Three generations episode 63 A

TITLE: THREE GENERATIONS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 63

“Nnaemeka is here” Nwadiuto announced.

“Which Nnaemeka? What is he doing here?”

“Watching you like a hawk guiding its eggs”

“What doesn’t he want?”

“You. He wants to talk to you. He desires another chance and you alone can give it to him. I can’t tell you what to do but I know if looks could kill, those guys talking to you a few minutes ago would be dead by now”

Ada went back to the crowd and looked out for Nnaemeka. She saw where he was sitting. He had changed. He looked slimmer and more mature. She was still attracted to him physically. Their eyes met and locked for about a minute and then he smiled. She left.

That evening, Nnaemeka didn’t leave. He came for the occasion with his cousins and they had planned to paint the Owerri town red. They had lodged in a hotel in Owerri and had planned to pick girls up from the function. Nnaemeka refused to leave the venue until he spoke with Ada.

Nwanneka saw him in front of her house. She looked at him closely and recognized him. They exchanged pleasantries. She then asked what he was doing at the house. He said he was waiting for Ada to come out so they would talk. She smiled and asked him, “Are you still interested in her?”

“Yes ma”

“What happened all this while?”

“She refused to talk to me. She warned me never to call her line anymore. She didn’t forgive me.”

“I would have said, you didn’t try hærd enough but then you are here now. Try again. She is still very much available. Come in,side, I will call her for you”

Ada wasn’t happy seeing Nnaemeka in the sitting room. Nwanneka advised her to talk to him. “He has come back and is interested in righting his wrongs. I like the young man. I think he is serious now”

Ada took him into the vacant guest room for them to talk. Nnaemeka couldn’t stop staring at her. He didn’t know when he said, “You are glowing. You look so good. You’ve changed so much.”

“I know. Why do you want to talk to me?”

“I missed you, Ada. The way you shut me down was unfair. I came back to Asaba to do what you advised. I learned the entire business from the scratch. I’m still learning. I want to open a branch in Lagos which I will head but that will be at the end of the coming year when I have completed my apprenticesh¡p. I am coming to Lagos because of you. I like what I see now and I want to own it”

“I don’t know how that will work. I wasn’t just sitting around waiting for you”

“You were and I am glad. Let’s go to Owerri tonight and talk some more”

“I can’t do that. I will see you tomorrow. Just let me know where you are staying.”

They met in Owerri the next day. Ada went to see him with Nwadiuto on the first day. His cousins were hitting on her but Nwadiuto didn’t show interest. She always referred to Nnaemeka as the spoilt b-ra and didn’t want to have anything to do with his fellow brats. The following day, Ada went alone to see Nnaemeka. They stayed in,side the room alone all day talking. Nnaemeka told her he was ready to settle down if she was. He wanted her to be with him in Asaba until he was ready for the Lagos move. Ada asked him to allow them to court for at least six months before they could decide. They agreed to see each other every fortnight. Nnaemeka for the first time poured out his heart to Ada and she fell for him. She decided to use her head while following her heart.

Two days after the ceremony, the compound was calmer as most people had left. Nwadiuto was with her grandmother, Nwakaego. They were talking while Nwadiuto was arranging the money that was sprayed on Nwakaego during the ceremony. Out of the blues, Nwadiuto asked her grandmother, Nwakaego, “Mama, who is my father? Why don’t you want me to know and meet him?”

Nwakaego stopped what she was doing and turned to her. “Child, what are you asking me?”

“I believe you know my father but you and my mother have pledged never to let me meet him. Why? Was my mother raped? Am I a product of a shameful act?”

“Why are you asking me these questions? We have told you how you were conceived. We haven’t hidden anything from you”

“Except the truth. I will find out who he is and I will confront him on why he abandoned me”

“You are talking nonsense”

“We will know soon”

Nwakaego was agitated with the conversation. When Nwadiuto left, she summoned Nwanneka into her room and told her the conversation she had with Nwadiuto.

“She knows something. She said she would find him and confront him herself” Nwakaego added.

“I’ve been worried about Nwadiuto. She doesn’t seem to have any female friends and she acts in ways that tend to make me feel she is rebelling. There is something wrong with her. What do we do now?” Nwanneka asked her mother.

“I don’t know. She is too secretive. I wish she could tell us what her problem is and how we can help her”

“Or is she beginning to receive messages too? We are no longer sensitive to our spirituality. We need to be so we can know what is happening”

“Let her bring it up with you first, let’s not hurry. We will make consultations too”

“I think we should”

Nwadiuto didn’t mention her father again to either of them. What they didn’t know was that she had asked her grandmother that question to test her. She failed the test; she knew who her father was. That meant, for them to keep it a secret, it was someone close to the family or related to them. She had been investigating those called Chidi in her village but none of them fitted the description in terms of age and closeness to the family. She had to spread her tentacles and come back often to the village to continue her investigation.

Ada announced she had forgiven Nnaemeka and given him a second chance. Nwadiuto couldn’t fault her because she saw how alive Ada became when she talked to or about Nnaemeka and especially when she was with him. The relationsh¡p was blossoming fast. Ada confessed to Nwadiuto that if Nnaemeka backed out now, it will destroy her.

Meanwhile, she was still friends with Josh who was hopeful. Nwadiuto preferred Josh to Nnaemeka but she concluded, “The heart wants what the heart wants”. She asked Ada to inform Josh about Nnaemeka so he would know she was in another relationsh¡p. Ada refused. She said she didn’t want to lose the friendsh¡p she had with Josh. She was afraid he will stop being her friend if he found out.

“It is only fair you tell him. If he finds out, it will really hurt him”

“What are you saying? How will he find out? I will tell him when Nnaemeka proposes. He hasn’t yet”

“This is two months and some weeks both of you got back together. The bond is getting stronger. He will definitely propose. Tell Josh”

“What’s your interest with Josh? If he finds out, I know you told him”

“I won’t do that”

Three months after this conversation, Nwadiuto got a call from a number. She didn’t know the number and was tempted not to answer. But at the last minute, she answered.

“My name is Malik. Am I speaking with Nwadiuto?” the caller asked.

“Malik? How did you get my number?” Nwadiuto replied very surprisedly.

“You told me to get the number and I did. How are you?”

“I am great. And you?”

“Very good. We are in Owerri for a wedding. Your friend Okwudiri got hooked. He has bowed out of the bachelor’s club. Are you in school? I could come to pick you up. My friends would also like to meet your friends”

“I am sorry to disappoint you; my friends are guys like you. You will have to enter IMSU or the polytechnic to scot for girls. The girls in my school don’t do ‘runs’. By the way, this is my final semester and I have no time to party”

“What are you saying? You won’t hang with me? I came all the way because of you. I’m still a bad boy”

“You can come to visit me today but I can’t leave my campus. I have a test tomorrow at 8am. I will rest after that. We can meet later in the evening at my campus”

He told her to hold on, she believed he was consulting with his friends and then he said “We are coming”

Nwadiuto got up, took a quick shower, dressed up in shorts and a top. She tied the top to show her wa-istline. She loosened out her cornrows on her head, combed out her hair, and packed it. She looked so young and innocent. She didn’t look like a bad girl. She put on red l¡pstick and eye pencil under her eyelids.

When they arrived, she was surprised and also excited to see Josh with them. Four of them came to the school. She hugged Josh which surprised most of them and then hugged Malik. Josh had brought some food and juice for her from town.

“Malik said you have a test tomorrow morning so I brought you a sumptuous meal to enjoy before you smash the exams,” Josh said to her as he handed it over.

“Thank you, you are always so thoughtful”

Malik tried to convince Nwadiuto to come to the hotel with him that night but she stood her ground. She promised to visit them the next day.

Josh suggested, “Why not come for the wedding? The church service will be over by 12 noon and you can join us for the reception”

“What will I wear? I don’t have fancy clothes in school, I am a tomboy here. Let me see what I can do. I will join you in the afternoon tomorrow” she promised.

She saw the way Malik looked at her lustfully. It made her smile. She had such an effect on guys and it made her feel powerful. Especially when they can’t get what they want. They went back into town to scot for girls.

She enjoyed her meal and left for class. She read until 1am before she finally went to bed.

After her test the next morning, Nwadiuto took and nap for about three hours. She then scouted through her things to find a suitable outfit for the wedding. She found something. It was a dress her mother had given her. It was given to her mother by a client who came back from abroad. It was too tight for Nwanneka and so she passed it to Nwadiuto. It was a long body-clinging burnt orange lycra dress. It had a v-neck and had long sleeves. She had never worn it before. She removed the label for the first time. She wore the dress with a pair of black pumps and carried a small black bag. She applied brown powder, eye pencil, and l¡pstick on her face. She went to the salon and tonged her hair into a bob style. She wore a choker and bangles. She was ready to leave.

She chartered a taxi into town and took another to the venue of the wedding. She got there about 2pm. She stood at the reception entrance and tried calling Malik. He didn’t pick up. Then she called Josh. He answered on the third ring.

“Where are you?”

“I’m at the entrance” Nwadiuto answered.

He came out to bring her in. He smiled when he saw her. “I thought you said you had nothing to wear. You should have said you came to steal the show. Damn, you look hot”

Nwadiuto chuckled as he led her or would I say guided her in,side. She felt all the stares and was losing her confidence, but Josh urged her on until they got to their seats.

Their table had girls. Where they got the girls from, she didn’t know but she knew she didn’t fit into their crowd. She looked way more sophisticated than they did.

Malik noticed her when she came in. He came over to where Josh had kept a seat for her and asked if she wanted to sit beside him. She declined seeing two other girls were sitting on both sides. She was comfortable sitting with Josh.

When it was time for the couple’s dance, the crew danced out to support their member. Josh gave Nwadiuto some money to spray the new couple. She was the only girl that joined them. She danced with Okwudiri and his wife. Okwudiri was excited to see her. He officially introduced his wife to her. She sprayed them as she danced. The wife abandoned her husband to dance with Nwadiuto. It was amazing watching both of them dig it on the dance floor. The crew hailed them and sprayed them.

It was an interesting wedding reception. The crew urged Nwadiuto to join the single ladies so she could catch the bouquet of flowers and be a bride.

“No thank you. I am not interested in getting married anytime soon. Let the desperate ones catch it”

After the reception, they all went back to the hotel. Malik had left in another car with the two girls. She watched him leave her and felt bad. He was the reason she came to the wedding. She decided to go back to the hostel and rest. Josh wouldn’t hear of it.

“Since you didn’t come yesterday, he and the other guys got girls to spend the night with, or would I say weekend. That’s the kind of person Malik is. It is just fun to him; it makes no difference. He doesn’t care about your feelings; he only pretends to but he doesn’t. If you want a bad boy who will also take your feelings into consideration, I know just the guy for you”

“Malik will beg me when I am ready. I have to go back to the hostel now. I had fun today. You made it really special for me. Thank you very much”

“Because Malik misbehaved you have to leave? I don’t have a girl with me and I will be bored alone in my room. Spend the night in the hotel.” Nwadioto looked at him suspiciously. He smiled and quickly added, “It’s not like that, just for company. I can pay for another room if it will make you comfortable”

“I wouldn’t mind. I haven’t been to this particular hotel before. To be honest, I have never lodged in any hotel in Owerri, this will be my first time”

“Let’s have fun together. Do you know some fun s₱0ts?”

“I am a bookworm. I don’t know anywhere but I have a friend who parties. I will ask her when we get to the hostel; that is if she is in”

She went back to the hostel. She changed her outfit and packed an overnight bag. Her new outfit was a short bodycon red dress with nice sandals. She asked her roommates where they could hang out in town and they gave the places she would enjoy.

On their way back to the hotel, Malik called Josh. He asked where Josh was and he told him. He said he join them at a restaurant so the girls could eat and later on, they will go to the club. Josh wasn’t interested in going to the club. Instead, he took Nwadiuto to another restaurant to eat. After the meal, they went to the hotel. He allowed her to settle down in her room.

Her intercom went off, it was Josh. He asked her if she would be interested in going to the club. She was interested; it would be her first time. Josh wasn’t interested but since she was, he agreed they would leave by 11pm. It was 8:30 pm then. She removed her clothes and dozed off.

Josh woke her up with loud knocks on the door. He told her to get ready so they would come back in good time and rest. She got dressed in her black bodycon dress and a pair of boots she came with.

At the club, Malik decided to be all over Nwadiuto. He danced with her touching her body which she hit off his hands when it was becoming too much. Then she went to sit down where she and Josh were seated. Josh was dancing with one of the girls and generally having fun.

Malik asked Nwadiuto to come outside with him since the club was very noisy. She agreed. She signalled to Josh she was going outside.

Josh wasn’t happy with Nwadiuto for dancing or even going outside with Malik. She appeared desperate. He had talked to Malik about her and Malik didn’t have any good intentions except to use and dump her. He just wanted her body. He wasn’t interested in her brilliant mind. Josh had tried to get her to understand the problem but met a brick wall. She was still attracted to Malik. He hoped she doesn’t do anything stupid.

Malik wanted to smooch Nwadiuto by the car. He came with some other girls but couldn’t resist Nwadiuto who, from her body language, was trying to sed-ce him. He tried k-ssing her but she stopped him.

“I thought you wanted to talk,” she said to him.

“Talk? I wanted us to get freaky. You know you want me as much as I want you” he replied her twitching his tongue at her in a sed-ctive way.

“You came with two babes. I heard you ask Josh why he brought me. Now you want to get freaky with me? What then happens to the girls in,side the club? You will get freaky with them later? See, Malik, I am not stupid. I want to get down with you but I won’t be disrespected in the process. I am not that type of girl. I can pay you for your time and body but, it will be when I am ready. I am not right now. Let me find Josh, I want to go back to the hotel”

“You are with him now or what?” Malik asked.

“You abandoned me to be with easy girls who were ready to do crazy stuff with you. Your friend who is also my friend decided to save your face by picking me up and lodging me in the hotel so we could have some fun. I came out partly because of you and partly because of Josh and I’m liking the Josh part.”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

“He has eyes only for my sister. He got a room for me. I am going to enjoy every bit of it”

“You turn me on. I feel like grabbing you and doing obscene things to you. I love how serious you look. Feel it” he placed her hand on his crutch. “This is what you did to me. Let’s go back to the hotel and make music”

Nwadiuto smiled. She knew she had the same effect on at least a quarter of the guys upstairs. She wasn’t interested in making any music with Malik at that time.

“I don’t like cheap things. I will pay you to have s€× with me when I am ready. I will love it to be in Abuja at the Hilton. We will have fun together but I will call the shots. Until then, run off to those two girls upstairs”

“You will pay me? What the heck are you talking about? Can you afford me?”

“How much will it cost? I want it for my graduation gift”

“You are nuts”

At that moment Josh appeared. He could see Malik wasn’t smiling. He asked if everything was ok. Nwadiuto said yes and she would like to go back to the hotel. She was ready to call a cab. Josh refused and offered to take her back.

When they got to the hotel, Josh suggested they sit by the pool and have drinks.

“What happened there?” Josh asked her.

“Nothing. Malik was being a man. He will be my graduation gift to me. He doesn’t take rejection well”

“Nwadiuto. Drop this idea of this guy. What’s so special about him?”

“What’s so special about Ada that you can’t let go”

“She is a nice lady and good company.”

‘Is that all? I was hoping to hear how much you love her”

“Love has to be reciprocated to be meaningful. When it is one-sided it is abuse to the unloved party. Ada doesn’t feel the same way I felt about her. I hoped it would change but it didn’t. I have released her from my heart knowing she will be happy where she is going”

“Where is she going?” Nwadiuto asked curiously.

“I know she has a guy that has promised to marry her. I know that’s why she travels as often as she does. She is glowing so surely he makes her happy. She had always told me what she wanted. I felt I could change her mind but I couldn’t. I’m back to the singles market”

“You know she has someone? Did she tell you?”

“No. She didn’t have to. I knew the moment she was involved with him. She changed. She was still friends with me but preferred to be on her phone. The guy has done so much for her. She is a different person. She is a lot more confident about herself and her choices. It is quite remarkable what meeting the right person can do”

“I’m amazed at you. You accepted it without a fight. Maybe you didn’t love her enough”

“Do you love Malik enough? Malik is a womanizer; he has no value for women. What’s so special about him? I feel you just going after him for a completely different reason. I don’t think it is just s€×, I suspect control. I don’t think you like men. Tell me a secret and I promise it will remain with me until death”

“You tell me a secret first”

Josh kept quiet for some time and then he said with so much seriousness, “The man I call father isn’t my biological father. I found out when I was twenty. My father is a clergyman. I have met him. He denied my mother’s pregnancy. She was a single mother when she married her husband and he adopted me. It’s crazy but I love my dad who adopted me more for what he did for us. My real father doesn’t want to have anything to do with me. He was much older and took advantage of my mother. His family isn’t aware of me and he will like to keep it that way”

“I don’t believe you. What has Ada been telling you?”

“Ada? What does Ada have to do with my story?”

“I’m going to my room, good night” and Nwadiuto stormed away while Josh called after her.

He went to her room and knocked on the door. He refused to stop knocking until she opened the door.

“What happened back there?” he asked her.

“Nothing”

“I told you my story and you called me a liar. Why would you do that?”

“I believe Ada told you something”

“Well, let me show you something”’ He opened his phone email. He pulled out a mail and showed Nwadiuto. “This is a mail from my mother appealing to me not to take my biological father’s rejection personally. Read it. I have other proof of this.”

Nwadiuto read various emails from different people talking about his paternity. She also saw a paternity test result which showed the clergy was his father and even with the proof, he refused to acknowledge him.

“Doesn’t it hurt you that he refuses to accept you as his son?”

“Not a bit. I love my parents and they have been good to me. I have all the information from his side that I need. I was unhappy for a while when he rejected me but after a while I realised; it was his loss.”

“My mother’s late husband isn’t my father” Nwadiuto announced.

“Are you for real? No, it can’t be. You talk about him like he was.”

“He is the only father I knew and I loved him. My mother had me when she was sixteen. I don’t know my father and they wouldn’t disclose who my father is to me”

“Who are they?”

“My grandmother and mother”

“And you want to know. Why now? Why do you want to know? What did they tell you?”

“They told me it was a fling my mother had with this boy that didn’t live in the village. They didn’t know where he was from or his family. I believed them before but I stopped when ….”

“When what?”

“Someone told me something” she replied slowly.

Josh was worried. This girl was troubled and her family didn’t know anything about it. She appeared strong but psychologically she wasn’t “Nwadiuto, whatever you tell me, I promise you, it will remain with me. I will advise you as best as I can. Share with me, let me be your friend and possibly guardian”

Nwadiuto sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She told him everything the woman in white told her and what her grandmother told her. She told him how she had gone looking for her father but hadn’t been successful.

“Talk to your mother. Have a heart-to-heart talk with her….”

“I can’t. She is emotional now. She would want to play the emotional card on me. I don’t want to tell them about the woman”

“Your mother doesn’t appear to me as emotional. I think she is a strong but lonely woman. She needs a man in her life”

“I know. She isn’t ready yet. She has admirers. Men flock to her but she doesn’t seem to be interested in anything except work and her sons”

“And you.”

“Well, she knows I can take care of myself. She calls me once a week so as not to disturb me. My allowance gets to me on the same day every month. She is a good mother but I want her to be happy. She isn’t”

“Talk to her about all these issues. She would listen to you and be the one to tell you what you need to know”

“I don’t want to hurt her. I will do it myself”

“Let’s do it together then. I will support you on your search but this will be after you graduate”

“Agreed. You are a good guy. You knew Ada was involved with someone else but you are alone in the hotel while your friends have two girls to each of them. Why? I hope it isn’t because of me”

“No. They are having s€×. I have had my fair share of unemotional s€× in my lifetime. It is meaningless and doesn’t appeal to me. You don’t cuddle up with a girl you just met today and agree to have s€× with you. There must be a strong connection and then by the time you get to know each other, s€× becomes just part of the equation and it is meaningful. You wouldn’t regret having done it after the deed. When my father rejected me, I went through the path you have chosen. I had s€×ual adventures. Very risky adventures with drugs, alcohol, and s€×. Luckily, I came out unscarred. I don’t want you to make the same mistake. Before I lay with a lady, I must know you well and have a s€×ual connection. I am patient because, in the end, it will be worth the wait. The s€× is amazing”

“Why do I think you trying to preach to me here?”

“I am telling you the truth out of my experience. You will regret it later. Some people are not worth the experience”

“Did Ada ever tell you she was a V-rgin?”

“No, she didn’t. I didn’t know.”

“I am not her”

“You mean you are not a V-rgin?”

“I’m not. And I am not saving it for my wedding night either. And like I said, I want an open marriage. You see why I like Malik? He womanizes and would allow me to do my men too”

“Malik doesn’t have any intentions of settling down and if he does, the woman must be a billionaire. Your family is very comfortable but still, I must tell you he dates much older women with loads of money. Your grandmother might be his target.”

They both laughed. Josh could see a different Nwadiuto this night. He could see that once she gets answers, she will be a different person. He hoped her perverted ideas will be a thing of the past. He made up his mind he would be there for her. They had similar circ-mstances and he could help save her from his experience.

The next morning, Josh and Nwadiuto had breakfast together. Then they went for a ride into Nwadiuto’s village. She showed him where she was from. Took him on a tour around her village. She took him to her compound and introduced him to uncle Obi and auntie Chinyere who she called Papa and Mama. She introduced him as the company account manager in order not to be interrogated.

Josh was impressed with all he saw. Nwadiuto showed him the locations where she org-nizes lessons for the students so they would pass their external examinations. It was so impressive. It also seemed she was very popular in the village as she was called everywhere she went. He understood her better. She was a good girl rebelling because she didn’t know what else to do. He decided to trash it out with Malik. He didn’t want them to remain in contact with each other.

He took Nwadiuto to have lunch at the hotel. He checked out of his room and moved his things into the car. He took Nwadiuto back to her hostel before he left for the airport. She had a great time with Josh. He was focused on only her which made her feel special. She hugged him and told him, “Thank you for being so wonderful. Get a girlfriend and maybe wife that will make you happy always”

“I had a wonderful time with you. There is hærdly a dull moment with you. I will try and fall in love again since Ada had dumped me” they both laughed.

When Josh arrived in Lagos, he called Nwadiuto and said to her, “I was thinking. Where did your mother grow up? That may be where the man was also staying when she got pregnant. Start from where she was living the year she got pregnant”

“That’s a good idea, I didn’t think of it. I will do as you have said. Thanks, Josh, you are an angel”

What she didn’t know was that he had deleted Malik’s number from her phone and deleted her number from Malik’s phone. This way, they would be unable to contact each other.