Too precious episode 14

TITLE: TOO PRECIOUS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 14

Three months after the wedding, PY gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. PB shed tears of joy with her on the phone when she broke the news. PB took a week’s break and travelled to London to see her friend’s baby girl. It was a lovely one week.

Three days after PB left London, Dr Hope came to take care of her daughter and granddaughter. Engineer Collins was upset with his wife but she didn’t seem to care. She stayed with PY for six weeks before they came back to Abuja where PY was serving.

Simon’s mother came to Abuja to see PY and her granddaughter. Both mothers weren’t bothered about anything but their grandchild. Simon’s mother stayed a week and left. She kept close contact with them.

Six months after PB got married, her mother moved out of her grandparents’ house. It was a big issue as Titilayo didn’t want her to leave. She believed Seun was Gbenga’s property. It caused a fracas. Chief tried to talk Seun out of leaving but she insisted.

‘Chief, I am still young I need to have a life. Now my daughter is settled, I can leave. Nothing is holding me back here anymore. It is time for me to face my destiny. Please understand”

“Seun, you cannot go anywhere. You are Gbenga’s wife and you will always remain so. You want to be frolicking with men that’s why you want to leave the house. You lie. As long as Gbenga is still alive, he remains your husband and if you sleep with another man, you are committing adultery which can take the life of your child”

“God forbids. Nothing will take the life of my child. You didn’t allow Gbenga to marry me traditionally and even in the church, how then can you claim I am married to him? We never legally married. I stayed in this home because of Precious and now she has moved forward with her life, it is time for me to do the same.”

“Don’t listen to Titi, I am the one appealing to you to reconsider. Are we stopping you from living your life? You can go and come as you will. Nobody here can stop you. I want you in this home so Precious will always come back here”

“Chief, she will always come back here because of you. She loves you more than she loves me. She trusts you even more. I want to experience being in charge of my life and not under anyone’s authority. I feel alive again. Even if it is in my forties I find love, I want to experience what it is like. My daughter is experiencing it and I am happy for her. I want you all to also be happy for me”

Those words sealed the deal.
Chief Rotimi allowed Seun to move out of the house. He knew she had been treated unjustly by them and she had a right to be happy. His fear was her getting into the wrong hands in terms of men but then, she’s a smart girl, she would learn from her mistakes fast.

One year after marriage, PB hadn’t missed her period even once. She was worried but Biodun didn’t seem to care. He was happy with just them for now. He told her to wait two years before they start worrying.

PB spent a weekend every month with PY before she travelled to England to be with Simon. Their fathers were still adamant about not blessing their union. They went ahead to get married in court just before Michelle, their beautiful daughter was born.

Now PY was far away, she didn’t have anyone within proximity to share her fears with. Her grandfather would be too worried. She didn’t see her mother in her new home often. The last time she visited, a man came around. PB was uncomfortable with the way the man looked at her mother. She watched her mother sort of becoming shy. She didn’t want to believe what she and Biodun do in the bedroom was what her mother was doing with this guy. She stopped visiting and only spoke to her on phone or see her in her office.

Eventually, PB discussed it with PY. PY had casually asked what they were waiting for and PB told her it wasn’t happening. She told her what Biodun said about it.

“Normally, it is after two years of marriage that a couple can become worried if pregnancy isn’t forthcoming. But if you are this worried, you could see a fertility doctor, run some checks. If they find nothing, they will check Biodun”

“I think I will do that. Refer me to a good specialist”

“Dr Igwe is good. I will send you his details. He is in Lagos.”

PB went to see the doctor. She did all the tests and they found nothing wrong with her. The doctor said she should wait until the end of the second year so they could check her husband.

What was playing continuously in PB’s head was what her grandmother said about marrying Biodun. Was she right? She was becoming paranoid. Every month her cycle visits, she became withdrawn and very sad. Biodun had told her he didn’t care about children now. He told her they would have when the time was right.

The rent on their apartment became due. PB reminded Biodun about the rent. Biodun told her he didn’t have any money as he had done some investments. She was upset because she was reminded every week for three months before it became due and he told her not to worry. Now he was telling her a different story.

PB told him to get ready for them to move out as he wasn’t ready to pay rent. She gave him until the end of that week to make payment.

“Everywhere I go, I try to maintain a good reputation. You won’t disgrace me here. We paid for two years and our two years are up. I asked that we open a joint account and keep the money for rent, feeding and other expenses in there but you refused. Now you can’t afford to pay the rent”

“Why are you making it sound like I am irresponsible? I made an investment which will materialize soon. Pay your half while we wait for mine”

“I’m not paying anything. Do you remember when you said I should take care of the running of the home while you take care of rent and other minor expenses?”

“I remember. You are Yoruba but you behave like Igbo. Our issues are always money related. Ask your grandfather to bail us out”

“Biodun, in your life, don’t ever make such a suggestion. I will never run back to my family for help. Focus Biodun, make your own money. Get the certification or is it qualification you need to open your firm. My family won’t give me a dime because I told them never to. So, look for where you will raise the rent to pay. If you don’t pay by Friday, I will move back with my grandparents”

“Why are you always threatening to leave me? Is it because you know I love you? I need a lifeline for some weeks. If you can help me …”

“Not on my salary. I am also thinking of starting my law firm. I can build a clientele from people I know. Since you are not ready to own a firm, I am. I intend to do it on my own”

“Let’s use that money to pay rent first”

“That’s your responsibility”

“What is yours? You can’t cook for me to eat. You get your cook to make food I will eat. What kind of wife are you? I don’t complain about your inadequacies but you complain about mine. I will be more responsible the moment you start cooking for me. How is that?”

PB was offended and felt insulted by Biodun. What was the correlation between cooking and investing? She didn’t say a word to him after that. That night and other nights that followed, she refused him intimacy. She was angry and was set in her ways.

On Friday, she moved out to her grandfather’s house. Biodun didn’t believe she would do it but she did. Her grandmother was happy to see her. She prepared a special meal for her when she told her she would be around for the weekend.

Biodun called her severally; she declined his calls. He sent messages she refused to read. He was upset with her.

When her grandfather came back home he asked her to come into his room.

“Why did you leave your husband’s house to come here?”

“Nothing grandpa, I came to spend the weekend”

“With Biodun’s permission?”

“I told him.”

“So why aren’t you picking his calls? How do you have a minor misunderstanding and then you take off? It is wrong.”

“We didn’t have a misunderstanding. I told him I would be here today”

“He has told me everything. You should have given him two weeks to pay the money.”

“I reminded him almost every day for three months. He knew the date it was due and never mentioned an investment until it was due. I have had to deal with an irresponsible father, I won’t deal with an irresponsible husband. I want my bills paid on time and I don’t want you paying them for us. We don’t need your help. For how many years will you be bailing us out? When you are gone, who will do it? Don’t encourage him, you are not an option. He should learn to solve his problems. I don’t want to believe I made a mistake marrying him. He seems to be only interested in your money than building his wealth. If this happens again, I will leave the marriage. I won’t wait twenty-five years as my mother did”

Chief realized what his grandchild was trying to avoid. He was so proud of her. Even though the house was hers, she wanted her man to be responsible and make his own money. He had asked Biodun about the firm she planned on opening and she told him it was still in the pipeline. PB had found the place she would use as an office. She was going ahead with her plans. They were not working together as a couple which Chief felt was wrong. He was scared PB would be far richer than Biodun which might cause problems in their marriage.

He asked PB to go back to her room. She was welcome to spend the weekend. Immediately she left, he called Biodun to meet him at his office the next morning.

The next morning, Biodun was there very early. He waited for Chief to arrive. Chief asked him if PB had reminded him of the rent before the day she insisted he paid. He confirmed it. He asked why he didn’t make arrangements to pay it. Biodun said he expected the investment to mature before then but it didn’t. Chief asked if PB was aware of the investment and when it was maturing? Biodun said no.

“Do you remember when you wanted a big wedding and I told you, “you don’t know who you married.” Well, you still don’t know who you married. Taking money from me to pay rent is an insult to her. She doesn’t want an irresponsible husband who wants to live off her family’s fortune. She didn’t live off that fortune. She’s smart and wants to work hærd to achieve a name for herself. She saw you as ambitious and hærdworking just like her but the drive has died since you got married. I don’t know what you are up to but I will say this, get your act together otherwise she will dump you like a pack of cards. Don’t remind her of her father by acting like him. Take care of your responsibilities”

“Sir, I don’t know what she told you but I do take care of my responsibilities. This is the only time I have asked for an extension. After our wedding, I asked her to allow me to give my parents the money we were sprayed to start up a good business. She gave me stress but eventually gave in. The financial gifts, she divided into two and took half of the money sprayed from my half for herself. What is she doing with all that money? I asked for it for us to invest in a stock that was climbing at that time but she told me she had invested it somewhere else. As though that is not bad enough, she doesn’t cook for me. She brings food from your house. Why should I eat food cooked at your house by your cook? She needs to act like a woman not like a boss. She is not submissive and doesn’t listen to me.”

“I will talk to her. Your share of the money you received as gifts, how much was it?”

“N2,5000,000”

“How much is it now?”

“I don’t understand”

“You put the money in a performing stock, how much is it worth now?”

“I’m not sure.”

‘I guessed as much. Should I call Precious and ask her the same question? She would know how much her investment is worth. The cooking aspect, I agree but I think both of you need to sit down and discuss how you will handle your finances because it will continue to be an issue”

Later that afternoon, Chief came home with Biodun. He left him in the sitting room and went upstairs. He invited PB to his room and explained to her to give Biodun two weeks to pay the rent. He also talked to her about learning how to cook.

“It was not a problem before we got married”

“It is a problem now. Food and s€× go hand in hand. If you give your husband good s€× and food, you will have him eating out of the palms of your hands. I will ask the cook to teach you. He needs to see you sweating it out in the kitchen”

“What will he be doing while I work in the kitchen?”

“He is a man. He could be watching television, reading the newspapers or go and have fun with friends”

“That can’t work”

“It is how it works. You need to accept it and never be found guilty of any shortcomings”

“I have heard you, grandpa”

“He is sorry. He says he misses you. He is downstairs waiting for you”

“He is here?”

“You know he loves you. He is here.”

PB smiled at grandfather as she left the room to meet Biodun downstairs. She brought him to her room. He helped her take all her things. They thanked Chief and Titi and they left.

At home, Biodun apologized to PB and asked her to forgive him. PB accepted. She also apologized and they made up that afternoon. They spent the remaining part of the day in bed. They talked about their future and the steps they would take to make it brighter.

PB opened her law firm which she called Action Attorneys. She resigned from her job and went all out for clients. She met her grandfather’s friends and associates but didn’t get much from them. She wrote proposals to companies asking to be their legal representatives. She signed up four major clients before she employed staff to work with her. It took almost four months but she did it successfully. Biodun was amazed, Chief wasn’t surprised.

Running the firm took most of her time. She came home with work most times. She had gone out of her way to learn how to cook just to make Biodun happy. She made him breakfast, packed him lunch and he had dinner waiting when he got back. He fulfilled his obligations to the home and she did the same.

More than two years had past and PB hadn’t missed her period once. She was now very worried. She asked Biodun to join her at the hospital for a checkup. Biodun told her to stop worrying. He wasn’t desperate to have a child yet.

Tbc