She did call back and after a few minutes of talking to
her, the enormity of the issue at hand hit me…hard.
“This is an
interesting twist o. So, are you guys getting married? Or what’s the definition of this whole arrangement?”
That was the question that “opened my eyes”.
What was I going to tell my folks?
How would this affect my education?Was I even ready for the responsibilities of motherhood?
“What do you
think I should do?” I asked Deola
She then told me she had also been pregnant for Chief
Agbabiaka a couple of times but the arrangement she had with chief did not
include children (at the moment) and staying pregnant would hinder her from
filling the role of the young, pretty girlfriend.
“I believe you
need to have another talk with Captain.
It all depends on what he wants. But if
I’ll be straight with you, pregnancy shouldn’t be an option for now.
It’s going
to slow you down in life.
You’ve not really done anything with your life.
Think about
it and make a decision…if you need to take care of it, I know a place”
The thought of having an abortion sent chills down my
spine…how did I even get here?
I thanked Deola and promised to keep her posted.
The moment Captain got back; I told him we needed to
talk. I relayed my fears and asked a lot of questions.
“My dear,
everything you are afraid of is really nothing.
Pregnancy does not stop you
from continuing your education.
You are in a tertiary institution not a
secondary school.
If push comes to shove, we could take a year to sort things
out and go back to school.
About your family,
I can go with you to talk to your mum…anytime you are ready for that
And by the way, am
I not good enough to be the father of her unborn grandchild?”
He paused for a while as if he was waiting for an
answer; I just looked on and shrugged my shoulders
“If I was the
one flustered, maybe that would be a cue for you to be worried.
If you want, I can
also arrange for you to have the baby abroad.
You know me to an
extent, I don’t just say what I want to do; I do what I say” he continued as he beckoned me over to come sit next
to him.
The thought of having the baby abroad was scary but
felt good at the same time…my heart smiled although I fought back the smile on
my face.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The end of the strike action meant we had to return to
school almost immediately…and we were a few weeks from starting our first semester examinations before our
lecturers embarked on the strike.
Captain suggested that I should stay with him
and he would get someone to take me to school and bring me back every day.
I really didn’t want to do that, I preferred studying
with other students and I also needed some time away from him to clear my head
and figure out what I really wanted. So I begged him to let me stay on campus
at least, for the exams.
He agreed but insisted that I had to take the car I had
been driving. He believed it would ease my stress and make it easy to move
around on campus.
He sent the maid to get me things for school…you would think
I was about to open a mini supermarket. The car trunk was filled completely
“Haba! Captain,
everything here would be more than enough for 3 people through a whole semester.
We have only 3 to 5 weeks, tops, before this semester ends. What do you want me to do with all of this?”
“I actually arranged
them for 3 people…you and the twins” he smirked
“Which twins?
Abeg leave me alone o” I could not help but laugh.Captain insisted that I stayed one more night before leaving for school and made me promise to come over every weekend…even if it was just for a few hours. He threatened to come to my school and make a scene if he didn’t see me.
I got to school the following day and it was really
busy. People were trooping in from every corner. I drove to our BQ and met
Deola there. She must have gotten there about an hour ahead of me. I had tried
calling her but the network service was terrible.
She was standing outside, while some “any work” kids
were cleaning the room (these were kids that came to ask if you had ‘any work’
for them and would do it for some money). Deola hugged me tight and followed me
to the car; she also summoned one of the kids to come help with my bags. She
didn’t know that Captain gave me a car to bring to school…she thought a driver was
dropping me off.
“This my baby
don big pass me o…which levels now? See correct car
It’s time for Chief
to upgrade my car too o”
She screamed when she realized I brought and was
keeping the car
