Amaka and Doris are good friends. They both lived in Lagos State and they had big plans of doing things togethe but life had its way and their plans were interrupted. Amaka studied Business management while Doris studied nursing. Their plans to settle down at the same time was shaken when Doris fell pregnant for her long distance boyfriend.
In order not to incite her parents' anger, Doris convinced her boyfriend and a hasty marriage was done but Amaka was not happy with this arrangement. She called Doris aside to tell her about her concerns…
“Doris, something isn’t right. Can you hold on with the marriage plans for now and get to know this boyfriend of yours better? Remember marriage is not child's play”
“I know dear but what can I do? You know how my parents are and once they get wind of my pregnancy, I'm done for. It is better I marry him now that the pregnancy is still in its early stage. I will get to know him as time goes on” Doris said.
Nine months later, Doris put to bed a beautiful baby girl. She called to inform Amaka about it over the phone and the latter promised to visit her once she returned to the country. Turns out that Amaka travelled abroad to further her studies. It took about a year and six months before she returned and went to visit her friend.
“Hey girl I'm back. Send me your address. I'm on my way to see you”
“Alright. You'll get my text now” Doris responded.
With the address, Amaka was able to locate Doris but what she saw left her in shock. Doris was now a shadow of herself. Her once beautiful friend has now become skinny, her hair tattered and her overall appearance was shabby.
“Doris, what happened to you? Why are you in this condition?” Amaka asked, bewildered.
“My sister, it's a long story. Let's go in and I'll fill you in” Doris replied.
They both went in and Doris introduced her daughter, Abigail, to her. Amaka grabbed Abigail and began to dote on her. It was obvious she had gotten a god daughter to spoil. She unpacked her bag and brought out lots of toys and snacks which she gave to Abigail to play with. The little one was very happy to see new shiny toys and she began to play happily, ignoring her mom for a while.
The two ladies then sat down to talk. Doris with a sad look on her face began to narrate how her husband did not take care of her after she was put to bed. She even found out that he had three children from another woman elsewhere and when she asked him about it, he didn't deny but he claimed all of them to be a mistake, saying he could not marry the woman.
“Did you tell your parents?” Amaka asked.
“Yes I did but they reminded me that marriage was for better or worse. They told me to stay put and make it work since I am the legal wife. My dear that's how I'm still here” Doris replied.
“What about your career? Don't you work? I know you are a trained nurse. Why did you not go out to work so as to earn money for yourself?” Amaka inquired still.
“My husband vehemently refused me working. He claims nurses are prostitutes and he will not allow me to be one. The worst case is that he drops one thousand five hundred naira daily and I must manage it to cook and get other necessary items at home like pampers and baby milk” Doris replied.
“What is one thousand five hundred naira in this economy? Doris you have suffered. You're a trained professional but this husband of yours is clipping you down. I bet he is insecure and does not want you to earn more than him. That's why he's stopping you from working” Amaka daid
Doris sighed pitifully.
Seeing her friend so heartbroken, Amaka decided on a plan that she shared with Doris and that became their little secret. That day, Doris found renewed strength.
A year later, Amaka received a text message from Doris inviting her to her pharmacy opening in a week's time. Amaka was very happy to see the new and improved Doris.
“Congratulations to you dear” Amaka praised.
“Yes ooo and it's all thanks to you. If not you that gave me the idea of taking money from my husband's shop, how would I have been able to get here?”
“To be honest, I was initially afraid because I knew what I was doing was wrong but I had a right motive and that gave me strength”.
“I saved up all the money I was collecting and later I joined a cooperative society. They were the ones who gave me the loan to open this pharmacy. I told my husband that I got the money from my relatives and he could not object. Now I have my own business. Thank you so much dear” Doris praised.
“My dear, no need for thanks. What are friends for? He refused you being yourself and yet with little provision. With this now, you can take care of your needs and yourself with or without his input. That's all I want for you” Amaka replied.
Amaka then brought out a brown envelope and handed it over to Doris. “This is my own support for your business. Please accept it” she continued.
“Thank you. This is too much. You shouldn't have” Doris stated while counting the money in the envelope. To her surprise, it was a sum of two hundred and fifty thousand naira. She was overjoyed as that amount would help her get some medicines for her shop.
Looking back, she felt no regrets for what she did after all, the end justifies the means.
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