Chapter 21: Chapter 21

After successfully convincing or rather lying to little Gift she was going to throw all their clothes, Gift had suggested in a no nonsense voice to "burn it." Can you imagine the nerve of the little girl?

That was not all. Imagine Gift's face when Uyai had worn one of her skirts and folded them twice on her waist. Uyia feared the girl would throw up with all the disgusting sounds she made that irked the hell out of Uyai.

Right now, Gift was teaching her how to prepare scrambled eggs.

"I like it that way." she had said.

Uyai didn't even understand what in the world scrambled egg was, what was so special about scrambled egg when she could just boil it. She especially loved the yoke of the egg. She'd always preserved the best for the last.

"No! Just a little oil." Gift yelled when Uyai almost emptied a bottle of vegetable oil into the frying pan.

Uyai huffed. Already it had taken her some minutes to learn how to use the gas cooker. All thanks to Gift, who was as she said very familiar with the kitchen.

"Is this okay?" Uyai turned tiredly to Gift who was carefully monitoring her like an invigilator.

"Almost. Now stir it and make it scramble." She ordered.

Uyai looked away and did as she was told. When she had successfully made it scrambled, she turned to seek Gift's appraisal.

"That's okay." Gift said. Uyai heaved a relieved sigh.

It seemed Gift was done with her as she walked to Affiong who was trying to prepare noodles. It seemed sister was struggling with the cooking telling from her sighs of frustration.

"Have you ever cooked in your life before?"

Gift queried her sister curiously as she tiptoed to scrutinize the noodles which had been drowned in a sea of water.

Now it was Uyai's turn to snicker.

"Of course I have! I am not familiar with this-this thing." she puffed out a breath while taking a slim curly noodle with the fork she held.

"Where have you been all your life? Did you live in a cave?" Gift rose a disbelieving eyebrow.

Affiong scowled at the annoying little girl.

"Yes so...?" Affiong raised one daring eyebrow.

"Really? Then you have a lot to learn. I can't be bothered to teach you right now. I have an appointment. Just get rid of the noodles. I'll make do with some corn flakes." she spoke haughtily.

Affiong blinked in confusion. What appointment?

"You have an appointment? With whom?" Uyai's curious voice queried just as the little girl took out a carton of cornflakes.

"With the television. I have an important show I dare not miss." she said pouring out some into a small ceramic bowl. "pass me the milk." she motioned to the carton of condensed milk.

"I don't understand." Uyai frowned absentmindedly taking a spoon full of the scrambled egg.

"Let me taste small." Affiong walked to where Uyai stood. Her stomach growled loudly as she neared the plate of scrambled eggs.

Uyai and Gift shared a look. She'd almost forgotten that her sister was pregnant and so needed to feed for two. Weirdly she had not thrown up or shown any pregnancy signs. Even the voracious appetite was absent....

Wait... Actually she'll take back what she said. Affiong was eating the eggs like no tomorrow. Even Gift who was in the process of eating the cornflakes perched on her spoon had paused in mid air with her mouth agape staring wide eyed at her ravenous sister.

Uyai cleared her throat and shifted slightly on her feet.

"It's nice." Affiong moaned in between mouthfuls of the scrambled egg.

"Err...do you need milk?" Gift asked slowly pushing the carton of milk towards Affiong who greedily grabbed it and drank it straight from the carton.

"Thank you." she licked her lips and dropped the carton with a slight thud on the island. The residue of the milk had created a moustache on her upper lip

"You're welcome. Aunty do you think the baby had gotten enough?" she directed the question to Affiong who stilled at the sudden question, as if just realising that she was pregnant.

Affiong fidgeted, her hand going to her stomach.

How did the little girl know?

"Err..."

"Yes. I think the baby has gotten enough." Uyai interjected seeing that Affiong was uncomfortable with the question.

"Okay. And next time don't do that. Don't drink straight from the carton when it's not yours. Its disgusting. " she said softly and resumed eating the forgotten cornflakes.

It was at that moment Affiong belched loudly.

"Sorry." she squeaked.

Uyai and Gift shared a disgusted look.

The soft sound of footsteps drew their attention to the kitchen entrance. The beautiful maid who looked more like Affiong than Uyai with their curves which were decently hidden in the medium length skirt and blouse, her fair complexion taking away the attention from the too modest dress. She stood there with a broom and a polythene bag in one hand and a dust pan in the other. Her brows were narrowed in shock or was it confusion as she examined the kitchen which seemed to be in a state of disarray with the empty packets of noodles littering the tiled floor, some parts of the egg shells having escape the counter to the floor. A few dirty footprints marred half of the tiled floor. Overall it was a mess.

"What is going on here?" The maid queried. Her accent immaculate. In fact it was really easy to doubt she was a maid.

"I-I... W-We..." Uyai began

"They were trying to cook but failing miserably." Gift interjected with a low tone.

Uyai furtively shot her a glare. The girl only shrugged and continued eating.

"Did you have to make a mess of things?" she glared at them both. Then with a hiss, she muttered. "Village girls."

Mortified, Uyai grimaced and bowed her head.

"Now can you clear this place?" she ordered rudely.

"Who..." Angrily Affiong began to retort a protest. Uyai shot her a look that immediately quieted her.

"I'm done. Aunty Glory I thought you had the day off." Gift drew away from the counter after placing the now empty plate into the sink.

Looking at the maid, she cocked her head to the side and folded her arms

"I do, there's something I have to do." The maid which she called Aunty Glory pushed back an imaginary stray hair making it look like she was cleaning sweat from her face.

"Ok, but don't finish the vegetable oil o. Grandma said she wants to use it to cook moi moi(bean cake)."

"Eh... What do you mean?" her eyebrows rose in suspicion while she looked at the little girl looking all so innocent meanwhile her mischievous nature lurked in the corner waiting for any wrong word. Glory suspected the girl knew something she wasn't supposed to.

"I always see you take rice, oil, crayfish, maggi and onions from the kitchen store and put in that bag you're holding right now." Gift pointed to the black polythene bag clutched in the maid’s hands. It was that moment Uyai noticed that the maid's eyes were rounded in disbelief and Uyai wondered why. Did she do something she wasn't supposed to?

Uyai was curious.

"So I'm telling you not to finish the oil, I want to eat moi moi and grandma said she needs oil to do so." she finished shrugging innocently.

"You're really funny." Glory chuckled or more like forced one.

This mischievous little brat. How did she find out?

"Err.... Does your grandma know?" she asked nervously.

"No... I doubt. Maybe, I don't know. Why? Isn't she supposed to know?" Gift narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Let's hope she doesn't then." she muttered underneath her breath thinking no one did. They probably didn't, but Uyai did. She was gifted in that aspect.

"Ehen Gift your favorite show is on. Go now before you miss it." she sidetracked the little girl, knowing she wouldn't want to miss her favorite show.

"Really? I can't miss it." she rushed out with rounded eyes and quickly ran out of the kitchen.

That must be her television appointment, Uyai thought washing the girl's pigtails bounce until it was out of sight.

Now back to Glory the maid. She was avoiding their eyes as she moved to the smaller door in the kitchen Uyai suspected led to the store still with the bag in hand.

What Uyai wanted to know was why she was behaving guiltily.

She met Affiong's eyes to gauge her thoughts. Her sister only shrugged nonchalantly. Uyai sighed and bent to carry the empty packets of noodles when her stomach growled loudly.

The maid came out a few minutes later with the polythene bag filled to the brim. Uyai could spot some grains of rice. She strolled towards where Affiong stood and raised her hand to the locker above Affiong's head. Uyai curiously watched as she took some onions and redrew her hand only to put it into the already filled bag.

Whatever the maid was doing with all those foodstuffs was a bit questioning but Uyai couldn't be too bothered. She would mind her business.

The maid turned away from them and walked out of the kitchen without a backward glance. Uyai ignored the strangeness and continued to clean up the kitchen.

***

Twenty minutes later, Uyai and Affiong found themselves in the living room facing Mr and Mrs Ekpenyong while the probe them with questions they were unprepared for.

Gift sat in silence at the other end of the settee, her eye glued to the TV. Uyai wondered what programme it was that was so captivating.

"Your grandmother told me everything." she said and then paused making sure to grasp their attention, she then continued "Seeing as your mother was kind to us, I want to return the favour by taking care of you girls." Mr. Ekpenyong said kindly, this time around he wore a thin glass that was perched on his nose. His wife sat with him with crossed leg while she played with his hands. They looked so couplely, if there was a word like that.

"Affiong your grandmother said you are pregnant. How far gone are you?" he asked looking at her sister who was squirming and fiddling with her thumb, her lower lip was in between her teeth. Signs that she was nervous.

"I-I am not certain but I t-think it's a month." she answered lowly.

"Ok... hence you'll need to be going for prenatal. You understand you need to take care of yourself 'cause you know there's another life inside you. Uyai its your job to make sure she eats healthy for both herself and the baby." Mrs. Ekpenyong said, her eyes straying to her granddaughter who she had mothered. She remembered her first and only daughter who she had lost together with her son in-law in a motor accident.

Her eyes glazed over while she reminisced the painful memories.

"Ok Aunty." Uyai nodded.

"That reminds me. Gift had mentioned you girls need clothes. Is that right?" She looked to both of them.

Gift upon hearing her name, her eyes had shifted slightly from the TV to look at her grandma.

"No... We have some clothes we can manage." Uyai chuckled nervously.

"No you don't." Gift interjected heatedly. She had moved away from the TV and had come to stand beside her grandfather. "Grandma what they have is an apology. You can't mistake that for clothes. They look more like rags." she said adamantly.

"Is that so?" Mr. Ekpenyong smile amused drawing her into his embrace as he ruffled her hair.

"Yes Grandpa. Look at the ones they have on. Can you really classify those as clothes?" she made a disgusting sound much to Mr. and Mrs. Ekpenyong's amusement.

"I haven't seen anything wrong with them Gift. They look decent enough." Mr. Ekpenyong told Gift as he examined the dull clothes which looked quite big on Uyia but to him decent enough

"Gift is right." Mrs. Ekpenyong said as she critically scrutinized their appearance, she tsk-tsked and shook her head.

"Yes I am. Grandma do you know that aunty Uyai folded her skirts twice on her waist for it to fit?" she pointed an accusingly fingers to Uyai who squirmed in discomfort.

Mr. Ekpenyong coughed or probably hid a laugh.

Affiong snickered.

Uyai grimaced.

"Really? Is that how small you are?"

She asked. Uyai didn't know whether to answer or not.

So she shook her head in denial and nodded again. Was she agreeing or denying? She was confused.

"Grandma her entire wardrobe is malfunctioned. It needs to be changed."

"I totally agree." Mrs. Ekpenyong nodded in agreement as if in deep thought.

"Me too." Her husband spoke up, finding the whole situation amusing. His granddaughter was indeed a character.

"So it has been agreed then. Tomorrow we'll go shopping for new clothes for Uyai and Affiong." she clapped.

"Gift you need some shoes too, you're growing too much." she playfully glared at her granddaughter.

"Of course grandma. I have to be tall to be a model." Gift smirked.

"You're watching too much of that programme." she smiled lovingly at her granddaughter.

"Thank you Aunty and Uncle." Uyai and Affiong greeted.

"You're welcome dear. That reminds me. Are you done with secondary school?" she asked both of them.

"Yes." They nodded.

"That's wonderful. Your parents really trained you girls well. I noticed you don't have the accent that normal villagers do and your English is quite good. Definitely something I didn't expect. Husband did you?"

"No. Certainly not. Your parents must have brought you up well." he smiled.

Uyai and Affiong returned it.

Meanwhile internally, Uyai was doing all sort of acrobatics. She was going shopping. It felt surreal. Who were this couple? They were indeed too good to be true and definitely heaven sent.

She was also thanking Gift for finding their clothes so appalling she'd reported to her grandparents who couldn't resist her sweetness.