The man had been struck by her simplicity. They dated for one year at the end of which the man announced to her that he had been posted to the company’s overseas office and would like to take her along. She would be coming as his wife he said.

The news sounded like honey to the ears of every body. Naomi’s daughter was five years old at the time and she served as the little bride at the wedding of her mother. It was a lovely sight, we all wept for joy.

Her husband left three months after the wedding but could not take her because of the unavailability of some data needed to complete her travel documents and visa. She had to spend another three months on the process.

One day, four months later, I was in Naomi’s house, it was a Saturday and we had just come back from the wedding ceremony of Eno, Our Calabar friend.  Naomi was in the kitchen preparing fruit juice while I relaxed in the parlour with a cartoon which I had picked from a vendor in  the traffic. The doorbell rang and I went to answer it. Scot stood there, starring at me, looking very very puzzled; he obviously did not recognize me. I starred back at him, he looked the same, only a bit podgy around the stomach, his face broke into that old snake smile as he sweetly asked to see Naomi. “There is nobody by that name here sir, I informed him, just as Naomi appeared from the kitchen to find out who had visited.

Naomi! He exclaimed effusively, and allowed himself into the flat without waiting to be invited in. “how good to see you again my dear, I have searched the length and breadth of this country for you; it was good fate that smiled on me today asking me to attend the wedding.  My friend is one of the organizers and he prevailed on me to attend.

Naomi was calm, she allowed him to finish babbling before speaking. “How is your wife? She asked him. “She is very fine thank you” I don’t have to ask about you, I can see you are doing very well for yourself. “Yes Naomi informed him. God has been good to me. “What about the child, I was expecting to see.. Was it a boy or a girl? “A girl, Naomi answered, calm like oil in a bottle. “She is with mum and dad back in Port Harcourt. What about you, you must have like three children now."

Scot did not say anything for a while, but then he responded after a brief interlude of silence; “we don’t have any issue Naomi, we have tried for the past four years; the doctors say there is nothing wrong with either of us." “Then you have nothing to worry about Naomi consoled him, there is still time."

“There is something else, he told her, my parents have said I should come and take our baby. I am willing to pay back for everything you have spent on her from the day you became pregnant." the impossible bastard intoned, his words grating on my ears. All along, I had made myself invisible, concentrating on the cartoon and pointedly ignoring Naomi who did not have enough sense to walk the him out of her flat.

The statement about the baby brought me around. I stood up to my full five feet plus and faced the man, my eyes flashed fire. “What did you just say? "Excuse me," he turned towards me, waiting for me to introduce myself, I did not oblige him. "You dirty bastard from the slime pit, what child are you offering to pay for? I spat at him. “This is none of your business please, Naomi who is this? "My name is Anne I answered him; I used to be Naomi’s course mate in school. I was a witness to your ardent love and affection for her and when you abandoned her and the pregnancy, I helped her deliver the baby and I helped her take care of her. I became her husband, a role you were never around to fill. So what nonsense are you saying about my baby? I querried him, like a headmaster to a stupid student.

"Your baby! I am sorry Anne, I know people have been hurt by my actions but that is why I am here to make amends and heal the bruised spots." Naomi who all along had been dormant came to life, “you can’t have the child Scot, I and my husband will be relocating to France in a few weeks’ time and I will be taking my daughter with me.

“You know you cannot do that. You can’t take my daughter with you to anywhere. Even if it was not against the law, I would do everything in my power to prevent you from going with my daughter," Scot said in response to Noami's revelation.

Naomi snapped out of her timid cover at the cocky sounding statement. “You know you have guts, to come to my house and make demands. Who do you think you are? Telling me that I can’t take my child anywhere?. “The child is mine as well, Scot said and I won’t allow you to take her. You can go with your husband but you must return my child to me.

“How do you even know that she is your child? Naomi threw in the killer punch. If you are that sterile, you should be able to impregnate your own wife and not come crawling back here. Get out of my house this minute before I call the police, Naomi finally placed the long awaited order.

“I am not the father of the child? Scot asked, wearing a sober and almost defeated look. Looking at him, I felt impotent on his behalf. He left but promised to pursue the case to a logical conclusion “I will never let you get away with it, he said, and if you cheated and deceived me about the pregnancy, I will never let you get away  with that as well." “GET OUT!!!” Naomi screamed at him and pushed him out of the flat.

After he left, I asked Naomi if it was true that Scot was not the father of her daughter. “What do you think? Of course he is the father but do you expect me to dash  my daughter to the idiot? "Of course not, I replied I would kill you with my own hands if you tried such nonsense."

Robot  Villager

# 1 The man had been struck by her simplicity. They dated for o...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 20.04.2008 15:39