Three generations episode 61

TITLE: THREE GENERATIONS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 61

The beach party was fun for them. They came back exhausted and went to sleep. Ada’s phone vibrating on the side stool in a very quiet room early in the morning woke them up. It was Moses. He kept calling even when Ada didn’t answer. Nwadiuto, very irritated, picked the call.

“Why haven’t you been picking my call? I was at your house yesterday and was told you were out. I called you severally, you didn’t pick up or deem it fit to call me back. What is wrong with you?”

“Who is this disturbing my sleep with phone calls and now ranting and raving?”

“Who am I speaking with?”

“My name is Nwadiuto. Who is on the phone?”

“Nwadiuto, it is me Moses”

“Moses. Why are you calling Ada like she stole your kidneys? She is asleep and can’t speak with you now. Call at a more appropriate time. You interrupted my sleep with your phone calls. I was thinking something happened in the village that was why the person was calling. Go to sleep, she doesn’t have your kidneys” Nwadiuto ended the call.

Ada had a good laugh when the call ended. “That serves him right. He is very stupid. I put my phone on silent and missed his calls yesterday. Why would he come to the house without calling me first? When he calls in the morning, I will tell him I am too tired and weak to talk. I know it will drive him nuts. Soon he will get the message and move on”

“But you will be seeing Josh”

“I’m not interested. We can be friends but nothing more. He even called last night and then left a message. That’s what reasonable people do”

“You didn’t respond to Moses’s calls or messages. He will be worried”

‘Are you making excuses for him?”

“I am just stating the obvious.”

“I’m going back to bed”

Moses came to Ada’s office on a Thursday two weeks later. He was obviously furious. Ada had told him she still wasn’t feeling well and traveled to the east so he hadn’t seen her for two weeks. Meanwhile, he saw Josh’s car in front of her office and when he inquired from the driver, he discovered Josh had come to see Ada and they had even gone for lunch together the week before. She had been coming to the office and lied to him.

Immediately he entered her office he said to her, “Ashawo. Akwunna. pr-stitute. You give yourself to the highest bidder. Is this your village? Because Josh is a branch manager that is why you chose him while deceiving me. I knew you were pretending all along.”

“Moses, if you are going to disrespect me in my office then I will advise you to leave before I get my staff to bundle you out”

“To do what. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? I am not going anywhere. You will explain to me what you have been doing with Josh behind my back”

“I owe you no explanation. I know how you have been carrying rich, fat, and vulnerable women to your village in a bid to convince them you will marry them. Even when we were supposed to be together, you still took one home. Or should we talk about your dead wife and child nobody knows about even your family members and colleagues? How can I be with a man who spends more money on worthless things, wearing expensive clothes and shoes but can’t help to train his female sisters or give his mother a decent water system toilet to use. You have no right to ask me questions. I knew your game and played you at it. So Moses, please leave my office as you have seen the handwriting on the wall”

“So because my family is poor you are leaving me?”

“I am leaving you because you are a sc-mbag. You are wicked. You believe women are less than men. You are a liar and a manipulator. I know everything Moses. I am not interested in a relationsh¡p with you. Move on”

“You are dumping me? A pr-stitute like you is dumping me? How many men have gone through you since you have been dressing like a cheap wh-re?”

“As many that have gone through your mother,” Ada replied in anger.

Next thing, she saw stars. Moses had slapped her. She was dazed for a few seconds before she gathered herself.

“You slapped me. Moses, you slapped me. Shedrack! Shedrack! esc-rt this sc-m out of the office and let the security men know he is never allowed into this building again. Moses, you will regret this”

Ada told Nwadiuto what Moses did in the office. Nwadiuto was boiling. She asked what Ada did to him. She wasn’t satisfied with the answer. Her emotions were high. How could that sc-m touch Ada? Didn’t he know who Ada is and who she works for? He must be mad. So, he was violet? No wonder he wanted someone with low self-esteem so he could use her for a punching bag.

The next morning. As the branch opened and customers had filled the banking hall, Nwadiotu, dressed to kill, walked into the branch and went upstairs to the Marketing floor. She sighted Moses who didn’t see her immediately. She walked up to him and said, “Hello”. He stood up to respond to her and then she dished him a serving of hot slap. He wasn’t expecting it so he staggered and fell on the chair.

“In your life never you lay a hand on my sister again. I will teach you a lesson you won’t forget easily. You sc-m. You lowlife. Liar. Manipulator. Go near her again and see what will happen to you. Bastard. Male wh-re. If you mess with my family, you mess with me. Read the handwriting on the wall, she doesn’t want to be with you. She lost interest after the trip to your village when she had to use a pit latrine meanwhile you are a big boy in Lagos. And she doesn’t want to be married into a family where brothers take turns with their brother’s wife to help her. If you talk too much, I will expose it. She doesn’t want to be married into such a disgusting family”

Obviously, Nwadiuto had created a scene. Some of the operations staff came upstairs. She was waiting for Moses to retaliate, but he stood up and again filled with rage but couldn’t react. She turned to leave and then she heard Josh’s voice. He had just come into the branch and was told what happened. He dispersed the gathering and then led Nwadiuto into his office and asked Moses to join him there.

“Moses, what happened?”

“She came to meet me here and slapped me”

“You didn’t do anything wrong and she slapped you? Why would she do that? Is she missing a nut?”

“I don’t know what her sister told her. She came to attack me at my job”

“Nwadiuto, what happened?”

“Well, Ada and Moses have been friends for a while now. Long before you came on the scene. Because you visited her at her office yesterday, Moses slapped her. He called her names and slapped her in the presence of her colleagues. I just served him his own food hot”

“What? Moses, is this what happened?”

“I don’t know what she is talking about”

Josh picked up his phone and called Ada. After exchanging pleasantries, Josh told her, “Your sister is here. She said Moses slapped you yesterday because I visited you. Is she correct?”

“Nwadiuto is there? What is she doing there?”

“She returned the favour to Moses by slapping him back. I just want to know if it is true”

“This is embarrassing. I am coming over”

Moses excused himself. He took his phone to the toilet to call Ada and appeal to her to save his job. He knew how bad it looked. Nwadiuto had messed everything up. His career was hanging by a string if Ada confirmed Nwadiuto’s story. He couldn’t reach her so he sent her a message begging her not to mention anything about the day before so his family wouldn’t suffer.

Ada came to the branch. Josh wanted to know what happened. She asked Moses and Nwadiuto to excuse them. She narrated everything that happened to him. But she added, “He wronged me and I had planned on arresting him. But then, if I do that, what happens to his two brothers he is managing to train in school. He is an irresponsible guy, it will only be worse for his family if he gets fired. And also, it won’t look good for you. I don’t want anyone believing it was because of me you are having issues with your subordinate. We are just friends and as a good friend, I appeal to you to give him a befitting punishment but don’t take his job”

“You are a rare breed. Nwadiuto is a completely different breed. I’m sure Nwadiuto will never accept your proposition. He will be suspended without pay for a month. Then, I will ensure he is transferred to another branch. I think you should let him know it is over between the two of you. That’s the mature thing to do.”

“I will. Let me take Nwadiuto back home before she creates another scene”

Ada took Nwadiuto with her to her office. She was shocked Nwadiuto planned and executed without her suspecting. She was also happy she defended her. She didn’t want any trouble for the two of them. She didn’t even want it to be said two men were fighting over her. She had had enough of Moses and thankfully it had ended for good.

Nwadiuto was still vibrating when they got to the office. Ada asked her why she went there.

“God saved him. I provoked him to fight so I will have a very good reason to get him beaten like a thief. I had boys waiting for my call to appear. See, no man can lay a hand on me or any of my loved ones and I will accept. How does he want to do it? He will be beaten to a pulp. Nonsense. He slapped you and you allowed him to leave your office wh0le when you have boys in the office? And they watched him walk away. Your staff are not loyal”

“Nwadiuto, you behave like a tout. Slapping him in the office has aggravated things. It will look like Josh is punishing him because both of them are struggling for a girl. I had it under control.”

“You had what under control. I reset his brain. He will never try that with you ever. He is out of the picture now. You can never be with someone like him”

“He left the picture a long time ago”

“I like Josh. He is so into you”

“I know. I like him too. I wish he was Igbo”

“I wish he was Malik”

They both laughed.

When Nwanneka heard about the slap, she took the day off from work. She was in the branch the next morning. She asked to see the Branch Manager. She had a stern face on. She sat with Josh (the girls didn’t tell her he was the guy who invited them to the beach party). She submitted a letter to the management of the bank for the immediate closure of all the company’s accounts and drafts should be made on all the values.

Josh appealed to her. He said he was handling the case as was desired by Ada. Nwanneka refused. She said “Moses had no right to lay his hands on my daughter and staff. He knows me. He should have reported whatever she did to me instead of taking laws into his hands.”

“You are correct” he continued to appeal to her.

Nwanneka received a phone call. She excused herself. She came with some policemen into the Branch Manager’s office. She told him she was arresting Moses. She pointed to Moses and said, “He is the one that assaulted my daughter, arrest him”

Moses was esc-rted out of the office. It was getting out of hand. Moses wondered how things deteriorated to this point. He regretted ever taking Ada to visit his family. Everything was fine before then. Why didn’t he just propose to her at once and expose his family afterward? She was his gateway to the good life. She controlled the money. So much money passed through the company’s account. They had fixed deposits. Just one deposit and he would have relocated conveniently never to return. Now, he was being disgraced in the office because he allowed his temper to to take control over him and wanted to ruin him.

Josh watched as this beauty of a woman walked out of the branch gracefully behind the officers and Moses. Her daughter looked like her in terms of bodily features but they were very different in character. Nwanneka, to him, was classy. She had a carriage he admired instantly. He then realized, Ada had the same gracefulness. Nwadiuto was different. She was crazy and fun.

It took several days to resolve the issue. Moses’ uncles had to come to Nwanneka and Ada to beg. The appeal extended to the issue not affecting his job as he had responsibilities. Nwanneka insisted there must be consequences for his action. Josh had him transferred out of his branch and out of Lagos completely. Ada joined the family in appealing to Nwanneka. Moses spent two weeks in custody before he was made to disappear. He never forgot his experience with Nwanneka and her family.