Beautiful Onyinye-Episode Two

Episode Two

“I have to leave this country,” Adedamola replied assertively. “I am sorry,” he added in a velvety voice. “I don’t know if I want to come back to this country anytime soon.”

“I don’t have a problem with that. I have a friend whose boyfriend is in Australia and they are still in a deep romantic relationship. I am not afraid of long distance relationship. I like United States, in fact, US is my dream country. So what is the problem?

“I am sorry”, he said, after he sighed.

“Sorry for what?” She growled. “What are you sorry for?”

“I don’t want to hurt you, but I don’t want to be insincere with you either. Long distance relationships can be very complicated. You know I have been in it before and it didn’t work. I-”

“Don’t scare me, Adedamola. You are sounding like you want to leave me.” She sharply interrupted him.

“I am sorry dear. But-”

“So you are truly breaking up with me?”

“I know…” He stuttered for a while before he paused. Then he added, “I don’t want to control your life. Your career is in this county and mine is far away.”

“Listen, your excuse is not genuine. I don't have a career yet. Stop making up excuses,” she retorted sharply.

A heated argument began between them as Adedamola kept telling ugly tales about problems allied with long distance relationships. Continuously, he laid emphasis on her career in Nigeria. He was beginning to sound like he was doing her a favour by disengaging her from his life. Irritated, she told him to stop making pointless excuses. After a short period of silence, he said in a soft voice, “I need a break." The words landed like a bomb shell. They caused her heart to tremble and her skin to feel cold even in such a poorly ventilated room. She could feel her heart breaking into little pieces. Unconsciously, her red-rimmed eyes darted to the two lovebirds sitting next to them, to the American lovebirds kissing in a movie showing on the television hung on the wall of the restaurant, to a middle-age couple walking into the restaurant with a cherub-face little girl and back to his bowed head. She tried to fight back tears, but the romantic song playing in the background, stirred up her emotion and before she knew it, her eyes were flooded with tears and spilled down her cheek.  For a while, she felt the urge to say something, yet her lips could not seem to form the words.  Weakly, she stood from her chair to walk away. Even though she wanted to walk away from the scene as fast as she could, she couldn’t because she was light-headed. A giddy sensation that started in her head had spread all over her body. She could not just believe that it was over. She gathered all the energy in her to find the strength to walk out of the restaurant.

The following week was NYSC passing out parade. Onyinye moved around NYSC secretariat light-headedly. She boiled with fury as she watched other Youth Corpers gather together to take their last pictures in their NYSC uniform. She was irritated watching them buzzing in excitement while her heart was broken into pieces. The excited Youth Corpers were not the only one that stirred up her emotions, everything around her did; loud chirps of birds, and peal of laughter of passersby. She was still very devastated about the break up. She couldn’t just believe her relationship was over.  Two weeks before the break up, she had made several plans with Adedamola to jubilate round Abeokuta before they leave for Lagos. Even though she had dreamt about the break up, she had done everything within her means to prevent the dream, but unfortunately, all her efforts had proved abortive.

"Beautiful Onyinye!" Onyinye turned, wondering who her caller could be. Only Adedamola called her 'beautiful Onyinye' and he was no longer in the country. For some minutes, she prayed he would be her caller. She would run, hug him and never let him go. She would…When she saw Ekaette, one of the very fair and lanky ladies in their set, her heart dropped ten notches.  If only she was in the mood, she would have hailed her as she walked up to her. She would have called her Miss Indomie because the long legs she used to mock her had graciously won her a Plasma television during a beauty contest organized by Indomie.

"Beautiful Onyinye!” Ekaette called again as she hugged her. Where is your boo?" she quickly asked, looking around. "Where is your boo now?"

"He has gone to America." Her response was short and concise.

"When? Why didn’t he wait for NYSC to end now? Why did he go?"

"Last week." She wanted to say more, but an NYSC official suddenly interrupted their conversations by ordering them to move towards the building where another NYSC official was handing out awards to Youth Corpers with outstanding service. When the intruder walked away, Ekaette quietly said, “Yeye hungry man looking for cheap attention." She laughed briefly and then turned to Onyinye before she said, "You and Adedamola deserve NYSC award. The Romeo and Juliet of five stars camp, Sagamu." She laughed but stopped when she saw the deadly expression on Onyinye’s face. On further questioning, Onyinye told her about the break up.

“What?” She shouted. A young guy told her to bring her voice down but she angrily retorted; “Fuck off jor, amebo. Abeg, mind your own business.”  After she was satisfied that she had won in the tongue lashing battle, she turned to her depressed friend, “Please tell me you are joking.”

“He broke up with me before he traveled.”

“No way! Why?”

“He said he doesn't want a long distance relationship.”

“What is the meaning of that rubbish? Is he not going to come back again? Which kind thing be that? Yeye excuse.”

“He said he wants to be in America for many years and I would be a distraction.”

“Men sha? When they want to break up with you, they love to bring up filthy excuses." She hissed several times before she started to tell different break up tales. “Dear, shit happens. You are not the first and you won't be the last. If I tell you my breakup experiences, you will want to cry with me but I have braced myself up, no yeye guy deserves my tears. Just forget him. Is that why you refused to wear make-up?"

“No, I wasn't just in the mood.”

“Be sincere joor, he is the reason why you look like you are mourning. Onyinye, don't be like those yeye girls that commit suicide because of a man. Man plenty! Stop mourning over losing just one. Man plenty!"

There was a momentary silence before Ekaette said, “It is your fault. Yes!” She exclaimed when Onyinye gazed at her in shock. “I warned you not to give your heart away in any NYSC relationship. NYSC relationships don’t last. I also told you Yoruba boys are just players. Don't you know what they are called on Instagram? They call them Yoruba demons. Then he is a rich boy, his mother would have matched him with one nonsense Yoruba girl from a rich home."

“You can say all that because you are not the one that was dumped.”

“I warned you, Onyinye. I warned you even right from camp. Was it not through me that you met Adedamola?  I warned you because I like you and because you haven’t been in a relationship with a Yoruba guy before…You know what? Just forget him like he never existed in your life.”

“Ekaette, you don’t know how I feel.”

There was a brief silence before Ekaette replied, “Maybe, I don’t but if I may ask, what are you going to do to your NYSC uniform after today? You will most likely dump it somewhere for better clothes. Likewise, dump his thoughts like your NYSC uniform and forget about him.”

“It is not easy at all.”  Her voice was frail.

“Then go enter lagoon,” Ekaette retorted, exhausted. On second thought, she calmed down, rocked Onyinye’s shoulders before she said, “I have been through this before and I am still alive. Onyinye just give it time you will stop thinking about him.”

“I feel betrayed.” Onyinye’s eyes welled up with tears again. “I was very good to him. He wasted my time and played with my emotions. I didn’t do anything that warrants such an awful breakup.”

“I know, but you too chop his money well now. See iPhone 6S for your hand.” She winked at the hand holding the iPhone. Or did you use your body to pay for the phone?”

“No!” Onyinye replied bluntly. “But I was least concerned about what he could offer me. I truly loved him and I was a fool to have believed that he loved me too. In fact, I was thinking that if he proposed to me, I was going to say yes, even though I know my parents might not find intertribal marriage funny. I was ready to do anything to be with him forever because he showed commitment and love. He even took me to his-”

“Please Onyinye stop that super story!” She sharply interrupted her.

“Ekaette, you can’t blame me for being heartbroken. If you were in my shoes, you could have done the same. Do you know he took me to his parents’ wedding anniversary and I was the only one he invited? You needed to have seen how he introduced me to his parents and we all had lunch together like a happy family.”

“Onyinye, it is because it was your first relationship that was why you were easily fooled. You see, men are not to be trusted. My ex-boyfriend introduced me to his entire family members, including his grandparents. You see, I have cooked for his mother before and she called me a good cook. She ate my food with hidden scorn on her face. Do you know that it was that same woman that made my ex-boyfriend dump me? She told my ex-boyfriend that she consulted her pastor about me and her pastor said I get family problem for my house. And that fool told me that too. So the fact that he introduced you to his family does not mean anything.” She paused for a while thinking of the right words to say in order to console her grieved friend. “Onyinye, you are a good girl. I am not saying this because you are here with me. You are a very decent girl so don’t worry you will meet a nice guy one day.” She wiped Onyinye’s tears like she was a baby girl and Onyinye was forced to laugh.

“You are treating me like a baby even though I am older.” Onyinye chuckled.

“Why won’t I? If I had not forced you to have NYSC boyfriend in camp, you won’t have met him. I was the one who introduced him to you, so let me do what is expected.” She brought Onyinye closer and forced her to nestle her head against her shoulder. Onyinye laughed again. 
                                 
                                                                  ***
Right from her first day at camp, Ekaette wouldn’t stop mentioning the importance of having a camp boyfriend. “One way to avoid eating NYSC food is to get a camp boyfriend. He would pay for your three square meals,” Ekaette said continuously into Onyinye’s ears. Even after her persistent persuasions, Onyinye never listened to her because she wasn’t the type who dates guys for fun. However, one day she forcefully took her to Mama Chi-Chi's restaurant, one of the popular restaurants in Mami market. “I brought you here so you can meet a nice NYSC boyfriend.” Upon hearing that, Onyinye pinched her hard and made an attempt to leave, but she pushed her forward and they stopped right in front of a huge table occupied by five guys.

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