Married But Available. B. Nyamnjoh

are an embodiment of God’s perfect creature. I could never have wished for somebody better than you. I pray for you today and always to be merry and may you remain blessed.’

      “The first year was over and they were both promoted to upper sixth. This time they reduced their leisure time. Though they attended all booms, they never visited the popular drinking and dancing spots as they did in lower sixth. Lionel remained the bright student that he was, and was rewarded with an appointment as class proctor. He performed his duty well and everybody loved him.”

      “Sounds like trouble,” Lilly Loveless anticipated.

      “Yep. Lionel was masculine and sporty – a very articulate footballer nicknamed Kling-Kong-Kong by admirers of his ball control. There was a soft side to him as well. He was intelligent, but he was also spontaneous, and his sense of humour added to his charm. With this charm and his accomplishments he was popular, and his popularity attracted girls. There were always girls around him. One day he was tempted to date another girl called Mercy. The outcome was a merciless disaster, not because Comfort found out about the relationship, which she didn’t, but because he contracted gonorrhoea. Even when he was taken to the hospital, Comfort ignorantly visited him, bringing food. She was lied to by Lionel that he was suffering from severe stomach ache.

      “He got well and came back to school, promising never to forget the lesson he had learnt. Henceforth, he would trust no other girl but his Comfort. It was second term and book was beginning to be serious even amongst those who loved play more than they did their studies. Unfortunately Comfort became pregnant, and this affected Lionel seriously. They thought of an abortion, but he hadn’t the money even to pay a traditional doctor, let alone to afford a D&C. He informed his friends and since they trusted and helped one another, they donated money. With the money Lionel went to see Comfort to agree to a solution. Comfort did not consent to his proposal to have an abortion. In fact, she felt insulted that Lionel should take a decision of that magnitude about her pregnancy without consulting her.”

      “Typical,” whispered Lilly Loveless.

      “Curiously, her refusal to abort made Lionel furious, almost to the point of beating her. Why men always spontaneously resort to such easy solutions, beats me. In his case, whatever changed his mind, he never knew. He just left without offering any other word, thinking that after sometime she may think about the proposal and send him a positive reply.

      “A reply was not forthcoming. He sent his friends to talk to her but Comfort stood firm in her decision and would not let go of the pregnancy. Lionel was doubly disturbed. Many questions came up to his mind that he could not answer. How would he tell his parents he had impregnated a girl? How would he cope with all the rumour and finger-pointing that were going to circulate about him? And worst of all, how would he face Comfort’s parents?”

      “I see what you mean about things getting more complicated,” volunteered Lilly Loveless.

      “Quite surprisingly, Comfort was much calmer about the whole thing. She even tried to console Lionel, telling him not to worry. She told him she was going to inform her mother and assured him that wouldn’t be a problem. He relaxed for a moment, but when she came back with the news that her mother wanted to see him, he was tormented once again. He summoned courage and went there. Her mother being an understanding woman, they made an agreement. Lionel had to inform his parents about it, so that necessary preparations would be made.

      “Although completely jolted by the experience, Lionel managed to sit for his GCE exams, after which he left for Nyamandem where his parents lived. His mother was the first to notice a change in her son, but Lionel never gave away what actually was his problem. It was a friend who finally told his mother and father about the issue. They became furious, and his mother threw insults at him daily. At one time she said ‘they send wonna say make wonna learn book wonna go learn na how for make pikin.’”

      “That’s a mouthful!” Lilly Loveless couldn’t help interjecting. “But I understand, so my pidgin must be getting better by the day.”

      “As for his father,” Britney ignored the interjection, “he told him the plans he had made for him had to change because he now had to use the money to prepare for his newborn. Unable to feel free in their home, Lionel disappeared for a year. While he was away, news reached him that Comfort had given birth to a baby girl and that they were both doing fine. Presently the child is with Lionel’s parents and in primary 3. Lionel has lost contact with Comfort, who unfortunately never made her GCE. He, on the other hand, is a student right here at UM.”

      Britney tipped the bottle in her hand up to drink the last of the juice and asked “Have you ever had an abortion?”

      Lilly Loveless was caught a bit off guard, shook her head slowly from side to side and said, “Nope, I haven’t.” And to change the subject, asked Britney if she wanted more juice or a bottle of water.

      “Nope,” she said, “let’s get on with our work.”

      Lilly Loveless nodded.

      ***

      With that green light Britney proceeded: “Rebecca is about 21 years of age and attending school at Standard Comprehensive College, Form Five. Her father is late and her mother is carrying on with petty-businesses, such as frying puff puff and beans for sale. Rebecca is the fourth child to her mother. She is already blessed with a fair complexion, Rebecca, which she herself has added to by polishing with bleaching creams. Though she finds herself being maltreated by the O Levels, she is determined to pursue schooling.”

      “What do you mean blessed with a fair complexion?” asked Lilly Loveless.

      “Here in Mimboland, lighter skin women are valued higher than darker skin ones.”

      “Whom by?”

      “Men and women alike. In marriage for example, the bride price for those who are fair in complexion is usually higher, as these women tend to be more visible than some of us,” Britney explained. “Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the electricity supply is very low and unstable, and when the lights are off as is often the case, lighter skin women are more visible than the dark skin women.”

      “So they are worth more for their capacity to attract attention in the dark?”

      “Something like that,” said Britney.

      “How fascinating,” said Lilly Loveless, nodding at the same time to say Britney could continue with her story.

      “Rebecca’s past experience in life has been full of ups and downs as concerns relationships with boys. She had her very first boyfriend when she was quite young. Before him, she was being approached by so many boys and she raised her shoulders high because she thought she was very beautiful. The fact of overplaying her beauty meant that boys were not comfortable once they finally had something to do with her. She discovered she had had four boyfriends within two years.”

      “Four boyfriends in two years?” asked Lilly Loveless.

      “Luckily for her,” Britney continued, “she was being advised by her elder sister to stop messing around and spoiling the family name all over the place.

      “Rebecca then decided to settle and to have one boyfriend. Richie was in Form Five but in a different school. His parents were rich: his father is a customs officer and his mother a civil servant, and he was hungry to make his circles see him as part of this wealth. Rebecca fell in love with Richie during one vacation. He invited her to their house under the pretext of giving her the address of one of her former boyfriends who was dismissed from school and had moved to Sawang. Richie welcomed her with cake biscuits and drinks. She was not all that used to him but they discussed each other superficially and the name of her former boyfriend only featured once. Rebecca promised to come back again after two days, to give Richie a letter to take to Sawang.

      “Before the day she was to visit again, Richie went to the shop and bought a good pair of shoes for her.”

      “Girls sure seem to like shoes,” noted Lilly Loveless. “Tell me though, a high school boy with money to buy a girl an expensive pair of shoes? It is