Three generations episode 60

TITLE: THREE GENERATIONS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 60

They told Nwanneka about the beach party. Nwanneka advised them to either take their food or buy enough snacks and drinks so they don’t run out. She also warned them about men taking advantage of the beach to misbehave and appealed to them to be of very good behaviour.

She had shared her s€×ual experience (not in full details) with both of them some years back. She told them how she married Chike. She told them about his friend who tried to play a fast one on her. She advised them to keep themselves until after marriage. One of her biggest regrets was Chike not being her first and fathering Nwadiuto biologically.

It was good advice but Nwadiuto was a rebel. She was very strong-willed and insisted on her ways only. Ada was happy with the advice because it aligned with what her mother had been telling her. But Nwadiuto had decided to explore before she gets married. She had found out through one of Chike’s boys he had girlfriends. She had seen girls come to see him in the office. In as much as he loved her mother, she couldn’t meet all his s€×ual needs. She never held it against him or told her mother. It was none of her business. Chike loved Nwadiuto because of this and always took her side. She didn’t talk too much. He spoilt her with money. She had the best of everything. Her mother couldn’t match what her stepfather did for her. Luckily, her share of his savings had been kept for her under her instruction until she clocked 25.

Nwadiuto wanted food but Ada preferred snacks.

“We will appear classier if we take snacks instead of carrying coolers. How many drinks will we buy? By the way, they sell food and drinks there. We have enough money to buy whatever we want when we get there”

“We must take something with us. The price of drinks will be on the high side. Ok, let us buy the drinks tonight and freeze them overnight. Before we get there, it will still be chilled. What do you say?”

“We can do that. We will buy snacks tomorrow before we leave. Also, let’s buy biscuits and chinchin too. Just in case”

The next morning, they got ready for the beach. Nwadiuto wore shorts on her electric green swimsuit which exposed her long legs. The shorts stopped between her wa-ist and her knee. She wore a see-through top over it. Ada scre-med when she looked at her.

“Mummy won’t let us go dressed like this. What are you doing?”

“I will go. I have my plans. I have a shawl that will go with me on the trip to the beach. It will get missing there. Is that what you are wearing? You have gone back to your ways”

“What should I wear? I don’t want my laps out there for all to see”

“You have slim thighs, see me. See how big my laps are. My saving grace is the tiny wa-ist and h¡ps. I wish I could have smaller laps”

“I prefer your body structure; you are very curvy. Why don’t you show your curves in school and even here? It enters your head to expose your figure once once”

“I have told you this body is not just for anybody; it is premium. I can only expose where it will be acceptable. You told me it is a private beach. Some of the girls there will be in bikinis and swimsuits, I won’t be left out”

“That’s true. The people coming there might just be as classy as the Branch Manager. What should I wear?”

“Smaller shorts on your swimsuit. Wear this top. Now you look lovely. Let’s do a checklist. Makeup check. Sunglasses check. Towels check. Food check. Drinks check. Perfume check. Beach hat check. What did I leave out?”

“Beautiful smile check. Let’s go. The taxi has to wait for us.”

On their way to the beach, the Branch Manager called Ada to find out where they were. She described the place and he told her he was waiting for them outside. He seemed excited she was coming.

When they got there, they discovered it was a private house that had a beautiful beachfront. They both fell in love with the place.

“Hello. Nice to meet you. My name is Josh. And you are?”

“Hi, my name is Nwadiuto.”

“Ada you didn’t tell me your sister is beautiful”

“She is” Ada replied.

“It runs in the family” Nwadiuto added.

He took them to join the others. It was actually a birthday party for those born in that month. They do hang out to party once a month and this time they came to the beach. Most of the ladies they met there were supposed university undergraduates like Nwadiuto. Some of them looked completely exposed as they had on bikinis. Nwadiuto thought she was crazy until she saw these ladies. They looked wild as they puffed cigarettes and drank alcohol.

Ada and Nwadiuto felt out of place with the girls. Josh introduced his friends to them. They were all cool guys. They had good jobs in their chosen careers. Some of them were business owners. There were fifteen guys there. Ada was so glad she came with Josh.

Nwadiuto liked Josh immediately after she met him. The dude, as she called him always afterwards, was clean, tall, handsome, and had a nice physique. Most of them looked like that. Nwadiuto made up her mind to hit the gym when she got home. She needed to look fit just like them.

Ada and Nwadiuto seemed to be the only girls the guys were intEr×¢ting with as the other girls had stayed by themselves away from the guys. Nwadiuto wondered why.

“What do you girls do for a living?”

Ada answered first, “I manage a Freight forwarding and clearing company”

“Wow. Nice. Do you own it?” one of the guys asked.

“No. Our dad owned it before he died and I manage it”

“What of you?” the guy asked Nwadiuto.

“I am currently a student of the Federal University of Technology Owerri. On a holiday to resume 400 level.”

“My alma mater. What do you study?”

“Computer Science”

“I don’t believe it. Girls that study in FUTO don’t look like you.” Another guy replied.

“First class material hopefully best-graduating student with her current GPA” Ada answered him.

“You are kidding right?” the guy asked Ada. He turned to Nwadiuto and said “I like you already. My name is Okwudiri.”

Nwadiuto took his outstretched hand and shook it.

Another guy asked her, “What’s the plan for after school?”

“I will travel to India for two years to learn more about software. I have concluded my Oracle training. I am currently on my Cisco training. I couldn’t cope with doing both of them and school”

“You have finished your Oracle training? Wow! You don’t look like what you are telling us.” One of the guys added.

The IT people sat together to converse with Nwadiuto. She felt so comfortable with them as they talked. Josh was impressed. Ada didn’t feel left out at all. She smiled as her sister got into her element and reminded her of dates and any other thing she asked. They seemed to be close but they didn’t look alike at all. He didn’t believe they were sisters.

Josh sat beside Ada and listened to the guys intEr×¢t with the girls. He was happy he brought girls who could have intellectual conversations compared to the other girls one guy arranged.
He pulled out Ada and asked her if she would like to take a walk on the beach. She had her beach hat in her hand, so she wore it. He took two drinks with them and they strolled off.

“Your sister is nice and friendly”

“Yes, she is”

“How old is she?”

“She’s 21”

“She doesn’t look her age; she looks and sounds older. You are older than her?”

“Yes, I am.”

“May I ask how old you are?”

“I am 25. And you, how old are you?”

“I will be 32 in a bit. Next month”

“Nice”

‘Do I fit what you are looking for? I mean in a mate”

“Almost everything except the tribe. Also, we never discussed religion”

“I am a non-practising Christian”

“What denomination?”

“I was born into the Anglican Church. I haven’t been to church for many years”

“That too is a problem.”

“What?”

“Your tribe and religion. I want to marry an Igbo guy who practices Christianity. You understand?”

“Yeah, you are a tribalist”

‘No, I’m not”

‘So what do you mean by you want to marry an Igbo guy? What happened to the other tribes”?

“I am comfortable marrying just Igbo guys. We share the same culture and tradition. I don’t need to learn a new culture since I already know what is expected of me in marriage if I marry my fellow Igbo man”

“I can’t believe you are tribalistic”

“I am not. I’m honest to a fault. Don’t want to lead you on knowing it won’t work out between us”

“You haven’t even gotten to know me before throwing me under the bus. I shouldn’t be judged based solely on my tribe and religion. I want to be judged based on Josh. I didn’t judge you based on anything. I saw a girl that came to my office often. I liked her and planned to ask her out but she stopped coming to the branch. I asked my team leader about you using your company name and he told me you had stopped working for the company and had relocated. You can imagine my surprise when I saw you that day. There was no way I was going to lose that opportunity again. And this time, you came back with a bang. I wasn’t even sure you were the one until my staff confirmed it by your company name. I didn’t judge you or refuse to talk to you because you are not tall, you don’t have big b-obs (he giggled) or even because you are a chronic churchgoer you have confirmed. I wanted to know Ada who was always serious but had an amazing smile. The moment you smiled at me that day, I was blown away”

Ada didn’t have anything to say. He made a valid point which didn’t change anything but made her feel like a bad person.

He added after a few minutes, “I will accept an apology and give you my conditions for it”

“I apologise”

“Tell me about yourself. You are painfully honest so I expect the truth.”

“That’s fair. Ask me questions and I will answer. Go right ahead, I will reciprocate”

“I know your name, age, religion, tribe, complexion, what else do I need to know? What did you study and where did you finish from?”

“I studied Accounting, Unilag”

“So you are one of those Unilag babes?”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“I don’t think Nwadiuto is your sister; you guys don’t look anything alike”

“It’s a long story. We are sisters because we grew up together”

“I am all ears”

She shared her story. “My father died when I was twelve or eleven years old. My mother tried her best to rain us on her own as my father’s people wouldn’t help. Nwadiuto’s mother had just gotten married. She needed someone to stay with her in Lagos. She spoke to my mother who gladly released me to her when I was fifteen. She raised me like her child along with her daughter and two other children all these years. Nwadiuto and I have been close for ten years.”

“Interesting. What about your family?”

“My mother is in the village. She has a shop where she sells things. The last two are in the university and my brother just graduated. Apart from taking me, she helped train my younger ones through her mother’s initiative. She never stopped. It is her company I am managing for her while she works. Her husband’s company before he passed. He was also an awesome father to me. I felt loved and protected in the family”

“Nice. This is a good story. Women rarely behave like this. She is a good woman and I hope someday I meet her.”

“She is a good woman.”

“Any boyfriends I should know about?”

Ada knew this was the best time to let him know about Moses. It was best he heard about them from her. She knew she wasn’t changing her mind about tribe and religion but it was the right thing to do.

“I was in a relationsh¡p with Moses. We are still sort of in it; I haven’t told him yet it is over”

“Moses? Interesting. He never mentioned it. Was he the reason you stopped coming to the bank?”

“Yes. He felt tongues were wagging.”

“It is not in my position to say anything but you are not his spec at all. I know Moses very well. We vibe because we are age mates even though I climbed the ladder pretty fast. No wonder he had been asking me what I had with you. Ok. Was it an intimate relationsh¡p or what?”

“No! We didn’t have s€×. We planned on getting married until everything changed”

“What happened? What changed?”

“He had other women which I found out and now I want out”

‘This explains the transformation. He never mentioned you and friendsh¡p or relationsh¡p in the same sentence. Does he know we are seeing each other?”

“No. He knows we went out on the first day. That’s all”

“He must have been pretty pissed. I understand. Moses….”

“This is one of the reasons I didn’t want to keep your hopes high”

“As long as he didn’t have s€× with you, I’m fine. Even if he had s€× with you, it doesn’t make a difference to me. Once it never happens again I am good. Only that you ladies can’t be trusted with former lovers”

“Same with guys. He wasn’t my lover. He was my rebound guy when my heart was broken and he took advantage of my vulnerability. I am ending it with him”

‘I hope it isn’t because of me?”

“You have nothing whatever to do with it. I was already in revenge mode when you came into the picture”

“You used me as a pawn in your game?”

Ada laughed at his insinuation. She had had a relaxed time talking with him. They were walking back now to be with others.

“I have told you about myself. Tell me about you”

“Josh, first son of a Justice and a pharmacist. Have a younger sister and a baby brother. I studied Economics at the University of Benin for two years and then during that very long strike, I relocated to continue in England. I graduated, worked for two years with a top bank. Came back to Nigeria for NYSC as insisted by my father. I went back to England. I worked and acquired an MBA. I was pouched by a South Africa financial institution. I had a really good time there. Your sister reminds me of those days. I worked there for three years and then I was posted here to Nigeria to Branch management. I love to have fun, good conversation and I like s€×”

Ada couldn’t believe she heard him right. She turned to look at him and he nodded in affirmation.

They had gotten to where Nwadiuto and his friends were before they left. There were just two guys with some of the girls. Nwadiuto wasn’t there. The guy for the barbeque was around and had started preparing the food. They walked into the house. Nwadiuto was with Okwudiri and two other guys. They joined them.

As they sat down to gist, a gentleman came in. Nwadiuto caught her breath when she saw him. He had a fair complexion, well-chiselled but wasn’t muscular, was bald with a chin strip beard. He had this elegance about him which attracted Nwadiuto even more and an aura that magnetized attention to him. He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt (completely unbuttoned) and white shorts. He wore white slippers too. He was captivating to Nwadiuto; there was something about him that held her spellbound.

When he spoke, she fell h-rder than before. She held on to every word he said. She wasn’t herself anymore. She wanted to meet him. She wanted to know him. She wanted to have him. Unfortunately, he paid no heed to Nwadiuto. He paid no heed to any of the girls there. It seemed he was out of place in the room.

One of the guys entered the house and met him. He called him Malik. The name stuck with Nwadiuto. Nwadiuto wanted to approach him but she knew little or nothing about him except that she had fallen for him. She asked Josh who he was.

“Malik? Stay away from him, he is a bad boy” Josh advised.

“I’m a bad girl too. So we fit. Tell me about him” Nwadiuto replied.

“No, don’t tell her anything. She is not a bad girl and I can see he is trouble” Ada insisted.

“I want him. I will be with this man.”

“Did you hear his name? Malik? He is either Hausa or Muslim. Who will let you marry him? Mama or mummy?” Ada asked.

“I don’t care. Tell me about him”

“If you insist, bad girl. We went to school together through secondary school until university. He went to America for his Master’s degree. Brilliant guy. He is an IT guy too. He sells computers, phones and their accessories in Lagos and Abuja. He is a contractor with most government org-nisations and private companies. He is doing well. But he is wild. He likes to party and he does party hærd. He dates classy girls and women. He is never in short supply of them and they take good care of him”

“He is a gigolo?” Nwadiuto asked.

“Well, you can also say that. Are you still interested?”

“Yes, he has a price.”

“Nwadiuto, he won’t look at you twice. You don’t fall into the category of girls he dates.” Ada insisted.

“I know. But he will want me. He will lust after me. Watch and see”

Nwadiuto allowed the other girls to parade themselves. They hadn’t gotten the memo; they were in the same business. You can’t hustle a hustler. She bided her time. She spoke with the three other guys who still wanted her attention and ignored Malik completely.

Josh called them to the beach to play games and eat. They played Beach ball, tug of war, I spy, word games and table tennis. They were placed in groups and they played guess the movie, they did Karaoke and then took a break to eat and walk by the beach before the last game.

All this while Nwadiuto didn’t look at Malik anymore. She was focused on her plan of action. She won most of the games individually and with her group. She knew he would notice her with that. She had a game plan.

They gathered around a table. Couples had already formed with Josh and Ada being one. Alcohol was placed in shot glasses ready for truth or dare. Some of the girls were dared to choose a guy to do something to and some of them picked Malik. He accepted twice and rejected once. When it was Nwadiuto turn, she chose dare. Josh decided to help the person choose a dare knowing what Nwadiuto would have wanted.

“I dare you to give Malik a lap dance”

Everyone scre-med as he said it. Nwadiuto looked at Malik intensely eyeball to eyeball and then stood up walked over to him, stretched across him to the table and grabbed a shot glass and gulped it. Everyone scre-med while she walked back to her seat. Josh looked at her dazed. “What was she up to?” he thought.

Guys that chose her for anything too intimate, she declined with a shot. When the bottle stopped at Malik’s he was asked to choose between truth or dare. He chose truth.

“If you want to have a crazy moment with any girl here, who would it be?”

He was quiet. Nwadiuto didn’t want to get embarrassed when he chose someone so she stood up to use the bathroom. On her way back, she saw Malik standing at the entrance of the house alone.

“Why did you run off?” he asked

“I didn’t. Nature called”

“Yeah right. Would you like to go for a walk on the beach”?

“What happened to the game?”

“Let them play. Let’s go for a walk”

“Ok.”

They walked in silence for several minutes. Nwadiuto could hear her heartbeat and knew she had to calm down. She looked around and admired the scenery. She felt at peace here. She took her mind off who she was walking with and concentrated on her environment. That was before he spoke with his deep baritone voice which made her feel weak.

“My name is Malik. I didn’t get your name”

“Nwadiuto”

“Nice name although a mouthful. No shorter version?”

‘No. Nwadiuto”

“I saw you when I came in with my friend, Okwudiri. Did he come with you?”

“No, we were invited by Josh. My sister and I”

“Your sister must be the girl Josh can’t stay away from”

“She’s the one”

“Not surprised. Josh likes good girls”

“And you don’t”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Sure”

He leaned closer to her and said in almost a whisper “I like bad bitches”

Nwadiuto laughed when she heard it. She had no reply for him.

“Do you like bad boys?” he asked.

“Yeah. Sometimes. Very bad boys”

“When can we hook up? I am not available all week until Saturday. We can hang out on Saturday evening. Will that be ok?”

“What time will I get home?”

“You are spending the night”

“I won’t be able to spend the night out on Saturday. I’m not in a hurry to have this experience. When I am ready, I will call you”

Malik stopped and looked at her. He had seen her stare when he first entered the house. He decided to ignore her. He saw her make attempts at attracting without being obvious. It was his game and he knew a signal when he saw one. When he became amazed by her was when she had the opportunity to make good her desire, she put up a show. And now, she was doing the same. He thought he read the message loud and clear but now he realized he was wrong. What was she up to?

They walked back making small talk until they joined the others. Ada told Nwadiuto it was late and they had to leave. Josh tried to persuade them to stay but Nwadiuto, who was reluctant to leave, agreed truly it was getting late. It was past 7:00pm.

Josh offered to drop them off but Ada declined. She told him they hired a taxi for the day. Malik had gone to join the other guys while they deliberated. Finally, Nwadiuto went back to the group. Said goodbye to them and left. Malik caught up with her close to the car.

“Can I have your number?”

“If you want it, you find it. When I want you, I will get your number”

“Are you playing games with me?”

“Why would I?” she replied and winked at him as she walked away from him to join Ada.

Josh asked Ada for a hug and she was reluctant to give him. “I don’t want to lead you on,” she said to him.

“Don’t friends hug?”

“They do. But…”

“I didn’t say marry me right away; I said, get to know me. Come here” he pulled her into his arms and hugged her. Then he pecked her on the forehead. “Bye. See you on Monday”

Ada liked Josh as a person but she was very set in her ways. She wasn’t physically attracted to him. She liked him because he gave her attention. Nwadiuto told her the reason she wasn’t attracted to Josh was that her mind was blocked by her sentiments. If he was Igbo, she would have been attracted to him.

“How far Malik? I hope you didn’t do anything stupid on your walk?”

“He wanted me to come over on Saturday evening to be treated like a bad bitch. I was to spend the night. I told him I would call him when I am ready to be with a bad boy”

“What? He called you a bitch and you were ok with it? What’s wrong with you Nwadiuto?’

“I’m attracted to the guy. I’m s€×ually attracted to him. I will have him; that’s for sure. I’m having double thoughts if he is for keeps”.

“Why would you be attracted to someone who is crude and vulgar? I don’t want to think of what he will do to you”

“He is a distraction I don’t need right now. I will keep him chasing after me until I am ready. I think we are in for a long ride”

“I don’t like the guy; he is too sleek. Josh said he needs to be tamed. I asked if you were a tiger tamer”

“Josh gets me. I like him. He has only eyes for you. Give this guy a chance. He is the most respectable guy I have ever seen you with and boy does he exhume of class.”

“You want me to be prayer point for my mother. Biko, leave me like this. I will wait until the husband comes.”

“Have with Josh in meantime”

“I don’t want to lead him on. I don’t want someone to claim I broke his heart. Meanwhile, you saw a gigolo and fell for him. Those girls don’t even have sense. Where did they get them from? Just a few of them could comport. Okwudiri asked me for your number. I told him to get it from you”

“I gave him my number but I am not interested in a relationsh¡p; I made it clear to him”

“Was this before or after Malik entered the scene?”

“Before. I told him I was engaged to be married”

“Liar!”