FED UP

(…continued…)

                They got to Coker’s car, opened the back seat and sat in.

  “We can go abi?” he asked.

  “Yes,” they answered.

                He drove off.

  “Where are you taking us to?” Mabel asked.

  “It is a surprise,” Coker replied.

  “Surprise ke. You know I don’t like surprises.”

  “It may be a surprise engagement party,” Cynthia said.

                They laughed.

  “Between who and who na?” Coker’s fiancée asked. “We did ours months back.”

  “Maybe Timi is hiding somewhere, ready to jump out suddenly and pop the question.”

  “Timi is not free o.”

  “He is married?”

  “Kinda.”

  “And I was hoping if Mabel doesn’t pick him, he could be mine,” Cynthia said.

  “What do you mean by kinda?” Mabel asked, smiling.

  “He is based abroad,” Coker said. “You know how it is there na.”

  “Ok. You have to marry an oyibo woman to get your papers.”

  “Something like that.”

  “But he is settled now right?”

  “Yes. He had his papers years ago. He is a big boy.”

  “Eiyaa, that’s good.”

  “He wants to marry from here but it has not been easy for him.”

  “Why does he want to marry again na?”

  “He wants to marry cloer to home.”

  “So what is stopping him?”

  “If the oyibo woman finds out, he will be in trouble. So he is threading with caution.”

  “If I had a thing for him before,” Cynthia said. “I am no more interested joor before oyibo woman will trace me and come here.”

  “Does he have kids with her?” Mabel asked.

  “Yes. Two girls.”

  “He should remain with his oyibo wife na.”

  “You know how tradition is here. Every man must have at least a son who is a pure breed and who will take over the traditions and legacies of the fathers.”

  “Tradition indeed. The world has moved further than that.”

  “It is not true o,” Coker’s fiancée said. “Culture and tradition cannot be totally overrun. That is what makes us unique.”

  “Yes,” Coker agreed. “All you need do is to know the culture and find a way around it without confrontation.”

  “So what does he plan doing?”

  “There was an emergency, as his oyibo wife said, so he traveled back. In some month’s time, he will be back to resume the search from where he stopped.”

  “Ok oo.”

                Cynthia’s phone rang. It was an unknown number.

  “Who is calling me na?” she asked rhetorically.

                She picked. It was Chuka. Her face lit up. They talked for a while but Chuka told her he was not hearing her clearly and promised to call her back in the night. He hung up. Coker looked at her through the rear mirror.

  “Cynthia Cynthia,” he teased her.

  “What?” Cynthia asked, still wearing the smile on her face.

  “This call that is making you smile like this.”

  “Her bf called,” Mabel said.

                Cynthia nudged her.

  “Really?” Coker’s fiancée asked. “Tell me about him. Is he handsome? How many cars does he have?”

  “None,” Mabel said laughing.

  “I will punch you now,” Cynthia said, bursting into laughter.

                Coker and his fiancée joined in the laughter.

  “Throw him away then,” Coker’s fiancée said. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

  “It is not true o,” Coker said. “Who knew I would get to where I am today? The girl I could have married now threw me away.”

  “I don’t know what you people are saying o,” Cynthia said.

  “Don’t deny your boo na,” Mabel said.

  “He is still applying but I have not accepted him na.”

  “With what I saw while you were answering the call, I already know the answer to his so-called application.”

  “Ok oo.”

                Coker got to a popular joint in the town and drove in.

  “I hope you like this place.”

  “It is ok.”

  “Alright.”

                He parked in the parking lot. Then they alighted and went towards the tables. It was an open space with a raffia roof.

  “Choose a table,” Coker said to them.

                After some moments of indecision, his fiancée chose one. They sat and a waiter came to them and took their order.

  “So when are we coming for your grooving?” Mabel asked Coker.

  “Which grooving?” Coker asked.

  “Nuptial knot-tying grooving.”

  “As soon as we finish with some family protocols.”

  “All these family protocols sef,”

  “It is harder on the man than on the woman.”

  “I have told my parents to tell his people that they will not marry me o,” Coker’s fiancée said.

  “is it that bad?”

  “It is not a big deal. We are almost done dealing with it.”

  “Ok.”

                The waiter, with the help of another waiter, brought the pepper soup. Then they went to get drinks. They soon came back with the drinks. As they ate, they talked about issues any of them raised. Suddenly, Mabel froze.

  “What is it?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Segun just drove in,” she said pointing towards the entrance.
               They followed her pointing and saw what looked like Segun's car coming into the compound.
              

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

  “If someone told me that Segun would do that, I would not have agreed.”

  “You are a nice person o,” Coker’s fiancée said. “If someone does that to me, I will just…”

                Coker coughed. They burst into laughter.

  “Don’t mind my baby,” he said. “She loves me scarra.”

  “She will scarra your head if you jilt her o.”

  “Better tell him,” his fiancée said.

  “Nothing can come between me and my baby,” Coker said.

  “That is why I will do you bad thing if you leave me like Segun did, after making me fall in love with you.”

                They laughed and kept quiet for a while.

  “What do I offer you?” Mabel asked.

  “Don’t stress yourself,” Coker said. “We want to take you out. That’s why we came.”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let me get dressed then.”

  “I am already dressed o,” Cynthia said.

                They laughed.

  “You too like better thing,” Mabel teased her.

  “Yes o.”

  “How many hours do I need to wait for you to be ready?” Coker asked.

  “I am ready,” Cynthia said. “Ask Mabel.”

  “I don’t waste time in make-up o,” Mabel said. “I am not like our wife here.”

  “I have to look good na,” Coker’s fiancé said.

                Mabel got up from the bed to dress up.

  “You have to go outside o,” she said to Coker. “Let me change.”

  “Yes o,” his fiancée said. “Leave, before you see and change your mind about me.”

  “Women sef,” Coker said, laughing.

                He got up to go out.

  “Make sure you don’t peep from anywhere o,” his fiancée said.

  “I will try not to,” he said.

  “You better behave yourself o.”

                They laughed.

                When Coker got to the door, he stopped.

  “Go na,” his fiancée said to him.

  “I want to ask Mabel something.”

  “No, you cannot stay,” Mabel said.

  “Not that. Has Kemi made any other move since then?”

  “No.”

  “Good for her.”

                He opened the door and went out. He stood at the top of the staircase, away from Mabel’s door, pressing his phone. His fiancée kept teasing him from the room.

  “Will you be ready by tomorrow?” he asked after waiting for a while and Mabel was not ready.

                They laughed.

  “You are not wedding today o,” he continued teasing Mabel. “Neither are you meeting the Governor. Please hurry.”

                They laughed. A short while later, his fiancée invited him in.

  “OMG!” he said when he saw Mabel. “You look beautiful.”

                His fiancée winked at him.

  “My baby is still finer than you,” he added, chuckling.

                They laughed.

  “You and your boo sef,” Mabel said. “Na una fit una sef.”

  “After hours of getting ready, shall we go now?” he asked.

  “Be going out,” Mabel said. “I will lock the door.”

                He went outside and His fiancée and Cynthia came after him. Mabel came out last and locked the door. They went downstairs. Mabel stopped at Mama Risi’s door.

  “You want to drop your house key?” Coker asked. “It is not safe o.”

  “It is not that.”

  “Ok. We will wait for you in the car.”

                Coker held his fiancée’s hand and they went downstairs. Mabel knocked again and Mama Risi answered the door.

  “We are going to see a friend,” Mabel said.

  “Will you come back here or you will go to your mum’s place?”

  “We will be back soon.”

  “Ok.”

                Mabel slipped a N1000 note into her hands before she could say “NO”

  “Get food for the children,” she said and turned to leave.

  “Thank you so much,” Mama Risi said.

  “I will see you about the other one when I come back ok.”

  “Ok. God bless you my dear.”

  “And you too.”

                Mabel and Cynthia went downstairs.

  “Mother Christmas,” Cynthia teased her.

  “How?” Mabel asked, laughing.

  “You are now sharing the money.”

  “You are not serious,” Mabel said, laughing. “Every kobo that leaves me hand pains me o. I suffered to get it.”

  “I understand.”

  “You don’t wait until you have so much before you help people around you. It might pain you but as long as it is worth it, do it.”

  “In Mama Risi’s case, it is worth it.”

  “I am telling you. Raising children alone without a husband and the help of anybody is not an easy thing to do at all.”

  “God will not let us go through such a thing.”

  “That is part of the reason why I am doing this. It is a seed that I am sowing for my future.”

                They got to Coker’s car, opened the back seat and sat in.

  “We can go abi?” he asked.

  “Yes,” they answered.

                He drove off.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

                They noticed that someone was peeping through the door.

  “Who is that?” Mabel asked.

                The person went down the staircase in a hurry.

  “I think it is my brother,” Risi said. “He is afraid.”

  “Why will he be afraid?” Mabel asked.

  “I don’t know for him o.”

  “You are sure he is the one.”

  “Yes. I know the sound of his slippers.”

  “Go and call him then.”

                Risi went to the top of the staircase and beckoned on her brother to come. She came in with her brother walking slowly behind her.

  “Are you afraid?” Mabel asked after he greeted her.

                He shook his head.

  “Then why were you running?”

  “Nothing,” he said.

  “Come in.”

                He came in and stood by the door.

  “Is mummy back?” Risi asked him.

  “She just came back now.”

  “Did you give her the food?”

  “Yes. She was eating when I left.” he turned to Mabel and said, “I just came to say ‘thank you’”

  “You are welcome my dear,” Mabel replied.

                He turned and quickly walked out.

  “My brother can be shy eh,” Risi said as she went back to finish her food.”

  “Why is he like that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “But he talks with other people in the compound.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable around you.”

  “He will grow out it sha.”

                When Risi was done eating, she thanked them and carried her plate and that of Mabel and Cynthia to send to the kitchen.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Cynthia told her.

  “I am already doing it,” Risi said and went to the kitchen with the plates.

                She spent some time in the kitchen.

  “Risi,” Mabel called after a while.

  “Aunty where did you keep your soap and sponge?” Risi said. “That is what I am looking for o.”

  “Your hand cannot reach it,” Cynthia said. “I will wash them later.”

                Risi came out and sat on the floor, watching the TV with them. Almost immediately she sat, her mother knocked and walked in.

  “My dear, God will bless you people very much,” she said.

  “It is not a big deal ma,” Mabel replied.

  “I was wondering what my children will eat today. When they came back from their friend’s place and told me that they didn’t eat, I had to go and see if I can get foodstuff on credit.”

  “Eiyaa. Did you get?”

  “No. I have not paid the one I owe before.”

  “It is well. Things will get better.”

                Mabel’s phone rang. It was Coker. She picked. He told her he was downstairs. She told him to come upstairs. Then he hung up.

  “You have a visitor?” Mama Risi asked.

  “Yes o,” Mabel answered as she hurriedly wore a skirt over the short she was wearing before.

  “Risi come let us go,” Mama Risi said to her daughter.

  “Leave her na,” Cynthia said.

  “No o,” Risi said as she got up. “You have a visitor.”

  “Ok, I will see you later,” Mabel said to them.

                Risi and her mother left, almost colliding with Coker at the door. Coker knocked.

  “Come in if you have something for me,” Mabel answered.

                Coker came in followed by another lady, his fiancée.

  “Did you keep anything for me?” he asked, smiling.

  “Haba, you came with our wife,” Mabel said and hugged the lady.

  “Yes o.”

  “Mabeline how are you?” the lady asked.

  “I am fine o. It is just hunger.”

  “My dear it is everywhere o.”

  “You are looking good.”

  “I am doing a good job na,” Coker said.

  “I have been looking good for as long as I can remember o. Was it not because of my looks that you refused to rest?”

  “Which looks?”

  “I was looking better than this when we met sef. You stress me out.”

                They laughed.

  “You are welcome,” Cynthia said and shifted to the edge of the bed.

  “Please sit,” Mabel said to Coker, pulling a chair for him.

  “What about me?” his fiancée asked. “No chair for me?”

  “If you will not sit on the bed with us, you can sit on the floor,” Mabel said, laughing.

  “You are not serious,” she said, laughing and sat with Mabel on the bed.

  “How is your brother?” Mabel asked Coker.

  “He is fine. He traveled though.”

  “Ok.”

                Coker’s fiancée put her hands over Mabel’s shoulder and asked her, “So how are you doing?”

  “I am doing fine,” Mabel answered.

  “I mean after…”

  “I know. I am over it now.”

  “Has he tried to come back or apologize?”

  “Nope.”

  “Men are something else o.”

  “Not all men o,” Coker said.

  “Apart from you darling.”

  “You still can’t conclude o,” Mabel said and winked.

  “I am telling you o.”

  “If someone told me that Segun would do that, I would not have agreed.”

  “You are a nice person o,” Coker’s fiancée said. “If someone does that to me, I will just…”

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

BIRTHDAY WISHES: EZINNE OHIRI

Happy Birthday to a friend, a WTI reader and follower; Ezinne Ohiri. We pray this new season of your life will bring the fulfilment of all your heart yearns for. Your impact will speak much more. Have a wonderful celebration. Cheers!


With love,
WTI Team

FED UP

(…continued…)

She opened the door and saw Risi standing outside with tears in her eyes.

 “Risi how are you?” Mabel asked her.

  “I am fine aunty,” she replied, still standing there.

  “Come in na,” Mabel said and went towards her.

                She held Risi by the hand and gently drew her in.

  “Why are you crying?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Did anything happen?” Mabel also asked.

  “My mummy…my mummy…”

  “Your mummy what?”

  “My mummy said you paid my school fees.”

  “Is that why you are crying?”

                She nodded.

  “Aww. It is nothing at all.”

                Risi rushed to Mabel and hugged her.

  “So I will go back to school,” she said, sobbing.

  “Yes sweetie you will,” Mabel said hugging her tightly with tears forming in her eye.

                They remained in that posture for a while.

  “Enough of the emotions,” Cynthia said as she cleaned a tear that wanted to run down from her eyes. “Can we have something to eat?”

                Mabel let go of Risi.

  “Have you eaten?” she asked Risi.

  “No we have not eaten since morning,” Risi replied.

  “Why?”

  “There is nothing in the house to eat.”

  “Eiyaa.”

  “Will you eat noodle and egg?”

  “Yes aunty.”

  “Ok.”

  “Should I call my brother?”

  “He has not eaten too?”

  “No. We went to our friend’s house with hope that they will include us in their breakfast but when they were about eating, they told us to go, that they wanted to go pray.”

  “Kai. People are wicked o.”

  “You really don’t know their situation,” Cynthia said. “They may not have enough. It may be their last which they don’t want to share with two extra mouths.”

  “You are right,” Mabel said.

  “But they eat in our house sometimes,” Risi said.

  “Meaning they don’t have sometimes,” Cynthia said. “Maybe they don’t have today.”

  “Whatever be the case, you will eat today ok.”

  “Ok aunty.”

                Cynthia went into the kitchen to prepare the noodle.

  “Add three extra mouths,” Mabel said to her.

  “Who is the third mouth?” Cynthia asked.

  “Mama Risi. She should eat also.”

  “Ok.”

  “Ri, sit on the bed and wait till the food is ready,” Mabel said to Risi.

                Mabel lay on the bed and went through her phone while Risi watched the TV.

  “Pause the movie till I come o,” Cynthia shouted from the kitchen. “I don’t want to miss anything.”

  “You can rewind it when you come,” Mabel said to her.

                As she cooked, from time to time, Cynthia would come out to the room and watch the movie.

  “I hope you know you are using the gas cooker?” Mabel asked her one time.

  “No shaking,” Cynthia said.

                When the food was ready, Cynthia dished for herself and Mabel and brought out to the room.

  “Risi you will eat here abi?”

  “Yes aunty,” Risi replied.

  “Go and call your brother then.”

  “He may not agree to come o.”

                Mabel told Cynthia to put his food and mama Risi’s own in a food flask so Risi can give to them. Cynthia put the food in the flask and then dished for Risi.

  “Let me go and give my brother his own,” Risi said.

  “Finish your own first.”

  “I am coming now now,” Risi said and carried the food flask and went out.

  “What a caring and selfless girl,” Cynthia said when she left.

  “That is why I opted to pay half her fees as hard as it will be for me to do. She is a very nice girl.”

  “Let me pour back her food in the pot till she comes.”

  “Just cover it.”

                As Cynthia went to the kitchen to get plate to cover it, Risi ran in, panting.

  “Did you run?” Mabel asked her.

  “No aunty,” she said smiling.

  “You did jor. Did you give it to your mother?”

  “Only my brother was in the house so I told him to keep for mummy.”

  “He will keep for her right?”

  “Yes na. He will. My mum did not go far.”

  “Ok, eat your own.”

                Risi carried her food from the table and sat on the floor, eating hungrily. Mabel and Cynthia just looked at her and shook their head in pity.

  “I remember those days,” Cynthia said.

  “It was not easy at all,” Mabel said.

  “You are not eating,” Risi asked them.

  “We are,” Cynthia replied her. “It is still hot.”

  “Blow it with your mouth na.”

  “Abi?”

  “Yes.”

  “Ok.”

                They stopped looking at her and ate, as they watched the movie. While they were still eating, Mabel’s phone rang. She checked. It was Coker. He asked her whether she was in her place. She told him she was. Then he told her that he was on his way to see her. Then he hung up.

  “Let me call mummy sef and know how the meeting went,” Cynthia said.

                She dialed her mother who picked and told her that they were still in the meeting. She was talking in hush tones so Cynthia figured she was inside the meeting place, so she hung up.

  “This their meeting sef.”

                They noticed that someone was peeping through the door.

  “Who is that?” Mabel asked.

                The person went down the staircase in a hurry.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

  “That is one of the major issues. I have been able to raise half of it after getting the insult of my life from the person who gave it to me. I am meant to pay back before the end of the month. Where will I see money to complete the fees, or even pay back the one I borrowed? And they are writing test this coming week.”

  “Won’t they accept half?”

  “No. Her school has really tried for me. Other terms, they even allow her write exams and I pay later. But because of the way things are in the country, they have tightened up their policies. Money is not in circulation, civil servants are being owed, so they need their pupils to pay up in order for the school to run.”

                Mabel thought for a while and said, “Ok. I will give you the remaining half.”

                Tears rolled down Mama Risi’s cheek.

  “Thank you so much,” she said as she hugged Mabel.

  “Risi has to go back to school.”

                Cynthia just sat quiet and watched with tears in her eyes.

  “When will you want it back?” Mama Risi asked Mabel.

  “Want what back?” Mabel asked.

  “The money.”

  “It is not a loan.”

  “May God bless you richly.”

  “You need to find something doing as soon as possible. There are other terms ahead.”

  “What do I find na? My parents couldn’t afford to send me to school. I stopped in class 6. That is why I vowed to do whatever I can to make sure my children get the best education. Last term, I had to sell some of my wrappers.”

  “Eiyaa. Realy?”

  “Yes.”

  “It must not be a job. You can start a small business and be making money then you will save.”

  “It needs money to start too.”

  “I will talk to my office people and see if they can grant you a loan.”

  “Oh thank you so much.”

  “You need to find out what line of business you can do, especially one that does not need exorbitant capital but will sell.”

  “I have some in mind but I will do the ground survey well and know which one is best.”

  “That is settled,” Cynthia said. “Now please cheer up.”

                Mama Risi smiled and said, “Why will I not cheer up. You people are just Angels sent to me from heaven.”

                Mabel checked her time piece.

  “Please before you go, what do I offer you?” Mama Risi asked, trying to stand up.

  “Do you have pounded yam and vegetable soup?” Cynthia asked her.

                They laughed.

  “I don’t but it can be arranged,” Mama Risi said.

  “Ehe, before you arrange, tell me what has been happening since Wednesday.”

                Mama Risi told them everything she could remember.

  “So apart from those strange faces, nothing else happened?”

  “None that I witnessed.”

  “Did anybody come looking for me at any time?”

  “No.”

  “Ok. Let me go up.”

  “Ok. I will see if I can arrange the pounded yam and vegetable soup. It should be ready by next week.”

                They laughed.

                Mabel and Cynthia got up to leave. Mama Risi saw them off to the door and hugged them before they left.

  “Greet Risi and her brother for me when they come back,” Mabel said as she climbed the stairs.

  “I will,” Mama Risi replied.

                Mabel and Cynthia went up to her house. Mama Stood for a while looking at them as they climbed up. When they were out of sight, she went in and closed the door.

                When Mabel got to her door, she looked around for any note or something that was not supposed to be there.

  “What are you looking for?” Cynthia asked her.

  “I am just doing security check.”

  “Security check indeed.”

                She did not see anything, so she opened the door and they went in. Inside, she checked everything in the house. They were as she had left them the last time she came.

  “You are still doing security check?”

  “Just to make sure nothing is missing.”

  “Ok oo.”

                Cynthia dropped her bag

  “This place doesn’t need any clean up o,” she said, lying on the bed. “Before you go and bring broom and mop now.”

  “I know,” Mabel said, laughing. “Some places need to be cleaned though.”

  “I am not seeing anyone. If you see any place, you will do it alone o.”

  “Lazy you.”

  “Let it be.”

  “Don’t worry, you will soon get your own place, and you will have to clean it yourself.”

  “Till then. For now, I will just watch movie.”

                She went through the movie rack and selected one. She put it and lay on the bed watching. Mabel changed into a short nika and cleaned some of the places she noticed dust. When she was done, she washed her hand and lay with Cynthia and watched the movie.

  “I am hungry,” Mabel said after a while.

  “Do you have anything to cook?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Something like?”

  “Maybe noodles and egg. Do you have them?”

  “I think so. Let me check.”

                She went to the kitchen and checked the cupboard. She came out to the room and told Cynthia that she had them.

  “Let me cook it na,” Cynthia said. “So you can rest.”

  “Ok.”

                They heard a tap on the door.

  “Who is tapping like that?” Mabel asked rhetorically.

                She opened the door and saw Risi standing outside with tears in her eyes.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

                Mama Risi told her that she did not notice any. Mabel hung up. They flagged down a keke and left for Mabel’s place.

“Do you need to buy anything for the house?” Cynthia asked when they passed the mini market.

  “None that I can think off,” Mabel replied. “Maybe when I get to the house, I will know what I need.”

  “Ok.”

  “I will need to use the ATM sef.”

  “Which bank?” the keke man asked.

                Mabel looked at Cynthia and their eyes met. They were wondering why the man was interested in their using the ATM.

  “I will do that later,” she said.

                They got to Mabel’s place, paid the keke man and he left.

  “All these people sef. If he carries us to ATM now, he will stay in the keke and call other people who will rob us.”

  “I noticed how he jumped into the ATM matter.”

  “It pays to be alert o. There is no security anymore.”

                They entered the compound. They exchanged pleasantries with those they saw in the compound.

  “Who knows whether Mama Risi is around?” Mabel asked when they got to the staircase.

  “She has to be around na.” Cynthia replied. “Today is Saturday.”

  “Her curtain is closed.”

                They got to Mama Risi’s flat and knocked. No one responded. Mabel knocked again.

  “Who is there?” they heard Mama Risi ask,

  “It’s Mabel,” she replied.

                Mama Risi opened the door. There was something about her countenance that didn’t seem right. They greeted her.

  “Welcome my dear,” she replied, forcing a smile. “How is your mother?”

  “She is fine.”

                They noticed that her eyes were red like someone who had just cried.

  “Why are you crying?” Cynthia asked her.

  “Who said I am crying?” Mama Risi said, still maintaining the forced smile.

  “But your eyes are red.”

                She did not respond. She just sniffed and looked away.

  “Mama Risi, what is going on?” Mabel asked her.

                She turned and went back into her house. They went in with her. She sat on the couch and they sat beside her, each on one side.

  “Mama Risi what is the problem?” Mabel asked, touching her shoulder.

                She was quiet for a while.

  “Too many issues,” she finally said, exhaling from her mouth.

  “Like?”

                She sighed.

  “Since my husband died, things have not been very easy for me.”

  “I am aware of that. Did anything happen that is making you cry now? When I called you in the morning, you sounded normal.”

  “I cry like this many times. It is just that you met me crying. If not, by the time my children come back, I will wash my face and pretend like all is well.”

  “Oh, they are not around?”

   “I can’t let them see me cry. I sent them out to get something when the heaviness was too much and I needed to cry.”

  “Eiyaa. What is the problem?”

  “A lot of money issues.”

  “The house rent is not due na. Is it?”

  “Not that.”

  “I know it cannot be that because I know you have paid for this whole year.”

  “Thanks to my brother abroad. He was deported last week.”

  “O my gosh! What happened? Why?”

  “They said papers this papers that.”

  “Kai, that’s bad o.”

  “It is not as if he is very rich, but he has enough to help me out once in a while. Now they sent him back, what will I do?”

  “What about your late husband’s family?”

  “Those people are not even an option. When my husband died, they said I killed him.”

  “Why?”

  “They did not like me from day one.”

  “Why?”

  “I am from a different tribe.”

  “What does that mean? Is it not the same country we are?”

  “They said I forced myself on my husband. My husband’s parents love me but his siblings don’t at all. Before and after the burial, his brothers dealt with me. Even though it happened years ago, the experience is still fresh in my memory.”

  “People can be myopic and wicked o.”

  “So leave those people. They have never asked how I am training their niece and nephew in school. One even said one time, that I have been prostituting and that is why I could not bear more than two children for my husband.”

  “Kai.”

  “My dear, it is not easy o.”

  “That reminds me, how far with Risi’s school fees?”

  “That is one of the major issues. I have been able to raise half of it after getting the insult of my life from the person who gave it to me. I am meant to pay back before the end of the month. Where will I see money to complete the fees, or even pay back the one I borrowed? And they are writing test this coming week.”

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac

FED UP

(…continued…)

                He waved at her, turned and left. Cynthia’s mother stood and watched him go. When he got to the gate, she turned and went back inside. She met Cynthia peeping from the window.

                Cynthia greeted her.

  “Do you want to see him to say goodbye?” she asked Cynthia.

  “No, He has gone far,” Cynthia said with a lump in her throat as she sat down.

  “You can still call him back and tell him goodbye if you want.”

  “When he comes back, we will see. It is not as if he is traveling not to come back again. He may even come back today sef.”

  “Anyway, he said he will call you when he repairs his phone.”

  “Was it not the same phone his brother called him with yesterday? I think he meant to say, he will chat me up when he repairs his android phone.”

  “I don’t know what you are saying but that is what he said.”

  “I heard him say it.”

  “You mean you have been peeping?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you come out since?”

  “After what happened last night…”

  “What happened?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Something must have happened.”

                Mabel came out to the sitting room.

  “What happened?” she asked after greeting her mother.

  “Chuka has traveled,” her mother said

  “I know. Cynthia said something happened last night.”

                They looked at Cynthia, waiting for an explanation.

  “We got a bit emotional last night,” Cynthia said looking at her fingers.

  “Oh my gosh,” Mabel said sitting close to Cynthia. “Did anything happen?”

  “No. I ran back home before anything could start happening.”

  “Good for you,” her mother said.

  “He would have collected free o,” Mabel said, laughing.

  “Am telling you,” Cynthia said, joining in the laughter. “All these sympathy situations sef.”

  “Anyway, enough of Chuka,” their mother cut in. “We have clean up to do.”

  “Now?” they asked her.

  “After our morning devotion.”

                They did their morning devotion. Then they swept, cleaned and washed. When they were through with inside, they went to the part of the compound that surrounded them. When they were done, they bathed and had breakfast.

  “When are you going to your place?” Cynthia asked Mabel when they were eating breakfast.

  “In an hour’s time,” Mabel replied.

  “Why so early?”

 “I might need to do clean up there also.

  “We will go together.”

  “Ok.”

  “Are you sleeping over there?” their mother asked.

  “No. I will move back by next week.”

  “I don’t know what you saw in that house that you prefer it to here.”

  “It is cozy and private.”

  “And there is always light,” Cynthia added.

  “I like it when we are together here.”

  “You have to get used to staying alone o. What about when we get married?”

  “I am getting used to it but it is not easy.”

  “I always sleep here na,” Cynthia said. “Unless something happened and I had to sleep over in school or in Mabel’s place. Just like when she wanted to…”

  “I will just throw this spoon on you now,” Mabel said, smiling.

  “Finish your food first so you don’t choke,” their mother said and went into the kitchen to drop her plate.

                They finished their food and took their drugs. Cynthia brought her balm and Mabel massaged her.

  “Your hand is not strong today,” Cynthia said as Mabel massaged her.

  “Go and call Chuka na,” Mabel replied.

                When they were done, they got ready to leave. Mabel went into her mother’s room.

  “We will soon be leaving,” she told her mother who was sewing one of her cloths.

  “Ok. I just got a text message about an emergency women’s meeting in church. So I will be leaving also.”

  “Ok. Is it about the national women’s conference?”

  “I doubt. I am not in the planning committee for that one. I think it has to do with the women in church.”

  “Ok.”

  “From there I will go to market.”

  “I and Cynthia will do that in the afternoon. Don’t bother yourself.”

  “I just need something to keep me busy will evening when you will come back.”

  “Your radio is still working abi?”

  “Radio is radio. Human beings are human beings.”

                Cynthia came in and told Mabel that she was set to go.

  “Take care of yourselves,” their mother said to them.

  “We will,” they replied and went back to their room.

                They took their handbags and left the house. Their mother locked the door behind them and went back to get ready for the women meeting.

  “Did you call Mama Risi?” Cynthia asked as they walked towards the gate.

  “No,” Mabel replied. “Is it necessary?”

  “It is o. So you will know the situation of things.”

  “There is nothing to be afraid of.”

  “Just call her and confirm.”

                At the gate, Mabel brought out her phone and dialed Mama Risi. Mama Risi picked and told her that there was no problem.

  “Any strange movements?” Mabel asked.

                Mama Risi told her that she did not notice any. Mabel hung up. They flagged down a keke and left for Mabel’s place.

(…to be continued…)

-©2015.Chinedu Isaac