I sat alone at a small table, sipping a cold glass of stout and watching the action around me.
It was the 'welcome party' for Ruby and her entourage for a very successful tour, as Eazzy put in his opening remarks earlier.
My eyes kept wandering to a table a short distance away by the poolside of the hotel on Victoria Island where the party was taking place.
Ruby was sitting there with some friends and staff from her management company. She looked particularly radiant that night , her luminous eyes sparkling as she chatted animatedly with her group.
"Lovely, isn't she?" a voice said close to me.
I turned round to see Eazzy, a drink in his right hand, standing by me. I had not seen him walk up.
I knew who he was referring to so I shrugged and said:
"She is."
"I hear you two are back together." he said, sitting by me.
"Something like that," I said, wondering what he was driving at.
"Lucky you, to have such a passionate woman like her."
"Thank you," I said, my eyes seeking her out again. She saw me then and gave a little wave. I smiled at her and we gazed at each other for a minute before something Eazzy said drew my attention.
"And so sweet. Very, very sweet," he said, smacking his lips like one licking some delicious ice cream.
Something in the way he spoke made me look at him sharply.
"What are you talking about, Eazzy? Sweet as in...?"
"Well, how do you describe a woman you've tasted and found delicious?" He must have seen the stunned look on my face for he got up, picked his drink and said:
"Oh, my bad! I forgot that what happens in Rome stays in Rome! Ha! Ha!"
He walked away, laughing to himself, leaving me boiling with anger...
I sat mulling over what Eazzy had just said, unable to believe it at first. I knew Eazzy had never liked me and had pulled all kinds of tricks to make Ruby leave me.
Was this one of such tricks, I wondered. But he had sounded so sure of himself, so...
There was only one way to find out. I got up abruptly and went up to Ruby's table.
Grabbing her by the hand, I said testily: "Come with me! "
She gazed at me curiously as I led her away in the direction of the car park.
"Baby, are we leaving already? The party's just warming up! "
I did not answer till we were in the confines of my ca
where we could talk in privacy, away from prying eyes and ears.
"What was that crap Eazzy just said over there?" I said in an icy tone.
"I don't understand. What did he say." She sounded puzzled
"About you and him and... so tell me, what went down between you two during your tour?"
"What are you talking about Tobi? I..."
I hit the steering wheel angrily with my fist, making her almost jump in surprise. I bet she had never seen me so angry before, except perhaps during our last major quarrel.
"I want the truth, Ruby. Not a bunch of lies. So, start talking!"
***
"Thanks, Tobi," said Rume as I placed the bottle of soft drink on a stool by her seat.
I sat down opposite her and said:
"So, how's work?" I said. Rume was a computer programmer who worked at an IT firm at Ikeja.
"Fine, I guess. I'm thinking of going solo from next year. I want to work for myself."
I smiled at her. "Good for you. I like your ambition."
She gave a wan smile then took a sip of her drink.
"In case you're wondering, Ruby didn't send me. I came on my own," she said.
"Ok." I waited for whatever it was she wanted to say. It was no use anyway; it would not change anything. My mind was made up...
"She's pregnant." It was the last thing I expected to hear from her and for a moment, I was stunned into silence.
"She had been feeling ill for some days. So, a few days ago, she went to see her doctor." She paused then: "That was when she found out."
"Well, congratulations Rume! You'll soon be an Aunty!" I said, not bothering to hide the sarcastic tone in my voice.
"You should be congratulated too," she said, smiling. "It's your baby afterall."
I stared at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"You heard me, Tobi. You'll soon be a daddy!"
I shook my heard. "That can't be. We broke up over two months ago, remember?"
"Yes. But before then, I heard you two had a great 'reunion' in your house."
"So? What has that got to do with it?" I said. "Afterall, she was also with Eazzy. And who knows who else," I added, with some bitterness. I had put the whole incidence behind me and I did not want to be reminded about it.
She sat up in her chair. "I understand how you feel, Tobi. She made a mistake. Eazzy was a mistake which she regrets everyday. But..."
I raised my hand. "I'm not in the mood to start digging up the past. I've moved on and I suggest she do the same."
"But, can't you find it in your heart to forgive her? She has apologised and pleaded. And she still loves you. Please, Tobi. At least for the sake of the baby, your baby. You need to see her. She looks so lost without you. It's even beginning to affect her music and."
I shook my heard. "It's too late now. It can't work between Ruby and I anymore. Sorry."
***
After she had gone, I sat thinking over this new development. A baby. Hmm. Some months back, such news would brought so much joy, to both of us.
Since I had been with Ruby, I had been nursing the dream of our settling down together someday.
She was the one I wanted to spend my life with, to be my life partner.
But that dream was nothing but a mirage now.
Not after what happened between her and Eazzy during her foreign tour.
"I don't know how it happened, Tobi. I guess I was drunk, and missing you terribly. I was crying and Eazzy was trying to console me that night and...One thing led to the other and..." She had wept that night in my car as she narrated how she ended up in bed with Eazzy.
Eazzy of all people! A guy I did not like and who hated me as well. How could Ruby do that to me, betray me in that way, was what kept going through my mind. Ok, we had briefly broken up then. But how could she sleep with Eazzy? There was no excuse for her action at all, I reasoned grimly.
She had kept weeping and begging for forgiveness. But things could never be the same between us anymore and I knew I could never trust her again. And what was a relationship without trust?
I had driven away from the party that night in anger and that was the last time I had seen her in over two months. I had ignored her many calls and refused to see her as well when she came over to the house
Now this pregnancy news. What was I supposed to do?
I sighed, got up and headed for the bathroom to take a shower before going out to visit my friend, Kingsley at his home in Surulere...
To be continued
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