could imagine her surprise when Onyinye’s gaze caught of one of Ekaette’s mattering guys and he exclaimed ‘beautiful Onyinye!’ without holding back. He wore a captivating smile that sustained her gaze on him for some seconds. Then she looked away when the smile wore out for a bit. Right from that moment, her face lit up like a crisp morning sun and her heart picked up speed. What she felt was a wild outburst of emotion that drove her into oblivion until Ekaette tapped her right shoulder. Then she realised she was the only one who was not laughing. She became embarrassed as she thought of how much she had displayed her feeling. Soon after she paid attention to their conversations, she learnt their funny remarks were about her crush’s statement. 

“Onyinye,” Ekaette said, laughing. She wiped out the tears that had squeezed from her eyes.  “Did you hear what this crazy guy said?” she gestured to the same guy. But Onyinye tried not to look in his direction again.

           

Before Onyinye could say anything, the same guy held his hands up to make a confession. “Hey guys! Beautiful Onyinye is one of PSquare's songs—my favorite of them all. Her name reminds me of that song. That is all. Well if you call me a Casanova, I’d gladly accept it.” He attempted a dodgy defense of himself. But Onyinye wished he meant his words.  And hoped her gaze did not send a message of interest.

           

The same guy picked their tabs at the end of the lunch date. His generosity elicited the other guys’ noisy patronage. They showered him with mounting epithets like ‘Young Money’, ‘Mr. Dollar’…. But Onyinye longed to know his real name.

           

On one searing hot afternoon when Onyinye was on her way to get her lunch, distant calls of ‘beautiful Onyinye!’ stopped her on her tracks. She stopped walking, turned and squinted her eyes in the direction from where the voice came.  A snappy glimpse of her caller’s face brought in waves of excitement and anxiousness. She looked away, but for a moment. When she looked back at him, she realised the sun was really kind to his face. It cast a golden glow upon him, adding more radiance to his already gorgeous face. He was a good-looking man with the proud build of an athlete and a cocky air. She wanted to gaze continuously at him, but she looked away again and tried to wear a face devoid of her emotions.

           

 “Where are you off to?" he asked, after boxing her up in a corner. Onyinye stared at him speechless and before her mouth could form words, he asked again "The food warmer in your hands tells me you are going to get NYSC food, right?”  By the time a ‘yes’ finally settled in Onyinye’s quivering lips, he whined about the pains of waiting in line before getting to eat NYSC food. He then went on to ask if he could buy her lunch.  Yet overcome by shyness and surprise, she let an almost silent yes get off her burdened lips. In the inner recesses of her timid mind, she wished she had said no. In the business of getting to become an average Nigerian man’s girlfriend, saying no would conform to a normal lady’s ‘hard to get’ tradition. It was in the lady’s best interest to always be difficult at first. And by God, Onyinye was no exception. Yet, she did not walk away as they both walked to the camp’s mami market. At the square forming the market, he led the way to Mama Chi-Chi’s restaurant, the same restaurant where they met for the first time. He ordered for a plate eba and ogbono soup for her.  She shook her head in rejection of his menu choice, and counter-ordered a plate of jollof rice. All along, she was careful not to make it seem like she wasn’t grateful for his generosity and care.

           

“Why rice?” He quizzed, arresting her stares with his bold, concentrated gaze.

           

“Sorry?”

           

“I thought I requested for your favorite. Every Igbo person I know loves ogbono soup and garri.” He laughed.

           

“I do not like ogbono,” she ventured, fighting hard enough to avoid his powerful stare.  She lied about that. The growling in her stomach said she needed to have her favourite soup, ogbono.

             

As they ate, he did an endless ranting of his love for Igbo food. And of course, of his mother's preference for Igbo cooks. "If I marry an Igbo woman, it would be because of her culinary skill," he said and laughed all alone over it.

           

His domination of the conversation meant she had to listen to him quietly. The aura around him triggered sensations of awkwardness, excitement and fear. She listened in excitement because he was such an interesting orator. As the one-sided conversation went on, she listened in fear. She saw the ‘know it all’ kind of man who would prefer his woman to have a lot going on upstairs. He talked up issues her timidity ensured she had zero idea about; and mentioned places she had never been to— might never be to. He mentioned being to a casino in Las Vegas the previous summer, to watch some guy who lost in a poker game have his girlfriend confiscated like a luxury product. Everything about him said he was an intelligent man with a high degree of self-awareness. She feared she might appear less intelligent, so she smiled and nodded her accent to every word his busy lips formed. Even though her head was overloaded with a zillion words, she could have said, she had to weigh them carefully in her mind. After weighing them, she concluded they were better left unmentioned.

           

“Come on!  I have been talking too much,” he said. “I am sorry. Tell me about yourself.” He paused for a moment before he continued, “You can ask any question. Dear, I am not the type that finds shy ladies amusing. I like the very ballsy ones.” He laughed.

           

“Oh,” she said, stalling for time. “What is your real name?” the odd feeling about her question being a stupid one, almost made her bite off her tongue. Well, being whom she was and coming up against a man like that unprepared, what could she have asked?

           

“Did my name sound…fake?”

           

She mentioned all the nicknames she heard her friends call him the other day.

           

“Oh,” he said, “ Adedamola.”

           

“Ade-da-mola,” she stuttered. She had trouble pronouncing long Yoruba names. His persistence on having his name well pronounced meant more trouble. He made her call out his name several times until she was able to pronounce the name correctly. Whilst they talked, trepidation set in. Onyinye felt she ruined her first date with him. She blamed herself for ruining everything because she was too nervous. She was still pondering on how well she should have behaved when all of a sudden he asked if they could have dinner together.  Her heart skipped a few beats. In her mind, she screamed yes, but when she finally talked, all she could manage was a flat, boring ‘yes’.

After they had lunch, he walked her to the front of the girls’ hostel before they parted ways. When she looked to her back, he was still staring at her. Shyly, she waved at him and walked into the hostel, feeling cocky and fidgety.

Once she stepped into her room, Ekaette jumped off her bunk, ran to the centre of the room and screamed, “Onyinye don get NYSC boyfriend!” Onyinye was surprised at that. She wondered how Ekaette knew she had lunch with Adedamola. It took a while before Ekaette confessed to her that she saw them together at mami market.

“Onyinye, have fun, but don’t get too attached to him. NYSC relationships don’t last.” Ekaette advised after Onyinye confided in her that she was attracted to him.

                                                                  ***

A week after NYSC Passing out Parade, Onyinye left Abeokuta without notice. She would have loved to stay in Abeokuta because she loved the serene environment, and the cost of living was very bearable to her. However, Adedamola’s memories were inextricably tied to Abeokuta and her neighbours weren’t helping her to get rid of him.  They wouldn’t stop asking about him. When she told them he traveled to America, they weren’t always satisfied with the brief response. They wanted to know why he travelled, if she was hearing from him and when she was going to join him. Some neighbours went the extra mile by telling her how lucky she was to have a boyfriend in America. The superfluous inquiries from her neighbours stirred up her emotions and helped his thoughts to find solace in her mind. Also, there was a neighbour who wouldn’t stop playing and singing ‘beautiful Onyinye’ by Psquare in a high pitched voice. That song was their favorite song so the song was a painful reminder of him. Everything around her seemed to bring his picture to her mind. If she must survive the emptiness that his absence enveloped her in, she reckoned another environment she had never shared with him was just the thing she needed. Enugu was obviously going be a safe haven for her, so she chose to return home.

On a public transport to Enugu, she found a lady cuddling around a guy and she became angry. She wished she could tell the lady not to commit her heart and emotion to the guy so she wouldn't be left disappointed and betrayed like her.

 At home in Enugu, every day was like every other day because she was idle.  Her Idleness conveyed boredom and boredom elaborated the emotional pain from the breakup. She became angry with the hands of clock for moving too slow. She would lay on her bed crying and praying that day would go by quickly, but they went by very slow.  It was difficult to wake up in the morning without thinking of him and she wouldn’t stop blaming herself for falling in love with him. But how could she have controlled her emotions? Most times she had tried to talk herself to stop pushing blames on herself and instead push the blames on Adedamola’s Mum because she suspected that she might be the one who told Adedamola to break up with her because she wasn’t Yoruba. “But when I met her for the first time her countenance didn’t look like she didn’t like me. She even said kedu to me. Could she have hated me and still say kedu to me?” She repeatedly asked herself several times. After a while, she concluded that they weren't meant for each other because of the difference in their social status and tribe. Certainly, one of the laws of physics, 'negative attracts positive' do not apply in man to woman relationship. Only likes attract likes. Rich marry rich and poor marry poor.  In her understanding, the relationship was a mishap because they were worlds apart.

One day she called Ekaette to express her struggle to get over Adedamola.

“Onyinye, if your mind is idle, you will not stop thinking about him. There is no magic that can keep away those unwanted images or feeling if you remain idle. Onyinye, it is very important to keep yourself busy if you are trying to forget about him.” Ekaette advised.

“Ekaette, I don’t want to stay idle, but it is not easy to get a job here.”

“Then come to Lagos. Dear, I am not saying you will get a perfect job in Lagos o, but you will surely get one you can manage. Good jobs need long legs, unfortunately my longs legs can’t help me secure one.” She laughed briefly and then said, “Onyinye come to Lagos to free your mind. He doesn’t deserve all the time you spend thinking of him. Has he called ever since he broke up with you?”

“He called once, but I hung up on him when he started to make up one of his silly excuses and ever since then he hasn’t called back.”

“Thumbs up girl! It is good you hung up on him. What does he want you to do with his silly excuse, eh?  He said he no do again, then he should waka.” She hissed. “Onyinye baby, leave your village and come to Lagos. Don’t worry I will hook you up with a nice Igbo guy, not a Yoruba demon like Adedamola.”

“Ekaette, getting into another relationship is the least of my problems.”

“Na lie joor!”

“After all I went through; I don’t believe true love exists.”

Ekaette laughed briefly. “It is obvious you are yet to get over him. The only medicine that can cure that illness is to bring that your that your massive ass to Lagos. I am waiting for you. Byeee.”

After the phone conversation with Ekaette, she decided to take a bold step to talk to her mother about moving to Lagos.

“What would you be doing in Lagos?” Her mother asked.

“I don't know but I will look for a job. It is better than staying jobless here.”

Her mother let out a long sigh of worry before she said, “I would prefer you stay around because you aren't getting any younger. You this educated people think only about job, what of husband and children? Ehn?  Our men don’t trust Lagos girls. They believe they are wayward and that is why they return home to find good women.  How will you find a good man in Lagos when all the good ones come home to find good women? How do you intend to find a good one?”

“Mama, things have changed. Igbo ladies find good men in Lagos too. Then must I marry an Igbo man?”

Her mother laughed, clapped her hands noisily before she folded them around her chest. “When will you learn your lessons? Was it not you that told me that one Yoruba man left you for another Yoruba girl?”

“Mama!” She exclaimed. “Did I tell you he left me for another lady? He didn’t leave me for another lady. He went to America.”

“A na m’anu! Okay, stay there. I have said my own like a good mother, but my mouth smells so you can’t listen to me. Safe journey.” She walked away briskly then returned to say, “It seems I can't change your mind, but make sure you attend a good church where you can meet good Igbo men.”

“Mama, I am not going to Lagos to look for husband. I am going to look for a job.”

“Think of marriage first and job will come later.”

“How?”

“Onyinye, please yourself. Just have it at the back of your mind that you aren’t getting any younger. As you think of making money, also think about how you will get a good man. O di nma.”

In spite of her mother's persuasion, she left Enugu for Lagos. In Lagos, she shared a room with three other ladies apart from Ekaette and went around Marina and Victoria Island with her CV looking for a job. Eventually, she got one and time became too fast for her to get things done. So she had no time wallowing over an ex-boyfriend who had abandoned her. As days passed by, her mind was gradually becoming free from his thoughts to the extent that when she saw a missed call on her phone, she didn't speculate he would ever be the one. He called back one quiet night and all through the phone conversation, the response was either yes or no, even to the questions that didn't demand yes or no answers. Yet her slow and reluctant response didn't stop him from calling her every other day. One day her mood lightened up after he made mention he could be of help with her job search. She quickly expressed how she was overworked, stressed and underpaid. He expressed his concern and quickly connected her to one of his cousins who worked in a bank. Lo and behold, she got a better job. She was excited about her new job and their phone conversation became energized. She became hopeful about their relationship until she learnt from Ekaette that he was dating an African American lady in the United States. She questioned him about the lady and he didn't deny it. From that moment of revelation, she refused to pick his calls again. She was very angry that he moved on that fast. 

Onyinye became very desperate to start another relationship. Luckily for her, a colleague at work, Emeka became interested in her. Without delay, she started a relationship with him. She posted all his pictures on her Facebook page with the motive to make Adedamola know that she had gotten over him.  For a while her relationship with Emeka looked like a promising one, but after a period of six months the relationship headed for the rocks. The night their relationship ended, she forced herself to lie down and concentrate on sleeping to calm her awful mood. In her dream, she could see Adedamola standing across a vast building, reaching out to her. Despite the huge distance between them, he reached out with one hand and grabbed her arm. She woke up with a smile on her face.

To be continued..........