Dera Duru (Author)

You did not tell your boyfriend that you were getting married. So when your phone rings on your wedding night and his name and picture appear on your phone’s screen, you do not pick the call. It continues to ring, this iphone with its delicate features, with his face on the screen; his reddish lips glowing redder. You do not pick.

     Your husband stands up from the bed, his slightly protruded belly hanging low, as if tired. He walks out of the room. The sound of his footsteps against the cool, mirrored tiles is the sound of a person’s palm is beating the surface of water. When you are sure that he is out of earshot, you pick up your phone to call Kunle back, but then a text buzzes in from him.

It reads:
    “One day our dreams will come true. We will both be the people we want to be. Happy and of course blessed. Then I will have my heart’s one desire – coming back every day to see my bae on the couch, with those hot legs crossed. I will kiss you and then we’d talk about our day and what to do about our children’s performances in school. Till then, sleep well, my love.’

     You feel a movement in your chest. A warm sensation wraps around you, like a cuddle. Your husband comes into the room. He does not see the tears you blink back. He will never know that your eyes burn on the inside. He smiles at you, a suggestive smile, and you smile back.

  ‘Coming, Emeka,’ you say.
   He nods quickly and you enter the bathroom. As you close the bathroom door, your back leaned against its smooth surface, you exhale slowly, feverishly. You take off your smalls and climb into the bathtub, your phone in your right hand. You swipe open the screen and reread the text message again. This time around, there is a rhythm in your heart, a vibration of some sort. The water rises around you, its white foam the same color as your bathtub, the color of snow. You read the part where he writes, ‘with those legs crossed’ and you laugh, tears streaming down your cheeks unrestrainedly. You do not know how long you stay like that until you hear your husband banging on the bathroom door and saying: ‘Is everything alright?’

     You jerk into reality and, almost in slow motion, stand up from the tub.

        When you come out, your husband looks at you from hair to toe.