Gloria was very excited that in the next three
weeks it would all be over. She would be graduating from the University
after undergoing a four-year rigorous degree programme in Business
Administration. She was not only excited because she was on the verge of completing
her programme thus becoming a graduate, but also because completing the
programme moves her an inch further towards the exit door of spinsterhood.
She was a lucky girl envied by most of her friends.
For most of them expected to graduate to two uncertain markets i.e. the labour
market whose uncertainty is occasioned by harsh economic realities that cripple
employment generation and the ‘wedding market’ whose uncertainty is occasioned
by the prevalence of modern day hit and run lovers who lurk around the corner
to take advantage of unsuspecting, marriage-desperate young ladies. For
Gloria, she was exempted from these two uncertainties because she had a secured
husband-to-be and a very bright prospect of securing a job in one of the new
generation banks.
On completion of her final semester examinations,
Gloria left the school and returned to her hometown Nnewi where her parents
proudly received her. Her father Chief Okechukwu was so proud of her that
he often wished she were a man. Yes, she took after him in all respects;
she was brilliant, hardworking, religious and above all humane. She was
the first child of her parents.
When the final results of her examinations where released,
she passed brilliantly with second class upper. Once this was over, she
waited patiently for her NYSC call up letter. She was posted to Kano where,
incidentally, her husband-to-be Ndukwe worked as a medical doctor. When
Ndukwe was informed of Gloria’s posting to Kano, he was over-excited. He immediately
informed his parents who decided that they would re-open deliberations with her
parents over their wedding arrangements. Prior to this, her parents when
contacted over the issue had insisted that she be allowed to finish her degree
programme before going into matrimony. When both families met this time
around, they decided to fix the traditional wedding for the next three
months. In the fullness of time, Gloria became a bride at an elaborate and
flamboyant wedding ceremony that will for long be remembered throughout Nnewi
and environs.
Considering the nature of their jobs which were
quite demanding, Gloria suggested that they engaged the services of a housemaid
who would be assisting them with some of the household chores. Ndukwe
grudgingly accepted the suggestion for he felt that it was not ideal for a
third party to intrude into an infant matrimony. But in view of the
nature of their jobs, the suggestion appeared not to be, all together, a bad one.
Having agreed on this, Gloria thought that under the circumstance, Charity, the
daughter of a poor neighbour Mr. Chike in Nnewi will best suit their need. Charity was an intelligent young girl
of about 14 years who had barely managed to complete her primary education
through the assistance of good neighbours like Gloria. She therefore
thought that bringing her here, apart from serving their household needs, will
also accord her the opportunity to realize her dream of sponsoring the girl’s
education to post primary school level.
Gloria therefore phoned her parents to inform
them about the decision and requested that they enter into talks with Charity’s
family. “All things being equal, I will come for the girl by next
weekend.” She said. Gloria’s
father being a generally acknowledged honourable man and a family friend of the
Chikes, had no problem convincing them to allow their daughter stay with
his’. “As far as we are concerned, Charity is like a sister to Gloria,
therefore we believe she will take good care of her for us.” Said Charity’s father.
On the appointed day, Gloria and her husband visited the home of Charity and
had a full-length discussion about their plans for the young girl. The parents
were highly pleased particularly with the promise that their daughter will be
given the opportunity to further her education. On the departure day,
Charity’s mother thanked and prayed for them concluding with “I commit this
lovely fruit of my womb to the hands of the Almighty and your good hands”.
With this, they took off to Kano.
With time, Gloria concluded her National Service
and through the connections of her husband and the great commitment she
exhibited during her service, she was offered an appointment as an officer in
the bank. She also kept to her word and got Charity admitted into a fine,
nearby secondary school. Charity had also lived up to expectation in the
discharge of her domestic responsibilities as well as in her academics.
Thus life became very comfortable for the trio.
All this while, Ndukwe regarded Charity as a
small girl and sister just the way she was regarded by Gloria. However,
something happened on a weekday in the
afternoon. Having being on duty the previous night, Ndukwe was, as usual,
indoors throughout the day sleeping soundly while his wife had gone to the office.
Later in the afternoon Charity who had just closed from school decided to, as
usual, take a bath before settling down for domestic work. While she was in
the bathroom Ndukwe woke up and also decided to have a shower. On opening
the bathroom door, he found himself face to face with Charity in her nakedness,
“Oh my God!” he exclaimed and quickly
shut the door.
Since that incident, his perception of Charity as
a little kid changed greatly; he began to see her as a full-blown woman and
since then he started entertaining funny ideas into his head.
One day after office hours, Gloria informed her husband
that she had been nominated to attend a one-week course in Kaduna but that she was not
happy over it because she would find it very uncomfortable to be alienated from
him for a whole week.
“Why, darling why?" asked Ndukwe almost
apologetically.
“You should see this nomination as a good opportunity for
you to update your knowledge; after all, the letter says the nomination is on
merit which means some of your colleagues will be dying to have the opportunity
you want to throw away.”
The absence of Gloria from the house provided
Ndukwe with the much-needed opportunity to satisfy his growing devilish desires
towards young Charity. He therefore took advantage of the opportunity to
put the innocent young girl in the family way right there within the four walls
of his home. Thus, while most young girls begin their march to adulthood
outside the home, Charity begins at home! This opened the floodgate of many
other amorous escapades between the sinning duo of which Gloria was quite
oblivious. Paradoxically, the love which
Gloria had for Charity continued to increase especially in consideration of the
diligence with which the girl approached her work and academics. “How
could I have coped without Charity?” She always thought to herself.
As time went on, Ndukwe took Charity to another
level in their illicit act. He did this by convincing his wife that it
was necessary to enrol the girl in an extra-mural class to augment her
efforts. Thus, with the consent of Gloria, he enrolled her in an extra-mural
class some five kilometres away from the house. When Gloria complained
that the place was too far and that it was better to enrol her in a nearby class,
Ndukwe had insisted that he wanted the best for her. He capitalised on
this to strengthen his promiscuous relationship with Charity by taking her from
one hotel to the other.
One evening, a friend and colleague of Gloria’s attended
a wedding party at one of the hotels in town. A friend had excused her from the
hall for a private discussion and behold what she saw: Ndukwe and Charity booking
for a hotel room!. She knew the family very well therefore her eyes could
not be deceiving her, she thought. The next day in the office, she called
Gloria aside and informed her of what she saw last night. “Joyce, I
respect you a lot, but I hope this will be the last time you will ever say such
nasty things about my darling husband and my beloved sister Charity.” She
warned. Joyce replied “I am sorry Gloria, it is because you’re my good
friend that I feel I should let you know but since this is the case please
forgive me”. She came back to her office to brood over what she had just
been told. No, It can’t be true!; How can Ndukwe stoop so low as to
be going out with a housemaid! No, Charity is still a small innocent
child; she cannot mess up with men let alone with Ndukwe! It is
unbelievable! “Only God knows what they would have been telling Ndukwe
about me; they just want to destroy my marriage, my happiness, God will never
allow them!” The story nevertheless, affected her mood and she found
herself developing headache as a result of which she requested for an excuse
duty which was readily granted.
When she arrived home, she was surprised to find
her husband’s car parked outside the house. He was supposed to be on afternoon
shift. “Perhaps, he had forgotten something and had come to pick it up”
She thought. She went into the house and no one was in the living room
nor was there anyone in her room and Charity’s. She stealthily walked to
her husband’s room and what she saw sent shivers down her spine: Ndukwe and
Charity locked up in a warm embrace sleeping soundly while their clothes were
flung carelessly on the floor!
“Oh my God” so it’s after all true!”. She
exclaimed. “This is the height of betrayal.”
Surprisingly, Gloria was able to compose herself
in the face of this ugly revelation. She picked their clothes, quietly
locked the door, picked up the phone, and called Uncle Achebe’s number who
resides in another part of the city. “Uncle, please you have to come
right away, there is an emergency in the house!”
She said. In the next half an
hour, Uncle Achebe was there. When the reality dawned on him, he stood speechlessly
like a statue watching Ndukwe and Charity nakedly shedding tears while
apologising on their knees. “Well”, said Gloria, “Uncle I only
call you here so that you can be a living witness to this shameful
scene”. She then took her personal effects and headed for the garage
where she undertook a night journey to Nnewi. Both parents were shocked
to hear the story and all attempts to reconcile the two parties failed as
Gloria had vowed to forget Ndukwe as a person and marriage as an institution
for the rest of her life. She developed the belief that true love does
not really exist. She remained single throughout her life devoting her
whole of her earnings to three things: religion, career development, and
charity.
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