Unfortunately, it was all one sided- Eric did not reciprocate my feelings. Instead, he had eyes only for my best friend, Patra.
Patra and I had known each other since we were very young. Infact, we grew up together in the same neighbourhood and had attended the same secondary school. Later, her father, who worked in a government parastatal, was transferred to Abuja and we lost contact for a while. As fate would have it, she was posted to Lagos for her youth service programme and that's how we got reunited.
By then, I was running my own business, a wedding planning outfit. When Patra finished the NYSC, I invited her to come and join me in the business. We have been working together for about four years and the business has grown in that period. And we have not had any personal problems, that is until Eric came on the scene.
I first met him at a client's house. She was Eric's sister who had contracted us to plan her wedding. She was still living with her parents and Eric, who lived elsewhere in town, was on a visit to the family.
I pride myself on being someone who is not easily carried away by emotions especially where men were concerned. But meeting Eric changed all that. I think I was attracted to him from the first time we met, which was a record as it usually took me time to get to like a guy.
Anyway, after that first meeting, I did not see Eric again till some weeks later. Patra and I had finished another meeting with Sharon, his sister and were on our way out when he arrived. My heart grew warm at the sight of him, wishing he had come earlier.
"I see you ladies are done already," he said as he stepped out of his car. I told him we had another session with Sharon in a few days.
"I hope my sister is not giving you a tough time. She can be quite stubborn you know," he stated, his eyes all the while focused on Patra. Then lowering his voice in a conspiratorial tone, he added: "This is top secret. She has been like that since we were young. I feel sorry for the young man she wants to marry. The poor guy doesn't know what is about to hit him!" And with that, he waved at us and walked briskly towards the house, leaving us gaping after him.
One day in our small office, Patra and I were going through some files on her laptop when her mobile rang. She walked towards the window and spoke for sometime on the phone, then turned to me, a surprised look on her face.
"Who was it?" I asked indifferently, my eyes on the computer.
"It's that guy Eric, Sharon's sister. He wants to take me out for a drink or something. He says you can come too if you are free," she said. At the mention of his name, I looked up quickly, fully interested.
"Why would he want to do that?" I asked. I remembered the way he used to look at Patra the few occasions we had met him and my heart fell. God, I hope it's not what I'm thinking, that he likes Patra. He can't because I want him for myself, I silently prayed.
"Who knows, Una? Maybe, he just wants to show appreciation for all the hard work we have put in planning his sister's wedding," she stated, with a shrug. Deep within me, I knew it was more than that...
Losing Eric
My worst fears were confirmed during the outing with Eric. He took us to an open air garden bar by the lagoon front in the city. We sat close to the water front where some water hycinths grew profusely.
That evening, it was clear to even the blind that Eric liked my friend. It was not just because he paid more attention to her, but the manner he looked and interacted with her. At a point I simply sat, glumly staring at a few boats that were speeding away on the water, leaving a trail of foamy water in their wake.
Though it was a nice outing, I felt unhappy at the way things had turned out. Eric whom I liked so much had obviously chosen my friend over me. And she seemed to like him too as she confessed to me when we got home later that night. For one of the few times since our friendship began, I was angry with Patra. I felt betrayed and resentful, feeling that because of her, I had lost Eric. How can you lose someone you never had in the first place, the reader might wonder. Truth is, from the first moment I set my eyes on him, in my mind, he was already mine. Now, my friend had taken him from me! I knew I was being unreasonable but I could not help myself. I was consumed by jealousy, wondering what was so special about my friend that Eric would chose Patra over me.
I kept all these thoughts to myself and never allowed how I felt about Eric to show. Even when they started dating fully, I wished her the best in the relationship. Deep inside me however, I prayed it would not last and that they would break up within a short time.
My prayers stayed unanswered for with time, their relationship seemed to wax stronger and stronger. My friend had fallen in love and it showed in the glow in her eyes whenever she talked about him. She never hid anything from me concerning their relationship, both the ups and downs. Whenever they quarreled, I was the one she ran to, complaining bitterly about his 'difficult ways' and how controlling he could be. At such times, I would put my jealousy of her aside and console her as a friend.
It was painful seeing them together but at least I took consolation in the fact that my friend was happy. Gradually, I began to accept the relationship, feeling they were meant to be. There was nothing I could do about it and I had to move on. But try as I could, the strong feelings I had for Eric never waned.
It was to have dire consequences later as my story will show...
Names have been changed to protect the identity of the narrator and other individuals in the story.
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