A Street Romance
THE WRITER
DAISY YAWSON
A STREET ROMANCE
He pulled over at her place purposely to explain what she had seen the previous night. For him, it was the day he dreaded most. Nothing could be done to soothe her anger or calm her nerves so he took the decision to run down to her place to explain himself.
“Please let me explain,” he begged bitterly.
Hands akimbo, legs apart, a visible frown could drive away a sane person but he would not budge till he was at peace with her.
“Mavis, please she’s nothing to me. You’ve always been the one I have loved. Ever since…”
“Can you stop ranting? It’s getting irritating,” she retorted sharply to his face. He fell to his knees when he thought he had finally lost her.
“I have never…never Mavis ever lied when I say that you mean the world to me,” he swore hoping that it might get to her.
It seems to be working for her plump face increasingly creased. His jaw tightened, waiting eagerly for her to forgive him.
She unfolds her arms and called him up.
“You know what?” He nods like an obedient child. His palms already wiping the beads of sweat off his face.
“I only have one question. If you really have nothing to do with her, why disturb me at all?”
He sighs.
“I sincerely don’t want to have anything to do with her. She uses my kids as an excuse to talk to me compelling me to stop picking up her phone countlessly.” He stops to see if she really believed him. If she is barely angry then it is a good sign to go ahead. What he said was the hard truth. He once had a history with the mother of his kids but something just put it to an abrupt end.
***
“You don’t have to worry. I won’t touch you,” he said with a flicker of sincerity in his eyes but the girl’s own persuading gave a way for him to go back on his word.
She had been spotted in front of a barbering shop he was managing 9 years ago, complaining of stomach pain. As the good guy he was, he offered her some water and her continuous moan of pain resulted in his invitation to his single room. He hadn’t found her attractive. For the most part, he invited a complete stranger into his home without an ounce of alarm on his part. That wrong move caused Fiifi his first child at 16.
“I gave birth.”
He looked at her with confusion written all over his face. Wondering why she was telling him something random which did not concern him.
“Mina, how is that my concern?”
She fidgeted nervously.
“The night I slept at your home because it was too late to go back, you know what happened right?” hoping he would say yes.
He crossed his arm and exposed his boyish grin. That night was a mistake he enjoyed but it wasn’t something too serious for him to consider seeing her again but here she was bringing about the past. He hadn’t seen her for over a year and he wondered why she had shown up all of a sudden.
“I got pregnant a week after that night but my mum had called me back home to the North. I had no choice but to inform you of the seed you planted in me.”
He was in shock. A year ago, he had met this girl and now she was back with the most ridiculous story he’s ever heard.
Arms crossed over his chest. Body tensed. “I don’t believe you. Why are you now telling me?”
She answered all his questions about the child and planned to see the baby to confirm what she’s said. Lo and behold he was hit with the truth of her supposed pregnancy once he set eyes on the child who by every means resembled him. He hated her. She turned his life almost immediately from a striving boy to a father at 16. Nonetheless, she visited most times for the money to feed the child, stripping him of his daily sales.
One night, she was forced to sleep in the same bed with him when their young son was ill. She made an excuse of having to take care of him together. Stripping herself of her clothes, she laid next to him with the impending thought of making love to him. His heavy gaze sent her moving to the other side of the bed as she sobbed, loud enough for him to hear. In an attempt to console her, she threw her naked self at him so that he was barely able to move. Defeated, he had sex with her without having to look at her or kiss her on the lips. It was as dry as the harmattan but obviously enough for her.
In the second month after their son’s 2nd birthday, she found out she was late. This too infuriated the young boy who is known to not keep his thing in his pants though it was the latter. How could he survive with another baby on the way? Without further thought, he sent her away back to the North with some money with the excuse of going to visit his ill mother at least to get her off his back till when she will have the baby.
Soon, the baby arrived. A beautiful girl. With luck hanging in the air, Fiifi got to own his own barbering shop, employing a few people so he could attend to other matters. Someway somehow, she got pregnant with his third child. It was already too late to get rid of her without getting rid of his kids too. They are his flesh and blood. He might have made the biggest mistake of sleeping with a stranger but those kids were never a mistake for him.
For a while, he was spared the noise and giggling of babies and toddlers around him. For once he had his peace. Mina finally moved away to the North. For whatever reason.
Not long enough, he met Mavis. Unlike Mina, he went the extra mile to please her with words or during foreplay. That’s how fortunate she didn’t leave him despite the despicable way he handled things. How difficult it is for Mavis’s family to make ends meet and at last the little money they earned from one another’s pockets, somehow gets wasted to the point that it’s not enough to do the necessary. This leaves an option. Fiifi hands her money for rent in exchange to feel her body. If people were addicted to one’s flesh, then Fiifi would have been a fair example.
He shortly narrated his experience in the past nine years to the eagerly waiting Mavis. Her understanding of the complicated situation quite solved their issue with ease but she was yet to have any real problems with Mina. She’s vowed to face head-on with her if she ever tried anything silly up her sleeves against her. In all, she is willing to fight for love, however, is the grimed face Fiifi willing to do the same?
Their conversation ended sooner with a sloppy kiss which would have nearly disgusted someone if they saw it.
Nearly half a month, it happened at the saloon. A pale of stinky urine run down her already pale face and hair which she had neatly styled the morning before heading to the salon. The impact was Soo strong that she held the culprit tightly by the blouse, trying to choke her.
She bit on Mavis’s hand sharply making her scream in pain. The two went on in the saloon. Hitting, biting, whatever drew out blood. Some of the co-workers went on with ” stop, you will hurt each other o, someone stops these two!” Whereas the customers looked on but some muttered “ah….oh and the likes drew attention to the two who fought fiercely.
Finally, three men caught the scene and intervene. “Leave my husband alone you wretch!” Mina interjected furiously, trying to straighten up her messed-up hair. Damage was done to her as well as Mavis. Bra’s torn into pieces, blouse crumpled and worst of all, the constant punching left several marks all over their body as evidence of their fight.
“Who is the wretch erh? And which husband are you talking about? In fact who are you foolish, girl?” She spewed instantly spitting blood.
“How can you still follow a man after finding out that he has kids erh? They are his pride o he hasn’t told you?” She sneered in her face and added.
“He begs me constantly to see them every week. You think can compare to that?” This was nothing to be jealous of but it did hurt her ego enough.
Without caution, she went on. Everyone gathered at the scene watched uneasily during the exchange in silence.
“This womb erh,” gesturing at her stomach.
“Has bared him three kids he loved soo dearly. It’s true I have nothing to do with him but for the kids, he calls me almost every week.” She chuckled unattractively causing Mavis to tense up. Mavis didn’t know how to feel about this. She felt defeated. An unmarried girl with three kids out of wedlock has had her way with her. Who knew she would be mocked for not having a child at 20 years of her age? Truly, her mum had had hers early, and even her little sister is pregnant. Is this something she should be worried about? She’s still so young and yet the pressures of life will not give her a break. She shook those thoughts dismissively not letting them get into her head.
“Fine, let’s say you win okay, so why are you here? Don’t tell me to warn me because if you really had a hold on him, you will have relaxed but here you are, tearing my workplace apart all because of a man” she clapped rhythmically loud enough for everyone to hear.
“You have shown me how desperate and despicable you are. Well done”
Her fingers balled up in a fist, ready to hurt someone but only fumed inwardly in defeat. Mina left the scene fuming in anger.
However Mavis came up with the come-back, she
did not know. She only felt the need to put her in her place. If she’d let her emotions get the better of her, she would have lost to the lousy girl.
***
‘In deprived communities, girls as young as 12 have babies and it’s seen to be normal despite the challenges the girl has to go through. It is even more baffling how she’s ridiculed by her own mates if she has not yet had her first child. That is been called barren when you’ve just hit puberty and God help us but these are children themselves. Poverty and illiteracy seem to be the major problem causing many unwanted pregnancies. Not only that but the pressures from your own friends do not only stop them from using any form of protection but deliberately welcome the child, and become a parent by will.
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