Three Generations episode 13

THREE GENERATIONS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 13

Later that night, Nwanneka woke up. Nwakaego was so joyous when she was informed. By the next morning, she was moved to the regular ward. Nwakaego didn’t leave her side for a second. She was getting better. Nwanneka’s blood sugar level had dropped dangerously low which made her slip into unconsciousness. Nwakaego was ready to leave everything and stay with her daughter and granddaughter.

Onyedika finally had the conversation Nwakaego was dreading to have with him. “Mama Nwanneka, I can’t believe you didn’t trust me enough to confide in me about Nwanneka’s pregnancy. I feel hurt because I believed we were very close. You even allowed her reside with a stranger when she has family in Lagos. I understand you were trying to hide the pregnancy but shouldn’t family be the best people to preserve your secret?”

“Nna, please, don’t be angry. I knew you would be disappointed in her and scold her. I was tempted to tell you when we visited your home but I observed Uloma was also pregnant and I didn’t want to add more stress to yours”

“Yes, Uloma is almost due. But still, you should have shared with me. I will protect her. The truth is, you didn’t want Uloma to know because of your past encounters but Uloma has changed. Didn’t you observe? I had a heart to heart conversation with her and made her understand why Nwanneka is a permanent fixture in our family. She is Anozie’s only child and she deserves all the love from her father’s people. She has accepted both of you with all her heart”

“I am happy Uloma has changed. I will still prefer no one except us know about Nwanneka’s pregnancy”

“What happens to the child?”

“I will take her as my child. I will pretend to adopt her and let her be mine”

“Who is the father? Won’t the father come back for the child?”

“She met the father just once when it happened and hasn’t seen him since then. He is not aware and we want it to remain so.”

“If I may suggest, people will eventually find out Nwanneka had this child. You removed Nwanneka from her school to Lagos; why? She hasn’t been home since she left for Lagos, doesn’t it raise an eyebrow? When people find out she was pregnant, there will be talk for a while and then they will get over it. Hiding this will make everything worse when it comes out”

“You may be right but I am not ready for the backlash the revelation will cause. I don’t want to be seen as an unfit mother. I feel like a failure already. I don’t want people asking, “Where was she when her daughter was misbehaving? Was she in Sapele or Port-Harcourt?” I don’t really want all the drama. Honestly, Nwanneka disappointed me”

“Uloma will want to know why I have been away for so long. I will tell her eventually but she can’t tell anyone until you are ready to”

“Don’t tell Uloma yet, biko. Just give me time to reason it all out”

After staying for a month in the hospital, Nwadiuto was discharged to go home. She was carried by her grandmother Nwakaego all through the journey home. Her mother, Nwanneka, was writing an examination that day she was discharged.

Nwadiuto was a beautiful baby. She looked more like her mother which excited Nwakaego. She didn’t take any significant features of her father. Nwanneka did not br-astfeed her daughter as Nwakaego wanted her to concentrate on her examinations. When the term was over, Nwakaego took Nwanneka and Nwadiuto to Port-Harcourt. They stayed in her Guest house room. She had decided they would relocate to Port-Harcourt. She needed good money to achieve this so she went to see the lawyer.

Barrister Pepple was happy to see her after such a long time. They exchanged pleasantries but he could see she wasn’t happy. What could have affected Nwakaego so much that it made her look so sad? He enquired from her what the matter was as she was obviously unhappy.

“My daughter Nwanneka has had a child out of wedlock. I need to rent an apartment as we will be relocating fully to Port-Harcourt. I want us to live in a secure area as I want my grandchild to be raised in a good environment.”

“A child is a blessing whichever way he or she comes. We don’t have bastards in our side. Do you want to buy a house? One of my clients wants to sell his father’s house at Elele for close to nothing, you might be interested”

“I don’t know if I have enough money to buy it”

“It is a very good investment. The property is a twin duplex, you can live in one while you rent out the other. His father lived in the one I will recommend for your accommodation. He just renovated them before he fell ill and died. His son has no interest in the property, he was born and bred abroad. The man was polygamous, he had children with different women. He doesn’t want anyone to take over the property after he has left that’s why he is selling it. The rent that has have acc-mulated over these years plus the money in the savings account which I told you I had invested for you will cover the cost of the two buildings although you will have to add N10,000 more to it. I will encourage the son to accept it as he is pressed for cash to leave the country.”

“Ïf he doesn’t?”

“Then we will sell the house at railway quarters to make it up”

“Änozie didn’t want me to sell the house. I will make up whatever the difference is. He should just release the house quickly so we move in.”

It sounded like a good idea. Having a house of their own will make sense and with an addition to the family, Nwakaego realized she had to do more investments so her dependents will always be comfortable.

Nwakaego had the opportunity to inspect the house. True to the lawyer’s words, it was a beautiful house. The area was like a mini estate. There were few houses in a secluded area. The tenant who occupied the other duplex wasn’t ready to quit. He wanted to retain the property after she purchases it. Nwakaego quickly approved and paid for the house.

Immediately the house became available, Nwakaego moved into her four bedroom duplex with a one bedroom boys’ quarters. For the first time, she decided to stop hiring vehicles and buy a car. She bought a Peugeot 504 station wagon. She hired a driver. She also hired a housekeeper and nanny for the baby.

Nwanneka had one more year of school to finish. She enrolled her in a private secondary school. She wanted her to concentrate so she went off to Boarding school. This was a fresh start for them.

NWANNEKA

Nwanneka didn’t like the school she was in. The students there were from rich homes and they were very spoilt. It was an all-girls secondary school. Most of her classmates were unserious. They had travelled abroad many times to different countries and so they flaunted it. They were rude, undisciplined and snobbish. They tried to boss her but she didn’t have time for that.

Nwanneka had too many problems to be feel intimidated. Her mother had sacrificed so much to enable her have a fresh start and she wasn’t ready to mess it up now. While her mates sneaked out of school to party, Nwanneka, who had learnt the hærd way, stayed back in class to study. At the end of the first term, she was topping the class.

Girls tried to lure her into their adventure but she stood her grounds. The reason why they wanted her to join them was her body. After having Nwadiuto, her h¡ps had increased a bit. She didn’t want people to be attracted to her because of her figure so she tried to hide it. She couldn’t hide it in the bathroom as they saw her unclad to an extent.

Another problem was her caesarean scar. It wasn’t obvious but the line was still there. It ran from the top of her tummy to the bottom. She was ashamed of her it and tried to avoid anyone seeing. She hid her body as much as possible but the body refused to hide itself. In some outfits, her shape was obvious.

Some male teachers made advances at her which she detested. One of the teachers, Mr Pius, picked on her because of her refusal to succ-mb. He did it to the extent that he would punish her so he could be left alone with her then he attempted to be inappropriate with her which she resisted with all her might. She had promised to report him to her mother during the next visiting day but he laughed over it.

When her mother came to visit, she made the mistake of mentioning it to her. Nwakaego went crazy. It was interhouse sports day so the principal and teachers were still in the stadium with the students and parents. Nwakaego dragged Nwanneka by the hand and asked her to show her the teacher. Nwanneka asked her to take it easy but her mother told her he could raped her and then what would happen? Nwanneka pointed to the man. Nwakaego went up to him and dragged him by his trousers in the full glare of everyone. She asked Nwanneka to call the driver for her. The school management came to meet her asking what happened. She said she wouldn’t say a word until the police arrived.

Mr Pius dropped on the floor begging her. He claimed it was the devil that pushed him. She didn’t need to do anything for the truth to come out. Parents asked their wards if the man had made such attempts at them. Apparently, some students were in relationsh¡ps with these male teachers. Some students confided in their parents what they knew while the students who were culprits left the stadium. The principal appealed to Nwakaego to allow her resolve the issue and mete out appropriate punishment to those found guilty after investigation.

Other male teachers avoided Nwanneka and the female students after Mr Pius was shamefully sacked. A directive was given that male teacher should not be found alone with a female student. If found guilty, the teacher will be sacked and the student expelled. Also revealed was how students jump a fence to leave school to party. The wall was raised immediately. Security was increased around the school especially the staff room and the personnel were permitted to walk into any office if they have suspicion.

During the Easter holiday, Nwanneka had to stay back to prepare for her WAEC examination while her mother travelled with Nwadiuto. She presented the child like she adopted her. She also went to her husband’s village to show her in-laws.

“This baby is looking like Anozie” her mother said looking at her suspiciously, “she looks like Nwanneka when she was little”

“She does. That’s why she is mine now”

“Where is Nwanneka? What have we done that she refuses to see us? She didn’t even come back home for Christmas to see her uncle’s baby boy. Even you Nwakaego, you didn’t come back to see Onyedika and his son”

“Ï have seen Chigozie. Immediately Onyedika informed me Uloma had put to bed, I went to Lagos to see them. I even gave the baby a bath. How won’t I see Onyedika’s son?’

“But Nwanneka hasn’t and I am not happy about it”

“She is writing WAEC and she has to remain in Port-Harcourt to study. Mma, she wants to be an engineer like her father. Who am I to stop her dreams? She will go to Lagos after her examinations”

“She wants to be like her father? Isn’t that good? We will until after her examinations if that is what it will take her to be like her father.”

Tbc