MISCONCEPTIONS- Smoke Screen

Enoh riffled through her phone, except for the dim light from the phone's screen, the room was thrown in total darkness.
The power insurgence in their area these recent times, was pathetic. She was stuck on the famous instablognaija.  Imaobong her roommate, had introduced her to this gossip site on Instagram and truth be told, whoever was running it deserved a Grammy!
"Holy mo" she screamed out

"What is it?"  Imaobong asked

"You need to read this story, it's on instablognaija" Enoh's eyes wide open

"What story? My battery died a few minutes ago" Imaobong flipped the dead phone

"The famous actor  who just had a controversial separation from her husband, is spilling more tea about the separation"

"You are kidding!" Ima shifted

"If i was, i won't be be tilting my phone to your direction... look!"

Imabong dragged the phone from Enoh and read the headline aloud... "famous Actor who displayed her husband's eye popping gifts to her while married, claims she did all that as cover up.  Oh boy! this is serious!" she exclaimed.

"Every one is definitely going to troll on her, this is too heavy. She should have kept her mouth shut." Enoh fetched her phone

"Kept  her mouth shut you say? this is the reason we have too many abusers in the first place. People do things and go Scot free because the victims are too scared to speak up. I am so indifferent on this. This is one good denudation! he who is without a sin, should cast the first stone".

"You don't understand Ima, she displayed those items, feigned her husband got them, now she's saying she got them herself... it's loathsome."

"And so? there isn't one woman on earth who hasn't been this stupid.  She was bold to bring to light in  entirety, the fraud she called a marriage... details might be ugly, but then, she's a strong woman. I'll give that to her."

"mmhhhm... you know, we all thought he got her those stuffs, she's suddenly saying she used her social media handle to build him,... don't you think what she did was extreme? she lied to cover up a man" Enoh flipped through her phone

"Why is that new? why do we all pretend as though we have never gotten ourselves  little gifts and lie about it's source? I see girls do it all the time especially in this hostel. Do you think everyone who lives here can afford the rent? you and i can, that's because, our parents can afford it. Look around, we are all students this is one of the choicest apartments on campus. Some lie, about their rent  being covered by their parents whereas, its being paid by some married man, yet their supposed boyfriend or bestfriends doesn't know about it. Others pay with the money from their uncles, but lie to their friends that their boy friends paid for them! All to boost the ego of some dumb man who can't even pick his bills" Ima spat fiercely

"Very true Ima, very true!" Enoh nodded in agreement

"This sham, deceit or lies we all do as women is to give the so called men, respect. My mother also did this.
I grew up thinking my father was a very wealthy man. We had the best of things; clothes, shoes, name it. We went on vacation at least, twice every year. My father had several cars and my mother would ask his permission to ride in most of the cars. Even my father's family, thought their son was well to do and his wife, was the one savoring his wealth. The only thing we knew, was that, my father traveled frequently. He spent most weeks, months outside his home and on many of such trips, when we ask our mother where he was, she'll say, "he went on a business trip". My mother, a lawyer who had her own chambers, made us believe my father also owned the chambers she worked in. We adored him like every child would.
When i turned 18, my mother filed for a divorce. It came as a rude shock to everyone. Most of my dad's family members became violent, they told my dad to push her out with little or nothing. We begged my mum to stay mostly because we didn't want to live below standard. My mother insisted she was leaving. Despite all of this, my father remained calm. He did everything he could to prevent my mother to get through with the divorce. The divorce took forever to materialize. Finally, they went apart"

"Ima, i don't understand; why this story? you guys are still well to do, we both know you are the most pampered kid on this block " Enoh asked

"We never knew my mother was the bread winner!" Ima spat

"Holy jeez" you don't say? Enoh gasped

"Yes she was... my mother owned the chamber and a few other subsidiaries. She had been an only child and when her father passed, everything was willed to her. My mother trained outside the country and on her return, she carved her self a niche. Business was booming, she had become the most respectable defense attorney in the legal world; all she needed was to get married. She soon found my dad who professed nothing but his undying love, and yet more love after they settled. But my father had lied through his teeth about his status."

"Wow! women really suffer" Enoh blinked

"Before their marriage, my father lied that he worked with an oil servicing company. Months after they got married, my mother realized it was a lie but  it was too late. Then the sham started. My mother who remained successful and kept growing, would buy gifts to celebrate a few successes but would have to acknowledge it to my dad so, he would not loose his respect before her extended family, her mother and we the kids. She took care of the entire bill in the house yet she never complained."

"So what happened?" Enoh asked

"Years after she took the role as the bread winner of the house, my father cooked a story of how he had gotten a job but the said job would take him away from home most times. Any job was a job to my mother as far as he would care for the family and also look responsible in front of everyone. So, my dad began the journey of yet another lie. The trips he made, was never for any job like he claimed. He had  a family elsewhere. A woman and two children"

"Abasi 'm' bom!" Enoh exclaimed

"Yes! he lived that lie, for ten years. My mother unknowingly started footing the bills of the said children. His cover was that, he took them based on scholarship and the kids were orphaned.
My innocent mother, believed his well fabricated lies and took the responsibility of caring for the boys.
The lady, later reached out to my mum and she realized, the truth was hidden behind a smokescreen of lies. Everything came out in the open. My father could not deny any more. This led to the divorce i stated earlier."

"Wow! Ima your father can be likened to an ogre"

Imaobong chuckled. " Every woman has a way of protecting her home. While i do not agree to getting yourself a few buys and acknowledging it to a man who didn't have a part in it, i won't cast a stone at you because we all have ways of securing our relationships/ marriages"

"True talk Ima, true talk... after all, a lot of girls get themselves gifts for valentine's day yet, claim an invisible or irresponsible boyfriend got it for them."

"You should charge your cell phone Enoh, the power supply has been restored. Hopefully, it stays long enough"

"I was just about to tell the security man to turn on the generator... thank heavens"  Enoh stood to get her charger.

THE END

(Copyright Okhomina Becky 2017)