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"Francis, you mean all this was going on and you didn't tell
me? I thought we were friends!" Ebuka stated, sounding upset. I had just
told him about Shade and I and the plans I was making for us.
To be continued...
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"I'm truly sorry I didn't tell you earlier. But we had to
keep it top secret because of the situation- you know Shade has a fiancé, a
Prince. Abeg no vex!* I pleaded with him. That calmed him down a bit.
"So, all this while you said you were travelling to Lagos to
see your parents, it was the girl you were with. Francis, you are a real bad
guy o!" he stated, hitting me playfully on the shoulder.
"Anyway, I don't blame you. That girl fine no be
small*," he added in pidgin.
"So, what are your plans for now?" he queried some time
later.
I shrugged.
"I intend travelling out of the country to do my Masters
degree. I'm hoping Shade will come join me so she can attend school over there
as well," I told him. That was the tentative plan we had at the moment.
But its success was based on Shade being able to extricate herself from her
engagement with Prince Dayo.
And that would depend on her father and Dayo's father too. Would
they give their consent to Shade calling off the engagement or would there be
opposition? What about Dayo? What would be his reaction when he finds out his
fiancé had fallen for someone else and no longer wanted him?
We both knew there were challenges ahead but we never envisaged how
tough it was going to be.
Ebuka and I sat on the verandah for some time discussing the
issue. Then around seven o'clock, as we were getting ready to head to Iya
Akin's Bar, Shade arrived unexpectedly.
It was her first time of visiting me at the Corpers' Lodge since
we had started dating.
"This is a surprise, Shade. You didn't even call me that you
were coming," I said as she got down from the car. She was dressed in a T
shirt on snug fitting leggings that showed off her sensuous figure to
advantage. She smiled and said: "I wanted to surprise you."
She held my hand as we walked towards Ebuka, who was standing by the verandah.
"Hi, Shade," Ebuka greeted, smiling warmly at her. They
had met a couple of times during the period I was giving her tutorials at the
palace so they were familiar with each other.
We all stood chatting for a while then I took her inside my room.
"Your room is not bad, it's just small," she observed as
she gazed round.
I laughed.
"I didn't like it much at the beginning but I think I'll miss
it when I leave," I stated. She sat on the bed as the other piece of
furniture in the room, a small armchair I had coerced from Mr Babson was piled
high with clothes, books and other stuff.
"I feel bad hearing that word. The thought of you leaving me
here makes me so sad," said Shade, frowning a little.
I sat by her on the bed and held her close.
"It's just a temporary separation. With time, we shall be
together again," I reassured her.
"I can hardly wait," she said, smiling.
"Now, that's what I want to see- a smile on your pretty face.
Come here," I stated, lying down on the bed and pulling her on top of me.
"What are you doing, Francis? I thought you were going out
with Ebuka!" she said as I began to pull off her T shirt.
"Changed my mind. There's something more interesting I want
to do here," I stated.
"Like what?" she asked coyly.
"This," I said as my lips found hers and I caressed her
silky smooth skin, her firm, lush breasts. As my lips trailed downwards to her
nipples, I could hear her gasp, then she moaned softly, her body writhing in
pleasure.
"I love you so much, Francis. No matter what happens, I hope
we will always be together," she whispered, holding me tight.
"You have nothing to be afraid of, my sweet. I'll always be
there for you," I told her. As I entered her gently, I knew it was not an
empty promise; it was one I vowed to keep no matter the odds against us...
The gathering storm
About a week before we were to leave Adura at the end of our service
year, the Baale summoned me. I had not seen him for a while as it had been some
months I stopped coaching Shade who had retaken the school certificate
exams.
At the palace, I was taken to the garden where he sat under a
gazebo, reading a newspaper.
"Quite an age, Francis! Were you intending sneaking off to
Lagos without saying farewell?" he asked after I had greeted him.
"No, sir. My friend, Ebuka and I were planning to visit
before we leave next week," I stated.
He nodded.
"You can visit anytime. Even after your service ends
here, you are always welcome to my town. You boys made quite an impression on
my people and I," he stated, smiling broadly at me. Then he added, with a
mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Even, my daughter Shade has fallen under your spell!"
"I…ehm… sir," I began to say, but his raised right hand
cut me short.
"No use denying it. She has told me everything, about your
love affair. I suspected there was something going on when she was always
talking about you. But I thought it was just a crush. I never knew it could be
this serious that she's talking about breaking the engagement with Prince
Adedayo and marrying you!" he said.
I could feel my heart beating erratically, wondering what was
going to happen next. Would he send his guards to have me beaten up for daring
to touch his daughter? Would I be able to leave Adura alive and see my family
again? Is this what love had done to me?
His next words and the smile on his face brought me back with a
jolt and calmed my nerves.
"Francis, I like you. I think you are a young man with a
bright future. Under normal circumstances, I would not mind having you as a
son-in-law. But," he said, sitting up straight. "My daughter is
taken. As you are aware, she and the Prince have been engaged for years and
their wedding will come up soon. His father and I are old friends, we go back a
long way. I don't want anything to affect our relationship, least of all, this
matter. So, whatever you have with her can't work. I'm sorry, my hands are tied
on this matter as it’s beyond me."
As he spoke, I felt my hopes of ending up with Shade fade
gradually away. But I was not ready to give up on my love.
"But Sir, Shade does not want this man. Will you want to see
her married off to a man she does not love and can't be happy with?" I
said.
"The issue of love does not come into it. What matters now is
that Shade belongs to someone else. She can't be with you. You look for another
lady and leave Shade for the Prince!" he enjoined.
Before leaving, Shade and I saw briefly. We stood at a
corner of the garden under some orange and mango trees.
She was silent as I narrated what had transpired between her
father and I.
"He wants us to stop seeing, insisting you belong to the
Prince," I said.
"Truth is my father is not against my leaving Adedayo as he
cares more for my happiness than being married to the Oba's son. The problem is
with 'Dayo and his father, the Oba. They are the main obstacles on our
path," she said.
Despite such obstacles, we vowed to stick together no matter what
came our way. I later left, feeling more hopeful about the future, and began
preparing to round up my service year and leave Adura for home...
To be continued...
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