Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Ada's face held anger in its pointed glare. She challenged him in silence to dare touch me. I was used to that look, she used it when we were growing up to be in her protective state.

"It's fine, let us go," I said. I brushed past her, rolling my box behind me.

I played music to fill the silence in the car as we drove home. Ada was more interested in looking out the window.

"Are you okay? " I asked, throwing her a quick glance.

She nodded with a smile. "It just feels somehow. It's like the end of a life."

I smiled. Understanding her more than anyone else would. "We will be fine," I said. It was what I wanted myself to believe.

Ife helped us carry in the large picture frames when we reached the house. One broke from the way we piled them on the back seat.

"Nene, these things are disturbing," Ada said once we were settled inside.

"Because they came from Mathew's place ?"

"No. Are they not your pictures? What is disturbing is that he displayed them like he was worshipping you. "

"You have mentioned that before, " I said, yawning. It felt like he was worshipping me. I enjoyed it in the past but now, I know it meant little to him.

" I feel the need to mention it again. I don't know why you left that clock in his room but I broke it," Ada continued.

"You did? "I asked, sitting up.

"Oh yes, I broke it, I shattered it." She said , grinding her feet on the floor in demonstration .

It was still morning after we returned from Mathew's place . I stretched out my leg on the couch, closing my eyes. I called Aku to tell her I will not be coming to work . She said Tunde asked of me and I wondered why he did not call.

"I didn't actually bargain for all these dramas when I was coming here," Ada said .

I sat up on the couch probing my cheeks with my hands, looking at her tiredly.

"I actually wanted to spend some time with you. I will be traveling out next month."

"What do you mean, traveling out? " I asked, now staring at her wide eyed.

"Manchester. Work. A few calls my boss made, secured me a job in a hospital over there."

I nodded, reality settling heavily on me. I was no kid, I knew that whenever work drove them out, they hardly or did not ever return. My mother travelled out because of work and she never came back. It was a greener pasture, it harboured more opportunities than our country.

"The pay is better, "she said, "you know with time you can join me. Your sewing is a lot of money over there."

I nodded again, with my cheeks in my hands and staring into space.

"We'll umm_ keep in touch. If you ever see a guy you like, you send me the picture first so we can vet him," she said, laughing.

I laughed with her also. Even though we laughed, her speech still had a goodbye tone.

"This country is going to be so empty without you, " I said.

She laughed. "Idiot, with all these people swarming around. " She rose to her feet. "and Tunde" she wriggled her waist to the way she pronounced the name.

I laughed. "He's actually my neighbor at work. "

"Oh yeah? I'm sure. He invited you to Church on Sunday. Hope he invited all his neighbours also? "

"whaaaaat ?" I asked, covering my mouth as I laughed.

"Which one is, what? I saw the address he sent you that morning. You now returned from church and was smiling and laughing to even your phone hitting the ground, almost ready to dance to a knock at the door. "

I covered my face, feigning embarrassment. "Ada please leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving you. You don't know if he wants to win your soul for Christ and you are getting excited like a child. "

Ada continued with her admonishment and taunting and the next thing she was asking for Tunde's picture so she could 'vet' him by asking people about him or checking him up on social media .

The day Ada left, I also packed two of my boxes. I felt I needed a different kind of air, different kind of faces, a different environment entirely. Ada's coming had made me see the need to be around family and loved ones.

She joined me to go to my work place. She kept nudging me, asking for Tunde's office as we walked in. Aku did not like the idea of my break. She felt the work would be too much on her in my absence.

"How will I be selling kwanu?" She complained, "Customers will stop coming and Brother won't stop asking for you. "

Ada laughed at her last statement. I eyed the both of them then addressed Aku.

"Those clothes I packaged, when you are done delivering them, You can keep coming to sell the others on display or you can lock up this place," I said, not sharing in their amusement.

"Where is Tunde's office ?" Ada started again as we went down stairs .

Seeing his closed door, I pointed at it knowing he was not around. Ada was disappointed as she said, "Maybe next time. "

I drove her to a park where she got a ticket for a bus going to port harcourt. When her bus was about leaving, she hurriedly came down and hugged me.

"Keep in touch," she said.

I hugged her back. "Don't make me cry."

I waited till her bus left the park then I started my own journey to Owerri.

Coming into Owerri, I could not fail to notice the flowers used to beautify the road sides. They stood out, welcoming me in their essence.

Auntie Maimah's compound was a very large one. They had repainted the gate to brown, the boys quarter was painted cream with the main building which was a two storey building. The gate man, Oga Christopher, who had stayed with them for as long as I can remember, ran to the car after closing the gate.

I was in primary school when he got married, we all went for the wedding in a community primary school where they had set canopies outside and the rain also came uninvited.

"Nene!" he exclaimed, "Chai see how big you are now."

I laughed at his usual remark then we engaged in a side hug. He carried a box while I pulled the second one .

"How is family?" I asked him.

"We are kicking. Nedu will be writing JAMB this year," he said, full of smiles. Chinedu was his first son.

"Oh," I said. "That's good news really. He's a big boy now."

He nodded, proudly beaming with smiles.

"My own lady," I heard as we reached the door.

Auntie Maimah was standing there with a young girl that looked the same age bracket as Aku - sixteen or seventeen. I walked faster into her waiting arms. She had always been smallish in nature so I bent a little to hug her.

"Nwam n'eri kwanu nri, inugo?. Be eating." she said using her hands to measure my waist.

I laughed. "I eat o. It's just work. Work steals all I eat."

"Work eh kwa, because of work you will now be looking smaller than this one here," She said looking at the girl beside her that I was actually older and fatter than. It was then the girl had a chance to greet and say,

"Welcome ma." I nodded in reply.

"Oya carry her things to that room I always say is Lady's room," Auntie told her.

She immediately carried one of the boxes and went inside.

"Auntie, who is she? " I asked once she had gone inside.

"Someone I brought to be helping me. Your cousins have left me to be alone. Your uncle has been parading from India to Canada based on business," she said like someone that was being maltreated.

The young girl came out again for the second box. "Nne, what is your name? " I asked.

"Michelle," she replied and waited for another question but I just nodded then she continued what she was doing.

"You are treating her well," I remarked, noting the girl's small chiffon gown.

Auntie laughed. "She's my daughter. "

I nodded. It was in her nature to accept people and make them family just like she did with  Ada and I.

"Ewo! " she screamed suddenly. "Come, I left a young man waiting."

I hurried in with her and she asked half way into the parlour, "Do you remember Ike?"

"No, " I replied, shaking my head.

"You were little though, so little," she said.

By then we were at the parlour. A young man stood on seeing us. Immediately I saw his face, I could not help or conceal the shock on my face even when he approached and said,

"My Lady. "