TITLE: TOO PRECIOUS
WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI
CHAPTER 45
Family meetings, if any, were held at Ope’s home. Most of the meetings were to pressure PB to reopen her house so their stepmother can live there and be visited by members of the family.
Titi wasn’t having that. She un-derstood the selfishness of her stepchildren. Why did they make a fuss about Allen living there when it hurt no one? She foresaw this. She knew her stepchildren would kick against PB’s lover living in the same house but Rotimi made her realise PB nee-ded to be there for her. If PB leaves the home, she would be focused on her life with her children. Who would take care of her? The staff are loyal to her because PB is there to keep watch, what would happen if she is the only one? She could easily be attacked, robbed, maimed or even killed. He wanted PB to permanently remain with Titi so she would be well taken care of.
She had adjusted to living with PB and her family in the new home. It was a big house and Allen gave her a section where she could entertain her visitors. She had friends, family and church members come to her home and were well received in her pa-rt of the house which consisted of her room, a kitchenette, dining and sitting room. It was perfect for her. The children had their rooms and pla-y area close to her section for easy access to them.
The love and care being shown to her in her old age were what she expected from her stepchildren. None of them volunteered to take her to live with them, instead, they wanted the house (that belonged to PB) open for her to go back. Who would keep her company there when they had requested her joy and happiness to leave? Now she could un-derstand the selfishness Rotimi was talking about. Even Enitan didn’t offer for her to relocate and be with her.
She told them she was no longer interested in living in her husband’s house anymore. If PB throws her out of her home, she would relocate to the village. She told them as tradition requires, she is not supposed to stay in an in-law’s house. Allen staying with PB in her house meant she wasn’t staying with her in-law but rather her in-law and daughter were helping her by staying with her.
She added, “If the children I raised think their father and I were stupid to take this decision then I did a terrible job. Your father never wanted to impose my responsibility on someone who will see it as a burden instead of an honour. Precious and her husband, Allen, see me staying with them in their home as an honour and I will forever appreciate it. I have given Precious permission to sell the house while I remain with them. I have created a wonderful life there and made amazing new friends. I feel alive once again, Rotimi told me I would get my groove back and I have. Please, if you were holding on to the house to keep your father’s memory alive, by all means, buy the house off PB and maybe one of you can move in there and then we can visit. But once the person is there, we should be free to badge into Chief’s room as we like.”
“Ah-ah! Why will you say that? How can one buy a house and anyone can badge into the room? That’s wrong,” Niyi insisted.
“O, now it is wrong. But you did it to Precious and her family. Precious owned the house and you separated her from her father by making her move out. That was very unfair. She loved that house and that pa-rticular room because she spent time with her father there, bonding before he died. You took that away from there by embarr@$$ing her in her own house and causing her to leave what she loved the most. So, we will also badge into that room when any of you buy the house.”
Ope replied, “We have made a big mistake and we are sorry for all that happened. If we buy the house, we will leave that pa-rticular room for you to stay in when you move in with whoever it will be decided resides there.”
“Where? I can’t stay there anymore. Have you seen where I live right now? I can’t go back to that house. If you want to buy it, feel free.”
“But the four hundred and fifty million naira Precious is asking for is too much. As a family, I would suggest she reduces the price so we can buy the house,” Ope suggested.
“The price I gave you then isn’t the price now. A bank approached me to buy the property for twice the amount but I declined because I wanted the house lived in not converted to another type of property. So, I am willing to leave the property to appreciate to one billion naira and maybe, just maybe the house will be sold,” Precious replied.
Ope began to say, “Not everything is about money” before PB cut him off and told him “Not everything is about tradition. You made me leave my root, my source and now you want to take it? It is not for sale. I will never sell it to you. The house belongs to either my son or my daughter whoever desi-res to live in it. I will lease it for ten years. If you are interested in leasing the house, I will direct you to my agent to deal with. Now I un-derstand what my husband tried to make me see. You were not interested in what our father desi-red, your interest was to arm-twist me to rele-ase the house to you. I am not fooled by this charade, pay the lease amount and you will have access to the property. The title docu-ment is in my name and only my husband can manage the property until our children are old enough to take over. You can never have access to it because everything I own is un-der a trustee. You have caused me to be unhappy in the few months of my marriage. Now I know grandmother is happy and not willing to return to the house, then I am happy and will do the nee-dful not to lose income.”
Titi made gestures to show she was fully in support of PB. Ope and Niyi weren’t happy about the outcome. They wanted to take over the house. Their uncles and relatives were shocked that Chief Rotimi left his house, the one he was living in to his granddaughter instead of his first son. They claimed it was wrong and urged Ope and Niyi to right the wrong.
Both of them knew how smart PB is, so they trod softly. They almost succeeded in outsmarting her but her husband pla-yed a game of them. They would have gladly paid for the house but they felt PB didn’t deserve the amount. They weren’t saying anything about their inheritance; they were focused on PB.
They wanted the house. Both of them intended to live together there since all their children had left home. The house was large and had many unused rooms. They didn’t care what it would take but they wanted to regain their positions and not living in the house stood as a hindrance.
PB told Allen how the meeting went while he was giving her a m@$$age. Since he uprooted her from her home she had been moody and sad. He un-derstood and tried to make her happy. He had to make trips to Abuja often and he tried to be around when he wasn’t working.
Allen was happy with the outcome of the meeting. He would have preferred for PB to sell the house and buy other properties with the money. But, he knew she had a se-ntimental attachment to the house. She felt close to Chief by staying there.
“By the way, where did you get the money to buy this house?” PB asked Allen.
Allen had been expecting this question and he was elated to hear her ask. She had been depressed and unhappy, this was the PB he fell in love with. “I had to take charge of my family. We made good money from the contract we had with the government. My uncle lent me the rest of the money after I added all my savings. I wanted a house that was a replica of where you lived and a place that would be conducive to our family and grandma. I am happy grandma decided to stay with us, I did all these for both of you.”
“How much do we owe your uncle? I would like to pay him off.”
“You don’t have to. I will pay it off. I pay him monthly for two years. When I get paid for the second phase of our contract, I will pay him a lump sum and continue paying monthly.”
“That sounds like a plan. I can contribute. I hate to be indebted to anyone. Once I lease the house to my uncles, we will use the money to offset the loan.”
“Your selfish uncles won’t be willing to pay good money to lease the house.”
“They have no choice as it is. Grandma told me the reason they wanted the house. They are interested in taking their father’s title and their relatives have claimed they are not the anointed ones since their father didn’t leave his most prized possession to them. Once they can get the house and live in it, they will get the title; both of them will be titled men. That’s what happened.”
“I wonder why my father didn’t give them the house.”
“Because he knew them better than you. They were not interested in his legacy, they were only interested in their personal gains. See how well you have taken care of grandma even though she is your stepmother. She ill-treated you and your mother but here you are taking very good care of her, never minding what you and your mother suffered in her hands. You are a good person and you chose your battles well. You nee-ded her without knowing and sowed the seed which you are harvesting now. They can lease the house for ten years and not longer. That house is your major inheritance and will be p@$$ed down to our children.”
“I’m sorry for being gloomy this period. I didn’t appreciate all you did for us. I love our home and I would like to contribute to it. I can pay down on the loan from your uncle while you pay me half.”
“Babe, you have more properties than I own now. This property is the most expensive property I have ever owned and I bought it because of you. The only other property I have is my office complex which is jointly owned. Let me own this one. It is for us, in both our names but I want to buy it with my money. When I make more money, we will invest in more properties. I would also like to build a house in the village. I will buy my land and build there.”
‘What will happen to your father’s house?”
“It has nothing to do with me. I will make good money to build my house in the village because I am with my good luck charm,” he replied Pb then he laid beside her and ki-ssed her on the li-ps. “I have missed the fun of you. I hope we have you back now. Let’s check into a hotel for the weekend so we can explore together” he winked at her and smiled.
“I can see I was bothered for no reason. Now I un-derstand their gimmick, I will deal with them accordingly. The weekend is fine but outside Lagos so we do not have to worry about coming back quickly as we will be far away. No children stressing; just you and I.”
“I can’t wait.”
Ope and Niyi met with the real estate agent. They were shocked at how much Precious requested for the ten years lease. They knew negotiating with her would be impossible because the agent showed them proof of interest in the house. They raised the money involved and paid.
Within the next six months, they renovated the house but left Chief’s room the way it was; no one stayed there. They moved into the house. Both brothers and their wives moved in. They invited Titi and PB to the house to visit but both of them declined to visit.
Before the end of two years, the title they desperately wanted was given to them. They invited Titi and Precious for the conferment, Titi attended but PB refused to attend. Silently, she had cut ties with her brothers. She didn’t nee-d them for anything.
Allen was able to repay his uncle the loan he took from him in less than two years and had some money left. He decided to buy land in the village to build his house.
His mother told him, “This won’t go well with your father. How can you build a house outside your father’s compound? It is an insult to him. What then happens to the m@$$ive house he built in the village? Think about this critically.”
“But mum, he won’t allow Precious to stay in the house. I want her to interact with my people, learn the culture of our people and blend in. She is a wonderful person who has changed my life for good. She took over all the responsibilities in the house so I could pay back the loan. I want her to be happy at all times and being accepted by my people will make her happy. Dad is the only obstacle in the way. I want to buy the land and build there so he knows I mean business.”
“He won’t like it. Maybe he will change his mind about Precious if you do this. I told him about the house you bought for her, he said you were wasting money on her. It hurt me when he said so. I haven’t shown him the pictures of the house. Nna, you tried o. I am so proud of you.”
“Precious saw a complex for sale. It was a distress sale, the owner nee-ded money. She asked me to bring half of the money, she bought the plaza in both our names. The man also sold his residential building to us. She paid for it while I am paying her back. She keeps me in check and focused. I see ladies throw themselves at me. I am tempted but when I remember what I have at home waiting for me, I don’t fall. None of them can be like my Precious. She is modest and sweet. The children are well raised, even Simon can attest to that. She is all about her family and I love her for that. I will never break her heart. I will never treat her the way dad treated you. I love her.”
“She is a very lucky girl. You are also a lucky man. Precious has always been a good girl. I see all she does to make you happy and I am impressed. Nobody will know how wealthy she is unless she tells them. Her humility baffles me and she has taught it to the children. Let me talk to your father first before you buy any land.”
Tbc