JEREMY Episode 9 – Moshood Avidiime
Jeremy’s people received “the list” during our introduction, and after looking through it, regardless of how pricey some may have felt it was, they just smiled and nodded to the fact that nothing “there” was out of their price range.
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“She is worth more than any price tag,” Jeremy said in a loud voice that was audible to everyone in the room. At the sound of this, everyone laughed. Jeremy used a variety of flattering phrases, but those words ranked highest for me. I was beaming from ear to ear.
I could tell that all of my female friends and coworkers in attendance were envious of me.
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One time, there was a rumor that my friends—the ones who had known about Jeremy and me from the beginning—had even gambled against my relationship with Jeremy. Unbelievably, these females believed that Jeremy and I would eventually break up. They claimed that a man who is too possessive of a woman, who is frequently all up in her business and accuses her directly of cheating on him, is either a cheat and, as a result, paranoid, projecting his infidelity onto his partner, or he is a complete narcissist.
These “alleged” friends of mine had bet that I would eventually leave Jeremy because of his toxic behavior in my situation with him. Some had even hoped that I would catch Jeremy with another woman. That way, the chances of getting back together would be lower than if we’d just separated for other reasons.
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In light of this, you can see how I am aware of my surroundings.
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I’m not sure where they got the impression that Jeremy’s overprotective demeanor made me sad or uneasy. I didn’t understand what made these “Olofofos” think that I wasn’t enjoying the attention that came with Jeremy always wanting to be in the know about everything I did, where I was, who I was with, and the activities that went along with our socializing.
Even though these actions by Jeremy eventually turned into a problem, what business is it of theirs?
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No one was happier than me to flaunt the lovely development of my relationship with Jeremy.
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To experience the love that was present during our introduction, you had to be present. We appeared to be a perfect pair, Jeremy and I. We resembled Romeo and Juliet in contemporary dress (in my case, I certainly looked like the advanced version of that Juliet).
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I looked better than I ever had.
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The way my silken, heavily split gray gown fit on my body made me stand out among the other girls who had come ready to impress. I arrived in elegance because it was my day.
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To eat and drink, there was more than enough.
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Too much alcohol was consumed, which is why my aunty had to overhear these two very intoxicated women discussing something she (my aunt) had found quite interesting about Jeremy and his family and had brought to my mom’s attention.
Apparently, Jeremy was not just an only son; he was also a prince, the heir apparent to a throne we had never heard of, and the only male child of a recent generation.
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I still have trouble understanding how Jeremy and his family were able to keep anything like that hidden from my family and me.
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And No! Jeremy wasn’t trying to see if I was only interested in his wealth or prestige, as the majority of these Hollywood films lead us to assume the rich find true love. We had been dating for four years before he finally asked me to marry him. Jeremy couldn’t have been testing me for that long. That kind of patience is impossible.
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My aunt overheard more than just that, though.
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In reality, if the facts revealed by those two inebriated women at my introduction had stopped right then, rather than being all dramatic like these same Nollywood movies would have portrayed the lady involved to be, the situation would have been the opposite with me. I would have accepted this as “a plus” to the baggage that comes with being with Jeremy rather than arguing with him and being all upset and frustrated about being stringed along for so long and not being informed of something this crucial.
Looking back, I wish those women had just stopped here.
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At this point, I wish my aunt had simply gotten up and left. But she didn’t, leaving me and us in the situation we are in now.
JEREMY Episode 10 – Moshood Avidiime
“I went over to serve one particular table and then decided to take a seat and watch the show that was on stage. The two women seated directly across from me brought up a subject that I believed to be quite fascinating, without knowing that I was in any way related to the bride. No matter how compelled I was to probe further and fill in the gaps in this story, I was able to control my need to avoid coming across as an eavesdropper. I wanted them to keep chatting. The women appeared to be from Jeremy’s family or to be familiar with Jeremy and his relatives. They started by expressing what a wonderful queen my daughter would be as they danced to the loud music booming from the stage while holding a bottle in each hand. It wasn’t until they continued talking about how peaceful and lovely King Jeremy would be when he eventually took the throne that I realized they were talking about the same Jeremy. They claimed that they had waited five long years for him to eventually occupy that throne in his proper place and that they couldn’t be happier that their lengthy wait might finally be coming to an end. They claimed that this stunning bride’s family will finally understand the family she is marrying into.”
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“Wait! What issues are you bringing up? Queen Ke? Who will be a wonderful queen?” Confusingly, my mother enquired.
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As she saw the soon-to-be “Queen Mother” looking perplexed, my auntie laughed and said, “Wait and let me finish my spiel, na! As I mentioned, I was inclined to interrupt these women as they were speaking in order to elicit information that would have allowed me to fill in certain gaps, but I was unable to do so for obvious reasons. But, based on what I’ve learned, Jeremy and his family are royalty. Before he passed away, Jeremy’s father barred him from taking the throne until he had changed his life and, particularly, found himself a wife.”
“…changed his life, ke? Uju, what do you mean?” This time, my mother asked, her face showing that she found Aunty Uju’s explanations very incomprehensible.
“Sister, as I previously stated, I am not entirely certain of the circumstances, but it appears that Jeremy has been a really, really nasty boy. He must have even been involved in the demise of his father, based on what I was able to infer from the dialogue between those women.”
“JESUS! Do you even understand what you’re saying, Uju? How on earth could you ever say such a thing? Are you sure you understood what they said? Are you certain that conversation involved our Jeremy?”
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In response to my mother’s query, Aunty Uju nodded. She acknowledged that she was as astonished as anyone to learn this.
“The women’s dialogue was non-specific because they clearly already knew the background to what they were discussing. I told you, sister, that all I had done was put together the little facts I had managed to compile on my own. Although my assumptions may not be entirely correct, I can reasonably say that I am aware of what I heard.” Aunt Uju remarked.
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At this moment, I wasn’t sure what to think or how to feel. A part of me questioned what had caused these women to allegedly go as far as they did in their talk, according to Auntie Uju.
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When will Nigerians ever quit snooping around at weddings and talking about couples? You never know who might be listening, for crying out loud, since it’s a public event.
One may have believed that Aunty Uju was “working an angle” with this purported revelation if it weren’t for the fact that she has always liked Jeremy since the first day she met him.
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Interestingly, it took my mother four days to tell any of us about her conversation with Aunty Uju. The most amazing part of it all is how she managed to keep such a big secret from her husband (my father), especially given how close they are and how poorly they keep secrets, especially between themselves.
It was during morning devotion that mama broke this news. That morning sermon naturally turned into a speech about me. Papa kept on preaching about how I was still very young and didn’t need to be rushing into marriage, especially in light of the fact that we had just received a warning about the kind of man my Jeremy might turn out to be.
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The phrases were the most repulsive sounds my ears had ever heard before.
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I didn’t utter a word.
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I hurried into my room after the morning devotion and started looking around for my phone. As soon as I had it in my hands, I scrolled to Jeremy’s number and pressed the dial icon. I was so eager to verify everything I’d heard at this point. I wouldn’t mind telling Jeremy who my source is, just so he knows how serious this problem has become.
My emotions started to run wild after all the criticism my father heaped upon me during that morning devotion. I was so furious at the time that I wished I had been standing next to Jeremy because I felt like I had been betrayed and deceived.
I dialed Jeremy’s number, but he did not pick up.
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Even after my fifth call, Jeremy was still not answering.
To be continued…
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