Victims of Passion (Episode3)

   'We didn't finish yesterday's game.' There was a lustful grin on his face as he flopped her on the bed.

   'I know. Why the hurry? I'm gonna be here all night long.'

   'The earlier the game starts the better.' The lustful grin was still on his face.

   Before she could reply, his cell phone rang. It was a distant call from Nigeria.

 

Rhoda felt pain in the pelvic area of her body by the time Nonso was through with her. She was not a virgin, but she never found sexual intercourse anything pleasant. She found this particular one painful. It was the way he had handled her.

   He was so forceful and so fierce, as if his life depended on it. She felt used and bruised. She wondered if he could really say he was delighted after the whole thing. Rhoda shook her head. She never understood men and their craving for sex. She had never really enjoyed engaging in the act and she wondered why some men acted as if it was indispensable and as if without it, they would die.

   She went to the bathroom to clean herself up. There was a little bleeding coming from her private part. The man was not gentle at all, to say the least. He had handled her like a man with craze for sex. She did what she could do to clean the mess up and returned to her work. Her mind was in a frenzy. She knew madam must never hear what she and oga just did. She had only spent two weeks in the house and this had happened.

  So, oga had been nursing those lustful thoughts since she started working there! Men, she thought in disgusts. Why were they never satisfied with what they had? Madam, although no longer a young woman and was on the fat side, was still attractive. Why couldn't oga be content with that? She knew the man was much older than her own father back in Togo. Why would a man like that stoop so low as to sleep with a house girl?

   Maybe it was because you were still young, she told herself. Maybe as you grew older, you would understand things better. Then, her mind went to the promises oga made. Did he really mean those things, or was he just saying them just to have his way?

   Rhoda wondered on the prospects of what she would do if the man should fulfill the promises he had made. She smiled to herself. That would mean she would be saying bye bye to poverty. But all these would be if he kept to his words.

   An idea flashed through her mind. She had an aunty married to a timber magnate in Lome. Rhoda remembered that the aunty once boasted that she had the key to retaining the attention and the affection (if you could call it that) of any man that crossed her path. Rhoda smiled to herself again. It was time she consulted the aunty.

 

Janet woke up around six a.m. Then, she remembered that it was Saturday morning and she would not be going to work. She lazed on the bed for several minutes. She thought of what she would be doing with herself that weekend.

   By noon, she would be visiting Emma. He had said he looked forward to seeing her again. Before she would leave, she would just relax and take things easy.

   Still in her night wear, Janet went to the kitchen. The big refrigeration there had assorted juices. She poured the drinks generously in a big mug and returned to her room.

   She played music on her i-phone as she sipped her drinks. Some minutes later, she decided to have her bath. She was still in the bathroom when Zizi came to inform that breakfast was ready.

   After creaming her body, she chose to wear a white t-shirt and a short jeans skirt for now. Her parents were already eating by the time she got to the dining table.

   'Good morning, dad, good morning, mum.'

   "My baby girl, how are you?' Her father smiled up at her. It was the way he used to address her. At almost twenty-eight, her father still called her baby girl.

   Her mother too smiled at her. Julie was a reticent woman. If anyone talked a lot in that house and raised so much fuss, it was daddy.

   'Why is Helen not here?' The man looked at the chair on which Helen normally sat. 'Don't tell me she's still mourning that her boyfriend.'

   'I think she'll soon be here.' Julie nodded and looked at her husband reassuringly.

   The breakfast was toasted bread and beverages. It was one of Janet's favorites. She enjoyed the food and ate to her satisfaction. Truly, just as her mother said, Helen soon came to join them.

   'Helen, baby. How 're you?' LaVos expressed delight that she had finally come.

   'Fine, dad. Morning, mum.'

   'How're you, my dear?' Julie looked at him briefly in I-told-you-so manner. She patted her  daughter.

   'Life goes on.' LaVos lifted the tea cup to his mouth. 'I don't understand why you should be brooding over him. You're still young, enjoy your life.'

   The others did not say anything. Janet sometimes wondered how her father was able to take things as calmly as he did. For instance, the way he reacted to the death of Helen's fiancé was rather too cool, almost as if he was expecting the news.

   Janet glanced at her mother. She was sitting calmly beside her husband. As far as Janet could remember, there was no time her mother had any serious argument with her husband, or raised her voice against him.  She always seemed to agree with him  - both in words and in silence. Mummy was too cool and pliant for Janet's liking.

  Later that morning, she was in her room, watching the satellite television. Daddy and mummy had gone out. She suspected that Helen had gone out too. By eleven in the morning, she was watching Channel  O, when Funmi, her friend came to visit

 Funmi had been her friend since their secondary school days. As a matter of fact, they went to the same federal government girls college. Funmi was the only daughter of the Lawsons and they dotted on her. She was an almost spoilt child.

    Funmi was still with Janet when Emma called her line.

   'When are you coming, baby?' There was a sense of anticipation about him.

   'By mid-day, I should be there.'

   'Have you left home?'

   'Not yet, but I'll soon leave.'

   'How was your night?' The question was an afterthought.

   'It was fine. How was yours?'

   'Fine too.  I'll be expecting you, baby.'

   Janet smiled. 'Alright.' She dropped the phone on the bed.

   'Your guy?' Funmi looked at her friend in what looked like envy.

   Janet nodded in the affirmative.

   'I guess I should be on my way. Have a nice time, Janet.'

   With that, Funmi left the house.

 

NOTE: The complete story is available on Okadabooks