How Beautiful Alice’s Problems Started

13 Jun How Beautiful Alice’s Problems Started

In the small neat guest room, sleep did not come easily to Alice. She was enjoying the luxury of the house and felt she sincerely loved its owner. But the comfortable surroundings could not stop memories of her terrible past from flashing through her mind. Her latest troubles began the day she visited BOOKS and ALL in Surulere.

*****

The three-storey shop was heavily stocked with books and CDs and drew customers from all over the locality. For poor Alice, who had not bought a new book in her four years in secondary school, a highbrow bookshop was a painful reminder of her deprivation. On this particular day, she would have skipped entering the place entirely but for the insistence of her friends, Dupe Adeleke and Ngozi Okaro.

Instead of joining her mother at church, Alice followed her friends into the shop. As soon as she entered, her fears were confirmed. She watched as her friends dashed from one shelf to another to fill their baskets with books recommended by their teachers. Dupe and Ngozi were both rich. Or at least they were in Alice’s eyes. Whatever they needed – money, clothes and food – they merely had to ask.

Plump and very hairy, Dupe was not naturally attractive; however she made up for looks by being sly, fast-talking and fashionable. She had a way with men that amazed Alice. But she wasn’t a good student. After failing the GCE examinations in her former school, her parents sent Dupe to Yaba to retake the test. This was a practice the students jokingly called fighting the Second World War.

Dupe knew she needed a more intelligent classmate to help with her studies, so she picked out Ngozi, a smart but not overly popular girl. Ngozi was an easy target for a conniving girl, and Dupe soon had a useful friend. Tall and curvy with large breasts, Ngozi was drawn by Dupe’s taste for fashion and her ability to attract men.  Neither had anything close to Alice’s beauty, but both had more confidence and better resources. Alice was constantly jealous of their means. She even joked occasionally about being Cinderella, while they were the spoiled wicked step-sisters.

As Dupe and Ngozi glided around the bookshop filling baskets, Alice became Cinderella once again, bereft, humiliated and angry.  Where was her Prince Charming?

She deadened her pain by retreating to the fiction section and reading a paperback. Occasionally she looked up to track her friends. At one point she saw Dupe chatting with a middle-aged man in a shiny grey suit. He looked trim and warm and smiled confidently. Alice noted his perfect white teeth.

Alice was surprised when she found the man standing at her side a few moments later. He grinned at Alice and the Prince Charming thought passed through her mind again.

“You won’t buy anything?” he asked with a smile playing around his lips.

“No”, she said, and turned away humiliated.

“Is it because you do not have any money?”

She nodded her head but refused to meet his eye.

“Please allow me to help you. My name is Kehinde Lawal.”

Alice knew Dupe had said something about her impoverished circumstances. Damn the girl!

“No, thank you.” Alice said, embarrassed.

“Come on”, Kehinde persisted, “however intelligent you are you can’t do well without books. I have a little money here for you.” He offered some fifty-naira notes.

Alice took a quick look at him and jerked her head away.

“No”, she said, growing more uncomfortable. But then she remembered the set of literature books her father had still not bought for her. The offer was very tempting, and would save her the embarrassment of borrowing recommended literature books from friends. He continued to hold the money out to her. Finally, she took it with a bow.

Had she realised then what that seemingly harmless decision would bring into her life, she might have demurred. But Alice could not guess the dark future she had, in that instant, chosen for herself. Instead, she smiled, thinking only that now she could buy what she needed.

“Thank you, Sir”, she said as Kehinde nodded and walked away. Alice ran to her friends on the second floor to tell them about her sudden good fortune. Dupe advised her to get what she needed quickly. It was almost closing time.

As Alice picked out the books, she kept a look out for Kehinde. She wanted to show him what she was buying with his largesse. But she didn’t see her benefactor again.

On the way home, Alice began to have misgivings. Her friends’ insistence that she was fortunate to have met such a considerate and generous gentlemen did not make her feel any better. Something was wrong here. It began to dawn on Alice that of course there would be a price to pay. Nobody gave something without expecting favours in return. Not even Prince Charming.

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Her parents were not home when she returned at eight that evening. She went to her room and unloaded the small carton in which she carried the books. Safely home, she forgot her misgivings and felt a great sense of relief. In one short moment, she finally had gotten all the books her father had been promising her for six long months.

Then she thought of her benefactor, tall and slim, with a smooth dark complexion people called “black and shine”. Kehinde was an attractive man.

Alice still nursed a lingering fear about his intentions, about the suspicion that favours such as his have strings attached. She tried to allay these fears, recalling his assurances that he was only trying to help her.

She sighed heavily. Too late now. What was done was done. She sat down and began writing her name in each of her books. Before she could open the second book, her mother called.

“I’m coming.” Alice dropped the book and ran to her, resenting the intrusion. Her parents rarely summoned her unless they intended to use her to run errands.

Her mother was waiting. “Ah God”, she said, “I didn’t know the meeting at the Church would be that long. Did you return early?”

“Not quite”, Alice said. “I went with my friends to buy something.”

“I see”, her mother said, obviously uninterested. “Take this money and get me some Panadol tablets. I feel a headache comin’ on.”

“Yes, Ma.” Alice took the money, but ran towards her room instead of going out.

“Alice, did you hear me say that I have a headache?” Her mother shouted at her.

Alice made a sharp turn toward the front door and went outside, replying. “I only wanted to shut my door, Ma.”

Alice only learned later that something about her tone had made her mother suspicious. While Alice was gone, the woman went into her daughter’s room and found the pile of new textbooks. And she found the one inscribed, “Alice Udor, Class 5A, 030484.”  The day’s date was inscribed beside this.

When Alice returned, she found her mother lying on the living room couch, the shades drawn. Without saying a word, Alice gave her the painkillers then rushed to her room. There she found the books she had left in a neat pile scattered all about. Her heart skipped and she felt so dizzy, she wished she could take those painkillers herself. She knew there would be trouble over this.  And she felt badly that she had caused her mother any more anxiety.

Her father might have been the domineering head of their rocky family, but her mother was its anchor. She always advised and monitored Alice, making sure her daughter practised what was preached at Sunday school. Her mother was caring rather than harsh. Yet Alice always seemed to bring her grief. So, feeling guilty about how she had come by the books, Alice packed the books back in the carton and pushed it under the bed.

Later when her mother asked about the books, Alice begged for forgiveness. Her mother seemed sympathetic and even admitted that she had been annoyed by her husband’s indifference to Alice’s need for the books.          But rubbing Alice’s neck soothingly, she had warned her daughter to be careful with men.

“Alice, even if your father cannot help you, that does not mean you accept favours from other men”, she said.

    ************************

Alice kept this in mind when Dupe suggested they go to visit Kehinde three weeks later. As the date drew closer, Alice’s anxiety mounted.  She was sure he would shower her with gifts, but she also suspected that she might not come back home without returning a sexual favour. And Alice saw sex as a sign of being controlled and dominated, and she hated it.

She felt her fear becoming a reality when shortly after they arrived at Kehinde’s flat, her friends left to buy ice cream. Nervously, Alice sat on the couch as Kehinde served her a glass of cold Coke and settled beside her. He sipped a beer and made small talk. Pleasant enough. When he finished his drink, he got up and went to the bedroom. Alice wondered if he expected her to follow him, but after a moment, he returned with a large shopping bag.

“Thank you, Mr. Lawal”, she said shyly, as she saw the three beautiful dresses.

“Don’t say that, Alice”, he said. “You have forgotten I told you at the bookshop not to thank me because my intention is to help you.”

“Ah sorry, thank you, Mr. Lawal.” Alice did not know what else to say in her confusion.

Kehinde laughed heartily at her embarrassment before retrieving another can of beer.

As Alice examined the dresses and nodded in delight, he continued to drink. Finally, he belched quietly into his hand.

“I am happy that you are happy, Alice”, he said. “I hope my continued help will bring us closer and closer together.”

“Yes”, Alice answered, smelling the beer on his breath.

“We are likely to be friends, Alice. Maybe serious friends. And in that case, I will beg that you waive the Mr. and simply call me, Kenny.”

This was all happening so quickly, and the more Kehinde drank, the closer he leaned into her.

“Eh, Mr. Lawal, but that shows no respect for you? You are very helpful to me, and I must give you full respect.”

“That is all the more reason why you should do what I like. There is nothing more respectful than obliging someone his heart’s desire.”

“I will try to do that, Kenny”, she said, now fully aware of his motives. And the next words he spoke made her wish she had refused his gifts and walked away from him at the beginning.

“I have heard about your intelligence”, he said. “For a long time now, I know you have been at the head of your class. But another thing I admire is your beauty. Behind your faded clothes lies an angelic beauty that your new dresses are going to make clear to everybody. Your flashy friends don’t compare to you. And you also have very good manners. For all these reasons, I must be frank with you, Alice. I love you.”

Alice had known what was coming but still couldn’t help a cry of surprise. “What?”

“I am serious, Alice. I love you.” He had reached for her right hand and had started caressing it.

“But, but Mr. Lawal, you said you only meant to help me. Please, please.” She tried to wrest her hand free.

“I know you are not a virgin. This will only make us better friends.”

Alice sighed heavily, confused and worried. “No, please.”

Kehinde ignored her. He moved swiftly to the front door and locked it.

“Oh, no, Mr. Lawal. My friends will come … no …”

“Your friends understand.” Kehinde moved towards her, smiling broadly.

“Nooooo!” Alice kicked hard, and her shoe connected with his groin. He went to his knees in agony. She took the opportunity to push past him and unlocked the door. Before Kehinde could recover, she ran out.

The following day, her friends told her he had been treated by a doctor for injury to his groin. The news made Alice feel guilty, even though she had acted only to defend herself.

Then a week later, her father called her to his room. Her mother was out and they were alone in the house. She warily asked what he wanted, but she could not have anticipated the answer. He opened a bag and pulled out the exact same dresses she had refused from Kehinde. Alice tried to catch her breath.

“Take them, Alice. Kehinde is my friend. He is a good man”, her father said. “But your mother should not know about this.”

He mentioned nothing about Kehinde’s intentions toward her, and Alice dared not ask.

Devastated, Alice took the shopping bag without a word and left. Over the years she had learnt that it was futile to argue with her father. And she hoped this would be the end of it.

But, of course, it wasn’t. Almost every week from then, her father brought her gifts from Kehinde, leaving her more upset, confused and guilt-ridden. And this made her more vulnerable to the pressure from her friends who urged her to make up with Kehinde. She finally decided to go to see him. Not to give herself to the man, but to ask him about his relationship with her father. So, one Friday, she appeared at his doorstep.

Alice went inside reluctantly and asked her question. Kehinde obliged her.

“I was his student when he taught briefly before he joined the civil service”, Kehinde said. “It is sad he fell on bad times, but he knows I really want to help you. You see, there are always crossed lines between a man’s good intention and the attractiveness of a beautiful girl like you.” He smiled.

The truth stared her in the face. Her father had allowed this man to court her in exchange for money. He had sold her. At that moment, she was determined to take her life back. Not by rejecting this man, but by accepting his gifts directly. And for that, she would take the step she had been refusing for weeks. Her father wanted to be a pimp, and so she would be a whore. It would serve her father right.

When Kehinde reached over and began fondling her neck that day, she swallowed her fear and gave in. When she left his bedroom that afternoon, she had become someone else. She had left the innocent Alice behind. And to her surprise, she enjoyed his attentions, thrilled by his gentility and sweetness. She had started out wanting only to spite the man who had raised her then turned her into a whore. But she wound up enjoying it.

So it was that Alice began dating other attractive men who were as resourceful as Kehinde and subsequently became trapped in a new lifestyle.

And so it was that she had come to be with a certain dinner companion that night at La Scala when she met, by chance, Peter Abel.

***********************************

Peter was the first truly nice man she had met, but to her great disappointment he did not want to share a bed with her. She lay there in the dim bedroom light, thinking about how to handle Abel until sleep swept her away.