A Short Story By Uzoma Ihejirika

The Walls Between By Uzoma IhejirikaSaturday, June 29, 2013.I.That
evening, on the eve of Christmas, Rachel sat facing the television,
looking, but not seeing. Her thoughts were miles away and her heart was
laden with grief.Feeling
light-hearted, she placed the back of her right hand on her forehead.
She needed to rest. Reclining; she rested her head on the cushion and
let out a deep sigh. Then she let the tears hanging at the corners of
her eyes to course down her cheeks.A
hand rapped on the door, startling her back to reality. She strained
her ears to be sure. The knock sounded again, this time, louder. She
quickly wiped her face with the back of her hand.“Who is it?” she called.“Na me!”“You?” Now she was irritated. “Who?” she quizzed again.“Johnpaul!”Rachel sighed. Trudging towards the door, she could hear the faraway sounds of firecrackers.“Hapi Christmas, Anti Rachel.” Johnpaul’s lips stretched into a smile. “I wan–”“What is it?” Rachel snapped at him.The little boy was taken aback. “Em… I just wan come wish you hapi–”“Thank you,” Rachel said curtly, making to close her door.“Em… Anti Rachel.”“What?”Johnpaul stretched out his right hand. “Any’ tin for the boys?”“No!” Rachel slammed the door shut.II.Mama’s
slippers made slap-slap sounds on the concrete floor as she made her
way to the sitting room. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes burning
with anger. Her stony gaze was fixed on a man with a ball of eba
clutched in his right palm.“Ifeanyi!”“Huh? Ah, mama!” The man seemed startled.“Why aren’t you eating your food?”“I have lost my appetite,” he said, shoving the bowl of onugbu soup aside.“Is it because of that girl?” Mama’s tone was accusing.“Mama, please…”“Shut up!” she said, taking a seat opposite him.“Don’t please me. Oya tell me. Why do you let that girl bother you?”“But mama, I love her.”“Tah!
Me shio nu.” Mama frowned and pulled her chair closer to him. “Come,
let me tell you. I have my sight set on Nwakaego’s daughter, Olamma. Can
you imagine that the opkoroko in this soup was given to me by Olamma?
And do you know the best part? The good girl didn’t even collect a dime
from me at all. Now tell me, is that one not super love?”Ifeanyi shook his head and looked away.Getting
no reply, Mama continued, “I had always known you weren’t meant for
each other. Isn’t it because of your American dollars that she wants to
force herself on you, eh?”Ifeanyi stared at his mother in shock.“Don’t
look at me like that! Come to think of it, what did you even see in
her? Look at her chest sef. No breast, as flat as my slippers. What will
you enjoy? What will my grand-children enjoy?”III.“So doctor, what is it?” Ifeanyi asked, while placing his hand over Rachel’s.The doctor took off his gold-rimmed spectacles and ruffled his hair“Well,
going by the results, I am sorry to say…” He paused to glance at the
couple. “You are not compatible. AS plus AS will spell doom.”“Doctor, what…” Ifeanyi could feel Rachel’s hand slip away from under his.IV.Ifeanyi
studied the men as they spoke. Loud boasts. Silly gestures. Senseless
talks. He shook his head and gulped down his glass of beer.“O’ boi, cool down na,” his friend, Tobi said. “Dis na ya fourth bottle. Shey you wan kpeme?”“My man, you wouldn’t understand.” Ifeanyi belched.“Undastand wetin? Shey na bicos of small kasala you wan kill ya’self?”Ifeanyi ignored him and signalled to a waiter for two more bottles of Star Lager.“You really want to know the cause of my troubles?” he asked Tobi.“Yes.” Tobi’s cheeks bulged as he rinsed his mouth with his beer and swallowed. “Yes, yes I wan know.”“OK. What would you do if you can’t marry the woman of your dreams?”“Simple! Marry the woman of reality,” Tobi chortled.“You’re just impossible.” Ifeanyi hissed. Cocking his head towards the approaching waiter, he signalled for two extra bottles.V.Rachel
was poised to spank Johnpaul as she yanked the door open. Her hand hung
in mid-air as her eyes came level with that of a man.Her face grew pale.“May I come in?”She
hesitated, and then made way for him. The man walked into the room with
his head hung and shoulders dropped. There was a familiarity about the
room that weighed him down.“Aren’t you going to offer me a seat?”“What do you want, Ifeanyi?” Rachel scowled at him. “Speak now! I ain’t got all day.”“Please Rachel. You are being too hard on me.”“Oh, really?” she said, hands akimbo.“Yes, you are. And you know I am also on the receiving end.”“Well, why don’t you leave?”“Be reasonable, will you.” Ifeanyi bit his lower lip in regret. He knew he shouldn’t have said those words.“So I am being unreasonable?”“Rachel, plea–”“Get out.” She pointed to the door. “Out!”Ifeanyi lost his cool.“Now you listen, you don’t talk to me in that manner, you hear?”“Or else what?”Ifeanyi sighed and unclenched his fist. He loved this girl.“Let’s talk things out,” he said. “Please.”Rachel hugged herself. The light of reason was beginning to dawn on her.“OK.” She shrugged and sat.Ifeanyi
took a seat beside her and clasped her hands with his, then in a calm
voice, he said, “I’m sorry, Rachel. I haven’t been myself lately. See, I
love you…” He paused for effect. “But I don’t think we can still be…”
His words trailed off as she stared into his face.“What?” he asked.“Have you been drinking lately?”“Yeah, I – See. Let’s forget about that. What I am saying is that we can still be together – as friends. You get me?”Her expression was blank.“Do you?”“What do you want me to say?” she said. “At least I knew your mum never liked me.”“See; let’s not drag my mother into this.”“Why not?” Rachel asked. “Even the part that I helped you go abroad doesn’t seem to please her.”“Please forget my mother. Moreover, must you always remind me of the role you played?”“Why mustn’t I? I–”“Now that’s my problem.” Ifeanyi stood up. “You’re just too self-centered.”“Oh, yeah? Who cares?” Rachel rose to her feet.“Shut up!” Ifeanyi’s eyes blazed with fury. “Come to think of it, it’s not my damn fault that we can’t get married, is it!”Rachel
staggered back. Tears stifled the words in her mouth. It drained her of
her energy, and she flopped onto the settee. With her head in her
hands, she sobbed.Ifeanyi felt the anger in him fizzle out as quickly as it had come. Moving close to Rachel, he fell to his knees.“I’m sorry, baby,” he said, ‘I didn’t man it. I–”“Go.” She raised a hand to silence him. “Just go.”With a sigh, Ifeanyi dragged himself up to his feet and slinked out of the room.As the door closed, Rachel grabbed her phone and hurled it at the wall.“Damn!”
She clutched her head. She wondered what Ifeanyi would do if he glanced
at the table and saw the pregnancy test result resting on it. A loud
knock on the door yanked her out of her misery.“Yes? Who is it!”“Anti Rachel, na me Johnpaul!”Rachel sprang up with purpose from the settee. This time around, she thought, the little rascal was in for it.Uzoma Ihejirika is a writer based in Lagos, Nigeria, and can be reached at ihejirikacharlesu@ovi.com