FED UP

(…continued…)

                He told her it was so she would save her airtime. She told him not to worry and they continued talking. He told her in summary what had happened and told her he would be coming back with his brother the next day. He said he would tell her everything in detail when they meet.

  “Did you tell them I was the cause of your injuries?”

                He laughed and told her he did not. He asked after Mabel and her mother, sent his regards and signed off with “I love you”. Cynthia hung up the call and still held the phone close to her ear. Mabel burst into laughter.

  “Why are you shocked?” Mabel asked, laughing.

                Cynthia shook her head and dropped the phone.

  “He said ‘I love you’,” she said.

                Mabel laughed harder. Her mother came into the parlour and asked what the matter was.

  “Chuka told Cynthia ‘I love you’,” Mabel said.

  “So?” their mother asked, laughing.

  “She did not say ‘I love you too’ and she cut the call.”

  “I didn’t know what to say,” Cynthia said joining in the laughter.

  “You would have told him what he told you na,” Mabel said.

  “I can’t lie to him. What I feel for him is more of pity that love.”

  “Only God knows what he will be thinking now,” their mother said.

  “When he comes back tomorrow, we will know.”

  “You would have told him ‘thank you very much’,” their mother said.

  “No oo,” Cynthia said. “That is so outdated.”

  “But seriously, you can’t force yourself to say ‘I love you’ when you don’t mean it, just to give the person hope,” Mabel said.

  “I am happy you are learning fast,” their mother said. “I remember those days you started falling in love…”

  “I was a learner then na,” Mabel said, laughing. “Experience has taught me better.”

  “I was trying to tell you then but you did not want to hear.”

  “You know how it is when a naïve girl’s blood is hot.”

                They laughed.

  “Please keep an eye on the soup,” their mother said as she turned to leave.

  “Ok.”

                She went back to the backyard.

  “What should I do?” Cynthia asked Mabel. “Should I call him back and apologize for cutting the call and not saying anything?”

  “No. Just wait until he comes back tomorrow, then you talk with him.”

  “Abi?”

  “Yes. Don’t rush into any decision now. Any man who is matured and ready knows better than to rush a lady into making a decision.”

  “But I feel bad the way I treat him.”

  “You are not under any obligation to love him back o.”

  “Ok.”

  “It is okay for Chuka to love you much more than you love him. In fact, it is advisable. So he will treat you like a queen and kiss the ground you step on.”

  “How about when he gets jealous all because he really loves me.”

  “That means he is not yet ready to love. No one owns anybody and has no right to lay such claims.”

  “Chuka seems like the jealous lover type.”

  “I noticed that. Well, for now, he is just your neighbor and platonic friend. We are not even talking about dating, let alone courting and marriage. That is still far.”

  “So what should I do? How should I treat him?”

  “Treat him as a friend like every other. Don’t plan your life around him and don’t allow him plan his life around you.”

  “Ok.”

  “Cynthia, check the soup on the fire o,” their mother shouted from the backyard.

  “Ok mum,” Cynthia said and went to the kitchen. She brought the soup down, put off the stove and went back to the parlour.

  “Is it done?” Mabel asked.

  “Yes. I stirred it and brought it down.”

                She sat down and they talked for a while about the situation with Chuka.

  “I know you feel obligated to return his kindness but that is not how things are done,” Mabel said after Cynthia made a case with all the things Chuka had done for her and suffered because of her. “If you want to talk about someone who has done so much for you, it is God, yet He does not forcefully demand your response. He allows you to willingly submit. Any man who doesn’t understand this is not ready for any serious relationship.”

  “You are right.”

  “If you keep returning favours sentimentally, you will not return to only one person o. Anyone who shows little favour will expect return from you.”

  “You are right. Like pastor’s wife will always say, ‘fall in love with your head before your heart’.”

  “She is right. I have learnt that by experience. I will not like you to go through the same. Don’t be sentimental about falling in love. In fact, don’t fall in love, walk in love. Thread with caution, with your eyes wide open, looking out for certain signs. So you will not be blinded by emotion and not know when there is a red flag.”

                Their mother came into the parlour and interrupted their conversation.

  “Mama Ken sends her regards,” she said.

  “Ok,” Mabel replied. “How is Ken? It’s been long I saw him.”

  “He travelled to Malaysia 3 months ago.”

                Mabel looked at Cynthia surprised and asked, “And you didn’t tell me?”

  “I thought you knew,” Cynthia replied.

  “Did you ask how he is coping?” Mabel asked her mother.

  “His mum said he is doing well. That is what she is meant to say, whether it is true or not.”

 “It had better be true o. They have suffered enough.”

  “Yes they have.”

  “They will soon start pricing us for him now,” Cynthia said.

  “She did not say that o,” their mother said, laughing. “We were talking about other things.”

  “You will see na.”

  “Let me go and make food,” Mabel said and got up.

  “Is it not too early to eat?” Cynthia asked.

  “Not at all. It is better to eat dinner early.”

                Mabel went to the kitchen and made the ‘swallow’. Then she dished for her mother and took to the parlour.

  “Let me get water,” she told her mother as she went back.

  “OK Thank you,” her mother said.

                Cynthia went to the kitchen and took her own food. Mabel brought water in a bowl for her mother and then went back to get her own food. They sat in the parlour and ate, making comments on the soup and talking about different soups. After eating for a while, their mother suddenly stopped eating.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac