Sisterhood episode 67

TITLE: SISTERHOOD

AUTHOR: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 67

They didn’t say anything in the car until she got to her place. He came down and entered the compound with her.

“What is the problem?” uncle Tobi asked him.

“There is no problem.”

“Being with me is one but I saw you with your colleagues. You didn’t eat. I saw sadness in your eyes. Did he call off the engagement?”

“Who? No, he didn’t. There is no problem.”

“Whatever it is, it is eating you up and not allowing you to enjoy your life. Talk to someone about it. How terrible can it be? Is it a sickness or disease? Is it debt? Or you are being blackmailed? Or you’re pregnant?” He saw her reaction when he mentioned pregnancy and he knew and stopped there. Then he added, “Does he know?”

“Know what?”

“That you are pregnant? Don’t play games with me. Is he aware?”

“Uncle Tobi, what I am going through has nothing to do with…”

“Tell him now before his family will think you got pregnant for someone else and want to pin it on him. Especially his mother. You should be wise. Know your enemies so you will always be one step ahead of them. Don’t abort it; he is ready for a child and so is his family. Because of his disease, you might not be lucky again. Tell him today. Take care of yourself.”

As uncle Tobi made to leave Nkem stopped by saying, “Uncle Tobi, we got married traditionally. I am his wife.”

“I know. Hope you are happy. This child will make him and his family very happy. You’ll see. Tell him quickly.”

Nkem was no longer confused. She had to tell someone else before she tells Demian to be sure she was doing the right thing. She called her mother. She was ecstatic She danced around and praised her God. “At least we know you are not barren. Demian’s parents will be happy with the news.”

“I have to tell him first.”

“You haven’t? Tell him quickly; he deserves to know.”

Nkem wasn’t sure Demian would be as excited as others were about the news. The only way she could find out was by telling him. She called him and asked after the exchange of pleasantries, “Is this a good time to talk?”

“Yes, go ahead. Did something come up with the embassy?”

“No. It’s not that.”

“Ok. What is it?”

“Demian, I am pregnant. I don’t know how it happened but I am.”

There was silence for some seconds and then he asked her, “Come again?”

“It was shocking to me too. I am pregnant.”

“When did you find out?”

“After I missed my period, I waited another two weeks for it to come thinking it was late. When it didn’t, I went to the hospital.”

“Do you want to have a baby right now?”

“I don’t know, it is all new to me. Do you?”

“I didn’t think it would happen this fast. I wanted us to spend more time together. The baby will be here about the time you start your Master’s degree. How far gone are you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe six weeks. You don’t sound happy.”

“You don’t sound excited either. I want to know what you want to do.”

“It depends on you, you are the father.”

“What if you do not like my idea?”

“Say it and we will discuss it.”

“Let’s have the baby. We have to manage ourselves but we will survive. We can bring your mother here to help out while you are in school and I work. We need to plan but I think that’s best.”

Nkem was relieved and happy that she cried. “Are you sure?” she asked amidst tears

“I am sure. Wait until I tell my folks. We just got married and we are going to be parents. It will make your immigration easy since the child will be born here. But you can’t come in August. Airlines have restrictions and I don’t want you showing before you come so you wouldn’t have issues with immigration.”

“So when should I come?”

“July.” he was silent for a while then he said, “Nkem, I am going to be a father, I can’t believe it.” Nkem heard the excitement in his voice for the first time and it was contagious as she became excited too.

She called her mother and told her. Then she called her friends and shared the good news with them. She was so excited and happy when her father-in-law called her in tears of joy. “Today is the happiest day of my life. My lineage is continuing with Demian. You have brought me so much good fortune. I want you to leave work and rest. I will pay you twice what you earn. The wedding has to be done quickly, my grandchild will not be born without a church wedding. Preparations should begin.”

“But we are already married. We will have a court wedding and then a church blessing. We don’t want anything big.”

“No my dear, Demian is my first son and the heir to my fortune. He will not have a wedding as though he has done something to be ashamed of. I will inform the family and make all the arrangements, the wedding will take place in April during the Easter celebrations.”

Nkem didn’t have anything to say. He gave the phone to his wife and she said to Nkem, “Congratulations dear. You have made us realise Demian is a man after all. All the ladies he tried to get pregnant and failed may have been the ones with the problem. Just this holiday you gave him your virginity, you are already pregnant. That is good. I will send down some prenatal vitamins for you. I will also need your medical reports to find a hospital here where you can have the baby. I’m sure you are happy, we are very happy.”

Demian never told Nkem he had tried to get girls pregnant in the past. This was crucial information so why didn’t he share it with her? She was glad she was able to give him this. And how did his mother know he disvirgined her? She pushed that aside. His entire family was happy. She received several phone calls and messages from his family members. The news travelled fast.

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Demian wanted her to shop for the wedding in the US but she declined. She had to work and couldn’t take time off. When the invitations were ready, she shared some to her bosses and colleagues in the office. And then she shared to her friends and uncle Tobi. He sent her a message congratulating her and assured her of his attendance with his wife. It was a relief.

Nkem left the shopping for the wedding to Agnes and her sister. Her pregnancy wasn’t evident yet. When they sent her pictures of wedding gowns, she always asked for the price. She was told not to bother about that as their father had given them a blank cheque but Nkem didn’t want anything too expensive. She told them expensive doesn’t necessarily mean beautiful. She asked Agnes to check some cheaper stores and compare. Ada was mad when she said it but Agnes had grown to understand Nkem. Behind Ada, Agnes went to a store that showcased wedding dress designs by young black designers. She loved the dresses she saw but the downside was the fabric; she didn’t like the texture.

She sent the designs to Nkem and she loved them. She chose a particular one. She showed her sister, Ada who approved it. Agnes went back to the designer and requested the same design but made with better fabric. She selected the fabric to be used from some samples available in the store. She gave the store owner Nkem’s measurement. She made her understand it was urgent and had to be professionally finished. She shopped for the accessories.

The dress was ready in three weeks. Agnes went with Ada to pick it up. Ada was shocked she got it from this store. When she saw the dress, she wept. It was beautiful. They went above and beyond to make it special. And it could double as a reception dress. It was well-packaged for their trip to Nigeria.

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Chidindu and his uncles had made arrangements for the church wedding at their church. The events planner was on the ground to see how it would play out. The reception was to hold in Demian’s village. His father wanted it that way. He would honour Nkem by marrying her from her church and then have his reception at his home.

Uloma was the chief bride’s maid. She was excited. She decided to lose some weight so she would look elegant in her dress. Nkem didn’t know much about fashion and wanted only a chief bride’s maid on her train. She asked Funke to help her get a beautiful gown for Uloma. She showed her the wedding gown she had chosen so she wanted something that would compliment it.

Funke ordered a beautiful peach dress for Uloma. The details were amazing. Her shoes and purse were to match her outfit. Funke got her jewellery too. When Uloma tried on the dress, she cried. “So my sister can choose me to be her chief bride’s maid and also pay this amount of money to make me look beautiful.”

“Why not? Nkem loves you. She is hard. She is not just hard on you; she is hard on all of us. She chose you because you are her only sister. She wants the best for you. Relax, you will enjoy her.”

She relaxed. She was happy for Nkem that she got married and immediately got pregnant. That was every woman’s prayer. She expected Nkem to leave her job and travel back with Demian but she was not doing that. She said she had applied for a three years study leave. She put the pregnancy into consideration. Uloma was trying to understand her sister. She believed so much in being responsible and doing what is right. She loved it about her. She believes in making her money through her sweat. Why did she have to do all that when her husband and his family are rich? It baffled Uloma.

Nkem explained to Uloma why. She used their mother’s circumstances as a measure of all she wants to achieve. “Our father dying young gave room for his brothers to take over everything he had except the house he built in the village. Our mother remained there and saw to it that we were trained. It all looks rosy now that I am marrying Demian. What if he dies? His family which appears to love me will want to take everything away from me and our children. They will remember I am a pauper and I have no one to fight for me. But if I work hard and have my own money, I can never be disrespected the way our mother was. Let no man deceive you into not having a career or a life of your own, insist on having your own money so if they want to fight with you, you have the resources to fight back and also to move on. Once you round up your service year, you are coming to join me in America for your Masters. I would have saved enough money for it then. You will work and take care of yourself. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I do. You are wise. I wonder why I didn’t draw close to you. Most times you scold me, I get angry and I keep away. If we were close, I wouldn’t have made the mistakes I made. I am learning and changing. It is just that the men won’t leave me alone.”

“They didn’t leave me alone too but because I was focused on what I wanted to achieve, I didn’t let them distract me. Be focused.”

“How did you know Demian was the one?”

“He was persistent and I liked him a lot. I enjoyed his company. He showed me respect and never took advantage of me. I took risks with him because I trusted him. I knew he liked me but I didn’t have such feelings towards him initially. It grew with time and turned into love. He hasn’t changed since I met him and I have no regrets. But, I will still work and make my money until I can not work anymore. I will not be insulted for whatever reason.”

Uloma listened to all she said. She was glad she had this conversation with her sister as she learnt a lot from it. She gave herself to men who claimed to love her and she didn’t love. She gave in due to the attention she was receiving and the way they treated her initially. She believed she had to test the ground before giving in. She had to be sure his feelings and hers were genuine before starting the relationship. She was learning. Suitors had been coming for her since Nkem got married traditionally but her mother told them to come back after her NYSC. She was glad her family knew what was best for her.

tbc