Married But Available. B. Nyamnjoh

of spectacle. The large mirrors on the walls produced and reproduced images of her, Bobinga Iroko and others locked in ecstasy.

      “Listening to Petit Pays,” said a young girl in her teens, probably, “makes me feel all charged up.”

      Lilly Loveless could say the same, for the music was indeed luring and electrifying in its suggestiveness.

      The pleasures were profound, beyond words.

      The night was long and consumed by excitement.

      There were mixed fillings of drinks, but no mixed feelings.

      The enjoyment was total.

      There was kissing… with Bobinga Iroko… much kissing.

      “One needs to be kissingly close to notice that you are yet to have your wisdom tooth,” Lilly Loveless whispered.

      “And one needs that experience to know just what an excellent kisser you are,” replied Bobinga Iroko, blissfully.

      Well before the time the sun kissed Mount Mimbo good morning with its baby rays, the buyam-sellams, bus drivers, taxi men, bendskin riders, truck pushers, travellers and other early risers in Puttkamerstown could see Bobinga Iroko’s Toyota Hilux stagger into town as if it had refilled at the bar, not the filling station. They looked in wonderment at the excited car exciting everything along its way.

7

      Britney quickly thumbed at the keys of her cell phone in response to a text message she had just received: ‘University closed down due to student riot, till God knows when. Problems with fence VC is building. More later. Love you.’

      She was eager to impress Lilly Loveless who was raiding the magnificent Puttkamerstown Botanical Gardens with her digital camera, repeatedly whispering ‘tropical paradise’ with almost every shot she took. Finally satisfied she had captured every plant and flower that caught her fancy, including several shots from varied positions of the thorny imposing ‘lover’s tree’ at the centre of the Gardens, Lilly Loveless joined Britney on the bench where the latter was sitting, hungry to start.

      “My ears have been filled. Ready for me to fill yours?” asked Britney. Lilly Loveless smiled in anticipation of what Britney had gathered since their last meeting over a week ago.

      Although Lilly Loveless woke late after the night of dancing, musical and self exploration with Bobinga Iroko, she had made sure she stopped by a shop for cold juice, water and biscuits, which she brought along in an environmentally friendly plastic bag.

      Britney was sitting beneath two flamboyant trees that met overhead, listening to the musical concert of a multitude of colourful birds in the trees. She sat with her beaded purse on her lap, her notebook grasped in her hands and her knees turned in, ready to share. Lilly Loveless simultaneously appreciated the morning breeze and noticed Britney’s flower print dress, sleeveless and tight fitting on top then flowing to her ankles as she sat. Did their meeting place influence Britney’s choice of attire or was it a complete coincidence? Lilly Loveless wondered.

      Britney waited patiently for Lilly Loveless to open two bottles of juice, ready her recorder and open her notebook. When she could tell Lilly Loveless was all ears, she began.

      “Let me start with two letters I collected from a classmate of mine on my way here, who, frustrated by a recent experience with a married man in Sawang, does not have a kind word to say about men right now,” began Britney.

      “Go right ahead,” said Lilly Loveless.

      ***

      “The girl is called Veronique, She writes: ‘Good morning Darling, How are you doing? And your business? I hope you find time to rest a bit. My Darling, I miss you terribly, I think of you every day. I’m already quite embarrassed passing at the telephone booth every time to find out if you have called, only to be told no message.

      “‘I really used to love it when we saw each other regularly, when you used to tell me your beautiful stories. Even more, I used to adore your smile and especially your beautiful lips that made me always want to kiss you everywhere. Darling, I feel good with you. By your side, I momentarily forget about everyone surrounding us. You therefore can imagine how much pain your absence is causing me. You see, you promised to let me know whenever you were in town. But, since we last saw each other, something has changed. You could even call me from Sawang, just to let me know you are also thinking of me. In any case, you could call just to say good morning or good evening, and insist that the message be transmitted to me.

      “‘All I wish is for us to see again and to be as we were before. If you’ve misplaced my telephone number, this is 77980674. Or you could leave a letter for me at the university. Do something, I would like to hear your voice or read your letter.

      “‘Once more, I miss you terribly, I’ve borne too much and I suffer from your absence. Darling, remember one thing, I don’t want to lose you so soon, you’ve left your mark on me, I have a good impression of you; because every time we talked, you always came down to my level. Thus the chemistry was good between us. Let me leave you, and I think we’ve still got a long road to travel together. Till soon, I kiss you. Bye.’”

      “She sounds sweet, but seems rather old fashioned, or is it her lover who doesn’t know how to send an email?” remarked Lilly Loveless.

      “Perhaps the man didn’t give her an email address, or prefers letters that take time to compose and that are well thought out, to the easy and shabby emails people click to and fro without as much as reading over for spelling, grammar and structure.”

      “Sorry, I didn’t think of that. Please continue.”

      “In the second, she is even more desperate,” Britney went on: “‘Darling, I write to you one more time to remind you that I am alive. This is the second time I am writing to you and twice I have called to leave a message for you. I’m already tired, don’t you think? Do you remember what you told me one day that I couldn’t alone decide to end our relationship, as this was a matter for the two of us to decide? You would realise with me that you have done what you said I should never do. I would like you to keep your word. What I want now is for you to call me for a meeting. Let’s meet face to face, so you tell me that it is all over, that you’ve already found another girl, a girl better than me. Don’t you see that you would have freed me and perhaps you would have rendered me a great service? I also believe that it is important to be clear in life. To tell you the truth, you are making me do what I vowed never to do. To tell the truth, I’m ashamed of myself. I count on your understanding. I would like you to telephone in the evening, around six o’clock every day at the téléboutique where my sister works; as she would already be there, she assumes duty at this time every day except Fridays and Sundays. If you have forgotten the number, it is 77980674. Let me leave you, I count on you for the next meeting to say farewell the proper way.’”

      “I notice that she doesn’t even have a cell phone of her own. Isn’t that odd?”

      “New technology is a bit like Heaven,” replied Britney.

      “In what way?”

      “Many are called but few are chosen.”

      “I like that.”

      “Thanks.”

      “Did she say how the guy reacted?” asked Lilly Loveless.

      “That, I still have to find out,” replied Britney. “She was not in a mood to be interviewed, so she sort of wanted to chase me away by sharing her letters with me.”

      “Do please follow up with her when she is in a better mood, as it seems you have quite some story to tell on this relationship,” recommended Lilly Loveless. “And remember to find out why letters and téléboutiques in this day and age when the email and cell phone are widely available.”

      “I will,” Britney promised, noting the recommendation in her notebook.

      “In