Three generations episode 66

TITLE: THREE GENERATIONS

WRITTEN BY: OGECHI ALABI

CHAPTER 66

Ada had her wedding in Anambra. Nwanneka spared no expense although Chief took care of the majority of the responsibility. The traditional wedding was in the village while the white wedding was in Asaba where Chief resided.

Chike’s mother couldn’t believe such an influential man’s son married Ada. She called Nwanneka a fool. “She should have gotten the boy for her daughter instead of giving him to the village girl. She doesn’t have sense after all. Who will marry her daughter now?”

Ada was a beautiful bride. She insisted Nwanneka walked her to the altar in the company of her brother. When the priest asked, “Who gives this woman out in holy matrimony” they both said, “We do”

Nwanneka was so proud of Ada. She cried tears of joy as Ada didn’t put her to shame by getting pregnant before marriage. Ada had assured her she was undefiled. This gladdened her heart. She couldn’t say the same for Nwadiuto with her wild ideologies.

Josh attended the church wedding. Nwadiuto was the chief bride’s maid. She glowed and was happy during the wedding. She performed her duties towards Ada very well and also got her special guest well attended to. She made sure he sat beside the lady she told him about so he could have pleasant company.

Nwadiuto didn’t get to spend time with Josh until late into the night. He was at the same hotel with her grandmother and her other family members (she refused to stay with Chike’s mother where Nwanneka and the boys were).

Josh lodged a floor above Nwadiuto’s floor. She reserved the room for him. She changed her Chief bride’s maid outfit into something more comfortable. She had packed some food, chilled drinks and exotic bottles of wine into a basket and took it to Josh’s room. She heard laughter in the room. Who was with him in the room? She quickly knocked and he opened up.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” he said when he saw her. He stepped aside to allow her to come in.

She entered the room and saw her friend, Chinonye, sitting on the bed very relaxed. Nwadiuto smiled. “I knew both of you will get along. I am going to be a chief bride’s maid again.”

“She is a nice girl. She was keeping me company until you come. She said she’s lodged here too, which room?”

“Room 13. I am sharing the room with someone and I haven’t seen her since. She has the key” Chinonye replied

“I brought some food and drinks. Let’s have our own party here; I have ditched my grandmother.”

They ate together and drank. They chatted for a long time. At a point, it was only Josh and Nwadiuto that were talking. When it was past midnight, Chinonye signalled to Nwadiuto to leave. Nwadiuto didn’t get the message well. Chinonye had to send her a message and called her line. Nwadiuto picked her phone and saw the message. She understood. She was excited as she would get the details the next day from Chinonye. She made her excuses to leave. Josh didn’t want her to leave but she did.

The next morning, she went for the thanksgiving service. She rushed back to the hotel to see Josh. Chinonye was no more there. Josh was having breakfast.

“Where is my friend?”

“She has gone to her room. I am leaving for Lagos soon. When are you coming back?”

“Tomorrow. We have a ritual we are performing today. I have many suitors now. My mother said many parents approached her for my hand in marriage. She has given some of them my phone number. We will take it from there”

“When will you talk to your mother about finding your father?”

“Soon”

“What’s delaying you? Get it over and done with”

“I will”

“I will see you in Lagos. If there is a problem, don’t hesitate to call me”

‘I will”

After Josh had left, Nwadiuto went in search of Chinonye. She asked her what happened after she left.

“Nothing happened. I was surprised. He asked me if I would want to take a bath, I did. He took one and wore his pyjamas. Then he offered me the bed to sleep while he laid on the couch”

‘That small couch. I begged him to lie on the bed. He finally joined me and made no attempt to touch me. I played every trick in the book for him to make a move; nothing. Within five minutes, he was snoring. This morning, he gave me N20,000 and asked me to go to my room as he would be leaving for the airport”

Nwadiuto couldn’t believe what she heard. She had found something else to taunt Josh with.

Back in Lagos, Nwadiuto was in the sitting room upstairs with her mother when her phone rang. It was Deborah. She spoke with her sister for about twenty minutes and then spoke with her mother before ending the call.

‘Who was that?” her mother asked.

“My sister”

“Was it Ada? I would have said hello to her”

“It wasn’t Ada. She is my father’s daughter”

“What are you saying Nwadiuto?”

“Chidi, my father, that’s his daughter”

‘Which Chidi? Chidi from where?” Nwanneka was beginning to panic at this point.

“The Chidi you know. The one you slept with that got you pregnant with me”

“I don’t believe it,” Nwanneka said, shaking her head.

“Ok, let me prove it.” She made a call on her phone and then said, “Good day sir. My mother is here and she would want to say hello to you” she gave the phone to Nwanneka.

With a trembling voice, she said, “Hello”

Chidi at the other end replied her. They exchanged pleasantries. Chidi then told her Nwadiuto came to visit him and his family. He mentioned how proud she must be of her daughter.

At the end of the conversation, Nwanneka threw herself on the floor. She rolled from one end of the room to the other end wailing. She had become hysterical at a point. Even Nwadiuto became scared at this point. She quickly called her grandmother while the nannies in the house helped to hold her down. Then she called uncle Onyedika to come immediately.

Uncle Onyedika asked what happened but now Nwadiuto was scared. She told him her mother received a call and became hysterical. They rushed her to the hospital. In the car, she kept saying “Nwadiuto will be the end of me. Nwadiuto has killed. Nwadiuto has destroyed the little reputation I have. Who did I offend? Who turned my daughter into my greatest enemy? Who is using her against me?”

When they got to the hospital, she was sedated. Meanwhile, Nwakaego was already on her way to Lagos. She also didn’t know what had happened. She decided to wait until she gets there without working herself up.

Nwanneka woke up very late into the night. Nwakaego had arrived and sent Onyedika and Uloma home. She said she could manage with Nwadiuto but Onyedika refused to go home. He had a strong feeling there was more to what he was told. He sent Uloma home instead and promised to come soon.

Eventually, Nwakaego asked Nwanneka what happened.

“Ask Nwadiuto what she has done. My secret has been exposed, mma”

“What secret?” Nwakaego asked, “Stop speaking in parables. What happened Nwadiuto?”

“My sister Deborah called me and I answered the call. My mother asked me who she was and I said, my sister”

“Which of your sisters is Deborah? Do you have a sister?” uncle Onyedika asked looking confused.

“Yes, I do. My father’s daughter is Deborah”

Nwakaego threw her hands in the air and they landed on her head. She didn’t know what to say. Onyedika wasn’t supposed to hear this; Nwanneka didn’t handle the revelation well.

“You found your father? How come? Your mother didn’t remember anything about him so how could you have found him” uncle Onyedika probed further.

“I found him. She (pointing to her mother) spoke with him on phone and that was when she went crazy”

Onyedika could see there was more to this. The two women weren’t speaking. He asked them both, “What is going on here? Who is this person she is talking about or it a mistake?”

There was no response from the two women. Nwanneka was just crying. Her head was banging from excessive crying and wailing but she couldn’t stop herself. Today was the worst day of her life. Nwadiuto had exposed her to the world.

Onyedika became angry. “Since both of you don’t want to talk then I will listen to Nwadiuto. Tell me everything from the beginning”

Nwadiuto narrated how she found her father to them. She omitted the part of the woman in a white garment and the prayer he did for her. They didn’t need to know everything at that time.

“So, it is true. Your co-wives accused Nwanneka of having a child through an incestuous relationsh¡p and you denied it vehemently. I had the same suspicion and knew the implications but mama Nwanneka, you told me it was not and I believed you. Why didn’t you come out clean and allow them to cleanse the land in the right way? What you have done will put this child’s life in danger. You complained so much about her behaviour meanwhile you are the reason she is like that. Now, let me ask an important question, does he know Nwadiuto is his daughter?”

“We didn’t tell him. I don’t know if she told him” Nwakaego finally answered.

Onyedika turned to Nwadiuto and she said, “I didn’t tell him either. I am not the one to tell him. They should tell him. Telling him has its repercussions. He has a family and their lives will be ruined”

“What are you saying? He had s€× with a maiden who was underaged. Your mother was young and didn’t know better. He was older and took advantage”

“He was also young. He didn’t know better too”

“Whose side are you on?”

“I don’t want anyone’s life ruined due to this revelation. It was the lies that made me go searching. If you loved me at all, you should have told me the truth and I would have kept the secret. If you want to tell him, please do but do not expose it.”

“He is not important for now. Mama Nwanneka, we need to cleanse the land because of this abomination. How do we do it now without rousing suspicion?”

“We cleansed the land when it was exposed Nwanneka had a child out of wedlock. I made sure it was done probably. The two of them were absent though”

‘That’s not cleansing. He needs to be told so both of you can properly cleanse the land”

“It will expose everything,” Nwanneka said in an outcry.

“We won’t decide this here. I will ask them to discharge you and we will all go home. Please do not mention anything at all to my wife about this.; look for something to tell her biko. It will remain within us until we decide what we are going to do”

They all went back to Nwanneka’s house who was still crying. Nwakaego was so disappointed with Nwadiuto that she could strangle her at that point. She had all these emotions building up in her. She asked herself questions such as “What did I do wrong with the child?” “Why did she decide to bring me down in my old age?” “Didn’t I train her well?” “Why couldn’t she confide in me when she found out?”

Uncle Onyedika dropped them off at home. He asked them to pray over the situation and he will see them tomorrow to discuss the way forward. He called Nwakaego aside and said to her, “That child is hurting. I know you are angry right now but don’t take it out on her. You need to calm down and talk to her. Allow her to tell you how she feels. All you and Nwanneka’s complaints about her were just because she didn’t feel complete. You will notice a difference in her now she knows her father. She is even communicating with the man’s children. She is smarter than we ever gave her credit for. As I said, talk to her without scolding her. Even apologise to her for hiding such information from her. May God guide us. I don’t even know what to do”

Nwakaego called Nwanneka and Nwadiuto at about 1am to a meeting in her room. She knew she had to handle this issue maturely otherwise she would lose Nwadiuto and she wasn’t willing to lose her. She had to understand and this was the time to get it done.

“Nwadiuto, we lied to you. Your mother was very young when Chidi molested her and she conceived from the act. She didn’t even know she was pregnant, I had to take her from school to the hospital and found out she was. She confessed to me who was responsible and I knew our lives had taken a different path. Nne, who would want her daughter disgraced and the family treated like an outcast because of an unholy action? She was my only child and I lived for her and then for both of you when you came into the picture. Why couldn’t you confide in me or your mother? How did you find out about Chidi? My dear, don’t hide anything from us, everything is out in the open”

Nwadiuto had never heard her grandmother talk like this before. She was sounding like a broken and defeated woman. She didn’t like the turn everything had taken. Even her mother hadn’t stopped crying. The usually composed Nwanneka was in shreds. This was not what she envisaged. She expected arguments and denials and she proves them wrong. Now, she felt bad. She decided to tell them everything including how she felt.

She told them about the woman she met at the market. She explained what she said about her father and how he had to pray for her so her destiny can be bright. She didn’t believe it at first until she asked her grandmother and when she saw her reaction, she realized it was true. The woman was right. She knew they wouldn’t co-operate and might not believe her story so she went looking for him herself and found him.

“How did you find him?”

“A friend suggested I should check where you grew up at the time you got pregnant; it will give me a clue. I found out it was grandmother village. I went there and introduced myself to my grandmother’s half-brother. He took me from compound to compound. When I got to my father’s compound, we met a woman there. Your brother called her Mama Chidi and then I knew. She told me how close you were with my father before you were whisked away. I knew he was the one”

“And you went in search of him instead of confronting us?”

“Since I found him, I had to complete the assignment. He had to pray for me. I couldn’t wait for both of you to play around with my destiny. I knew what was at stake. He is a lecturer at UNN. His mother gave me his phone number. I met him and his family. I asked him to pray for me and he did”

“Wait. He didn’t ask you why you came to see him? What did you tell him?” Nwanneka asked her.

“I told him I was your daughter. I saw his mother in the village and she gave me his number that he was very close to my mother. I was in Nsukka and decided to check on him. We talked about you. He had fond memories of both of you. He talked about you, grandmother; his wife was also a beneficiary of your benevolence. They have three children who I met. We talked and exchanged numbers. When I was leaving, I asked him to pray for me as instructed, he did it without asking too many questions. My siblings and I look alike with our eyes and eyebrow. I have his complexion.”

“So, you didn’t tell him.” Nwanneka turned to her and asked, “What do we do now?”

“Tell Nwadiuto how it happened first. Let her understand he took advantage of you”

“Mma, that is not important now. Now I know I encouraged the rubbish. I enjoyed k-ssing him and allowing him to touch my body. I should have stopped him knowing it was wrong………”

‘What are you saying Nwanneka, you were young. Why would he k-ss you and touch your body knowing you will like it? He prepared you for the ultimate price.”

“Yea mma, he wanted to be the first and told me no one would love me like him. He was obsessed with me. I regret not telling you when it started. Please forgive me. I blame myself every day but I realized something wonderful came out of it.” She faced her daughter, “You felt I hated you, I did not. I didn’t want you making the same mistakes I made. I didn’t want you getting spoilt and ruining your life like I almost did mine. My mother loved you more than she loved me, no mma, I know. She was the child you always wanted for your Anozie. I am not blaming you. You helped me give her life balance. I knew this day will come. I knew my sins will haunt me. Lives will be ruined because of this. Wouldn’t it have been better we did this when we were still young? Everything would have calmed down by now. I am tired. I love you, Nwadiuto. If walking around the village stack unclad will give you peace, I am ready to do it”

“God forbid!” Nwakaego scre-med. “You will never walk around the village unclad. I won’t allow it”

“We have to do something. We have to make sure she has peace. I will lay down my life if it will make my daughter have peace” Nwanneka said in tears.

Nwadiuto and Nwakaego joined her in crying. This was hurting more than Nwadiuto imagined. Why would her mother die for her? What will happen to her brothers? She had been a good mother looking out for her. She sent her son, Chindidu, to a Catholic boarding too as she did for her. Her favourite child was her last son and it was understandable, he was born the day Chike was buried. She attended to all Nwadiuto’s needs even though they were not so close and it was Nwadiuto’s fault.

They consoled each other and then held hands to pray to God for divine direction. After the prayer, they all retired to bed. Nwadiuto could still hear her grandmother in prayers. She went into her room heartbroken from seeing the two very strong women in her life cry hopelessly. It was 3am in the morning and she needed to talk to someone. It was early in the morning which meant she would be waking him up. She decided to try and if he doesn’t pick, she would let it be until morning.

The phone rang five times and when she was about to disconnect the call, he picked up and said, “Hello. Are you ok?”

“I am not” and she started crying again. She couldn’t say anything in between the cry.

“Take your time, I am here. When you are ready, you can tell me everything”

It took her some time to gather herself together. Then she told Josh everything that happened that day. He listened without interruption. She poured out her heart. Finally, she said, “I didn’t know it would bring this much pain. My mother is ready to die for me to have peace. I didn’t realise how deep this was”

“You have opened an old wound which didn’t heal; it was getting rotten in,side and would have led to the amputation of the leg. All this will pass. I think he should be told. Let your uncle do the job of finding out a solution that will not blow this out of proportion. You are getting what you wanted. It seems like a rocky road but soon you will be on the tarred road”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Should I sing to you?” They both laughed.

“I want to talk about something else completely. I want to take my mind off this”

“Fine. What do you want to talk about?”

“My friend in Asaba”

“What happened to her?”

“How is it going?”

“How is what going?”

“The relationsh¡p”

“Let’s talk about something else. No relationsh¡p”

“Both of you looked good together. She slept in your room. Did you dump her after that?”

“What happened in Asaba stays in Asaba”

“Are you for real?”

“Yes. We are two adults. Why do we have to discuss our personal matter with you?”

“But you talk so much about my intentions with Malik so why can’t we talk about your love affair”

‘Two topics I don’t want to talk about”

“Didn’t you like her?”

“Let’s talk about work and your toasters. I heard, from the grapevine, that different men come looking for you in the office. I was told you are not in short supply of male admirers.”

“Yeah. Most of them aren’t serious. Some want to meet my mother. I get free lunch and sometimes dinner. I have had so many dates I have lost count. I told you about some of them until it became boring”

“The hottest chic in town”

“I am not. If I wear a skirt and a shirt or blouse and tuck in, that’s where I have looked for trouble. Even your married friend was trying to ask me out until I told him I don’t date married me”

“He told me “she politely washed him”. You asked him to take his wife out on a date and imagine your body when he is making love to her. You are mad”

“What did you want me to say? Since my body is driving him crazy. Let us craze together”

“Choose one guy and date”

“I am not ready yet. I have to have a crazy s€×ual experience then I can date.”

“You have never had one?”

“Men are selfish; they only want to please themselves. Malik satisfies women for a living. You see the difference?”

“Stop generalizing, not all men are selfish. You can teach your man to please you. You can take control of what happens to your body. Women use that as an excuse but it’s wrong. Communication is what will make the man realise what he is doing wrong and directing him will help him please you. But it has to be reciprocated.”

“Tell me more. Did Chinonye communicate with you on how she wants to be……”

“I’m not telling you anything about Chinonye; I don’t k-ss and tell. I think we should drop this topic. It is getting too personal”

”You don’t like discussing very personal things with me except to warn me off Malik. What did you discuss with Ada when both of you were close?”

“Ada talks about everything under the sun but she had no s€×ual experience except smooching so we didn’t have much to talk about in that field”

“I have much to talk about?

“Does that mean you want to have s€× with me?”

“No. That’s not what I am saying”

‘So, since we have sorted that out, we shouldn’t discuss a topic that will ar-use one of us when there are no intentions of fulfilling the desire. Especially since we spend time together. When you have a steady boyfriend and I have a steady girlfriend only then can we compare notes knowing once ar-used there is someone to help satisfy you? Agreed?”

“You are so old school.”

“I’m so responsible and respectful of you. The night we spent in Enugu, if I had come to your bed and made s€×ual advances at you, would you have picked up your phone to call me in the middle of the night when you felt hurt? I can stay in the same room with you and maintain boundaries because I respect you and I respect myself. It is not a very attractive trait to most young ladies but I choose to be who I am”

Nwadiuto was quiet for some time. She took in what he said. If her father had respected not just her mother but also his benefactor, her grandmother, and set boundaries, they wouldn’t be where they were today. Her mother was an impressionable young girl who was constantly bullied because of her body structure which showed she bloomed too early. Her mother had low self-esteem. He capitalized on that. He should have acted responsibly. It wasn’t her mother’s fault.

“Are you still there?” Josh asked.

“Yeah. You only had eyes for Ada,” she teased him.

“She is happily married now. I hope she likes Asaba”

“Very much. She joined her father-in-law’s business as a director. I was shocked when she told me. Chief loves her. She is living her best life. Her husband ‘found her at home’ told his father and he bought a car for her mother. I was speechless when I heard it. Who treasures V-rginity in this day and time? Is it important to you?”

“No, it is not. I am not a V-rgin and I don’t expect her to be. But if she is, no problem at all. I will teach her; we will explore together”

“Lucky girl”

“When I find her. Baby girl, it is 4am in morning. Let me catch some sleep. Hope you feel better”

“I do. Thank you for always being there for me. I don’t take it for granted. You always find a way to make me feel better. You are like the brother I never had. I love you”

Josh was silent. This came from the depths of her heart. He felt it. “I love you too. Go to bed, let me know what you all decide. Take care. Bye”

“Bye”

Josh couldn’t sleep. Nwadiuto said she loved him. He knew there were no rom-ntic overtures but it made him feel special and even closer to her. He loved her. He loved the woman she was becoming. He realized this was the best time this was exposed. She will find peace in the end. He will be with her until then.

The next day, uncle Onyedika came around in the afternoon. Mama Nwanneka made his favourite soup for him with pounded yam. He enjoyed eating it before settling down to their discussion.

“I spent all night and today looking for a solution to this problem. I was told Chidi has to be informed. We will then visit the chief priest of your village and discuss how this can be settled quietly. The first step will be to tell Chidi and get him to keep it quiet. Also, we might have to carry Obi along”

“Chinyere will get to know. I don’t want that”

“All of us involved will be sworn to secrecy before we divulge any information. How many people know apart from us?”

“I haven’t told anyone since we found out yesterday. We should ask Nwadiuto” they all turned to her.

“A friend of mine knows”

“Ah, which friend? How can you tell this to anyone?” Nwanneka asked

“He is also a child born out of wedlock like me who found his father. His father still rejected him; he didn’t want his family to know. He understood what I was going through. He was the one who suggested I should find out where you grew up. You know him mother”

“Who is he?”

“Josh, the branch manager of the bank you use. The one that was close to Ada.”

“I know him; but why was he helping you? Why would you tell him? What relationsh¡p do you have with him?”

“We are friends. He relates to my struggle and is trying to make me a better person. I don’t want you going after him. He asked me to tell you but I refused to. He has helped me with my sanity since all this happened”

“Anyone else?” Onyedika asked.

“No one”

“Can he be trusted? Would we have to get him to swear to secrecy?”

“If he didn’t betray me by telling my mother, he won’t tell anybody”

“What is your relationsh¡p with him? You know when love goes sour, people can be vengeful” Nwakaego asked.

“There is no relationsh¡p strictly friendsh¡p. He doesn’t see me in that light. He respects me and maintains boundaries. He is a good guy”

“This one you are talking like this; I hope you have not fallen for him o.”

“Mama, he is my friend”

They agreed to inform Chidi with immediate effect. They would travel at the weekend to the village. They would invite Chidi home and then tell him. Once he knows, the chief priest will swear everyone to secrecy before putting the plan into action.

“Should I stop talking to them?” Nwadiutio asked.

“Don’t stop, act normal”