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      Change of Reaction- Flash Fiction by Monique Kwachou

       Happy Valentine’s Day to all followers of my Musings! And *coughs* wishing you a great start to the introspective Lenten period. 
      This month, I’m doing a throwback to last year when a piece of flash fiction I wrote was published by Brittle Paper in an anthology titled Love Stories from Africa. This version of the story has been slightly edited, I hope you enjoy! 

       _________________________________________________________________________________

       Change of Reaction
      by Monique Kwachou


      You step back, admiring the dinner table now set for two with your best dish set. You move to the room to make sure everything you have bought for the romantic weekend is set.   

      It was in Lower-sixth that you first contemplated what you would do if your husband cheated on you.  On that sticky afternoon, your classmate, Bessem, had returned from Commercial Avenue with a Nigerian magazine. Even  though  she  had  claimed  that  she  hadn’t  seen  any American magazine your  group  usually  chipped  in  to  buy  and  pore  over,  you  and  your  other friends,  Sandra,  Laura, and  Eposi  had  suspected  that  Bessem,  being  the Nollywood  addict  she was,  had  bought  the magazine  because  her  favourite Nigerian  actresses,  Stella  Damasus,  Genevieve  Nnaji  and  Omotola  Jalade were on the cover page, advertising a film, Games Men Play.   

      The magazine wasn’t bad. It was just as glossy as the American ones and contained similar  information. There were tips on how to lose weight, which you had all heard Bessem read, even as she paused regularly to take a bite from a  loaf  of  bread  dripping  with  chocolate  paste. There  were glamorous  pictures  from  celebrity  events,  an  advice  column  on what  to  do when your love is not of the same faith as you, a quiz to determine what kind of  lover  you  are,  based  on  your  favourite  colour,  and  the  vox-pop  section which  asked women  to  imagine what  they would  do  if  they  found  out  their husband was having an affair. 

      You  remember  it  exactly.  After reading the responses featured in the magazine,  you  had  each  taken  turns.  Bessem  had  sighed, she was from a polygamous home and couldn’t be bothered, she claimed. As long as she was financially comfortable,  the man could go and  live with his mistress, just as her dad had moved to the house he had rented for his second wife.  Eposi rebuked it in the exaggerated way of Pentecostal Christians.  “That shall not be my portion oooo! Not all men cheat.  I’ll give my man all that he needs, what will he go looking for outside?”
      You  all  had  laughed, aware of the implausibility of satisfying a man completely even at that age.  Laura mentioned  ‘facing the homewrecker,’  and Sandra reminded her that it was the husband who had made vows and promises. When Laura had turned on her demanding her response, Sandra had said it would depend on how much she felt betrayed.   “But  I could actually hurt the man, like pour hot water on his genitals”. You had all burst into fits of laughter, clapping your hands as you imagined it. When it was your turn, you had said you would simply divorce the man. Cheating meant he wanted someone else. Why would you hold on  to someone who wanted someone else? If you truly loved him, you would let him go.  You were  undoubtedly  high  on Harlequin-type  love  at  that  time. 

      Here you are now,  on  a Friday  night,  on  the  eve  of Valentine’s Day, waiting for your husband to return from his business trip. You have sent the kids to his mother for the weekend. You have cooked his favorite meals and planned a romantic weekend  escapade. You bought him  a watch  similar  to  the one he had admired on your boss’ wrist at the office party you both attended just after 
      New Year.  You  are  determined  to make  it  his  best Valentine weekend  ever. 

      You have planned all this,  knowing  the  trip  he  is  returning  from wasn’t quite a business trip. Knowing  he  is  cheating,  knowing  exactly who he is cheating with- she has flaunted pictures of them both on social media. Those Instagram pictures of “boo” where boos features aren’t fully visible to all. But certainly recognizable to the woman who is married to boo. Who has in turns licked him from top to bottom and wiped him down on his sickbed. 

      You look at yourself in the mirror, assessing the way the lingerie you plan to strip out of for him later looks on you. You avoid looking at your face. Lowering your eyes out of shame and fear that your 37 year-old self will see the reflection of what used to be a self-confident  17  year-old  Lower-sixth  girl  mockingly  asking:  Is  this  your reaction?  

      _______________________________________________________________


      Enjoyed it? Not so much? Drop a comment and let me know what you think! 

      P.S 
      Make sure to read the other stories from this collection HERE. Two more Cameroonian writers have some flash fiction featured (Howard M-B Maximus and Agogho Franklin).

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