The One Night Stand

It was exactly 7 days after new year 2022 when I went to an interior village known as Njugong situated after Santchou in the west region for my dearest friend, Pascaline’s burial. Since the village was very far approximately 14000frs from Buea. I took a bus from mile 17 after going down a cab from bokwango.so I took a bus to Douala, and from there to melon, a bike from melon to Santchou and from there I met a bike waiting for me which had been booked since the village was very far and only a few bike riders could make it there.              

The journey wasn’t easy as it was a road made up of mostly stones and red muddy ground and since I was so scared, I held on to the bike rider tight throughout the journey. I noticed this said bike man started behaving strangely like he was beginning to feel uncomfortable and I think it’s because of the way I had been holding on to him for a while. So, I left him immediately I noticed, but he resisted and said I had to hold on to him or we might have an accident Because the road was very slippery, but I hesitated, and after a while, we entered into a gallop and I became scared and held on to him fast. And immediately felt his heart beating because my hands were on his chest, so from there he told me we were almost there, and this was 2hrs on the journey and I shouldn’t worry to pick a bike back because he was going to take me back. I was like, you’ve done a good job so far so while not, then asked him how much I was to pay him but he responded and said I should not worry we will arrange that but I didn’t want to argue since I needed a safe ride back home. And the woman in me got a little greedy and I started thinking about what I cloud buy with 15k for a second just in case he decided to “dash” me the transport fair. As we got to the village most bike men dropped their passengers at the village square but mine took me right to the compound where my friend was to be laid to rest and he also attended the funeral. After she was buried, I had to leave but my friend’s relatives insisted I spend the night there, though I couldn’t. So, I had to lie to them that I had work the next day which was a Saturday, I was scared because of the traditional activities that took place. A lot of ‘contry fashion’ was being done on my friend since it was rumoured that she didn’t die a natural death. After the family agreed I could leave, I looked around for the bike rider and told him I wanted to start going so we had to discuss the price but he insisted we should talk about it on our way back to town ( santchou). So, we got on the bike and started the journey, he asked me if I had to travel tonight, and I said yes. But he tried to convince me so I travel back the next day. that there were some affordable hotels he could take me to since it was already 7:00 pm and we were not even half the journey gone, so I could freshen up, have a rest and travel back to Buea in the morning. I could already imagine us reaching town, going to a very classy hotel, him leaving me there and going somewhere else to take a bath and change into good clothes, shoes, perfume and jewellery, why I take a bath and get into the spare dresses in my bag and going straight to bed. Around 11:00 pm I heard a knock on the door and when I opened it, he was the one. He got in and asked if I had rested a bit so he can take me out to go see some fine places in melon (the town after santchou) I didn’t want to go but on 2nd thought, I decided not to miss such sightseeing opportunity simply because of tiredness. We stepped out of the hotel, boarded a cab, and alighted after about 15mins, he took me to a local ice cream joint and we both had my favourite chocolate-flavoured ice cream. Then we went to some old houses which had been built about 600 years ago and he told me stories about them. From there we decided to stop at a quarter bar to have a couple of drinks. I drank three bottles of Ice, while he consumed small Guinness, can’t remember how many bottles he took. 

I know this is coming in late probably because of the alcohol in my bloodstream, but he was my spec, slim, dark, tall, cute face, he was built bodied and strong muscles, he was indeed a fine-looking young man. Though I think that “it’s not what is on the outside but what is on the inside”. He had a good heart to be candid. 

After we left the bar, we headed to the hotel so he can see me off before going to where he would spend the night. When we got to the room door, he pecked me and said good night, I felt emotional so I pulled him back and kissed him softly on his lips. Before I could know it, he pushed the door and closed it with his leg, pulled me to the wall and continued to put his lips all over me, bathing me with his saliva and we made love. By then it was almost 4 am, soon after we both fell asleep on the bed and Before I could know it, it was 07:30 am meaning I had 30 mins to put myself together and step out the door because buses leave for Buea at 8 am. so I wrote a note telling him I’m leaving and I didn’t wake him up because he was going to delay me if I did, I left my card and 20,000frs which was the transport fair to and from the village.   

Before I could reach the pack, he had already messaged me and was pissed off why I left the 20,000frs but I explained that I had to pay for the service he rendered since he needed that to survive, him paying for the hotel and the tour was enough. We came to a compromise and spoke throughout my whole journey and he promised to visit me very soon. I was extremely happy and wondered where this would lead to. Not too long, I felt something that felt like a kick on my tummy and I immediately turn to see and I noticed the bike had hit a gallop, only then did I realise we were still on the bike from the village and had not even reach Santchou. oh no I had been imagining all along. 

So out of curiosity, I wanted to find out more about him and so I began to ask him about his family and what not, he said he had 2 kids from the same girl who had travelled to Yaoundé for studies, and the kids were living with his elder sister in Santchou. He soon got very comfortable speaking with me and asked me if it wasn’t late to travel this night already, that I should permit him to take me to rest somewhere then travel in the morning. I wasn’t even paying attention to what he was saying because I was a bit disturbed since I had been imagining such things with someone’s husband. So, he probably thought I was in as they say, “silence means yes”. 

After about 2 hours, we finally saw the tarred road, I was very happy since I knew I could find my way from there, to my surprise he quickly stopped where some Hausa people were selling roasted chicken and I noticed he wanted to buy some I didn’t want to spend his money so I immediately removed my bread and juice from my bag and began to eat. Then he asked me to come get a plate so we could eat together, but I turned down the offer and made enquiries about how I could reach Douala from there because if I had asked about Buea, he will understand at once that I wanted to leave, so he explained everything to me and I began planning how to hand over his money and then take my leave. 

So, when he returned, I immediately handed his money to him but he hesitated to hold it so I attempted to keep it on the table but he immediately grabbed it and I was so happy inside and at peace, because I seriously didn’t want to owe a debt of gratitude to him. 

I explained to him that I wanted to get home as soon as possible, but he tried stopping me, removed 50,000frs and tried to force me to hold it. But I declined and told him there was no way I was going to have sex with someone else’s husband just because of 50,000frs. we came to a compromise and I took off when I saw a bus going to Douala for 2500frs just about after 30 mins I started receiving messages from him and we spoke all through the journey. Then he said he was going out of network so we had to pause and continue later. It was at this time I realized I was missing him already, he didn’t contact me for 2 days and this made me so restless, it even affected my productivity at work. on the third day, I felt so much relieved when my phone rang and I noticed he was the one. I quickly picked up my phone but due to a bad network, the call dropped. I immediately wanted to call back but I thought of the fact that he was going to think I am beginning to like him. So, I held my ground and he got to me soon enough, we spoke for a while, He called me a few other days and it was beginning to get intense because we spoke often and for long, and I didn’t want to fall for him even more because he was a family man, so I seized the opportunity and asked him what he wanted from me, why he kept calling and texting quite often, He said he’s grown fond of me and will like to be spending more time with me, that he likes me and so I should give him a chance and get to know him better. I became so pissed off and asked him what he meant by that because the last time I checked, he was married with 2kids, he was like he lied to me but will like to tell me the truth to my face, only then will I believe what he is saying, so he invited me to melon one more time and I just remembered the scary journey I had undergone and quickly refused because the was no need sacrificing that much. 

He said okay if I don’t want to come he will be the one to come visit me in Buea, though I was excited to see him again, I hesitated to reply so it doesn’t look like I was inviting him when he said he will be in Buea during the weekend, I told him I was going to be busy with something, but the truth is, I was scared he was trying to deceive me because he jokingly asked me for money ones, what were you saying Peggy, he was a deceiver from the onset because he has a family but he’s been trying to make you fall for him. Nevertheless, I decided to host him in Buea no matter the outcome, because though I was scared, I was super excited to see him, so the day he was supposed to come, he didn’t show up, that’s the first time I called him. But he probably wasn’t around on his phone. This made me so worried as I had all sorts of thoughts running through my head, “what might have happened to him? didn’t I tell you, Peggy, he’s a big liar. “I said to myself 

Around 10 pm, I received a message from him saying He’s sorry he didn’t show up, his phone was low when he got to network and he had to run some errands for his boss, I asked about the type of work he was referring to and it turns out he is a farmer who buys cocoa and coffee and sends to Europe while his boss who was in Europe sold it. and then sends his share of the profit. 

So, we re-scheduled the meeting and kept talking almost every time he was in the network.  

 He finally visited me in Buea, when I saw him, I was blown away just like the first time (it happens every time). His feet and fingers are very beautiful, I felt like eating him up. He was well dressed and looked stunning. So back to the reason why he came to Buea. Once he arrived, I served him a meal and some wine, then we began talking, He explained to me that he had lied to me the first time we met, that he has just one kid and the girl left the baby girl when she was 5 months and travelled abroad, so he’s been the one looking after her all this while. so, he is always hesitant to bring a woman into her life because of the trauma she’s been through. He assured me he hadn’t been able to contact the said girl since then, the abroad thing was a rumour he had heard when he was looking for her, He said he was sorry he had lied to me in the first place, I was hesitant to forgive him but somehow, he managed to convince me and deep inside of me I felt relieved and happy. With all of these things going on, I had a boyfriend who was my spec but I felt like the connection between us had faded and we were losing it by the day. So, I had to act fast. It’s worth mentioning that I had asked him several times for us to break up but he refused all the time and convinced me on most occasions, so I always left it because thinking about it, I didn’t have anyone else to replace him with. So, as I and the bike man were getting pretty intense, I had to cut off all tights with my current boyfriend. I knew his weak points, He was pretty sweet, but he was immature and wasn’t ready for something serious, so I had to come up with a good plan, though it was still petty dark what I had to do. As I was still thinking, I heard my phone ringing, to my greatest surprise he was the one calling me and inviting me over since it was the weekend, I couldn’t convince him why I won’t be coming because that’s the time I wasn’t working and he knew my time table. so, I spent the night at his place, he cooked for me, and we spent the night together and had sex, when I went home voila, it stumbled on me the perfect thing to do. I waited for a week straight, and luckily for me, I had a friend who was 6 months pregnant. So, I explained my plan to my friend, and we collected her urine in a cup, I took it to my house and invited my boyfriend over, told him I was pregnant and was crying massively. He comforted me and asked me if I had run a test and I said yes, it was positive, he didn’t ask for the result, he quickly ran out of the house and I thought he had gone, 20mins later, he got in with a set of manual pregnancy test strips just as I had speculated, he told me to go take them again so we confirm, as I went to the bath and dipped all of them in my friend’s urine and they were all positive, so I brought it out, and he was shocked and speechless for a while, then he asked me what my plans were, I burst into more tears saying I don’t know what I was to do at the moment. He said luckily, we found out early so it wasn’t going to be hard to dispose of it. I shouted and acted very angry he had even thought about that, so I told him thank God I had finished my BEng, so I won’t have a problem giving birth to the child. He didn’t seem to buy the idea that much but he was like “okay”. so, he left my place and promised to come back the next day. The evening reached and he called me over the phone saying he had an emergency business meeting out of town so he had to travel the next day I told him it was fine but he needed to be back in town next week so he could follow me to the hospital for proper checkup and he agreed. 3 days later, he said he would appreciate it if I went to the hospital alone because he had been sent to Dubai by his company for 2 weeks. when I attempted to be mad and tried shouting, he simply told me he wasn’t ready to be a father and so he thinks I should find a way to get rid of it. I told him I had to keep it because if something happened to me in the course, I would be the one who lost my life and he will be here on earth living like a king. so he said then he won’t be part of it, so I should sort myself out. voila, what I wanted to hear for a long time. my father always told me “You will only know a real man when you probably need something he can’t afford, like great advice, millions for the hospital bill and when you get pregnant before marriage. so, this was how my dad had just saved my life before he died. From that day I stopped receiving the good morning messages my boyfriend left me every morning before he went to work for three years without missing a day. I was somehow sad and kept wondering if I had done the right thing. But there was this conviction in my spirit that gave me relief. and I knew in my heart I had done the right thing though not the right way. And so decided not to have regrets even if I and my bike rider crush boyfriend didn’t work out. 

All this time the bike rider was basically on my case, we spoke all the time right up till midnight One time, we spoke the whole night, had a  bath at 6 am and went to work, that day was miserable for me because I didn’t do any meaningful work, but dozed off all through the day.  

We kept on talking regularly until one day he confided in me that he had a house he had been building in Limbe a very close town to Buea because he had to leave the village since he felt like he was stagnant while staying there and most of the money he worked, he spent on drinks and flex with his friends. so, he was tired and wanted something different. He packed in soon enough and invited me over, served me food, I ate, and later went home. So, after a couple of months, he came to my house unannounced because he wanted to be sure I was the one, he aimed to meet me with a guy but he wasn’t so lucky. He asked me to be his girlfriend I accepted, we dated for a few months, he proposed, and we got married and we finally brought the child to Limbe, I got a new job there, and he concentrated on planting his cocoa on the remaining plot of land he had built on since it was really large. and we lived happily ever after, on weekends we went to the beach and that is how it has been ever since.