By Nightengale Ben-Onyeukwu
‘Adamu’s here early,’ Chioma said
to Andrew as she heard a vehicle draw up outside. It was Saturday morning,
just after ten, and she was polishing the living room centre table. ‘Andrew, please
buy some green groceries from him.’
Adamu was a travelling greengrocer. He called in his van every Saturday, but he didn’t normally get to Kpaduma until one or two in the afternoon.
Andrew left the bread he was eating to look out the window. ‘It’s not Adamu,’ he said. ‘It’s policemen.’
Chioma was startled, and quickly checked to see if Andrew was right or just teasing her. ‘So, you’re lying to me.’ Chioma rolled her eyes at Andrew and sighed in relief. It was Patricia that had come. She was wearing a belted green dress and matching heels.
Chioma was indeed shocked to see her here. She wondered how Patricia got the address to this place and why was she here. Chioma quickly went to the bedroom and hastily pulled on her navy skirt and a white blouse, then combed her hair and secured it at the back of her neck with a rubber band. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, and then taking a deep breath, she walked back to the living room as Andrew opened the door for her.
‘Michael is not here,’ Chioma stammered.
‘I know that my son is in the office. I am here to see you.’
‘Me…Me?’ Chioma was like someone in the dream. She raised her hand and pinched her neck to make sure that she was actually seeing Patricia and not an illusion.
Patricia nodded but didn’t smile.
‘Ma’am, how could you come to a slummy area like this place? You might get infection.’
‘It’s okay; at least I am aware that this same slummy area is surrounded by multi million-dollar mansions owned by Nigerian politicians…’
‘Are you trying to say that we live among the rich but still the poorest?’Chioma looked at Patricia and asked.
‘Just off Kpaduma’s bumpy, unpaved roads are luxury cars driving along new tree-lined streets…I heard that many houses here do not have toilets, so many of those unlucky ones have no choice but to practice open defecation…this open defecation and littered waste disposal make Kpaduma a stinking slum.’ Patricia looked at Chioima from head-to-toe. ‘But, I see that your family is the clean type because despite living in this slummy place, you still kept your house spotless.’
‘Why have you come?’Chioma quietly asked trying her best to control her anger.
‘How can I tell you? You haven’t given me a seat, have you?’
‘Please sit down.’ Chioma pointed to the dining seat and
signaled to Andrew to serve something to Patricia. Chioma sat nervously at the
other end of the table from Patricia and helped herself to corn flakes.
Andrew nodded and disappeared to the kitchen, and later reappeared with a fresh pot of tea and didn’t smile at Patricia. In fact, he wasn’t happy seeing her here after so many times of slandering his family, and putting Chioma through pain.
‘Chioma, I will be in the next yard. Call me if you need anything.’ Andrew turned to leave.
‘Didn’t you have your clothes to iron against Monday? You know that they give us light here only three days in a week, and now that you have the opportunity you have to make good use of it. You’re starting a new job on Monday. You can’t go to the company looking like a roadside mechanic.’ Chioma felt that getting Andrew to iron his clothes was the perfect excuse to have him around. She was afraid Patricia might have come with some explosives.
Andrew understood what Chioma meant and stayed behind to iron his dress. Besides, she was right. He recently secured a job at George Enterprise and was resuming work on Monday. He should look his best because first impression was everything.
Chioma turned back to Patricia whose coffee was still untouched. Chioma wasn’t surprised, for she hadn’t expected Patricia to drink it anyway.
‘It seems your mother was a slummy woman before she got married.’
Chioma knew instantly that Patricia was here to question her family history.
‘Did anyone tell you that?’ Chioma asked, trying to sound jovial. She didn’t want to tell anyone about her mother’s painful past. Besides, this woman doesn’t like her, why should she freely tell her about her past.
‘Isn’t it obvious? You keep moving to slummy areas marked for demolition.’
‘Oh, have the government marked this place for demolition?’ Chioma asked and put spoonful of cornflakes in her mouth, hoping that would be good excuse not to respond to Patricia’s questions.
‘Did you mother really grow up from the slums?’
Chioma felt that Patricia was deliberately asking about her past. She merely shrugged and didn’t reply.
‘Where is your Mum? Can I see her? Is she doing open defecation somewhere?’
Chioma almost choked on her cornflakes. ‘Did you do that as a child? Was it fun to eat your shit?’
Patricia sat back in her chair as she hatefully stared at Chioma. ‘Are you trying to insult me? All my life I have lived in luxury.’
‘I can’t believe that a woman that had lived in luxury all her life could come to this slummy area just to know about my past. You even came to Mpape just do give-away ten million naira but I am glad that my neighbours returned the cheque back to you.’ As Chioma spoke there was not a speck of nervousness in her voice.
‘I can’t believe that my son is in love with you…I won’t accept you…even if you suck up to me and buy me things.’ Patricia pushed away the coffee before her.
‘You make it sound like I want to accept you as my mother-in-law. The truth is, I am not surprised at what you just did I knew that you would find an excuse not to drink the coffee. Did you really think that I will really spend a penny on you, given how much you hate me? This is just coffee, which as a visitor we should serve you so that you don’t tell anyone that you went here but didn’t receive anything from us. You can hate me all you want, but that wouldn’t make me break my relationship with Michael. No one can make me end things with the love of my life, even if my life is on the line. Oh…yes, I forgot to tell you, Michael will marry me very soon. He will do anything for me as long as I want it. Didn’t you say that I am with your son because of his money? you’re absolutely right, it sure feels good to marry a rich guy…I didn’t live all my life in luxury but my children will have to experience what living in luxury is like.’
‘I can’t believe that the slummy girl, who was acting nervous when I entered here, has the audacity to talk stupidly before me. If my money is your only reason to deceive me, just tell me how much and I will give it to you right now. I know that you live in slummy area, at least I will feel good helping the homeless.’
‘You’re wrong…I don’t need your money because it won’t solve my problem. I need the whole of Moon Corporation which cost a whopping trillion dollars. I will be super-super rich,’ Chioma chuckled.
‘What…You want the whole of Moon Corporation?’ Furious, Patricia fell short of breath and sat back in her chair. ‘My son will definitely hate you for this.’
Chioma laughed. ‘Michael will be more than willing to give it to me…if you didn’t insult my mother I would never have talked to you this way. If you were my mother, I would never allow anyone to insult you.’ Chioma began to eat quickly, intending to make Patricia very furious so that she would leave already. She kept her eyes on her plate, aware that Patricia was studying her.
Andrew couldn’t help but laugh. Sometimes his sister was a drama queen.
‘Girls with innocent face often try to fool men,’ Patricia said after a few minutes’ silence. ‘They appear innocent on the surface but deep down they are schemers. I was here, hoping that your mother has been someone that I have been looking for many years but it seems I was wrong to have come here.’ She slowly stood up. ‘I have a friend who was Louisa. I hope to find her sooner or later.’ Patricia was talking to herself, but Chioma clearly heard her. ‘She is nothing like you. You don’t look like her. It would be better if you look like her.’
‘But…don’t all daughters look like their fathers and sons look like their mothers?’
‘Yes, your father must be very ugly,’ Patricia said in a huff as she walked out.
‘You made Madam Patricia so mad that she will have no choice than to cry in her car,’ Andrew laughed.
‘It’s her fault, why would she insult our mother?’
‘Don’t you think that Michael will be upset with you?’ Andrew teased her.
Chioma chuckled. ‘He will know that it was his mother’s fault for insulting my mother.’
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