They were engaged to be married. That was Naomi’s explanation of her relationship with Scot.

Scot was thirty three, a cashier in a stock broking firm. He was handsome and of a very good disposition. Naomi was my course mate in the four hundred level theatre classes.

Scot demonstrated his undying love for Naomi in the letters and cards she always proudly flaunted for our seeing pleasure.

Naomi and Scot had been together for four years, we knew that the union was destined for the altar. The love was strong enough to weather the storms of the delay occasioned by Naomi’s education and the need to continually save up for the final settlement.

After the final exams, Naomi told me that she was late that month. We went to the School clinic for pregnancy tests and they came out positive.

We parted after finishing our final clearance and I left for Lagos while Naomi went to Port Harcourt where her parents lived. Two weeks later, I received a frantic call from Naomi,

She had told Scot that she was pregnant, Scot at first asked her if she was sure, when she showed him the test result, he shocked her by asking her to terminate the pregnancy. “He did what? I shouted at the top of my voice. “My parents sent me out of the house this morning when they discovered my state, she added before bursting into tears.

Oh dear sweet poison, I groaned. Nobody would have suspected that Scot would do this to Naomi; he was the perfection of manhood, he was so kind, so nice. He loved her with his life, (or so he claimed). I marvelled at the tendency for people like Scot to shock with a sudden revelation of another side to a character that is known and loved by all.

Naomi could not terminate the pregnancy. The doctor spoke of complications. She decided to keep it. It was tough on her. Her parents washed their hands off her; they were angry at the shame and banters she brought to them.

Naomi gave birth to a baby girl ( Lena) soon after her NYSC posting and she had to take the child to the camp as there was nobody she could leave her with. We were posted to the same area and this gave me great joy.

Lena gave us enough work at the camp. We did everything to keep the child a secret from the officials as we took turns to take care of her, putting all our wiles to test. Her feeding and drugs were another matter; we had to task our meagre allowance to be able to take care of the baby.

For three weeks in the camp, we toiled and sweated to keep the baby alive and healthy and I can tell you, it was hell. At times the baby would develop a very complex condition that called for expensive medical attention and we would scout high and low for the money for that purpose. At such times Naomi would break down and weep uncontrollably; “Please help me Anne, she would bathe me in her tears; this child must never die; if she dies I would have lost all reasons to live”

All this time, nothing was heard from Scot; no letters, no phone calls. Not even to ask after the woman he once claimed to love with all his soul. Naomi’s parents did not increase her allowance for the sake of the baby; they elected to ignore the existence of the child.

The child was a year old when Naomi got a job in the Ministry of foreign affairs. We heard about Scot’s wedding from Juliana, one of our course mates. He had also resigned from the stock broking firm and relocated to Lagos, which was where Juliana learnt about the marriage.

Naomi’s parents made peace with her and accepted the baby as their own. At the age of three, the child went to stay with them in Port Harcourt while Naomi stayed back in Lagos. I was employed as a cashier in the bank and fortunately for us, my office was located in Victoria Island where the ministry of foreign affairs had its head office. We lived apart from each other. I lived at Ogba while Naomi lived at Ogudu GRA.

Luck smiled on Naomi, she met and fell in love with a staff of mobile oil who had come to the ministry to make enquiries about his travel documents.

Robot  Villager

# 1 They were engaged to be married. That was Naomi’s explanation of her relationship with Scot...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 13.04.2008 16:34

aringaranso  Villager

# 2 Anne, Na wa for you oooooooooo, Just when I have relaxed to enjoy the story,you suddenly cut it short. Biko post part II sharp sharp Posted by aringaranso| 13.04.2008 17:06

mulan  Villager

# 3 Oh dear sweet poison, I groaned. Nobody would have suspected that Scot would do this to Naomi; he was the perfection of manhood, he was so kind, so nice. He loved her with his life, (or so he claimed). I marvelled at the tendency for people like Scot to shock with a sudden revelation of another side to a character that is known and loved by all. Such is life... I told someone in a similar situation that it is never a crime to have an unplanned pregnancy or a child outside marriage. While such incidents will always raise eyebrows and even cause a smear in our society, no one can predict the future... Posted by mulan| 13.04.2008 17:32

datuouwadaberechi  Villager

# 4 looking forward to reading the end. but for younger ones, the best advice is ABSTINENCE!!! it may sound improbable, but its d only way that could ensure peace of mind. and its doable. just program ur mind to accept it. and ask for God's help Posted by datuouwadaberechi| 14.04.2008 09:41

NinjaT  JJC

# 5 Nice piece. Please, when is Part II coming out? Posted by NinjaT| 17.04.2008 12:13

emj  Villager

# 6 Hmm.......good series Anne....i enjoy reading your articles....looks like you've decided to adopt the make them crave for more attitude:biggrin::biggrin: We patiently await da Continuation....(emj in drooling mode):cool: Posted by emj| 19.04.2008 00:06