Her aunt stood up and moved to the window. She fingered her chin as she considered Gladys. “Is this something I‘ve done? Have you finally decided to move out?”
“No, it‘s not that…”
“The last time we spoke, you never mentioned this. You were happy enough to spend Christmas here with me and Edward.”
“Aunt Isioma, honestly it‘s nothing to do with you.”
Her aunt came back to sit opposite her. “Is it Edward then? He has not come by in a while and even if he‘s out of Lagos, you‘re not on the phone as much as you used to be.”
Gladys dropped the shirt in her hands. “Well, we‘re having some problems.”
“You can confide in me, you know?” Aunt Isioma put her arm across her shoulders. “Are you pregnant?”
“No I‘m not! I‘m not a child and I‘m not that naïve either.”
“My dear girl, people make mistakes all the time. After all, it only takes you to sleep with a guy once and that‘s all.”
Gladys could feel her face heat up. Her fingers went to her pajamas bottoms, twisting and smoothing the cotton fabric. This was definitely not a topic she wanted to discuss with her aunt. The first and only sex talk with her mother had been just as uncomfortable. “I wish I could say that was the problem but it‘s not. Edward and I are at a crossroads. And though it‘s about sex, it‘s rather that I wouldn‘t sleep with him.” “You‘re not intimate with him yet?” Her aunt sounded a little surprised.
Gladys sighed. “No, we discussed it and he seemed to accept that I would prefer the relationship to be very well established before we made love.”
“Did you tell him you wanted to get married first?”
Gladys covered her face with both hands. “That would be ideal wouldn‘t it? But no, I just want a commitment from him both in feelings and actions.”
“You‘ve been dating a while. Did it only come up as a point of discussion? He never had any problems with it practically?”
“Well it cropped up a few times when I stopped things from going too far. This time, he was really annoyed and played the marriage card.”