EMILY: Episode 10
SETTING ( 10AM at Mr and Mrs Peters’ sitting room)
MRS PETERS: My love, what do you think about the young man Emily brought here yesterday?
MR PETERS: Ermmm, he is not bad at all. I think he looked responsible; didn’t have his pants hanging on his knees and spoke very responsibly, but she can never make a better choice than Mr Okeke’s son.
I mean, we have come a very long way with that family and Emily marrying their son will be the icing on the cake!
MRS PETERS: Absolutely! chai! i really like that boy. He calls me every two days and we just get along like he is my own son.
I want a son in-law i can relate with like my own child. Not saying the Young man she brought isn’t nice but i am not sure we can have such strong bond.
MR PETERS: What bothers me even most is how to break the news to the young man.
He is coming to Nigeria next month and Emily is his major reason for coming!
Why are children of nowadays so blind when it comes to knowing what is right for them!
MRS PETERS: Very blind! she keeps going on and on about arranged marriage as if it is some sacrilege!
We we have been married for 63 years now and our marriage was arranged!
MR PETERS: And none of them can have a better marriage than we have.
MRS PETERS: At all! don’t you think we can talk her out of it?
MR PETERS: I already have my plans. The best part of it all, is that the young man is going back to Scotland in two weeks.
Emily will be left here alone and will be likely to listen to another guy when this one isn’t around her.
MRS PETERS: I really think that this generation is nuts! how can you be in a relationship with someone who lives in a different country!. I will never be able to wrap it around my head!
MR PETERS: You see, this is the reason why so many marriages end up in divorce. God intended husband and wife to live together. The bible said the man should leave his father and mother and cling to his wife. The use of ‘cling’ there implies very tight closeness.
Couples should not be away from each other for more than a week. A man has needs and when his wife is not there to meet his needs, he would find an alternative means of meeting them!
MRS PETERS: So does a woman, my dear.
MR PETERS: You are right, my dear. So i will tell the young man about Emily’s late boyfriend and how that has affected her ability to love. So if he is able to win her over, he can have her.
But we must not mention this Obed or whatever to him
MRS PETERS: That’s a great idea. She will even be the one who would be tired of waiting for the so called Obed to come back.
Long distant relationship is a waste of time and if i have my way, i will make it illegal!
MR PETERS: I have never seen one that worked. Remember Dominic’s sister back then in Kano?
MRS PETERS: Yes, what about her?
MR PETERS: She waited for eight years for her abroad boyfriend to come back and marry her, only to discover that the man has a wife and 3 children over there. She ended up marrying an old retired soldier because she was in her mid 40s then. She turned down all her numerous suitors then because of the so called abroad boyfriend
MRS PETERS: A bird at hand
MR PETERS: That’s right, my love! a bird at hand!
SETTING( 2pm at Obed’s house. They have just finished eating a meal of fried plantain and rice prepared by his chef. they are now seated in his living room and it was time for some serious talks!)
OBED: Are you ready or do you want to finish watching your TV programme, because i can see you are so engrossed in it?
EMILY: I am ready when you are..
OBED: first of all, thanks for accepting to have me be the one that will love and cherish your beautiful heart, body and soul
EMILY: Awwww! ain’t you just so sweet!
OBED: I am only sweet because you accepted to let me love you.
Honestly, the first time i set my eyes on you, i prayed for this moment and i can’t believe that three months down the line,i have already met your lovely parents. Thank you for making my dreams come through. Thanks, baby
EMILY: You are welcome. I mean, you did all the hard work. Those mighty walls i built around myself weren’t so easy to demolish
OBED: I kept my eyes on the goal, which was to have you be the woman i call my wife, and that made it easy. I would do this over and over if i have to.
Emily listen, i know you are a woman and a beautiful one at that. You are the dream woman of every man out there. Girls like you are almost no where to be found. But i am just one of those lucky men to find the last one left..
EMILY: hahahahaha! so i am the last good woman on earth now. Precious!
OBED: yeah! God made just two of you. You and my mum
EMILY: What about my mum?
OBED: hehehe we will get to that later. Maybe i need to spend more time with her to be able t answer that question
EMILY: oh she is awesome!
OBED: she must be. That was why she was able to produce you.
Back to business, I am leaving the country next week and it is the hardest thing i am going to have to do all my life.
But i need to do this, it’s not going to be easy on me and don’t think it will be on you either.
There are going to be days when you would want to see me so badly that you get frustrated.
You are going to have other guys approaching you for marriage and all what not. Some of these guys are going to be more handsome, more romantic and loving and also more wealthy. But none of them are going to be like me.
The same thing applies to me. I know i am going to greatly miss you. Your smile, your laughter, your face making, your troubles and of course your neediness. but i am going to be strong for us. And no woman will have your privileges and rights. I just want you to trust me and i promise i won’t let you down.
EMILY: I do trust you.
OBED: How much?
EMILY: For now, 90%
OBED: Can i get you to give me 100% Listen, what we are about getting into, requires that level of trust otherwise we won’t thrive.
I need you to trust me even more than you trust yourself, if possible
EMILY: Deep down, i want to trust you that much but i still have a tiny amount of fear hanging somewhere in me.
OBED: Emily, let that fear go, let’s fly high. Okay! what are your fears?
EMILY: My fear is that with us being apart, you would start to love me less and less.
OBED: I don’t know about other people, but with me, being apart will only cause my love for you and the hunger to be reunited with you to be on the increase by the minutes. What other fears do you have?
EMILY: The fear of waiting in vain…
OBED: That is never going to happen, i promise you. What other fears do you have?
EMILY: Fear of losing you to death.
OBED: Much as i don’t really have much control over that, but do you believe God when he promised you that affliction shall not arise a second time?
EMILY: I do…
OBED: Then, i will not die. I am going to be alive and watch you become everything you’ve always wanted to be.
The greatest would be watching you lose those teeth and hairs to old age
EMILY: Hahahaha! silly you!
OBED: Look at me
EMILY: (leans towards him and looks straight into his eyes)
OBED: Can i seal those promises with a kiss?
EMILY: sure.
OBED: (gently holds her jaws up and leans towards her. Rossy walks out of the room)
TO BE CONTINUED