A bottle of red wine graced the table in Eka's house, with wine glasses carrying the liquid, spread out in front of the three friends.
"We are not here to talk about me. I have a plan for Eka." Rita reiterated to her nosy friends.
"You got us worried." Eka pointed out.
"And you have to tell us how it went." Nene slurped her drink, her eyes flashing excitement.
"Can we be done with Eka...and then I'll tell you?" This was the right thing to do. Jude, Eka's husband would be back any moment, and she didn't want him meeting them there, not when the tension in the Ebong family was still high.
"Sounds good." Nene agreed.
"Promise?" Eka pushed.
"I promise." She replied in exasperation while rubbing sweaty hands on her jeans shorts. Just recalling the embarrassment she'd felt at the door slamming in her face usually broke her in a sweat. Which is why she'd avoided going back...for now, until she could control the reaction.
"Well, the last time, you purposely fronted my issue because you suspected we'd be against your idea." Eka accused.
"Sue me for caring," she snapped and Nene laughed, almost spilling her drink on her immaculate grey corporate gown.
Eka smoothed her short Ankara gown over her thighs. "I didn't mean it like that. What is wrong with you anyway? You're grouchy."
Nene cleared her throat, grinning, "I'm thinking it's one hot, melanin man called Ben."
Seriously, was she that obvious? Rita was good at taming her emotions in the guise of acting free, fun and crazy. It usually ended up working for her psyche too; it was the way she got off not dwelling on problems. But, with Ben, she was stuck.
"So, from everything you told us on Monday evening, your mother in-law seems to be the problem here."
"I agree." Nene concurred. Both her friends sat straighter.
"No offense, but I knew Jude, we all did, before the marriage. We also experienced his total adoration for you in the first three years, despite your baby worries. The point is, your mother in-law isn't the only problem, Eka," Rita looked her in the eye, "You are, too."
Nene frowned, dropping her drink on the table.
"How...how do you mean?" Eka bristled. "I've been nothing but submissive to him."
"Submissive? Really? Are you listening to yourself? Did Jude marry you submissive?"
Silence reigned.
"You weren't submissive, Eka. Not that you were arrogant, but you knew what you wanted. We all did. This is why our friendship was easy and has lasted." Nene said, gazing into her drink unseeingly, as though she was recalling those years.
"I..." Eka choked on what she was going to say, her eyes expressed disbelief and hurt that her friends believed she was the cause of her marital problems.
"Do not feel betrayed. We are only speaking the truth. And it is in accepting this truth, being aware of your fault in the problem, that you can take corrective steps to save your marriage." Rita was pleading.
Silence suffused the large sitting room decorated with homey furniture but a discerning eye would recognize how expensive they'd been. Jude was from a wealthy background. He was a trust-fund kid as opposed to Eka who'd come from middle class homes like hers and Nene. In his mother's eyes, it wasn't a match that would work, seeing as their social background was worlds apart; but it had. They'd been so in love, Rita had felt like she'd been watching a romantic flick.
Eka rubbed her ring hand over her temple, presumably chasing a headache, or perhaps, shame.
"Tell me what I did wrong." She whispered, not looking up.
Rita sucked in breath, glanced at Nene who nodded encouragement and spoke.
"You lost your confidence. You lost your light. You lost your diverse interests and settled on the baby problem." Rita stared but she still didn't look up. "You even lost the manner you loved your husband."
"I did not! I never stopped loving him!" she cried, seeming appalled at Rita's words. Nene scooted close and rubbed her back.
"I didn't say you did, Eka. I didn't say you did. I'm saying you lost the manner. You dropped your romance movie inspiring manner of love and took on fear."
Rita got to her feet, the tension in the room firing her nerves. "You took in fear and felt less of yourself; you felt less of a woman... and along the way, you felt unworthy of Jude."
She had not planned these words. In fact, she was having an epiphany as she spoke to her friend. Her plan had been to tell Eka to block her mother in-law's numbers from Jude's phones, to reduce some of the venom the woman fed her son. But now...now, she was seeing herself in Eka. She was putting herself in her friend's shoes and that shoe pinched...hard.
Having babies for Jude had been, in Eka's mind, the only value she was bringing to the table. And when that hadn't happened, she'd felt like a failure and had assumed Jude felt the same way about her. He probably began feeling that way because he'd lost his friend and love; he'd lost his defence from his nagging mother and it was now easier to just obey her venomous directives.
Rita felt pain and pity for her friend. By the time she joined them on the couch, sandwiching Eka as they'd done at her own apartment, Rita was sobbing too; they all were.
"I'm so sorry, Eka. We should've noticed sooner." Eka's sobs increased. They probably made a sad picture of chubby, slobbering ladies on Eka's luxurious couch.
"We should've noticed sooner and we would have told you, Eka Ebong, that you're more than babies. It should never have been the focal point. It should never have been important enough to make you feel less of yourself; it should never have made you feel less sexy for your husband. It should never have grown strong enough to cause fear and made you lose the power to protect your husband from his mother's venom."
"Is...is that what I did?" Eka hiccupped, seeming pathetic but realizing.
Rita sniffled and nodded. Her hand tenderly touched Eka's face as she looked at her. "I've just realized dear friend, that your light, love and confidence, was Jude's defence from his mother. Remember we met her during the wedding planning, but you were never afraid of her despite our concerns. Even Jude was worried for you, but her meanness seemed to bounce off you harmlessly.
"And suddenly, Jude felt free; he could breathe for the first time in his life. There was a woman who loved him without rancour and was even able to block off his mom's nagging and focus on him. Do you remember that?"
"I do," Eka nodded, even Nene nodded; they all recalled how sunny Eka had been.
"You lost the focus, Sister. And the defence crumbled. Once again, Jude was left exposed to his mother's brand of love. And without the strength of his partner, he found it easier to accept, hook, line and sinker, what his mother peddled."
"Jesus loving Christ!" Nene's hand settled on her chest, also realizing the truth.
"Oh, God, I fucked up, didn't I?" Eka sobbed, covering her face on her palms. "This is why...this is why he's mean and angry at me," her voice was muffled by her hands.
"He probably doesn't realize it, but yes. And this can be solved, Eka. Deep inside, you know how to solve this. Be you again. Be the woman Jude fell in love with. Be his partner in crime against his mother. And it can start by the original plan I came here with...block her numbers on Jude's phones."
"Wowza! Yes! I like this plan. Maybe, you can just tell him what you did and why you did it. Then seduce him by force, rape him if need be, you need to force him out of hibernation." Nene postulated.
Both her friends stared at her in amazement. "Who are you and what have you done with our friend?" Eka joked and they all laughed.
"Hey, seriously, I need all of us to be happy again. Even you, Rita, if this guy is what you think will spark your lady part into shooting rainbows, then, I don't care, do it!"
"Shooting rainbows?" Rita sputtered, unable to control her mirth.