...that keeps giving

XIX

Naomi smiled heartily while chatting with her newfound Colleagues in the Camp health centre.

"I am just happy that I don't have to go for the parade." She beamed

"How did you escape, you were on duty yesterday evening too right?" Jumoke asked

"There is a girl Sammy is trying to woo and the only place he can see her is on the parade ground so I gladly swapped places with him. He didn't tell me though but as the sharp girl that I am, I decided his code"

"That guy ehn, last week it was Helen this week he has moved on. I pity the girl that falls for his lies."

"You never can tell maybe he is for real" Celine injected. "Maybe medical school didn't give him time to mingle this much."

"So in two weeks, he has approached different girls, and you tell me he is serious?" Jumoke sneered

"Some of us are not as lucky as Naomi, we were squarely focused on graduating from the rat race."

"How did I enter this conversation?" Naomi asked baffled

"It's the truth, my dear. While some of us were battling the uphill task of Medical school, you were juggling stuff."

"Did you check on that lady that had a stomach upset?"

"Don't change the topic, I get it. As usual, you don't want to discuss your marriage with us but sincerely, how did you and your husband meet? Please tell me he is a doctor."

"It's a long personal story, but no he is not a doctor."

"You are so lucky my dear, my parents are breathing down my neck as if they were not the ones who insisted that I study medicine."

"Eh! Teach us your ways," Jumoke continued to tease. "I stan an all-round woman, Medical school did not hinder you from seeing the bruvas."

"Why did you decide to travel this far for service year anyway?" Celine asked

"Exploration."

"Exploration kwa!" Celine interjected. "In this age and time, you are not scared of Gen Z baddies."

"Maybe her husband is a Jesus boy,"

"Does that one concern anyone with roving eyes?"

"Speaking of Jesus boy, I need to compile the list of medications that were brought in by the fellowship yesterday."

As she picked up her phone to type, she noticed a message from her husband and she flipped through.

"Hello Naomi, hope you are good? I guess you will be coming home next week, let me know the exact date so that I can get the driver to pick you up, Sanmi told me you booked your flight already, stay good."

She wasn't sure yet if she wanted to go home even though she booked her flight so she decided to respond to the message when she had had time to think about it.

He'd been putting effort into reaching out and she didn't want to discourage him. At first, she had thought of leaving on a Friday but knowing Abisade, he could have a party and she didn't want to go to her parents' place to rouse suspicions. Sanmi's place was out of it because he could be entertaining and she had vacated her apartment at the hospital since she ended her housemanship.

She saw another WhatsApp audio message from Seun. She could sense the urgency in the message and she dialed her line immediately.

"Oluwaseun, are you alright, your message sounded urgent."

"I need help."

"Talk to me, how are your parents and siblings?"

"Everyone is fine."

"What's the challenge then, you are getting me worried."

There was a long silence from the other end. "Are you there?" Naomi asked, moving into one of the vacant rooms in the health center.

"I need money, and it is pretty urgent."

"Money for what, is it something I can afford? Tell me let me send it."

There was silence at the other end again as if Seun was contemplating the conversation.

"Talk to me Seun, how much are we looking at?"

"7.5 million naira."

"What?"

"It is because of the exchange rate."

"I still don't get it."

"I am trying to apply for jobs in the UK, but I need to fill out an application form, take exams such as PLAB and so on. I have someone here in camp who has connections. You know it is one of those things we talked about before you got married."

"Oh, now I get it. Are you sure this person is legit?"

"He is, I have spoken to some people who know him well"

"Even at that, 7.5 million is a lot of money, at least for me."

"I am not asking you to gift me, babes, I promise to pay it back at least in instalments."

"Are you serious?"

"I am, I will pay it back."

"Where do I get such an amount from?"

"You are a Crown Naomi, money is not a problem. I am not asking for everything, I have about 1.5 million set aside for this purpose."

"I am a Crown in name Seun, you know the details, I rely on my handwork, not what I get from the Crowns because I married one."

Seun sighed again.

"Let me check my balances and see what I can afford, I am sure we can come up with something."

"How about you help me loan it from "you know who", I am sure he will give it to you. I don't want to lose this opportunity."

"Are you kidding me right now, I thought you knew better. My relationship with Abisade is quite fragile, I don't want him to think I decided to dole out money because of the reduced tension between us."

" You have an account set up in your name babes, you can ..."

"...and he gets a statement every month, if I am not mistaken" Naomi interrupted

"No problem then, I'll wait for you to get back to me."

Naomi dropped the call and wondered how she was supposed to get such an amount. Even though she had an account set aside for her, she didn't want money to destroy the recent friendship she had started to build with her husband.

If Gwen had made the call, she would have understood but Seun knew some of the details of finances and should know better than to ask for such amount. The other time it was Gwen asking for money to make some payments, why do these people think she had access to unlimited funds?

She had deliberately kept her connection to the Crowns private in camp because she didn't want the privilege even though Sanmi had pushed for her to do so. She knew it was easy to get information about them off the internet if she mentioned who she was married to. She didn't want fake friends or people pleasers because of what they think they can get from her.

She looked at her phone again and wondered if she could talk to Sanmi or even encourage Seun to talk to him since he seemed interested in her although she tried to distance herself from having the conversation with either of them. She knew how important the application was to her friend because she had considered the same application before marriage and even after. The thought of making the medication list was now far away from her mind, she joined her colleagues and tried to join in the conversation maybe it would take her mind off the continuous expectations her friends had of her