Three Generations episode 10
THREE GENERATIONS
WRITTEN BY OGECHI ALABI
CHAPTER 10
Nwakaego continued to do her trade. She became a big wh0lesaler carrying trailer loads of goods to Port-Harcourt for sale. Her business was all she knew. She didn’t have time for relationsh¡ps; she was too busy and rich to be bothered about a man. She bought land in Port-Harcourt and built a guest house which accommodated travellers and businessmen and women. She had a room there for accommodation. Nobody knew she owned the building as she lived a lowkey life.
Nwakaego ensured her daughter attended the best primary school which was a missionary school in the village. When she was ready for secondary school, she sent Nwanneka to a missionary boarding school so she would have enough time to do her business.
Nwanneka grew up with her mother’s family but was a regular visitor at her father’s family house. As long as papa was there, she visited every holiday. Christmas and New year celebrations were spent there. She was known as Anozie’s daughter and her mother made her feel proud to be referred to as that.
“Is that not Anozie’s daughter. Eww, she looks so much like her father. This is were Anozie gave birth to himself. Nwakaego has done well singlehandedly training this child”
“Ada Anozie, your father died well. He must be proud of his nwunye in his grave. See how well you are looking. Nobody will believe you are a fatherless child”
“Anozie, death has done you bad. Come and see the handwork of your wife. Come and see your beautiful daughter your wife is taking care of. You are a real man”
These and many more were the comments people made when she passed by. She had made friends in both her mother’s compound and her father’s compound. Her paternal grandmother told her she reminded her of her late son. Her uncle Obi didn’t like her at all. Whenever he sees her in her late father’s house (papa told her the house was her father’s before death) he would want to chase her away but Uncle Onyedika would always stand by her. She stayed on his own side of the house.
Her mother had renovated uncle Onyedika’s side of the house with the latest facilities. The kitchen, toilet, and bathroom were now indoors. She wanted to renovate the entire house but uncle Obi refused so she did uncle Onyedika’s side. Uncle Onyedika gave her a room which she locks up when they leave after their visit.
Onyedika got married. Nwakaego bore the entire expense of the wedding. Onyedika had shown her only love and kindness. She reciprocated by org-nizing a beautiful wedding for him and his bride. He had graduated from the University and had gotten a job in customs through Nwakaego’s help. He was posted to Lagos. It was in Lagos he met Uloma who was from a neighbouring village.
A year after the wedding, Uloma became hostile towards Nwanneka. Nwanneka begged her mother not to allow her to go to visit anymore. It hurt Nwakaego. She knew an enemy was at work. She came back during the Easter holiday without Nwanneka. When asked why Nwanneka didn’t come, Nwakaego explained to papa, mama and Onyedika that Uloma told Nwanneka to leave the house as it did not belong to them. Nwakaego said she noticed when she came that Uloma didn’t greet her. She wonders what she did to warrant such a reaction from her.
To Nwakaego’s amazement, her mother-in-law began to shout outside saying, “Where is that useless girl that does not know her position in this house? You want to chase away my grandchild from her father’s house? You cannot do that; instead, you will leave this house”
“Stop shouting. Uloma, where are you?”
Onyedika was obviously fuming. Nwakaego regretted telling them this way. Uloma, not aware of what she had done came to the obi to answer her father-in-law. The look on her husband’s face spelt doom. Onyedika hærdly gets angry but when he does, the reaction is usually disastrous.
“Why were you harassing Nwanneka? Why did you make her decide to run away from her father’s people? Her mother has tried to ensure she gets attached to us and you want to ruin it. The single room her mother and herself are managing is what is ticking you off? Do you realise Nwakaego renovated the house for Onyedika and herself to be comfortable? Please, avoid anything that will bring disunity between you and Nwakaego. You stand to gain more by being her friend”
“You did not hear my side of the story before you concluded Nwanneka is right. What did she say I did to her? Your precious Nwakaego complains and everyone runs around. Mama even you? When did Nwakaego become someone in your eyes”?
“She became someone in my eyes when my husband confided in me that this lady here secretly paid off our debts without telling the wh0le world. She did not shame us or use our greed against us. She paid the money from her business not even from the lawyer. Nothing you will say about Nwakaego would I believe. That house is Nwanneka’s father’s house. She has a right to live in it. Nobody can chase her away from there or they will have me to contend with”
“Uloma, we had a discussion about this and you still went about your agenda. You are following Obi and his wife, right? You will go back to your people until you learn manners before you come back here. I warned you, I warned you severally. What I have achieved so far is all thanks to mama Nwanneka. If you feel you can make my niece uncomfortable in my house, I would rather you go and stay with your people”
“It hasn’t gotten to that biko. Don’t send your wife away because of me. It is obvious she doesn’t like our presence and I will avoid it completely. Mama, I will bring Nwanneka and she will stay in the house with you and papa so I will be sure she is comfortable.”
“You will do no such thing! It is my house and no wife of mine will undermine me. If Nwanneka cannot stay in the house with us then Uloma isn’t the wife I thought I married. How often is she here that it is causing a problem? I am going to bring her to stay with her father’s family for Easter holidays”
Nwakaego’s hands were tied. Nwanneka joyfully followed her uncle. She loved staying there with her grandparents and cousins because everyone dotes on her except Obi and his family and now Uloma. Nwakaego didn’t want people to forget Anozie so easily. Seeing his daughter is a reminder of his life. It was important to her they always remember.
Nwanneka had blossomed into a beautiful young lady. She had a very attractive body which men couldn’t get their eyes off. It was the fear of her mother that kept many away from her.
She didn’t like her mates. They made her feel dirty because she had filled out in the right places at such a young age. She was tall and she liked her height. She was slim but had h¡ps and a big backside. Her father’s sisters had big backsides but didn’t have h¡ps. Her mother had h¡ps with a small wa-ist which she also inherited alongside a full bosom. At thirteen, she looked like a full-grown woman. The giveaway was her face, you would know she was still a baby.
Her male teachers in school stared at her lustfully which made her uncomfortable and made the other students look at her in disgust. She suffered the same fate at home.
She was close to one of her distant cousins Chidi. Chidi was an undergraduate of the University of Nigeria Nsukka. He was the grandson of her grandfather’s late eldest brother. Chidi was brilliant and intelligent, but he was an introvert. He hærdly associated with others in the compound each time he is around. She liked him because he was very brilliant and he had a way of calming her down and uplifting her spirit especially when she is picked on by her peers.
“They are just jealous of you. You are beautiful and every guy’s desire. I get jealous when I see other men stare at you. You can imagine how your friends feel about you getting all the attention.”
Her mother and her stepgrandmother promised her she would love her body when she gets older. They told her the other ladies were jealous of her because they knew she was beautiful. Her paternal grandmother always showed her off whenever she was around. This boosted her self confidence even more.
Her maternal grandfather died after a brief illness. Her mother was devastated at his demise. She was brought back from school to attend the burial.
Tbc