As she leaned towards me, I moved a little and the intended kiss landed on my cheek. She looked at me in surprise.
“What’s the matter? Don’t you find me attractive?” she said uncertainly.
“It’s not that. I think you are a very pretty lady. But I believe we are moving too fast.”
“Too fast?” she repeated. “It’s just a kiss! I’m not asking you to sleep with me!”
“I know. But let’s take things slower a little, get to know each other better…” I explained.
“What’s there to know? You already know a lot about me. And as for you, at least I’m aware of where you work. And as your landlady, I know where you live.”
Then she took my hand, kissed it before saying:
“Look, Dave, I like you. Very much. And I feel a connection with you that I haven’t felt with any man for a long time. You might think someone in my position can get any guy I want. But the thing is, it’s even more difficult for me to get a decent guy, one I can trust than the average lady who doesn’t come from my kind of background.
“Besides, I had made it clear to my family that I will choose my own husband and not be in an arranged marriage like some of my friends. Many of such unions end up crashing. I don’t want that. So many men want to go out with me but I know most of them are just after what they can get from me. Like my last boyfriend. I trusted him and he ended up duping me, making away with millions of my money.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I told her.
“It’s ok. It’s all in the past now. I’m sure you are not like that sneaky bastard. I feel I can trust you because I was the one who came after you and not the other way round. It shows you are not interested in my money.”
We sat in the car, chatting for a while. Later, we fixed another date.
“Can’t wait to see you again,” she said softly, taking my face in her hands and kissing me passionately…
I saw a lot of Meera in the intervening months. She became a frequent visitor to my home and she and Nick got along well. There was only one problem. My girlfriend Elfreda. She lived at the other end of town and she often visited me especially at weekends. There was even a day she came and met Meera and I had to introduce her as my landlady.
After Meera had gone, she began to ask me all kinds of questions.
“Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you two? She was acting too familiar with you!”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?” I asked her, turning away from the TV to glare at her.
“Don’t blame me. I’ve been hearing all kinds of rumours concerning both of you. That she comes here a lot and you go out with her and you come back late and …”
“Can you just hear yourself? So, you don’t have any work to do anymore but go about listening to petty gossip from people who don’t have anything better to do with their time! She’s just my landlady and nothing more. I have nothing to do with her!” I stated vehemently.
Maybe she believed me for she did not pursue the matter any longer. I might have convinced Elfreda but I couldn’t fool myself that I had nothing serious with Meera. For by this time, we had started dating fully. She had even taken me to her family home and introduced me to her mother and elder brother, Tony. They had welcomed me warmly enough but I could feel their assessing eyes on me, perhaps wondering what I was doing with their Meera. She had another sister who lived in the UK.
Later, Meera had told me that her brother liked me and was keen on meeting up with me again.
“What about your Mum?” I asked her.
She sighed then stated:
“I can’t really say what her feelings are. You see, she has become very suspicious of any guy she sees me with after what my last boyfriend did. Anyway, it’s my brother’s opinion that really matters as he is the head of the family now. Once he gives the go-ahead, we can start planning our future together!”
That was the stage I had reached with Meera so I was not being truthful when I told Elfreda that I had nothing to do with her. But how could I tell my girlfriend that I was dating my landlady and she was already thinking of marriage? She would be devastated and I wanted to spare her that agony. You see, I loved Elfreda very much. We had been together for some years and until Meera came into my life, she was the woman I was intending to settle down with. But meeting Meera had changed all that.
It was not as if I was in love with her. No. My heart was with Elfreda. But being an ambitious young man who wanted to get ahead in the world, I knew Meera was a golden opportunity that I would be foolish to let slip through my fingers. Getting hooked to her would change my life for the better and who didn’t want a better life in this hard world? It wasn’t as if I came from a poor background, though.
My father was, until his retirement, a civil servant who had risen to a reasonable level in the service. My mother worked as a hospital administrator for many years. So, though we weren’t rich, my parents ensured we didn’t lack and gave all their five children good education.
“I don’t have much property for you, my children to inherit. All I can give you is a sound education. With that, you can face the world with courage and you will know your rights,” my father used to tell my siblings and I.
But with Meera in my life, I knew there was no limit to what I could achieve. When I had discussed the matter with Nick, my cousin, he had advised caution.
“You know, money isn’t everything. It’s Elfreda you say you love and makes you happy. Why don’t you stick with her? You might marry into money, have all the luxuries of this world at your beck and call and still be miserable. Think deeply before you choose as your future happiness is at stake here.”
I knew that. I also realised I had reached a crossroads of sorts and soon I would be forced to make a choice. To choose between Meera and Elfreda…
The chosen one
Things came to a head sooner than I had expected. I had been seeing Meera for about a year when she announced one day that she might be pregnant.
“I’m usually very regular. Once my period is late like this, it often means one thing,” she had said.
I looked at her, confused.
“I thought you were using protection. How could this have happened?” I queried.
She shrugged.
“I don’t know. I could be wrong, anyway. I will go to the hospital tomorrow to do a test, just to be sure…”
She did the test and sure enough, it came out positive. She seemed unflustered by it all while I became even more confused.
What were we going to do especially since she had stated that she was going to keep the baby?
“Maybe, this is a sign that it’s time to take our relationship to another level. You know, get married…”
I knew she was right but I was still unprepared for a final decision about our future. Because that would mean breaking up with Elfreda and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. She had been a part of me for so long that the thought of severing all connection with her, was painful to contemplate.
I stood up and went outside to the balcony of Meera’s apartment. She lived in a beautiful high-rise building, a luxury block of flats in a very exclusive part of town. She was on the fifth floor and I stood gazing down at the swimming pool for the residents in the courtyard below. Everything looked beautiful and serene. And it smelt of wealth.
“I had to move out of our family home as I couldn’t stand that bitch that calls herself my brother’s wife. At least here, I have my personal space. And peace,” Meera had explained the first time she had taken me there.
Spread out as far as the eye could see were other high rises and mansions- in between lush greenery- belonging to the extremely rich in the society.
‘This is the life of opulence you will be living if you marry Meera,’ a voice seemed to say to me.
I stood gazing into the horizon for a while then I went inside to join Meera. I spent the night in Meera’s place and the following day, a Sunday, I formally proposed to her. She became very excited and immediately began plans for the wedding.
She called some of her friends to break the news and later in the day, a couple of them showed up at the apartment.
Tracy was the first to come.
“I hope you’ve not given the chief bridesmaid’s position out because that’s mine!” she declared as she hugged and congratulated us.
“I was thinking of giving that role to Claire. She will…”
“What!” Tracy cut in. “No way! She’s way too fat. You will spend too much on fabric just to get an outfit that will fit her. If you make her your chief bridesmaid, I will never speak to you again,” she said in a petulant voice.
Meera laughed.
“You are so silly! I was just pulling your legs. Of course, you will be my CB…” she stated, laughing gaily at her friend. Later, Meera went downstairs to get something from the car and I made my way to the kitchen to get some drinks from the fridge.
“I don’t understand you. Why do you want to tie yourself to one lady when there are so many out there to sample?” I turned round to see Tracy standing by the door, her hands on her hips. She walked towards me saying: “Like me for instance. Am I not beautiful enough? I’m even prettier than Meera. Just take a good look at all this,” she said and she swivelled round and struck a seductive pose like a model on the runway.
“You know I like you. You and I could have a lot of fun together. And I know how to please a man. I will make you happy, much happier than Meera,” she said, coming to embrace me.
But I evaded her grasping arms and said sternly: “Tracy, this is wrong. I’m engaged to your friend and you shouldn’t be saying such things to me. So, control yourself, ok?” And
picking up the bottles of wine, I made for the door. I could hear her say behind me:
“You are playing hard to get, isn’t it? I like that. It makes you even more attractive. But you can’t escape me no matter how hard you try. Tracy always gets what she wants…”
‘Not this time,’ I thought to myself as l walked to the living room.
Having made Meera my choice, I had the unpleasant task of dumping Elfreda. I couldn’t face her so I wrote a letter explaining everything and asking for her forgiveness. My friend, Dick who delivered the letter, latter told me that she almost fainted after reading it.
“It wasn’t funny at all. I felt really bad for her. Dave, I know it’s your life but was it wise dumping her? That girl loves you so much. I doubt if she can ever get over you or what happened,” he had stated.
“What could I have done?” I countered hotly. “Meera is already pregnant for me. You don’t expect me to abandon her now she needs me most?”
“I’m not saying that. I will advise you to see Elfreda. She needs all the consoling she can get now,” he stated.
I promised him I would visit her but I didn’t. I felt too ashamed to face her. I decided to put the matter behind me and face the future which was Meera. She was very busy with the wedding preparations, as she wanted us to get married before her pregnancy became obvious.
“I don’t want to be like those brides who go from the reception to the maternity ward,” she joked one day while poring over a magazine for brides. Shortly after, she travelled abroad to get fitted for her gown and shop for other items for the wedding.
My parents came down from our hometown where my father had retired to for the wedding which was a big, society one. Meera literally glowed; she looked so lovely in her gown and veil that for a while I forgot that it should have been Elfreda I was exchanging vows with and not her.
It was a nice start to our lives together and I was grateful to God for everything. We travelled out of the country for our honeymoon which lasted for about three weeks.
When we got back, the plan was for me to resume work at Meera’s family business. But I wasn’t too keen as I had other plans. I had the idea of setting up my own company that will be into computer software development solutions.
Nick had advised me about that before the wedding.
“You need to be independent, have your own business, be your own man. That’s the only way you can get any respect from your in-laws,” he had advised.
But Meera was not initially in support when I told her my plans.
“What do you need your own business for? Our company is large enough to accommodate you. You can even be in charge of one of the subsidiaries if that’s what you want. I’m sure Tony won’t mind,” she noted.
“I appreciate the offer but I want to do my own thing. It’s always been my dream. And as my wife, it’s your duty to support me,” I pointed out.
She looked at me sharply and said:
“What’s that supposed to mean? Have I…”
To be continued
Join us next Saturday for the concluding part of Dave’s story! (Names have been changed to protect the narrator’s identity.)
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