TITLE: TOO PRECIOUS
WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI
CHAPTER 41
They arrived in the village. The village was like a city. Allen’s uncle lived in a three-sto-rey building surrounded by other beautiful duplexes. Collins compound was a child’s pla-y compared to where Hope came from.
Precious was very well received by Hope’s family. Hope’s father was late but her mother was still alive. She was excited when she saw Allen with Precious and their two children. Hope took the children away from Allen and Precious to tend to them while they were there so they could spend more time together.
Precious loved the village, the delicacies and the joyful way they spoke to each other. She admired the Igbos and their se-nse of brotherhood. She didn’t have that family togetherness with her siblings. Since Chief died, she could see she only had her grandmother and mother. She was a threat to her other siblings. Even her elder sister Enitan also kept her distance. She claimed she didn’t want to get involved in a family power tussle, whatever that meant.
That night, she la-id in be-d with Allen after intercourse. He had not mentioned anything about their earlier discussion. It had worried her as she didn’t know what he was talking about. She chose then to remind him.
“Who is your father?” the question was direct and threw Precious off guard.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Just tell me the truth,” Allen replied.
“Chief Rotimi is my father. I found out just before he died but I have refused to accept it. To me, he is my grandfather.”
“What happened? How did it happen?”
Precious, for the first time, told him the story of her conception and the ill treatments she and her mother received as she was growing up. She shared with him how Biodun tried to use the ra-pe of her mother by her grandfather to blackmail Chief but it backfired. She opened up about everything which led to the revelation of her paternity. She told him she had inherited the house she lived in (she didn’t tell him before) and other properties.
Allen was amazed. “I have been with a very wealthy woman and I didn’t take advantage of it. Baby, you are way richer than I am. Your grandfather settled you very well. I can un-derstand your siblings not being happy with all he willed to you. But then, Precious you are a wonder. With all you told me you went throu-ghin the hands of your grandmother, you still love her so much. It shows you are a good person. It was my father who told me who your father was. He might not be aware of what you received in the will; I know him, he would have encouraged me to marry you. We have to make this legal as soon as possible. I don’t want anyone calling you or my children illegitimate. I want us to be a family so no one can come between us.”
“Why the sudden change of heart? You said you didn’t want to marry again. We had agreed on being pa-rtners until we are ready. Your father is and will always be a stumbling block. Getting married wouldn’t change that.”
“I want to live with you. I’m no longer comfortable with our arrangement. Your father’s house is big enough for all of us to live while I allow my mother to enjoy her time with her lover. I am ready to live with you now I know it is your house”.
PB was worried that something was wrong. Why would Allen suddenly feel so insecure? There had never been any reason why he should feel that way. What he had suggested was what she wanted but it sounded too good to be true. There was a catch. What was it? Was it because he found out how wealthy she was? She wasn’t ready to make the relationship legal until she was convinced he didn’t have ulterior motives.
“Hey! What do you say?” Allen asked.
“We can move in together but I would rather wait for the marriage aspect. We have to either win your father over or wait for him to leave this world before we can get married. I feel that’s the right thing to do. We are together already, nothing can change that.”
Allen wasn’t happy with her decision. Making a fuss out of it would give the wrong impression. He genuinely wanted to live with PB in Ikeja so his father would realise he was cutting him off completely. He wanted his father to see that PB won while he was alive. He didn’t want to share this with PB; she would talk him out of it. He was tired of being his father’s puppet. He wanted to begin a life where he was sure his pa-rtner would allow him to soar and he believed he had that with PB. No pressures to do more and plenty of encouragement. He believed he would get better when they forged ahead together.
They spent the holiday and came back to Lagos together. Allen asked PB to prepare her grandmother for their move in. He intended to move in with his daughter Amanda.
Titi had no problem with Allen and his daughter moving in. The school she attended in Lekki had an Ikeja arm which she transferred to. Amanda was excited she would always be with her cousins and siblings. She was older but she had built a good relationship with them. Her father told her PB was her new mother as he intended to marry her. She was very happy about it; PB had shown her love and care since she met her. Adaeze had tried to poison her mind but she didn’t believe what her mother had told her about PB. She could see her mother wasn’t speaking the truth.
Some renovation work had to be done in the house to create enough room for all the children. Some rooms that had been locked up were opened up. Amanda was the oldest child and PB felt she deserved to have a room to herself. The other children stayed in their rooms.
Allen moved into PB’s room. She was excited to have him there but was also scared of the move they were making. She knew she would have problems with her siblings if they found out she moved a man into the house. They were not previewed to the agreement she had with her grandfather about it. She never thought she would find a man who would agree to move in with her and she found one. He wasn’t poor or jobless and he loved her genuinely.
All was going well until a Saturday morning. Simon had come in from Abuja to see the children. It was that day he discovered Allen had moved in with PB. He found it strange and demeaning but knowing PB, there must have been a reason. He didn’t say anything to her. They weren’t that close. They treated each other with respect and he only advised when it is solicited. Since PB didn’t say anything, he decided to hold his peace.
Ope, Niyi and Enitan came to the house that morning to create a scene. Allen and PB were in the room while Simon was downstairs with the children when they arrived. They walked upstairs (which they hadn’t done in years except when chief for ill). Ope banged on the be-droom door. PB wondered who it was until she picked her phone that was ringing. It was Simon. “Your uncles and aunt are on their way upstairs. They look upset. Get dressed and if possible, don’t let them see Allen.”
PB told Allen what Simon said. She dressed up properly and came to the door. She opened it and walked out to meet them.
“Good morning. I hope all is well. Why the Ban-ging on the door?” PB asked them as she shut the door behind her.
“We have been rightly informed you are living here with your lover. It wasn’t bad enough you had children outside wedlock but now you bring the man, in our father’s room to disrespect him. Precious, what wrong did Chief Rotimi do to you that you will desecrate what he held sacred like this?” Ope replied to her.
“I don’t un-derstand. My father left me this house and he didn’t put any restrictions on whom I can allow to live here. Of what concern is yours who I keep in my house and who I don’t? The only person I can take permission from because she had equal rights with her husband is my grandmother. You have no say in this matter.”
“Are you joking or you are nuts? That he left you the house doesn’t give you the right to disrespect it. It is the place we call home and you have turned it into a refugee camp. You kept your dead friend’s children here and now your lover and his child. A man doesn’t live off a woman. You married that irresponsible Biodun, you divorced him. Now you are with someone who wants to live off you. What exactly is this desperation for?” Niyi said enraged.
At that point, Allen opened the door and stepped out. He said to them, “Can we take this downstairs? It is a more conducive environment to have a conversation.”
Ope looked at Allen like he was a piece of trash while saying, “Who are you to talk to us? How can a kept man be bold enough to talk to us? You are involved in this discussion, she will get back to you on our verdict.”
“Allen, go back inside our be-droom, I will handle this myself.” She turned to her siblings, “I expect you to wait for me downstairs. If you refuse to go, I will use stringent measures to move you. This is my home and I won’t tolerate the disrespect that was shown to me and my guests today. I will meet you downstairs and listen to your complaint. Excuse me.”
PB came back into the room and was fuming. She hated the way her siblings always looked for opportunities to disrespect her or make her look and feel worthless. She called the lawyer and asked him to come with the will so everyone would un-derstand their boundaries. Then she called the police to be on standby.
She took her time to come downstairs. She asked Allen not to come downstairs for any reason whatsoever. She asked Simon to move to the smaller sitting room. She nee-ded him there in case things got out of hand. She finally went to meet them.
The lawyer joined them a few minutes after she had come down. She asked the lawyer to please read out the will and the conditions attached to the will. He read it loud and clear. It was long and detailed but he read it all.
“Please show me the condition attached to my getting this house? All the properties you got, I never checked the status of them but each time you come for what I inherited. There is nowhere in the will that the house was regarded as a family house, it is my house. I have moved my family into my home. That man upstairs has asked me to marry him but there are conditions attached to me getting married which I promised to our father. One of such conditions is that I live here with my family. It took a lot of convincing but finally, he agreed to be here with me in my house. I am not in a hurry to get married because I want to maintain my name but with what you did today, I will marry him and we will live here. You planned this for today because you know grandmother has travelled. Well, I don’t nee-d her to defend me, I can do it all by myself. You are no longer welcome in my home without my permission. We mustn’t interact as siblings if we don’t want to. Respect yourselves so I will be able to respect you. Any other thing?”
They were silent. Enitan never uttered a word all the time she was there. She felt bad that PB had a man there but now she un-derstood why she had him there. She un-derstood PB better. To her, PB had become bolder and more daring due to her brothers’ continuous har@$$ment. She had let them know but they didn’t care. This time she felt her father’s beautiful memory being insulted but now she realizes that wasn’t the case. His memory remained in her heart while the house belonged to PB.
Tbc