Chapter 27: Chapter 27

"It's going to be a girl definitely." I told Amsey.

He took another piece of fried meat and threw it into his mouth. He then rambled something to me.

"What did you say? How many times will I tell you not to talk with food in your mouth?" I questioned.

"Sorry, mum." He said sarcastically after he had finished eating the meat.

"It's okay, my son." I responded, playfully.

We were on the couch eating fried meat and discussing random things.

Today was my 19th birthday and I had never been the type to care about my birthday. It's not like I ever got a birthday present, my mum would just lay her hands on my head and pray for me.

I was really surprised when Amsey had wished me a happy birthday when he woke up in the morning. I had only told him about my birthday the day I'd woken up to find myself in his house and I had introduced myself to him.

I was so excited because he had remembered my birthday even after telling him just seven months ago. I had given him a kiss on the forehead and hugged him tightly while expressing my gratitude towards him.

He presented me with a small white furry teddy bear that looked really cute and quite expensive.

"I didn't know what to get you but I remembered that you have all the things girls usually have except a teddy bear, of course." He had said and winked.

I laughed out loud and told him I was grateful and I really liked the teddy bear. I named the teddy "Fur" obviously because it was furry.

I had had my bath and brushed my teeth and after eating the special treat of Pancakes and coconut milk he had made specially for me, we were now watching Judge Judy on TV and eating fried meat.

We were also arguing about the gender of the child. I wanted a girl and he wanted a boy. We argued about it practically every time and we never seemed to grow tired of the topic.

"My baby girl will grow up to be a beautiful lady like me. You just wait and see." I snapped at him, presently losing the argument on why it must be a girl and not a boy.

He scoffed. "The child will be as handsome as I am if it's a boy. If it's a girl, just imagine how ugly she'd look. I mean, look at you. Do you really want your daughter to look like you? Come on, Cas. Everyone wants their children to be better than they are. How would you want your own biological daughter to look like you?"

I was fuming. I knew he was gonna tease me badly and win the argument again. "I'm a beautiful woman and whether you admit it or not is none of my business." I said angrily.

"Cas, we have mirrors in the house. Please, make good use of them." He smirked.

I eyed him furiously and stood up and headed over to the door.

"Are you going somewhere?" He asked.

"None of your business." I retorted.

"Whatever."

He wasn't even gonna stop me? I didn't even have anywhere to go and he was clearly less concerned.

I fondled with the door handle, not knowing what to do. I had thought he'd stop me but I was wrong. Now, I'd ended up making a fool of myself.

I opened the door and went outside after thinking for a while on what to do. I had shut the door with a loud bang so that Amsey would notice my exit and come to stop me.

I waited for a while outside the house but he didn't show up. What kind of uncaring person was he? My legs felt heavy and my back was hurting badly.

I sighed. I didn't have any other option than to go into the house and I knew he'd make it a thing of joy to tease me.

Swallowing my pride, I opened the door and strode back into the house.

Amsey burst into a series of laughter. I ignored him and shut the door and decided to go into the bedroom to avoid further embarrassment.

"Thought you were going somewhere." He mocked.

I didn't say a word and just left the living room and entered into the passage from which I opened the bedroom door and went inside.

I sat on the bed and stretched out my arms. I went over to where the big bedroom mirror was and stared at myself.

Damn! I looked pathetic. My whole body was swollen and I was chubby. My tummy was rounded and protruded; it was so big that I doubted if it'll ever go back to being flat. I had pimples all over my face with spots too. I had given up on using acne removal creams. I looked like the shadow of myself.

Maybe Amsey didn't find me attractive anymore too and that's why he wasn't bothered when I acted like I was leaving. Well, if we're being totally honest, he had always been an annoying creature so I guess his behaviour towards me just a few minutes ago had nothing to do with the fact that I looked like a bloated hippopotamus.

I should probably be awaiting admission into the university by now and not being stuck with this pregnancy. Tears slid down my eyes. I didn't even know the father of the child I was carrying.

Amsey could try all he could to make me feel special and safe and loved and could try to act like the father of my baby but deep down, we both knew it wasn't true.

I was scared for my baby. What if it took the bad characters of one of those men? Who would even be a better option to be the father of my baby? John? God forbid! That lying bastard, I didn't want my baby to go around deceiving innocent people and taking advantage of them.

What of Mr Grumpy? Definitely not. I didn't want my child to intimidate people and make them bend to his/ her will. I didn't want a manipulator for a child. It wasn't him in Jesus name.

That left one person... Reverend Lawrence. That was certainly a no-no for me. The previous two I had considered were even better. I didn't want my child to be a hypocrite, deceiver and manipulator all in one. Tufiakwa. ( I reject it.)

I sighed. None of the men was even a better option for the father of my child. They were all evil and wicked. I could only hope they never found out about this baby. They didn't have a right to know, especially the hypocrite of a Reverend.

"Cas?" Amsey called as he entered into the room.

"What?" I retorted.

He chuckled. "You took that thing I said about looking at yourself in the mirror too seriously."

I was still standing in front of the mirror and it hurt my pride. Now, he would think I actually gave a hoot about what he had said. Well, I did care but he didn't deserve to know, did he?

I only ignored his annoying statement.

He held my hands. "Come on, you should already be used to me by now. Why are you angry over such a trivial matter?" He questioned.

I had finally gotten what I wanted. He was pleading and I liked it but I just continued to pout and ignored what he said.

"Cassssssss." He drew out my name in a pleading tone.

I giggled. I liked when he called me like that.

"You're happy now, right?" He asked.

"No." I feigned pretence.

"Come on, now. I'm sorry." He said.

I rolled my eyes and untangled my hands from his and folded them below my breasts.

Then he did something utterly shocking but with childish humour. He took Fur from the bed and bobbled it up and down in my direction.

He acted like it were a puppet and spoke in a tiny voice, which would have been Fur's voice if it could speak.

"Hey, Cassandra, please forgive Amsey. He's sorry." He said.

I smiled. "But why is he so annoying?"

"That's just how he was made but you have to accept him as he is."

I collected Fur from him and stared into his eyes.

"Will you bother me again?" I asked.

"Yes." He responded, still in that tiny voice.

"Speak normally." I said.

"Yes." He said again, this time in his original voice.

"Why?"

"Because I only bother people I love." He said.

"Awwwn." I said, blushing. If I were a white person, you'd have surely seen my cheeks red.

"So you love me then?" I asked.

"Was there ever a doubt?" He responded.

"I love you so much." I said.

"I love you too." He said.

He tilted his head. My heart beat became faster and as soon as my eyes shut close, his lips came crashing down on mine.

I draped my hands around his neck and savoured every moment of the beautiful kiss. He rolled his tongue in my mouth and worked his hands down my waist and unto my backside, groping it with reckless abandon.

I let out a moan. While one hand was busy with my ass, the other worked his way to my breasts fondling them and his lips moved from my mouth and unto my neck,  biting it.

That sent shivers down my spine and I can't recall how many times I moaned and clutched unto his back for support lest I fall. He was really good at romance. We had kissed in the past but never delved into foreplay.

He held my waist with his left hand and slid under my dress with his right hand tingling my thighs and sending signals all over my body.

I let out a loud moan.

"Easy." He muttered.

"Amsey, are you okay?" Someone yelled from the living room.

We immediately let go of each other, startled.

"Shoot. I forgot." He muttered.

"Forgot what? Who's there?" I asked.

"Rita and..... Jesus! What would your dad do if he saw me screwing you up? He has already warned me that he'll deal with me if I did this sort of thing with you." He said, without pausing for breath.

"Hey, calm down. What are you blabbering on about? Who's my dad?" I questioned.

He looked quite alarmed. "Ummmm..... I meant Pastor James. He... He acts like your... Like your father. He's always telling me... Telling... Saying that I shouldn't be doing.. I shouldn't be doing some things with you." He stuttered.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"He's a funny man." I laughed out loud.

Our eyes suddenly met. I immediately looked away and licked my lips nervously. I felt a tinge of embarrassment because of what we'd just done.

"Amsey, Cassie." The voice called again from the living room. That was Rita's voice, I knew now.

"Let's go to the living room. I actually came to inform you that Rita and Pastor James are here to wish you a happy birthday but then, I got carried away." He said.

"Ohhh... Did they come in together?" I asked.

"Not really. Pastor James first arrived then Rita came about three minutes later." He said.

I sighed. "Let's go. They must be thinking we're up to something here."

He came closer. "Something like what?" He teased.

"Bye." I said and started walking out of the room, ignoring his silly question.

"You're ignoring me, right? You'll beg me later." He said.

"In your dreams." I scoffed and walked out of the room.

I met Rita and Pastor James in the living room engrossed in a conversation. If they were enjoying each other's company, why did they have to disrupt what was going on between Amsey and I?

"Hi Rita. Good morning, Pastor James." I said loudly, interrupting their conversation.

"It's about time you showed up." Rita said, cutting me an eye.

"It's afternoon." Pastor James corrected.

"Oh, is it?" I asked and stared at the wall clock. It was already 12:40pm.

"Ohh. I didn't know it was already afternoon." I added.

"You never know how time flies when you're with someone you love." Rita said in a singsong tone.

"Stop that." I said, feigning anger.

"Do not do anything sexual with Amsey. Your body is the temple of God." Pastor James said.

"You're telling that to a pregnant woman?" Rita asked and let out a loud laugh. "How can you tell her not to do anything sexual with the Father of her unborn child?" She asked, laughing hard.

I rolled my eyes. She wasn't aware of the fact that Amsey was not the Father of the child so I joined in her laughter just so she wouldn't feel stupid.

"That reminds me, Cassandra. Happy birthday." Pastor James said.

"Yes, Cassie. Happy birthday." Rita said.

"Thank you. How did you guys know?" I asked, really happy that I got more people to wish me well on my birthday.

"Amsey informed us. I had just wanted to see you today, I didn't know why and on getting here, Amsey said today was your birthday." She said, smiling as usual.

"I wish you Heaven's best today and hope God's grace continually follows you in Jesus' name." Pastor James prayed.

"Amen." I said, with a smile.

There was a knock on the door.

"Who's there?" I asked.

Amsey came into the parlour dressed in a blue hoodie and a pair of black skinny jeans and wore a matching pair of black sneakers. He had been putting on a white singlet with baggy shorts so I wondered why he had changed.

"What's the occasion?" I asked.

"I'm going to the Cybercafe." He said.

"Ohh." I had forgotten he had to go to work.

He headed over to the door and opened it up and stayed outside for a while. I wondered who he was with. He later came back inside with two packages which he tore open to reveal a pack of meatball pizza and a chocolate cake.

"Wow. Nice one!" Rita exclaimed.

"Anything for my Cas." Amsey said and winked while Pastor James cleared his throat.

"Why don't you call her baby or sweetie or honey? Why do you call her Cas? You're a romantic guy, you should know how to call your woman sweet names." Rita teased.

"I prefer Cas to those baby and sweetie stuff." He said, flashing her a cold stare.

I giggled. "Ignore her. Thanks a whole lot for everything. I'm really grateful." I said and hugged him tightly.

We ate and drank happily. Pastor James was the first to leave, he had an appointment with some pastors. Before leaving, he gave me #5000 as a birthday present and I was immensely grateful for it. I thanked him profusely and waved him goodbye.

Amsey cut part of the cake which he wrapped neatly in a serviette and said he would give it to his workers because he had to go to work and we couldn't finish the cake if we tried.

He kissed me lightly on the cheek and waved at Rita then he headed out.

"Gist me." Rita said as soon as Amsey slammed the door shut.

"About what?" I asked.

"What present did Amsey give you?" She asked.

"Ohh... A teddy bear. I've named him Fur." I said with the excitement of a child.

She rolled her eyes. "Just that?" She asked.

"Yeah. He has given me everything I could possibly need, so I didn't even expect him to give me anything." I said.

"But you can lie ohhh. Weren't you the same person who said you came to Lagos to see your uncle? Why didn't you tell me it was your boyfriend? If not for this pregnancy, I'd have never known. Amsey is a cute guy, why did you deny him?" She asked.

I gave her a small smile. "Rita, we were just meeting for the first time. I didn't know what you would have thought of me if I had told you I came to stay with my boyfriend." I explained. That was a lie but I had to tell her something convincing.

"That's true though. I'm happy for you." Rita said.

"Thank you. Wait, do you even have a boyfriend?" I asked.

She laughed heartily. "Boyfriend for what? Please, I'm not interested. I have eyes for your pastor though." She said.

I laughed too. "You're joking, right?"

"I'm damn serious. Haven't you noticed that man? He's so handsome and good looking. He's also caring and intelligent." She elaborated.

"Someone you're just meeting for the first time is who you described like this?" I asked.

"There's no harm in love at first sight." She said.

"But he's old enough to be your father. He's over 50, I believe." I said.

"And so? He told me he's not married and he only has one daughter who is busy with her own family." She disclosed.

"Really? He told you all that in just how many minutes? He must be free around you then. I'm unaware that he even has a child." I said.

She smiled. "That means I must be special to him for him to have told me that."

I clapped my hands dramatically. "You're serious that you like Pastor James? Unbelievable."

"Don't you know older men know how to love best? Besides, his daughter has her family so no one would be bothering me." She said.

I only laughed. "I never thought older men were your spec. I wish you the best in this love pursuit of yours."

"Thank you. That's why you're my friend, you always support me." She said.

"Yeah. I've been wanting to ask you. How about your university stuff? This is November. Amsey has moved over to Year 4, his final year so I'm sure Schools have started bringing out Admission lists." I said.

She looked downcast. "Yeah. I'm not going to school." She said and swallowed hard.

"Why?" I asked.

"My aunt's husband won't pay my fees and I have no one to pay them if he doesn't." She said.

"But why? You said he was going to take care of all your school expenses. You did well in your exams so what's the problem?" I asked.

She sighed. "They couldn't get what they want." She said.

"What? I don't understand."

"My aunt doesn't have a child even though she has been married for close to ten years and she has been receiving insults from her husband's family. That's why she wanted me to come and sleep with her husband, get pregnant for him and when the pregnancy starts showing, I'd stop going outside. I'd give birth and she'd pretend it's her child and then, she'll make sure I never lack anything." Rita said.

"My goodness. What? Did they tell you this before you came to Lagos?" I asked.

"Yes."

"And you agreed?"

"Yes. My parents urged me to do it because she's family and she has been helping us out. My parents have nine good children and they are mere traders...not just traders, they're broke. I'm the third child but the first female child and it's my aunt and her husband who have been helping us out and sponsoring my siblings and I in our education. My parents said the least I could do for her is bear her a child and I saw reasons with them so I agreed." Rita said.

"But isn't it the same aunt of yours who is always going to church and condemning others that wants to use a young girl like you for her own benefits?" I asked rhetorically.

"My dear, people are hypocrites." She said.

"So what changed in your plans?" I asked.

"I couldn't get pregnant too after three months so a friend of theirs who was aware of the whole thing advised us to go to the hospital for tests and there, they discovered the husband is unable to impregnate a woman. He's impotent." Rita dropped the bombshell.

I gasped. "Jesus! So you mean they had not been going to the hospital for tests all these years they didn't have children?" I asked.

"Exactly. They just assumed it was the woman's fault." She said.

"It's not your fault so why are they not sending you to school?"

"They said they are using the money they promised me to treat his impotency. They've been treating me like a slave because I'm of no use to them anymore. When the man's impotency is corrected in about two years from now, he'd be able to impregnate his wife so I'm practically useless to them." She said.

I shook my head pitifully. "I'm so sorry, dear. Why don't you go back to your house? I'm sure you'll have peace there." She said.

"God forbid. Which house? The one where the roof is leaking and the whole building is tattered and looks like it's about to collapse? The house where I have to worry about my next meal? God forbid. I'd rather stay here. It's better I die in a beautiful duplex than in a dilapidated one-room apartment. If starvation doesn't kill me in my house in Jos, suffocation will." She said and for the first time, I saw tears roll from Rita's eyes.

I placed her head on my chest and stroked her hair. "it'll be fine, dear. Things will be better." I consoled her.

I had never thought Rita's condition could be as bad as this. I had known something was up with her but I never knew it was this. She had to sleep with her aunt's husband just for the comfort of her family and she had been living from hand to mouth. Where would her parents even start from in getting food for she and her eight siblings? Imagine 11 people living in just a room. That could show you the extent of her family's poverty. I never thought my case was better than someone else's. It was only my mother and myself and so, for the first time, I could say it was easier for my mum.

No wonder they say where your problem stops is where another person's own begins.

But I knew Rita and I would be fine.

We definitely would.