THE MONEY LOVE – Episode 1
TRUE LIFE STORY
“Frederick go get married! You must get married this year or I will do something that will make our entire kindred family to gather for a meeting in this house!” my mother yelled at me. I was dragging my luggage out of my room. I had a meeting the next day in London by 5:00 pm. “Mom, have I not told you why I am not yet married. Give me a break for Christ sake! I will get married when I find the right woman for me!” I shouted at her. For long that was how we talked in the house. We yelled at each other.
“And how old would you be by then? You are thirty-eight years old Frederick! I mean thirty-eight! When are you going to find this perfect girl?” she yelled back, making sure I felt the scorn in her voice. “I don’t have time for this shouting match! I have a flight to catch. When I get back, you will get all the shouting match you crave!” “TAAWAI!” she slapped me. I let it pass. That was not the first time she would slap me during a shouting match over my not being married. “What happened to good manners?! Why would you talk to me that way?!” “I meant no disrespect.” “I want you to tell me before you leave this house when you will get married.”
“Mom, I can’t promise you that right now. I don’t even have any lady I am interested in at the moment, much less anyone to propose to. The only way I will get married soon is if I find a white lady to marry in London…” “Jesus!!! Okechukwu!!! Okechukwu!!! Fred has killed me o! He has finished me!” my mother shouted and slumped to the ground. I was minded to ignore her and head out of the house. For the affection I had for her, I dropped my bag and raised her to her feet. I was busy trying to get her into her room when she began to land blows on me and delivered bites on my back. “I will kill you, your oyinbo wife and myself if you dare marry oyinbo woman!” I managed to get her into her room and locked her in.
I knew Okechukwu my brother would unlock the door for her. I picked my luggage and bolted out of the house. Already Isong, my driver, was waiting for me, the car engine, running. On the drive to the airport, I gave serious thoughts to my being single and the constant war it attracted my way at home. Seriously I wanted to get married more than my mother wanted me to. The problem for me was that I could not seem to find ladies who want to get married for what it’s worth. So far, all the ladies I have met have been interested in money, wealth and all sorts of material acquisitions. Being the type that I am, I would rather die single than marry any materialistic, money-chasing woman who thinks a man is her ATM machine.
Make no mistakes about it, I am rich. I mean very rich. Back in my village in Abia State, there is a steady pool of 75 young people I cater for. I mean, I feed, clothe and cater for their education. I have been doing this for seven years now. Money is not my problem, finding true love is my problem. The words my mother said were on my mind when I arrived at the departure lounge. Coincidentally as soon as I walked in, my eyes fell on a certain breathtaking lady. She was angelic and ravishing. Having met her at the airport, I reasoned, she might be different. I kept my gaze on her till I got the chance to chat her up. “Hello, I am Fred. Am heading to London, where are you going?” I asked the lady. She looked at me from my feet up to my head. I could tell she was sizing up my worth. I was wearing an Aba-made leather sandal (I believe in ‘Buy-Nigeria’ like Ben Murray Bruce preaches), a pair of blue jean trouser and a T-shirt. Within I was seething as the lady took her time to size me up before speaking to me. “I am Rose, my mom is the one traveling,” she said, her voice laced with disdain. She must have surmised I was not worth much and so did not deserve her time. “That is okay, do you mind my taking a little of your time for a chat, my plane will be taking off in the next one hour twenty-five minutes. I think that time will be well spent getting to know each other,” I said. She looked at me, her eyes filled with disdainful flames. “Hello, I am trying my best to be nice to you. The fact that you are flying to London does not make us equals. I think it will serve you best to find a girl in your league.” Each word she spoke was like a dagger to my heart. Too bad for her, I was ready for a fight, having warmed up at home with my mom. With a fake smile on my face, I asked, “What makes you think I am not in your league?” “Okay, I and my mom are hungry and need to go get something to eat, do you really think you can afford what people like us eat?” I shook my head in disbelief, my heart threatening to explode with rage. “I will give you one thousand dollars to go buy what you and your mom will eat, when you are done, keep the change,” I said, reaching for my wallet. You should have seen the look in her eyes. I removed a thousand dollars and gave it to her.
“Go buy what you and your mom will eat, I will be waiting here for you.” She bowed and said, “Thank you sir. I will be with you shortly.” I felt like vomiting at how cheap she was. Suddenly the man she despised was a ‘sir’. And all that was because she saw I was rich. While she was busy eating with her mom, I was busy hatching means to embarrass her before all the people present. She must have swallowed whole whatever it was she bought to eat and rushed back to be with me. When she sat next to me and breathed, “Thanks so much sir.” I asked, “Rose, can I ask you an honest question?” She nodded and said, “Yes sir,” with fake foreign accent. “What quality do you think you have which can attract and keep a man in your life?” Her face turned red. She did not expect that and could not tell where I was headed with it. “I am very good in bed. I can make you cry in ways you have never done before and wish you had never touched any else woman all your life,” she replied. Her grammar was awed. I had noticed it from the moment we began to talk but chose to ignore it. Going by that, I could tell she was a dull girl. I was going to use it and shame her. “Did you just say any else woman?”
“Yes I did.” She still could not see the blunder she had committed. “Did you attend a university at all?” “Why do you ask? I am graduate of Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma. I read Political Sciences.”
“How come you can’t tell what is wrong with the expression any else woman after four years of studying what you call Political Sciences?” She moved uncomfortably on her seat. “You said you can make me cry in bed; besides that, what else can you do? Can you manage a home, respect your husband, cook good food, manage millions and businesses, train up children in the fear of God, support your husband when things are difficult, pray out your husband and children from the grip of destruction? Tell me, besides sex, why would a man as rich as I am want anything to do with you?” She was tongue tied. I waited a few minutes for her to give me an answer, when she did not, I removed five hundred dollars from my wallet and pressed it into her hand. I was paying her to keep her seated and hear all the insults I had for her. “What is the money for?” she asked lamely. “I am enjoying the conversation, so I am paying for your time.” “But you don’t have to.” “Yes, but I have so much more where that came from.” She tried to give me back the money; I refused and gave her a stern look. She took it back and looked away from me. “If this was a job interview and I was willing to pay you five thousand dollars every month, what can you really do for me? Please don’t tell me you are good in bed, every girl can do that, even the mad one. What in your opinion is your skill set?” She looked at me for long and spoke no word. I was going to shout at her to get off my face but decided against it. I simply whispered to her, “Please could you take your filthy self off my face?” She stood to her feet and left. I did not see her again till I boarded my flight that night. I believe without any iota of doubt that women are the nest of God’s creation. From my adolescent years, I have been held in awe of the feminine allure. I am convinced that nothing holds a man’s attention like the feminine attraction. Yes, in some cases, money has competed fiercely for that position in men’s heart. Sadly, men developed the quest for money as a result of the demeaning treatment they get from the society, especially the female folks, when they don’t have it.
STORY CONTINUES
