Proud woman episode 1

PROUDWOMAN

#EPISODEONE

(My special love story)

TWO WRITERS FALL IN LOVE.

In the beginning…

“Rita David, the scholarsh¡p student of Harvard University is the writer of the year, for her worldknown movie, ‘The scandal’. Can we give her a round of applause as she comes over to receive her award?”.The host announced as I rose to my feet and joined her on the stage.

I collected the mic from her and cleared my throat as I faced the audience. “First of all, my name is Rita Anabel David. I like to be called my full name, please don’t just call me Rita David next time, add the ‘Anabel’. It is important to me. I am very happy about this award night. Thanks so much for your support everyone. Thanks so much”. There was more applauses as I walked to have my seat.

I was used to always single handedly receiving award.

I was given a scholarsh¡p to study in Harvard University after I won my first writing competition with the European writers.

I had made history as the first black best worldwide writer.

I was an award winner.

Why didn’t my parents just name me ‘Award’?

How can I have forgotten to mention that I had turned down a date of the son of the president last week?

How can the son of a Nigerian president ask me out?

What about Joe Biden’s son?

I was a worldwide star and my collecting of awards had already become a norm.

I thought the award night had ended until I heard the host mention the writer of the series of the year.

I was given an award for writing the movie of the year but someone else had written the series of the year.

He had written a series that had attracted an award.

It was the first time that I was hearing that there was an award for the best movie of the year and best series of the year differently.

The host opened her mouth to call forth the best series writer of the year and my heart was beating so fast.

I have never shared my position with anyone.

No one at all.

“Raymond Anderson”. The host called him forth.

I looked up, expecting to see a respectable man.

Instead, it was a man wearing faded sweater and jeans.

A man wearing faded sweater and jeans was sharing the day with me!!!

He walked to the stage and smiled like an idiot as he accepted the award. He cleared his throat. “If I tell you that I expected this award, I am the biggest liar on earth. I had only written Jingle Bird out of boredom. I had no idea that it would become the most watched series in the world. As you all know, I am not even a writer. Jingle Bird was my first script”.

There was more applauses.

The host smiled sheepishly at him. “Mr Anderson, I heard that you were the one that developed Sparkles corporations yourself and you didn’t inherit it from anyone”.

He nodded thoughtfully. “I found Sparkles company when I was twenty two years old. Now, Sparkles company is thirteen years and it feels as if has been made for more than forty years because of how much we have achieved so far”.

He was applauded more by the excited audience.

I was shocked. The ordinary looking young man was the CEO of Sparkles cars company?

Why did he look so ordinary?

What hurt me the most was that he had written Jingle Bird series out of boredom but I had written the movie, ‘The scandal’ with my sweat and someone who hadn’t even stressed himself out was getting the same award and attention with me.

After the programme had ended for the night, we were called out for interviews but the ordinary looking CEO was paid more attention to than me.

It was the first time that another writer was more recognized than I was in front of me.

As we stood right there, answering questions from journalists, the historical playwriter, Allen Star walked to us and asked the journalists to excuse us.

Allen Star was the most recognized playwrighter in Nigeria.

I was surprised that he had come for the Writers award night.

Raymond Anderson was so excited to see him. He hugged him. “I should have visited you all these while, Allen Star!So good to meet you for the first time physically”.

“It is no problem at all, Ray. I just came here for something quite important. Can you borrow me your life to suit the interest of my fiction readers?”.

We were both confused at what he had just said.

Allen Star cleared his throat. “Raymond, can you propose to Rita Anabel David?”.

“Propose? As in a drama?”. Raymond asked in confusion.

Allen Star placed a arm around me. “Do you know my publishing company?”.

I nodded. “Bookvines publishing company of course. The best publishing company in Nigeria”.

“I have prostrate cancer and because of that, I have been unable to impregnate a woman, so I decided to give Bookvines publishing company to you on the condition that Raymond Anderson will propose to you and it will suit my fiction mindset because my fiction mindset has finally become reality”.

“You want us to do a non-fiction that will satisfy your fiction novel?”. Raymond asked.

“I want you to use your life to turn my fiction novel to a non-fiction novel. I want to write about your love life”. He nudged Raymond. “Propose to Rita Anabel David. If you do that, I will give her Bookvines publishing company after I resign this year”.

Bookvines publishing company was worth zillions of naira. I smiled at Raymond Anderson. “You don’t have to be scared of me rejecting the offer to marry you. I will accept you”.

He scoffed. “You are the one in need of my help and you are making me look like you are doing me a favour”.

I gasped at his response. “I turned down the son of the president last week”.

“So? You turned him down, so? Does that make you a big deal?”.

No man had ever told me that.

In all my beauty and charisma, he was saying I was not a big deal?

I cleared my throat. “Look here Mr Ray, I am even going to be doing you a favour by marrying you because…”.

“There is no big deal about you, Rita”.

“Rita Anabel David is my name”.

“Rita”.

I fumed at him. “I can’t believe this”.

He touched my cheek.

I slapped his hand off but he gutfully touched it again. “Rita, until you are able to convince me that you truly like me, not because of Bookvines publishing company but you have genuinely learned to love, I can’t propose to you and you will never get Bookvines”.

I turned helplessly to Allen Star. “But the plan was just to make him propose to me, not to make me fall in love with him. I have never fallen in love with any man, not to talk of a lowlife like him”.

Allen Star shrugged. “Sometimes, we writers can’t even predict the end of our book”. He bowed in courtesy and walked away, leaving me with the idiot.

Raymond cleared his throat. “Look here Rita…”.

“Rita Anabel David”.

“Look here Rita, the only way you can learn to genuinely love a man is to drop that thing you call ‘Pride”.

“You think I will beg you to marry me because of some publishing company?”.

He chuckled. “You are already in the situation to beg me to marry you. I have nothing to loose but imagine you loosing the big offer of Bookvines that is worth zillions of naira?”. He threw his business card at me. “For the first time in your life,the almighty Rita is going to chase a man. I am so going to enjoy this novel”. He walked past me like a ‘king’ and drove off in his limousine.

I kicked the business card in anger.

A lot of men have begged me to accept their business card and now he was even flinging it at me!!!

Me!!!

It hurt my pride so much but I squatted to pick the card.

It hurt my pride so much.

It hurt the pride of a proud woman that had to be humble for the first time in her life to get Bookvines publishing company.

But I knew that Raymond Anderson was going to make me do things that I had never done before.

Things that will hurt the pride of a proud woman.

#fromyourfastfingers

Onyekachi Ikeh.