Ruby's Search For Romance (A Nigerian Story)

Twelve

Ruby opened the door to the smell of burnt food.

Jesus, she screamed and rushed to the kitchen, flinging her bag on one of the chairs in the living room. She was coughing by the time she entered the smoke-filled kitchen. On the gas cooker was one of the small pots they used to heat food. She reached for the towel hanging on the rails of the window and dragged the pot from the cooker. She almost screamed when she felt a slight sting on the flesh of her finger and flung the pot in the sink, immediately turning on the water. The post hissed as water met its hot, charred, and dried contents. She turned the gas cooker off and proceeded to open the door and windows of the kitchen. It would take a long time for the smoke to dissipate.

Rose, Ruby called out. She walked out of the kitchen.

It was very unlike Rose to leave her food unattended in the kitchen. Her chicken and plantains were always fried to the perfect brown, not a shade deeper or lighter. She knew when the water would be completely dried up when boiling rice, how often to stir the stew so it wouldn't burn. But this was merely reheating a meal. Why did she leave it unattended for longer than required?

Rose's door was firmly shut, but when she turned the handle, it opened with a small click.

Rose, Ruby fumbled for the switch and soon the room was cast in a fluorescent glow. On the bed, Rose lay curled up in a fetal shape. She was shaking... no, Ruby rushed to the bed. She was crying.

Babe? Ruby joined her on the bed and moved to encircle her in a hug. What is wrong?

This was one of the few times she had seen Rose break down in an unbridled way. Most of the previous times were when they were watching an emotional movie. She rubbed her back and continued asking. As though she had been waiting for someone to join her, Rose's sobs only became more powerful, her body vibrating in a feverish frenzy.

Oh my God! Who did this to you? Ruby was worried that her comfort tactics were not working. She didn't know what to do and could only keep on saying, Babe, stop crying. I'm here.

He deceived me, lied to me, cheated on me. Minutes had passed and Rose's cries had finally reduced to hiccups. The tears were still flowing down her eyes like a waterfall.

What? Blossom? How come? I thought you guys were doing pretty fine. Ruby squeezed her friend's shoulders. She couldn't imagine the sort of pain she must be going through.

We wanted to get married. He was about to propose.

 Ruby's eyes widened. Things had gotten that far with them? Then what happened? Why did it turn into a breakup?

Rose didn't answer immediately. She pulled herself away from Ruby and struggled to compose herself, wiping her eyes and reaching for tissue that was on the bed. There was a bunch of used, crumpled ones on and around the bed.

She sniffed as she explained. He mentioned being ready to get married during Valentine, but I didn't want to think about it so I wouldn't get my hopes high for nothing. I wanted it badly though. I've not met anyone like him. I love him, I really do. So, he had been trying to get permission from his parents before he proposes. They were adamant against it because we are not from the same tribe. You know he is Igbo and me, I'm from Edo. It became worse when he told them my parents were Muslims. Yes, my parents are Muslims but I am a Christian. I've been one since I was 14. It didn't deter them. Blossom kept on trying to convince them. I played my own part the best I could. Twice we went to visit them, and I almost broke my back trying to please the woman. The soup I cooked, she just criticized it to no end. The comments were bad, but if he was willing to keep on trying, I could endure, right?

Only that it wasn't only refusing our marriage. They had this girl that they wanted him to marry. She went to school abroad, has her own small consulting agency. She is not like those village girls in Nollywood films. She is beautiful and she has this British accent. Blossom told me he didn't want anything to do with her. In front of me, he blocked and deleted her number, quarreled with his mother when she tried to enforce it on him.

She forced a laugh. Just imagine. I thought it would end there. We continued our relationship. In fact, I could sense that he would soon propose to me. He often joked that we would get a court marriage and he would get me pregnant immediately. 'It would shut them up'. It was repeated in a sneer.

So imagine how I felt when the day before yesterday, I get these pictures from an unknown number—chats scheduling dates, conversations about that Edo girl, mummy said this, daddy wants you to do this. That wasn't the worst though, it was the nudes and the pictures with his parents, in the church after service, and at their family home. I thought I would run mad. I really thought I would. She warned me to stay away, that I was an intruder, a side-chick. Imagine, me Rose from girlfriend, almost fiancee to a side chick. The secret he was now trying to keep from his parents and all the while, he still kept up the pretense of wanting to marry me.

My God! Ruby was speechless. The past few days she had been so caught up with work at the office that she hadn't paid much attention to her friend. What did he say when you confronted him?

Rose shook her head. I couldn't. I didn't want to look at him, look at that face that had whispered lovely words to me, that had promised me heaven and earth, promised never to betray me, and see what? That it was all a lie? That he hadn't deemed it fit to tell me that he couldn't go against his parents and he was already falling for the other girl. That he kept on stringing me, feeding me false hope and promises, while he went on to build a life with another woman? No, I couldn't.

Ruby pulled her into another hug. It lasted a while before she released her. Then what did you do? She wanted to add Don't tell me that you just decided to shove everything under the carpet and pretend all is okay?

Rose smiled impishly. Ruby appreciated the bright look, though it was brief. I may have gotten my heart broken but I still have my head is still functioning well.

Rose searched underneath the rumpled sheets and came up with her phone. She unlocked it and after some seconds, handed the phone to Ruby.

Jesus! Ruby couldn't hold back her scream. It was a series of credit alerts. Four different transactions, five hundred thousand naira each, culminating in a gross of two million naira.

Heh. She sounded doleful. I didn't like doing it to him, but there had to be some way he would pay for it. I couldn't do anything much. When I slept at his place yesterday, I completed the transactions as he slept. I've always known his password to both his ATM card and his bank app.

Wow! Ruby still found it hard to believe. She scrolled up to the previous bank messages. Most of them were debit alerts. The highest credit alert was no more than four hundred thousand naira, Rose's salary. The newest addition to the bank account had made the total balance jump from a seven-figure amount to an eight-figure amount.

What did he say? Ruby was genuinely curious. She wondered how Blossom wasn't in front of their house trying to pull the door down and demanding his money back.

What should he say? I left by the time he woke up and sent him all the messages his new girlfriend, now fiancee, I suppose sent to me, the threats and I contrasted it with some of the messages he had sent before. When he called, I broke down on the phone. I still can't remember clearly what happened. I know I cried a lot, I cursed him, I begged him to come back to me, but at the end of the call, I genuinely felt tired, mentally and emotionally drained. After holding it in for two days, I finally cried it out. I confronted him. When I ended the call, I told him not to ask or call me back requesting the money or even to apologize. I told him never to appear in front of me, ever again. I had taken the money on impulse, as there was no other way I could make him feel the pain I felt. I doubt if it will hurt him much. Money can always be gained back. But at least, let me have that small feeling of revenge. She shrugged, gloom and despair written all over her face.

So it's over with him? Ruby asked softly.

What do you think? It over, totally over. She tried to make her voice sound light, but it cracked at the end. Soon, she was down in tears again.

Armed with knowledge now, Ruby remained by her side, silently offering her comfort, rubbing her back until tired of crying, Rose fell asleep.