I wiped the tears from my eyes and told him about how I had met Bobby in church and how he had been on my neck asking to be my friend. I narrated how he had been asking me to pay him a visit and how I finally agreed.
“How many times did you visit him here?” the man asked me.
“Just once, sir, I was here just once,” I answered.” Today is the third time I would be coming here. The second time was days ago when I came to inform him that he’s gotten me pregnant.”
“So, the first time you came here was when he raped you?”
I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“But how did it happen? Didn’t you shout or struggle with him?” the man quizzed me further.
“I did not have to struggle with him, sir, because Bobby drugged my drink,” I told him.
“What? Bobby did what?” the man was totally bewildered.
“When I noticed he was coming on too strong for me, I told him I was not interested in sex. I told him I would leave if he kept pestering me for sex. He apologized and appeared to have forgotten about the idea. Then, he asked if he could get me a drink, that was when he drugged my drink and raped me. I didn’t know when I dozed off. I only woke up to find that he had violated me. And now you say he has run away to Lagos, what am I going to do now?
The man was dazed to say the least. From the look on his face, it seemed as though I was reading a script from one of those Nollywood movies. Apparently, the man could barely believe Bobby had done half of what I said he did.
“You mean Bobby actually did all these to you?” he asked me.
I nodded. “Are you sure?”
“Of course, I’m sure, why would I be lying to you, sir?” I was half yelling at him. “Why would I be here this morning if the story didn’t go the way I just told you. I didn’t expect I wouldn’t meet Bobby here, I had no idea he was out of town.“
He took in all I said and I guessed he realized I made sense because he didn’t ask me the question again. “So, what did Bobby say when you came to see him days ago and told him you were pregnant for him?”
I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. “He said he would do something about it today, that I should not worry.”
“So, he accepted the pregnancy is his?” he asked me.
“Of course, yes,” I’d thrown back, feeling slightly irritated he was asking me that question after I had told him all that happened between Bobby and I.
The man was silent for several minutes. He paced up and down in silence like one who was faced with the responsibility of taking the most important decision of his life. The man was scared but he tried hard not to show it. But deep down inside him, he knew his nephew had gotten him into big, big trouble.
“Sir, how can I get to see Bobby?” I had to break the silence. Time was clearly not on my side.
“You want to go and meet him in Lagos? Have you ever been to Lagos? Will your parents allow that?” he asked me.
“Sir, does it really matter anymore what my parents will allow? The truth remains that they will skin me alive if I return home and they find out I’m pregnant!” I told him with tears in my eyes. “Sir, how are you going to help me? You are Bobby’s uncle, how will you help me find Bobby, please, sir, I beg of you?” I pleaded with him as I went on my knees. And the tears came tumbling down my face in torrents.
I was distraught. I was totally disoriented. I was not expecting this situation. All I was looking forward to was going to the doctor with Bobby to get rid of this pregnancy that has shattered my life into a thousand pieces. But now, there is no Bobby. How am I supposed to solve this problem alone? Why has Bobby done this to me? The tears started to course down my face even more.
“Stop crying young lady, what did you say your name was again?” Bobby’s Uncle asked me, his eyes filled with some pity for me.
“Rosemary, sir,” I answered, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand.
“Yes, Rosemary,” he said, “now, please, I need you to calm down a bit so we can talk about how we can sort out this problem.” He hesitated for a few seconds and then went on. “What do you think is the solution now? What do you have in mind?”
I shook my head. “Sir, there is no other solution other than for me to find Bobby and get rid of this thing in my womb.”
“But I just told you he’s in Lagos as we speak,” the man reminded me.
“I know, sir, but you must take me to him. I must see him before my parents find out what has happened to me,” I cried.
“That won’t be possible, young lady. Where would you tell your parents you’re going to? Or, do you think Lagos is just down the road? You will even get yourself into more trouble by disappearing from home.”
I agreed with him. “So, what do I do now, sir, I am confused.”
“This is what I have in mind,” he’d begun. “I plan to go to Lagos this weekend. I didn’t have any plans to see Bobby in Lagos before, but now, I must go to my brother’s house where he lives and tell him his girlfriend is pregnant.”
“Sir, I am not his girlfriend, I already told you that. Bobby only took advantage of my naivety and raped me. I am not his girlfriend!” I repeated angrily.
“Okay, I have heard you,” he returned. “So, I will tell him that the lady he raped back in the village is pregnant and his attention is needed. And I will make sure I return back here with him. In the meantime, you try and keep this away from your parents, when Bobby and I return, we will find a solution to the problem.
It sounded like a glimmer of hope, but still, I was not sure. “But, sir, when do you plan to return back to the village?”
“I should be back in three days at the most, and with Bobby, too. And to be honest, I think this is the only way out for now. He created this mess, he has to clear it all by himself. So, do you think you can hold on for the next couple of days and keep this away from your parents till we return?”
