The Moment I Met You (Chapter 412)

 By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu

As Chioma turned towards the door she felt that someone was back home as she pushed the door open and entered. Louisa came into the living room as Chioma closed the door. It seemed Louisa had been watching for her arrival.                                                                                       

‘Well? Did you bring the bottles or…?’                                                  

‘No, I didn’t.’ Chioma made for the bedroom and started to take off the jacket she had worn over her blue dress.’                                                       

‘Why didn’t you bring Michael in for tea? You know he’d have been welcome.’                                                                                                             

‘I don’t want to bring loss to his business. For him, every minute is important.’ Chioma threw the words over her shoulder and kept walking into the bedroom. She had just tossed the jacket on the mat when Louisa walked into the bedroom.                                                            

‘What happened?’                                                                                             

‘We talked, then I came back home.’                                                                   

‘How can you just talk and you return home? What about having afternoon tea together…why did you push him away?’                                               

Suddenly Chioma, standing at the window, taking off the band she had used to tie her hair back, remembered what Michael told him about Stanley, leading him to her . She remembered him saying, ‘Stanley called me over…’ At this moment she knew who the special person Michael was referring. She turned to face her mother, tossing the elastic band onto the mat. ‘It was all planned, wasn’t it?’                 

‘What was all planned?’                                                                                 

‘You and Stanley were the main reason Michael found me. You knew about this.’                                                                                                   

Louisa turned her face away. ‘He proposed again? Hope you won’t give him back the ring?’                                                                               

  ‘No need to pretend, mum…you knew about it. That’s why you were asking me why I didn’t bring Michael over for tea.’                              

 ‘Well, I…Stanley told me that he was going to reunite you with your boyfriend. Stanley told me that he loves you, but if having Michael would make you super happy that he would do something to help…he told me that before he flew back to Abuja yesterday. So, he concluded that once he landed he would ring Michael and lead him to you. He wanted Michael to have come here, but thought that you might not really like it, so he decided that Mama Funke’s food-stall would be perfect for the meeting.’                                                                                             

Chioma didn’t know what to say to her mother. She remained silent.                                                                                                                      

 ‘I know how much you are hurting inside even though you conceal your sadness with smile.’ Louisa’s eyes fell on her daughter’s left hand, bare of ring. She sighed softly, and sat down on the chair. ‘You turned him down, right?’                                                                             

  ‘I told him what was good for everyone.’                                                   

There was a short silence, during which Chioma could almost hear her mother’s breath. ‘Did you know that I spent my entire time in the market praying, praying for you as I sold the fruits,’ Louisa said. ‘I was hoping that you would come to your senses and accept him. Michael has suffered several humiliations because of you, and I think you should stick together and fight the world with him.’                             

‘Mum, how can I fight the world with him? Mum, you are overestimating me,’ Chioma smiled slightly. ‘I am completely useless…I have no money, no background, no father…I don’t even have connection. I am jobless…I am someone who picks used-empty plastic bottles, sell them at the factory where they would be recycled into useful industrial materials. I am more of a garbage collector, a slummy girl… Mum, what right do I have to accept the ring from Michael, let alone fighting the world with him…so, mum tell me, what right do I have? Apart from saying, Michael I love you, and I want to love you for the rest of my life, I’m completely useless…I am not worthy of him. His parents don’t like me.’ Tears stole into her eyes and she bit her lip.                

Louisa came over to where Chioma stood and put a hand on her shoulder. She could feel her daughter’s pain and knew that she was truly hurting for paying such a huge price for everyone to be happy. Chioma turned towards her mother, burying her face in her chest for a moment, but she tried not to let the threatening tears fall down her cheeks.                                                                                                                     

‘In this world, you can give up everything but not love,’ Louisa comforted.‘What you did was too high a price for anyone to pay for other people’s happiness…first, you need to unblock Michael’s number. He could have called you with numerous numbers, but he decided to respect your decision…but please, I am telling you as your mother to be happy. Michael gives you happiness, don’t throw it away. Honestly, I had only accepted your decision to move to Lagos because I didn’t want you to think that I am not with you…’      

‘Mum…’ Chioma looked away, hiding her tears.                                                

‘I see strength,’ Louisa spoke softly. ‘Honey, it makes me sad that I see how much strength you have yet sometimes you just accept things when you shouldn’t…stop letting Jessica bully you. Yes, she has money, power but she doesn’t have the love you have from Michael.’                          

With a flash of sweet memories of her and Michael, Chioma realised that she had only succeeded in betraying Michael’s love and also she had betrayed herself. She had tried, really tried, to do what others wanted…for peace sake. Pleasing them means displeasing herself, but today, she would never let anyone get in the way of her love. It was time for her to fight back, for what was rightfully hers. But was she ready yet? How was she going to fight Jessica from the slums? Everything seems impossible right now, but she was determined to win this battle no matter how tough it might seem.