Wasted Years (Episode One)

Episode two

Wasted years
(Episode 2)

The next weeks went by in a blur. I had tried keeping the pregnancy, but daily, Dakota sent threatening messages to me.

'You'll never find someone like me, that's a promise.' Dakota said that to me via the last text message he sent.

I went back to his house, I had missed being in the comfort of his arms. As I drove in, the security man gave me a strange stare, but I didn't care. He probably meant 'where has she been all these while?'

Then I caught him for the first time. He was kissing this girl I'd met once in his office, he'd introduced her to me as Linda, the account officer.

She was on his laps, kissing so passionately.

"Is this what you've been doing while I was away?" I asked, interrupting their romantic moment with a broken heart. He pushed her off and stood to his feet. He couldn't say anything; his mouth was totally dry.

"Let me be going now Dako, see you tomorrow at the office." She said shrilly. She was wearing a black leather suite with a pencil skirt, "No, you won't go anywhere, until you tell me what you and my boyfriend are doing together." I said boldly.

She giggled, "well, I think you should say all of that to your boyfriend MADAM." She stretched the 'madam' in a mockery manner.

"Oh, so you know he is my boyfriend, and you shamelessly walked in here to be touched by him like a dog that you are."

"Ifure!" Dakota yelled my name thunderously. "Behave yourself please and stop disgracing me."

Linda walked away, and as soon as she slammed the door, Dakota began to yell at me, "You want me to marry you, yet, you can't handle a simple situation like this. This was why my late father could not marry my mother, she used to disgrace him in public by fighting other women who tried getting close to him. It's a disgrace to do that in my place Ifure, and if not that I love you so much, I would have walked you out of my house this minute."

"Seriously?"  I asked, looking bewildered at his senseless words.

"Yes, I mean every damn word!"

"How would you feel, if you caught me kissing a colleague of mine like that. Like the way you kissed Linda?"

"You won't dare think of that. I am a man, and you're a woman." He said convincingly and walked away, then he paused at his room door and turned to me, "I have spoken with doctor Yemi about the abortion, I have made payments, make sure you go meet her before the pregnancy gets to second trimester." He slammed the door.

All through that night, he'd made love to me unapologetically like it was his right. I didn't say a word to him, I didn't moan. There was no passion, no emotion.

**********

Meeting Yemisi for the eleventh time was tough for me. She had become one of my best companions, she was Dakota's friend and she became my friend too.

As I walked into her office that morning, cold and sad, she stood up from her seat and came to me, walking me down the visitor's chair.

"Oh Ifure, I am really sorry, I tried to convince Dakota to keep this one. Women out there are looking for babies."

Tears fell from my eyes as I stared at her long, black, box braids. She was beautiful and everything about her look was elegant.

"I really wanted to keep this one, but..." I cried out softly, "The pains..." I muttered. I leaned my forehead against her chest, and smelled the soft, summery smell of her perfume.

"Aw...don't cry Ifure. You know Dakota, he probably has reasons for this. I really think you two should consider family planning, until you're ready to have babies."

"No, I can't do that. What if I might never have a baby again?"

"It doesn't work that way. There are different types of it. And my hospital gives the best option. I think that one is better than abortions every year." She said softly, but the last sentence she made sounded like a gunshot to my ears.

"This is the last abortion I will be doing for Dakota." I said tearily.

"I hope so too." Yemi retorted and then stood firmly on her heel sandals. "Let me get the theater set," She said and walked away, leaving me in deep thoughts.

This abortion was quite unusual. Other days Yemi spent at least, an hour. But this time, it was different, it was almost a whole day.

"You have lost lots of blood Ifure. We have to be careful and slow to handle this." She said as I felt her hands deeply rooted in my lower abdomen."

Then I passed out, and woke again at midnight. My eyes were blurry, and I could hear a voice that sounded like Dakota's. "She is awake!" Inyene exclaimed.

"Nurse, nurse..." Inyene called, her face scrunched into a frown when I could see her clearly. She squeezed my hands gently and said, "Your mom has been calling, I have told her you left your phone at home. She still has this feeling that all isn't well." She said. I nodded weakly.

"Baby, you have to be strong. Be strong as a woman, this isn't your first time of doing this. We aren't going to spend another night here, that will be another waste of money that I didn't have." Dakota said boldly.

"Are you insane? Why would you say a thing like that to my cousin? Is she a piece of wood?" Inyene asked with a angry tone. "You're such a pathetic psycho and a sadist. You are just a local champion!" She added painfully.

"how dare you insult me Inyene, do you know how much I earn monthly? I am a big boy, you don't dare insult me."

Inyene clapped her hands mockingly into the air. "Ifure," She called my name, "Is this the kind of man you have been dying for? We won't accept an idiot in our family."

"Stop this Inyene..." I said softly, trying to sit up on the bed it creaked loudly.

"No, let her talk to me anyhow and think that she will make me marry a woman from a family who trains rude women like her." Dakota said.

"Look at this scumbag, useless agbero man. The devil himself. You don't have the criteria to marry a woman from my family, you're just a brainless nincompoop, and we will never accept a man who doesn't have brain to marry our sister." Inyene said bitterly.

"Look at her, I pity the unlucky man that will marry you."

Their voices came down when doctor Yemi and other nurses walked in one by one.

©Vicky Bon
August, 2018