TITLE: THREE GENERATIONS
WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI
CHAPTER 69
Nwadiuto made up her mind not to go home. She chatted Josh up for his address. He sent it to her with no questions asked. He told her he won’t be home until 9pm. She had to wait two hours. She didn’t know why she decided she would use that time to cook. She stopped the taxi near a night market, bought the ingredients for what she had in mind and then got to his apartment in Lekki.
He lived in a Terrence building. The taxi stopped in front of the house number Josh sent to her. She came down, paid and went to the door. She rang the bell but didn’t get a reply. She rang it again because Josh said there was someone home. Still, no response and she was just standing outside. She sent a message to Josh. In a few minutes, the door was opened and there was ‘Naomi Campbell’ in shorts and Br@ top. She opened the door and just walked back inside. No greeting, no nothing.
Nwadiuto came into the house. She left her box in the sitting room and searched for the kitchen. She went to work. She had bought fresh fish, shrimps and prawns to make fisherman’s soup to be eaten with rice flour meal. She went to work. Josh called her when his meeting ended. He asked her what she would like to eat but she told him she was making dinner. He was surprised and impressed.
The aroma of the soup brou-ght ‘Naomi Campbell’ to the kitchen. That was when she greeted me. Nwadiuto looked at her very well before responding. She tried to strike up a conversation but Nwadiuto wasn’t interested. She wouldn’t budge.
“I can see you and Josh are really close friends. He keeps saying you are just friends even though I ha-rdly believed him. Both of you talk so often that I can swear you are lovers. And here you are today. I knew it was a matter of time”
Nwadiuto didn’t answer her. She was pissed off with her initial attitude and now she came to irritate with a silly conversation she wasn’t interested in.
“What are you cooking? It smells amazing. I wouldn’t have taken you for someone that cooks and cleans but then it is a criterion for choosing a wife here in Nigeria. You have to show your ‘wifeliness’. Over there, it is a partnership. Both of you share house chores and the responsibility of raising the children is a joint one.”
At this point, Nwadiuto responded as she finished turning the rice flour. “Have you heard of maids? Look at my hands, I don’t clean, cook or do laundry. I came back from a trip upset and decided to give myself a treat of cooking a soup I truly enjoy. I am at my friend’s house and of course, I will leave a portion for him to eat and enjoy since you can’t cook. What I can afford to pay for, I wouldn’t stress myself doing. I am 22 and I am not looking for a husband yet. Not even anytime soon. Would you like some?” she asked her.
“I wouldn’t mind. But I don’t want the white stuff”
“They go together”
“Ok, a little of the white stuff”
“You will get some when Josh gets back. I nee-d to take a shower”
“You can use my room. What’s your name again?”
“Nwadiuto”
“Naomi”
Nwadiuto couldn’t believe her ears. Her real name was also Naomi. Josh was being nau-ghty when he introduced her with Campbell.
Josh came back while she was getting refreshed. He also rushed to take a shower after perceiving the aroma of the food in the kitchen. It had been a while he had such a smell in his house. He came downstairs to join Nwadiuto and Naomi in the kitchen.
“This smells delicious. Did you order it?” Josh asked.
“You believe I can’t cook? I made it. I hope you will enjoy it. Let’s eat”
“I will set the table. Naomi take the bowls of water to the dining table. I can’t wait to taste this food” Josh added.
They ate together. Naomi took more rice flour meal to eat her soup. Josh couldn’t believe Nwadiuto cooked the meal. He told her she would help him make some bowls of soup so he could at least have some food to eat over the weekends. She promised to make different types of soups for him the next day.
Josh took her to the room he wanted her to stay to drop her luggage and then three of them ended up in Josh’s room. Josh was a neat freak. Everything was in the right place. The room was dimly lit. Nwadiuto observed he had a reading table with a lamp which was sufficient to read with. He had a television and decoder attached to the wall. Video games on the floor. His room was rugged and beside the wardrobe was a laundry basket. It was just a guy’s room. They all sat on the bed and talked for a while.
They discussed relationship issues regarding social media. It was interesting arguing with Josh as they, Naomi and Nwadiuto, had similar views. Josh believed a woman determines how she should be treated while Nwadiuto and Naomi believed that men should treat all women with respect regardless. They argued back and forth until Naomi excused herself to take a personal skype call.
“Now the coast is clear, where did you go?” Josh asked looking at her mischievously.
“I was in Abuja”
“How did I know it was Malik you were referring to yesterday?”
“It doesn’t matter”
“Bad girl, bad girl, now you requesting respect”
“That wasn’t the major issue. It was the fact that he called someone else and left. Very insen-sitive of him”
“I believe there is more to this.”
“I am not interested.”
“You should be. I don’t know why you don’t think you deserve to be loved appropriately. Malik will never treat you with respect unless you are doling out money. He will use you strictly for his Se-xual satisfaction. He has broken you now; lowered your self-esteem. When he comes again, you will still consider him. That’s what is annoying about you women. You never appreciate the ones that I have made up their minds to treat you right at all times”
“I get what you are saying. I wanted that moment, it didn’t happen and I have moved on. He isn’t a nice guy but men, he can handle a woman”
“Tell me about it”
“You want details? Because I rejected him you are now interested in hearing about him.”
“Spill jo”
“I will if you tell me what happened between Chinonye and you in Asaba”
“Honestly, nothing happened”
“Why? She was very interested”
“From our conversation, she wanted to settle down and was now desperate as age was catching up with her. I don’t take advantage of women like that. I saw her signals for us to have Se-x but I wasn’t interested. I wouldn’t take advantage of her like that. And also she is your friend. How can I face you after sleeping with her”?
“You told me the truth. She also told me the same story. I wanted you to have some fun…”
“Leave that story. Malik. I want to hear about him”
“He’s a great ki-sser and excellent at foreplay so I un-derstand why the women love him. O, he spa-nked me. It was nice. He spa-nked my ba-re bu-tt. It was a hu-ge turn on”
“You like been beaten?”
“I liked being spa-nked. Not too soft or too ha-rd”
“You are a crazy girl”
“I told you I was. I didn’t allow it to progress”
“Malik won’t Ra-pe you, it is bad for business. He hates scandals. I knew there was no way you would have allowed him. I know you too well”
“When I lose my…..”
“Lose your what?”
“My mind that’s when I will allow him.”
“I am happy you didn’t. This conversation is over, go to your room”
“Why?” Nwadiuto asked surprised at his change of attitude.
“It is getting late.”
She began to tease him, “Was it the spa-nking? Or the fact that I liked it? Are you imagining his mouth all over my body and where his finger…..”
“Stop it!” Josh exclaimed firmly.
Nwadiuto wondered at the sudden change of attitude in Josh. She didn’t attempt to leave. She looked at Josh and humbly asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong. It’s late and Naomi will be wondering what is going on here”
“If I ask you a question, will you answer me honestly?”
“Why not?”
“Do you love me?”
“Where is this coming from?”
“Malik said you were into me and I didn’t think so but what he said made sense when I thought about it. Before I say anything, I would also like to know the way you feel about me so there would not be awkwardness between us”
“Nwadiuto, go to bed. There is nothing to discuss tonight.”
“So, you won’t answer me?”
“Words don’t always express truth, my dear. Action speaks louder than words, Nwadiuto. Can we call it a night?”
“I just wanted you to know, the feeling is mutual. You are my best friend and the only person I can share anything, even very personal things, with. I’ve been blinded by the fact that you were in love with Ada and I felt you just saw me as her sister. I have come to realise that all you did for me was just your way of telling me how you feel about me. It took Malik disrespecting me to come to my senses. I agree, action speaks louder than. So will you answer me or am I just having ideas?”
“It’s obvious to everyone except you. You are young and I un-derstand you want to explore. I am not getting any younger and I can’t be waiting around for you to figure things out. I made up my mind yesterday to move on and not expect you to realise how I felt”
“You should have said something”
“I couldn’t have; I was your only friend whom you could confide in. If you had rejected my proposal, it would have affected our friendship. I didn’t want that to happen”
“I’m sorry for all the emotional trauma I put you throu-gh. I talked so much about Malik and I didn’t realise you were hurting. Please forgive me. I want to be with you.”
“You want to be with me and only me or you would want to experiment with others? I don’t know if I can trust you alone with Malik. I don’t even know how we got here; why are we talking about this?”
“I know how we got here. We had a genuine friendship and now we are moving to the relationship stage.”
“That’s the problem; I believe in exclusivity. You are a young girl who is still at the exploring stage. I am in my thirties and I want something steady that will materialize into something more serious. Your parents might not like me; I’m a non-believer Edo guy. There are so many differences between us. That’s why I have loved you from a distance”
“I have never been in a relationship before and I don’t know what it entails. You are older and more experienced; so I’m scared. I don’t want to lose the friendship if the relationship fails. I want to be myself with whoever I am with. I …..”
“I know you Nwadiuto. Why do you think I fell in love with you? This is my promise to you; the friendship will never die. You have to promise me, if you fall out of love with me, before you do anything silly, talk to me. I will listen and change if I have to or let you go if that’s what you nee-d.”
“I accept. Are we in an exclusive relationship now? Can I call you my boyfriend?”
Josh’s li-ps descended on hers as soon as she finished. They ki-ssed forever. Then Josh probed further. She enjoyed his touch, his ki-sses, his gentle M0-ns when she felt his che-st and her hand explored his upper body. She expected him to move further but Josh stopped.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I am very sure”
“We can stop now”
“You are my boyfriend and we are exclusive” she replied jokingly.
They continued exchanging sensual ki-sses, touching and exploring. She expected him to practice what she told him Malik did but he didn’t even attempt it. He did things to her that made her lose her home training.
It got to the moment of truth. Josh stood up and went to the wardrobe. He brou-ght out a pack of condoms which he dropped on his side stool. He to-re open one and while looking at Nwadiuto he wore it. He went back to ki-ssing her. She didn’t tell him anything about being a V¡rgin before, so she whispered to him, “I want you to be my first. I am ready now”.
Josh stopped in his tracks. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. He had believed she was a ‘spoilt’ girl with all her fli-rting and seductive moves but she wasn’t who she projected herself to be. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t do it today. It has to sink and he also had to be prepared for this to happen.
Nwadiuto said sadly, “I knew you would stop once I told you. I am ready. At the last moment, I realized Malik wasn’t worthy to be my first and I stopped. I want someone who un-derstands and values what I am giving. It could have been anyone but I want to have very good memories of my first time”
“You are lucky he didn’t Ra-pe you,” Josh said as he laid down beside her on the bed. “You want it to be memorable? I will make it very memorable for you. We will be patient while I create the magic” he gathered her in his arms, ki-ssed her again and then they cuddled up to sleep.
The next morning, Naomi came into the bedroom to talk to Josh. She saw Nwadiuto fast asleep in his arms. Josh had always denied having anything with Nwadiuto but this was proof they were together. The whole story about Malik and Nwadiuto were lies. If they were true, what was Nwadiuto doing in bed with him?
Naomi was very attra-cted to Josh and had done everything apart from telling him outrightly how she felt about him but he didn’t seem to notice her. She had observed his frequent calls with Nwadiuto and had mentioned how cosy they both were but he maintained they were just friends. Meeting her at the beach and seeing how close they were giving off a notion he wasn’t telling her the truth. Today, she confirmed it and she was hurt.
Josh woke up while she stood there watching them almost in tears. He saw her even though the room was dimly lit. He wasn’t cautious last night and didn’t lock the door. He gently moved Nwadiuto to sleep on the pillow while he sat up. He then remembered he was Na-led. Naomi walked out of the room. He quickly dressed up and went after her.
“Wait. What’s wrong?”
“Why her? You told me there was nothing between the two of you. Even yesterday when you asked me to open the door for her, you still said she’s just your friend”
“I said so. It changed last night; we talked and discussed our feelings. She has gotten over her craze for Malik and is now ready for someone serious. I have always had feelings for her and she has confessed to having the same for me. We are in a relationship now”
“She is too young for you. She is 22 for crying out loud. Why would you want to mess with a 22-year-old?”
“Because the heart wants what the heart wants and this heart wants that girl for keeps. I am not playing games with her; I want to marry her”
“Marry a 22-year-old? The age difference is actually more than ten years”
“I don’t care; I love her. She loves me too. I hope it works but if it doesn’t, I won’t forget last night in a hurry”
“Would you want me to move out?”
“Why? She’s not that type of person. She knows where my heart is and wouldn’t want to destabilize you just because she feels threatened. Although she can be territorial”
“Are you sure?”
“I know her. She’s a good person”
What they didn’t know was that Nwadiuto had woken up after Josh stood up and had tiptoed to the slightly opened door and eavesdropped on the conversation. She wasn’t happy with Naomi but was excited about Josh’s response. There would be no awkwardness between them. She went back into the room to wait for him. She was shy initially when he came in but he ki-ssed her and wrapped her in his arms. Nothing else mattered at that moment.
It was a Saturday and Nwadiuto was expected home. She stayed with Josh until late in the evening before he dropped her off at home. They ki-ssed in the car before she got down. She missed him immediately she stepped into the house.
She knew she had to tell Ada about the relationship; it would be terrible if she discovered it from another source. Ada was pregnant with a child. She worked while pregnant and she said she would be having the baby in the United State. She will travel with her mother and her husband. Their conversations haven’t been exciting of recent. She decided to wait before telling her.
Kasiemobi, Nwanneka’s second son, fell ill a few weeks after. He was admitted to the hospital. The illness defied all medical intervention. Nwanneka was a ghost of herself. She lost a husband and now a son? She wasn’t happy spending two weeks in the hospital with no result.
Nwakaego came to help. She was also worried. She felt the illness wasn’t ordinary which she mentioned to Nwanneka.
“Mma, is it because I have been with another man as a widow this has happened? Am I being punished for loving another man?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Mma, I have been in a relationship with Paul. Is this the reason my son is dying?”
“I know you are in a relationship with Paul but were you having Se-x with him?”
“Yes, I was. We have been together for some time now”
“How can it be the reason why your son is ill? You are being superstitious. See, we might nee-d to fly this boy abroad but before taking any decision, you nee-d to inform your late husband’s family what is going on”
“I have already told Mama Uju and Ijeoma. I will inform papa and Okey”
“You nee-d to. I am surprised they haven’t been able to detect anything”
Nwanneka wasn’t satisfied with her mother’s conclusion that her Se-xual escapades couldn’t be the cause. She prayed as she had never done before. She cut ties with Paul asking him for space while she dealt with this challenge.
Her mother-in-law came to the house. She went to see Kasiemobi in the hospital. She looked at the boy who was his father’s carbon copy. She declared.
“I know what is wrong with him. His mother has been adulterous. She has slept with several men since her husband died. The son is reacting to it”
Nwadiuto was in the hospital that day. She responded to her, “Which one is adulterous mama? Is she still married? She is a widow and death has separated them. How can you now openly accuse her of adultery? Even if she decides to open a business with her body, she has every right to do so. Your son would have remarried by now if she was the one buried then”
“Child, when elders are talking, do not interfere. I will not tolerate your nonsense this time. Your mother is the cause of this child’s sickness”
“How? Tell us how and we will look for the solution”
“She has been sleeping with other men and this is the proof. She is supposed to remain celibate until her death”
“You lie. She is not remaining celibate. She will remarry. What are you talking about? Is she dead? A young woman should stay without a man forever because she isn’t human? I don’t support your notion”
“You must know something that is why you rose to her defence”
“I have risen to her defence because I have told her to remarry and she will. You cannot come with outdated and barbaric customs to scare her. The widows in your village who get pregnant after their husband’s death, how many of their children have died? Please, take your talk somewhere they will be interested in it. Here, we are not”
“Nwanneka, you sat here while your untrained daughter talks to me anyhow. There is no problem. I am going back home to tell the elders what I observed” Mama Chike left.
“You shouldn’t have responded to her” Nwanneka scolded Nwadiuto.
‘Why not? She came here to ferment trouble. Ignoring her would make it seem like you are the guilty one. Tell her as it is.”
“I am worried. Why isn’t this boy getting better? Why can’t we get a diagnosis? Are you sure Chike is happy with me?”
“This boy won’t die. I am hoping the cleansing isn’t behind this child’s illness. I will travel to the village to see the chief priest if he doesn’t get better in the next week with this new regiment of treatment”
“You will not go; I will go. I did the cleansing and I am in the best position to sort it out”
The following week, Kasiemobi became worse. He couldn’t move without as-sistance. Nwanneka ran from pillar to post. She went to every church she could attend in a quest for healing. A pastor asked her to bring the child to be in their care for three days. She gave them N1,000,000.00 but nothing happened. He didn’t recover.
She went in search of the Muslim cleric that helped her during uncle Onyedika’s predicament. The man prayed for her and told her he didn’t see death. But Kasiemobi was still ill.
Six weeks on admission without improvement, Nwanneka travelled to her husband’s village. She went to her husband’s grave to cry. She didn’t know what to do anymore. She laid on the sp-ot he was buried all throu-ghthe night. She fell asleep there and had a dream. She saw Kasiemobi in tattered clothes while she saw Chike wearing a beautifully made senator. They were standing opposite each other. She woke up. “What did this mean?”
The next day, she went to see her father-in-law. Luckily, mama was in the shop. He prayed with her and asked her to have faith that her son will be healed. As they were still talking, mama Chike came back home.
“Adulterous woman, you have come to tell us you have killed our son” she announced as she came in.
“I will not lose my son. I came to see papa and I have gotten what I nee-d from him” she turned to papa Chike, “I will be on my way now. I am going to meet my mother and from there to my village. I believe in God and I believe my son will be healed”
“Anybody hearing you will think you are a saint meanwhile you are following men up and down. You have always been wayward; is that not how you birthed that uncouth daughter of yours? We know your story”
“Tell it as much as you want; it makes no difference to me. You never liked me and made no pretence about it. I have shown you love and done so much to win you over but I can see it will never happen. Just pray you are not the one behind my son’s illness otherwise you will meet Chike soon. From today, I am throu-ghwith trying to be civil with you. I will never speak with you again. I will never acknowledge you as my mother-in-law; you have become a stranger to me. Enough is enough. Papa, I have to get to my village, my mother is waiting for me there. Thank you, papa, for everything you do for me. May the God of the widows reward accordingly.”
She walked out while mama Chike stared on.
At the village, Nwakaego insisted on going to see the Chief priest herself. She sent Nwanneka back to Lagos to her sick son. She didn’t want any casualty if the man says something negative. She, Nwakaego, would manage the situation if nee-d be.
The chief priest was surprised to hear about the boy’s ailment. He did some consultations and didn’t see anything.
“That child isn’t sick from what I can see. I think he is trying to communicate with his mother. Has his mother started the charity I told her about? If she had started at least we could have asked the gods to look upon it and have mercy”
“He is my grandson and the apple of my daughter’s eyes. They should look upon my charity and save him so I don’t lose my daughter too”
“I am only guessing because I didn’t see anything. I didn’t see death anywhere”
It was even more confusing.
While her mother was moving around praying, Nwadiuto took station at the hospital with Kasiemobi. Josh came to visit them often. Because they had not announced their relationship yet and also because it had not yet been consummated, Josh came when no other family member was around. He always came bearing gifts.