Lemonades episode 5

TITLE: LEMONADES

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

PART 5

I went into the bank to deposit some money. I had filled the deposit slip and was waiting to be attended to when I heard my name. I turned in the direction I heard the name. I saw Emmanuel standing there. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I didn’t know whether to be angry or happy. When he walked towards me, I didn’t know whether to smile or frown. I was expressionless.

“How are you? It has been a long time. I have tried knowing your whereabouts from your mother but she seems to hate me”

He was still as handsome as ever. He had added some flesh and built his body. He looked good; he looked successful. I wished I had worn some makeup or sprayed the perfume I was tempted to but decided to reserve it.

“I know you are angry with me. Let me take you to lunch and we can talk over a nice meal. What do you say?” I nodded. I refused to talk. “Good. I will wait for you to conclude your transaction”

Emmanuel took me to a fancy restaurant. He asked me to order whatever I wanted. I smiled. I wondered what I was doing there. Was food my problem? If not that Junior had made raising him easy for me, wouldn’t I have been stranded many times?

“Emmanuel, food isn’t my problem right now”

“What is your problem? Money?”

“Raising your son is my problem. You didn’t even ask after him. Is it that you forget so easily you have a son?”

“I was going to ask after him when we settled down. I want you to eat something. Let me order for you”

He ordered the food and a glass of Chapman for me. I couldn’t eat, I played with the food. My emotions were all over the place. I wondered what Emmanuel wanted.

“I came to Abuja to bid for some contracts for my company. I have been here for two months now. What are you doing here?”

“I work here.”

“Really. Where?”

“National hospital”

“You have secured yourself as a civil servant. That’s good. Why not get into parastatals clinics? You will make good money there”

“I like where I work and I also work with a private practice. I am fine”

“That’s good. How is my son?”

“He is fine. He is in secondary school. I’m proud of him”

“That’s nice. I would love to meet him soon. What are you doing later today? We can go out”

“I work nights and days every day except Thursday”

“Isn’t that much?”

“I need the job. Your son needs to be taken care of”

“That’s true. I will see you on Thursday then”

He called me after the day and every day until Thursday. Why I listened to him still baffles me to date. He took me to his hotel. We ate by the pool. We had our private place. He asked me to dance with him which I did. Being in his arms again broke down all my defences. His gentle kisses on my neck turned me into jelly. How I got into his room is still a mystery to me. I spent that night with him. For the first time in almost ten years, I had sex again. The feeling was different from the other times. Emmanuel worked on me like he was out to please me and not to receive pleasure. At each thrust, I knew I was trapped. What was it with Emmanuel I couldn’t resist?

That was how we renewed our relationship. Whenever he was in Abuja, he stayed with me in my house. I fed him and took care of him. We were together for about three months when he finally proposed to me. I was happy and excited. He hadn’t met his son yet because Junior went back to Ijebu ode and I didn’t want him to see me living in ‘sin’. I called my mother and shared it with her. She asked me questions about how we met and how long the relationship had been going on.

“Esther, you know if you get pregnant again, you will be finished? You are a nurse. Do not, based on an unfounded love interest, fall victim again. You have a job I agree, but two children without a father will be disastrous. It will be worse if it is the same man who does it and abandons you. Wait until he marries you. Don’t have anything to do with him until he marries you”

My grandmother was subtler. “Our hearts often deceive us. How do you quickly forget the wrong that was done to you by someone you claim to love? How has he made amends? Has he seen his son in school? Does he have a relationship with him? Since you say he is financially capable, how much has he given you for your son? How much has he given you for all the years you made sacrifices for your son to go to school and be like his peers? A man doesn’t show how much he loves you by having sex with you; he shows it the way he cares for you; the way he respects you and the impact he makes in your life. Do you have that with him? If you ask me, you are a convenience for him right now. Put your nose down and pray for God to lead you through the right path”

That night, while on duty, I prayed as advised by my grandmother. I asked God to forgive me my sins and help me make the right decision. I wanted him to reveal to me the best path I had to follow to be successful. I did add that He should take charge of Emmanuel’s heart. I wanted to have all my children with Emmanuel so that my father’s words won’t come to pass.

A month after the prayers and discussion with my mother and grandmother, Emmanuel wanted us to get married quickly and apply for the visa lottery for the United States. He wanted me to write professional examinations and qualifying examinations to be able to work as a nurse in the US, UK Australia and even Canada.

I told him I was willing to marry him immediately as long as he goes to my parents to ask for forgiveness and also my hand in marriage.

“Go to your father? The man that chased my mother with cutlass out of his house? I can’t do that. Let’s do a court wedding and then apply”

“I would never marry without my parents’ consent even if it is one of them. If you are scared of my father, what of my mother?”

“That’s the problem I have with you, you always make things so complicated. You are mature enough to walk into a courthouse and get married but you have to get permission from people who do not care if you exist”

“Who are the people who don’t care if I exist? People like you? Did you care if your son lived or died? Did you care to check how I was coping with raising your son? Who are you talking about?”

“I am talking about your father. Why did you attack me like that? I came back, didn’t I? Has your father forgiven you even though you are his only daughter? Still, you want to get permission from him to get married. Who does that?”

“Even if my father doesn’t accept, my mother must give her consent. I owe her everything. If you can convince her to give consent then we are good to go. And there is also my grandmother”

“Fine but keep our travel plans a secret; I mean it”

“That’s even true, Junior’s visiting day is in a week. I have to buy him provisions and some things he needs. He told me he isn’t coming back for a mid-term break. I will need some money to get him the things”

“How have you been doing it in the past?” Emmanuel asked irritated.

“By myself but now you are here, you have to take over. I have tried for thirteen years you can take over for the next ten years”

“I mentioned marriage and now you saddle me with responsibilities? What is going on? I think you have been advised against me…”

“Because I asked for money for our son therefore I am getting bad advice. Well, I pay the rent in this apartment, I provide the food and utilities. You haven’t helped at all. So, we have to share the responsibilities in the house. It will save me money to meet my son’s needs”

Later that evening, Emmanuel apologized and made sexual advances at me. He gave me a check for N20,000 which was a substantial amount then. I allowed him to have access to my body but I was beginning to ask myself questions.

The next morning, I went to cash the check before resuming work. They were wasting my time at the bank. I was suspicious and then I called Emmanuel.

“I hope you didn’t give me a bad cheque. I am paying it into my account, if it comes back to be a dud cheque, you wouldn’t like me. Do whatever you can to ensure the money enters the account before it gets to the date for clearing” I didn’t allow him to respond, I ended the call. I went to my bank and paid in the cheque. The cheque cleared and I cashed the money and kept it in a special account for my son.

Emmanuel decided to travel to Lagos on Junior’s visiting day. He asked me for a loan to book his flight. I told him I didn’t have any money. He asked if I hadn’t been paid my salary and I told him the money goes to an account for Junior. He then asked to be given some money from the N20,000 he gave me. I told him I had also deposited for Junior. He was angry. He told me he needed to be in Lagos for a meeting and to meet with my mother and didn’t have any money for a ticket. I advised him to go by road.

‘Are you trying to insult me? I should go by road to where? I can never do that. I need money for my return ticket”

“I can’t help you”

‘I cleared my account to give you. At least give me N10,000 from the money”

“I can’t help you. Look for who will give you the money. I am focused on my son”

“But we will need money to process our visa applications. Where will the money come from?”

“You are the one that wants us to relocate, you will finance it”

“I don’t understand Esther, you have changed. You now challenge me and threaten me. I thought you loved me?”

“I love you but l love my son more. If you want me to do anything that would disrupt his education or future, I will never do it. I want you to know this. I will never touch the money I have saved for him”

After so much back and forth, I eventually parted with N2,000. He wasn’t happy about it. He made some calls and got a ticket. I didn’t care to know how he got it. I was beginning to see how manipulative Emmanuel was.