The triumph of the water lily


Turbulent Weather for Nkem



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Turbulent Weather for Nkem

The morning of Laide's wedding was cool and rather wet, it had


rained the night before and everywhere was awash with rain.

However the sky was clear, and before mid-day, the sun had come out


purposefully and thus creating a benign and most appropriate weather
for a wedding.

Yele and I had on an identical Aso Oke Buba and Iro attire. It was


both striking and beautiful. The outfit had caught our attention during
a visit we paid to the ancient city of Oyo, during our Youth Corps year.
Yele had a second Aso oke attire and wanted Wanita to try it on.

Wanita did, but didn't feel comfortable in it. She found the material


much too thick and cumbersome and so settled for an elegant Senegalese
outfit, sown in a light tourqoise-lace material. She then swathed her hair
(in turban style) in a sheer white, soft, cotton material.

We set out for the University of lbadan Central Mosque, where the


ceremony was to be held, well before time. Since we were in such good
time, Yele suggested that we went over to Laide's family home at the
Moore Plantation, to deposit the souvenir all three of us had pooled our
resources together to buy and distribute to the wedding guests. It was our
personal contribution to the occasion.

The gifts, which had lovely engravings of congratulatory messages to


Laide and Dale, were plastic fans, cups, plates and lots and lots of ball
point pens. Yele had the engravings done at her work place and the effect
so created had been beautiful.

Laide's newly built family home was situated in a sub-urban area at


the Moore Plantation. The house stood in the middle of a large compound,
which had been swept clean for the occasion. Several canopies stood in
various positions in the compound with neat rows of newly varnished
steel chairs beneath them.

We left the carton loads of souvenirs in the care of Laide's great-aunt,


who appeared to be in control of most of the arrangements going on at the
house. We then set out for the mosque. The place was filling up fast with
guests when we arrived and Yele had a bit of a problem finding a parking

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space for her Land Cruiser. She finally squeezed it into a convenient
spot; we then hurried off into the mosque. We found we had to take off
our footwear and left them on a rack provided for the purpose, because
the mosque was sacred ground. There were ample provisions made for
devout Moslems, who wanted to perform ablution rites before going into
the mosque. Several guests were at the row of taps, performing these
rites, just outside the mosque.

Laide's youngest brother, who was one of the 'Masters of Ceremony',


walked up to us with copies of the programme and then ushered us to our
seats. The comfortable seats we were ushered to, gave us vantage view
of the raised dais on which the ceremony was to take place.

Laide's mother had arrived and was flanked on either side by her two


sisters: Alhaja Taiwo and Kehinde; the two were twins and were much
younger than Laide's mother.

Laide's mother was a serene woman, fondly referred to as "Sister


Ejire" by her two younger ones and by friends and relatives alike. She
was a highly respected woman in the lbadan community and wore the
mantle of success and respect with remarkable dignity. She had been
conferred with the same chieftancy title as her late husband and was one
of the few truly successful female industrialists in lbadan.

On this day, she was attired in the same rich traditional Yoruba attire


called 'Sanyo' as were her two equally dynamic younger sisters. The
attire looked becoming on the three women and revealed careful artistry
and superb craftmanship. Their Buba and Iro attire went remarkably
well with their fine filigree silver jewellery. Their graceful apparels were
completed with beautiful low heeled, black, leather, court shoes, which
they slipped on afterwards.

The modest, but tasteful appearance of the three sisters was a far


cry from the usual vulgar display of heavy jewellery, which normally
accompanied 'Society Weddings' of this kind.

Laide's aunties had turned out in full strength at her wedding with


their own husbands, children, friends and associates, as they often did,
whenever any one of them had a social occasion to celebrate.

Yele, who knew them well gave us a run down of their personalities


and achievements, as we waited for the ceremony to begin.

They were all devout Moslems according to Yele and had performed


the 'Hajj at one time or the other and so were each referred to as 'Alhaja
(the Arabic term for a female pilgrim).

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Kehinde, who was sitting on Laides mother's left, owned a catering
service and a chain of supermarkets. She was the same person who had
baked Dale's birthday cake and had been wholly responsible for Laide's
small but perfect wedding cake. Taiwo, who was older by a few hours,
sat to the right. She was the proprietor of a well-known Nursery School.
All three women were deep in prayers, as they waited for the ceremony
to begin.

Wanita and I gathered from Yele that the three sisters had helped one


another grow financially. They had done this in a remarkably ingenious
fashion by pooling their resources together each month, and then giving
the bulk sum so collected to each individual sister to help finance and
then expand her chosen venture.

This ingenious and traditional method of raising capital was one I was


familiar with. It was called 'Esu-su' in the Western parts of Nigeria, and
many local entrepreneurs had come to owe their success to it.

Laide soon arrived with Mosun, her immediate younger sister, who


had insisted on being her chief-bridesmaid. She looked radiant! Her hair
had been swathed in a lovely white lace material and Dale beamed with
pride and pleasure as she took her place beside him.

The chief Imam of lbadan who officiated at the ceremony, began


the rites of marriage as soon as Laide was settled in her seat. It was a
remarkably simple ceremony. Most of it was conducted in Yoruba and a
few prayers from the Koran were said in Arabic.

Laide and Dale exchanged wedding vows and rings and also took


some readings from the Koran. They also got some sound advice from
the chief Imam about what makes for a good, sustainable marriage. The
congregation was invited to witness the union and pray for its success.
We were finally invited to rise to our feet for the recitation of the 'Fatia'
which I understand is the Moslem equivalent of the 'Lord's Prayer'.

As I listened in reverent silence to the 'Fatia', I wondered what


position Moslems occupied in God's scheme of things. I had met quite
a number who epitomised everything Christ had said about good and
gracious living and yet didn't believe in him as Messiah

I had questioned Nkem once about this and she had agreed with me


that some Moslems were actually worthier of Christ and heaven than
were some Christians. As to the criteria Christ would employ in judging
us at the end of the ages she said she was unsure. However her firm
conviction was that Christianity was the one religious framework which

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afforded an individual the fullest opportunity to give true and complete
expression to every dimension of their spirituality. To settle for anything
less than Christianity - as Christ preached it, was for Nkem, cheating
oneself out of the opportunity to develop one's fullest potential as a
spiritual being and one of God's finest creations.

For Nkem, Christ was the spiritual leader to beat spiritual leaders


of all times. Not only has Christ remained her inspiration, but had also
proven (in Nkem's estimation) to be the one real link between God and
man.

I had argued that Buddha and Mohammed had been equally charismatic


and that their teachings had stood the test of time. Her response had been
that Christ had put himself in a class of his own by accomplishing the
feat of resurrecting from the dead. According to her, the Shroud of Turin
and other overwhelming evidence, show beyond any shadow of doubt
that this feat actually did occur. Finally, Nken, argued that Christ was the
one spiritual leader who knew what he was about. Whilst other religious
founders had died, asking God to show them the way; Christ came to the
world proclaiming to all who cared to listen, that he was: 'The Way, the
Truth and the Life' and that no one could get to the Father except through
him. According to Nkem these were claims of either a mad man or a man
with immense and unparallel spiritual authority. Christ was for her the
latter, because his teachings were consistently lucid, wise, logical and
full of authority.

For Nkem, one could not begin the business of fulfilled living, until


one had approached the source of life itself. For her, that source of
life was God himself and there was no getting to Him except through
Christ. I had left the argument at that, not fully convinced, but much
impressed by the strength of Nkem's argument and by the fact that she
had a religion, which gave her such confident hope and assurance about
both the present and the hereafter. I left Nkem thinking how wonderful
it would be to have a religion in whose power you believed and which
helped to demystify the concept of dying...

Laide's wedding reception took place at the banquet hall of The


Trenchard Hall, at the University of lbadan.

The hall was a big impressive structure and Dale had been given the


rare chance of using it by virtue of the fact that both himself and Laide
were members of the University Alumni Association. Dale had also been
a member of the University's exclusive Sigma club.

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Plenty of food had been laid out for the crowd of guests who had
graced the occasion. Several were Dales business associates and friends.
Dale was himself from a humble background. He had however done
well for himself and up to date had a thriving medical practice and
big shares in a successful pharmaceutical company. Several of Laide's
fathers associates also graced the occasion. Her late father had been a
white-capped-chief of great repute and several of his peers were there, in
appreciable number, in deference to his memory.

Laide's mother stood talking to Dale's parents for a short while, before


moving to the circle of chiefs, who were chatting amicably amongst
themselves and looked distinguished in their flowing white Agbada and
caps. She later moved on towards another group, after saying something
that must have been funny, because a small ripple of laughter rose from
the circle of distinguished guests as she left smiling.

The crowd was a mixed one socially speaking, but nonetheless


one that blended perfectly and there was more than enough food to go
round.

Yele, Wanita and I shared a table with two of Mosun's friends. We


had all helped ourselves lavishly to some of the good food and I sat back
sipping a soft drink, as I looked around the room unobtrusively, observing
the guests. Dale's parents sat together quietly enjoying themselves and
obviously feeling proud. According to Laide they were a quiet, hard
working pair, who had scrounged and saved to send Dale to college and
then, to university. However, they had always remained rich in the things
that mattered most in life; that is; joy, dignity and a wonderful mirth,
which had made Laide return again and again to their household. Yele
described Dale's home as a humble but clean and comfortable home,
which abounded with laughter and warmth. Laide had always been made
very welcome at Dales home by her parents-in-law and so, the union
of Laide and their son in marriage was a source of real joy to them.
Anyhow, it was so impossible not to love Laide.

The highlight of the reception included the presentation of gifts to


the new couple and the giving of toasts to the bride and bride-groom.
The popular 'High-life' tune, 'Sweet Mother' brought both the mothers
of Laide and Dale to the dancing floor. The two elderly matriachs were
swarmed almost immediately by friends and relations who cheered,
applauded and showered monetary gifts on them.

The reception turned out to be a warm and light-hearted affair. It



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eventually came to an end with a short prayer and an announcement that
reception parties were being organised at the family homes of Laide and
Dale and that everyone present was invited to retire to either of the two
homes.

Wanita, Yele and I, drove to Laide's family home at the Moore


Plantation in the company of the same two girls we shared our table
with.

We went upstairs as soon as we arrived to join a radiant Laide. She was


obviously excited by the fact that the day had gone off so successfully.
She was thrilled to see us and asked us, with the excitement of a child, if
she had looked alright. We assured her that she certainly had. Just at that
moment, more of her friends came barging into the room and in no time
at all the room was filled with excited female chatter, as we all began to
change into a uniform Buba and lro attire, which, we had all agreed with
Laide we would wear for the occasion. I knew quite a few of the girls
who had joined us, but some of them I didn't know. A number of them
were Laides childhood friends and some others were her friends from
university. There was plenty of excitement in the air as old room-mates at
university were reunited again in Laide's bedroom. There was plenty of
excited chatter, laughter and screams of excited pleasure, as old friends
embraced, exchanged secrets, teased each other about the men in their
lives, their dreams and their past deeds. It was a typical female gathering
and I managed to retouch my light make-up in front of the dressing table
mirror, as soon as it was free of the female bodies swarming in front of it.
I then tied my headgear and in no time at all, everybody else wanted me
to tie theirs too, as they claimed to like the way I had done mine.

Just at that moment, two young girls came into the room with a trolley


loaded with food. Laide's mother had sent them up with it and each plate
held a generous portion of fried chicken and moi-moi, a popular Nigerian
delicacy, made from black-eyed beans.

Laide's mother also sent up a message to say that Dale's family were


on their way to collect Laide to take her to her new home. Tradition
required us as Laide's friends, to ensure that Dale didn't take her away
from us and her family with ease. We were expected to put up a mock
resistance and the cultural significance of this was to demonstrate to Dale
and his family just how precious Laide was to us. She was therefore to
be cherished by them. We expected to get additional reinforcement from
Laide's junior aunts downstairs.

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Dale soon arrived amidst cheers, drumming and plenty of loud
excitement from the crowd downstairs. We all rushed out to the balcony
outside Laide's bedroom, which overlooked the crowded courtyard down
below. The whole place was awash in a profusion of lights, which hung
from several poles, positioned all round the compound. The atmosphere
was electric with excitement! It was a typical Nigerian wedding night
and the sort of night in which new relationships, which would probably
end in further weddings were formed.

Dale, looking very debonair in a crisp, white, lace cotton agbada outfit,


was swarmed by several of Laide's aunties. He responded appropriately
with remarkable male charm and made monetary presents to them. After
the excitement had died down a bit, he began the business of cajoling
them to bring Laide down to him. Her aunties in turn responded, as
traditionally done by presenting Dale with a female substitute, dressed
up just like Laide had been, when he last saw her. Dale and his relations
acknowledged the beauty and elegance of the substitute, but politely
insisted that it was Laide herself they wanted. A second substitute was
again brought in after further persuasion and cajoling from Dale, his
friends and relatives. Dale again insisted it was Laide he wanted and this
time, he actually managed to smuggle a note up to Laide through her
younger brother.

"Darling, will you please come down!" he wrote. "I can't possibly


keep up with this much longer." We all laughed as she read the note
out loud to us. I couldn't say I blamed the poor fellow. He must have
been awfully tired and dying to be alone with Laide. Fortunately, he
didn't have much longer to wait, for Laide's mother sent up word to say
that we were to accompany Laide down. And we did so amidst jubilant
cheers from a much relieved Dale, his friends and relations. We however
refused to allow him gain access to Laide until she had knelt before her
maternal grandmother, an aged but still agile woman, who urged Laide
to go to her new home, confident of the fact that she was accompanied
by the prayers and blessings of her entire kinsfolk. She urged her to be
a dutiful wife and a woman of kindness and honour, like her mother and
grandmother before her.

Turning to Dale, the old woman implored him to be patient and


tolerant with Laide. She however expressed the confident certainty that
the two would be happy together for as she said, a well bred son was
being matched with a priceless gem of a daughter.

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Laide became emotional after that as her grandmother shed a few
tears and embraced her good-bye. Laide's two youngest sisters were
also weeping, as we accompanied Laide to a waiting vehicle amidst
the drumming and praise singing from the Apala musicians on the
bandstand. The entourage however couldn't leave immediately for
Dale's home, because Laide's dowry had to be packed into a Buick.
Her dowry comprised two trunk boxes full of porcelain dishes, several
bales of African and Dutch print materials, a mortar, a broomstick, a
stone grinder, a wide range of cooking pots and utensils and several
household bric-a-brac, which Laide's mother and aunties had insisted
she took with her to her new home. They had actually wanted to include
an electric cooker and a refrigerator on the list of items she was to
take with her, but Laide in her typical modest fashion had vehemently
refused. She emphasised that she wanted her dowry to be only symbolic
of her intention to be a dedicated wife to Dale and not a reflection of her
wealthy background. They had consequently restricted her dowry only to
items which custom required she took to her new home.

The convoy of cars to accompany Laide to her home soon built


up. Several belonged to Laide's friends, who had known both herself
and Dale from their undergraduate days at the university. There was
animated chatter and laughter all around as we waited. The gathering
was a remarkable blend of both the sophisticated and youthful friends
of the bride and bridegroom. There were some elderly people present
too. They were nonetheless as animated as the young people around
them. The atmosphere was very African, what with all that Apala music,
which Yele always immensely enjoyed. She swayed her hips in time to
the rich African rhythm. I watched her with mild amusement, in spite
of her travel and exposure. Yele had remained fiercely African in her
taste and preferences. I admired her appreciation of Apala music, for
instance, though I didn't enjoy it that much personally. The lyrics were in
old traditional dialects, which most young people did not understand or
speak fluently. I much more enjoyed the IK, Dairo and Dele Ojo music,
which the second band invited had played on Dale's arrival.

I stifled a tired yawn, as I watched young and old, the rich and the not


so rich, mix and enjoy themselves. My thoughts wandered to Norman for
a brief moment and I wondered why he hadn't attended the wedding or
got in touch. The thought went almost as quickly as it had come. Wanita
and I got into Yele's vehicle, as the convoy of cars began the journey to

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Dale's family home about eight kilometers away .The newly-weds were
in the vehicle directly in front of us. They were being chauffeur-driven
and were obviously making the most of the few minutes of privacy they
had to themselves. They sat close together and probably felt completely
relaxed for the first time that day.

All too soon, the convoy arrived at its destination, amidst a lot


of excited cheers from the crowd of wedding guests, who were busy
enjoying themselves just as much as those at Laide's family home had
been doing.

It was well past midnight at this time and so I declined the plate of


food a member of Dale's household offered me. I however accepted the
glass of orange juice she brought with it. An hour and a half later, we had
to take our leave of Laide. We went up to congratulate her again and tears
came to her eyes, as Yele said something about missing her at the flat. I
kissed her on both cheeks as she held on to me. She couldn't say much,
as she was filled with emotions at our departure and the soft weeping of
her young sister, Oyinade. Life would never be quite the same again for
either Laide or those close to her. Her loyalties would definitely have to
change; they would now be first and foremost to her husband Dale and
her new family. Her acquisition of a new home suggested the giving up
of the old one. Henceforth, Laide would only be recognised as a guest
in transit, every time she visited her former home. Young Oyinade, who
adored her eldest sister, understood this and wept softly.

Yele and I tried to comfort her, as she rode back to Moore Plantation


with us. The party was still in full swing when we returned there. We
helped Laide's mother give out souvenirs to the guests. A few had begun
to leave, but most were still in the mood for merriment and were still
tucking into the food, drinks and dance. It was a good thing Laide's
mother had instructed that absolutely no alcohol was to be served at the
gathering. She was a devout Moslem and a strict one at that. But for her
insistence, I was sure we would have had a lot of drunken brawls on our
hands. The fun was consequently decent and good natured; but it looked
like going on into the early hours of the following morning. I soon began
to feel bleary eyed after a while and so decided to go upstairs to what
used to be Laide's bedroom for a 'shut-eye'. Wanita caught me sneaking
away and ran up to join me. The room was quiet when we got there,
but two other girls had beaten us to the bed. They were fast asleep. The
bed was a rather wide one and so Wanita and I joined them. The place

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became very cramped however, as Yele came squeezing between Wanita
and I about forty-five minutes later. I slept fitfully after that and it was
dawn in no time at all. I opened my eyes at about eight o'clock the next
morning. Yele lay heavily on my right arm and it felt cramped. I yawned
and managed to ease her off without waking her, as I got up to go out
to the balcony for a breath of fresh air. The courtyard down below was
deserted and as one would expect, in a mess, some young men were busy
loading chairs and canopies into a lorry.

"The famous morning after!" Wanita said, as she quietly, joined me


on the balcony.

"Umhum," I agreed with her.

"Did you sleep well?" I asked.

"Fairly," she answered, with a smile.

"What are you doing up so early?" Yele called from the bedroom and
sounding befuddled with sleep.

"Are you awake too?" Wanita asked and turned around to look at


her.

"Yes, I am," she said and yawned loudly, as she turned on her back


and gazed up at the ceiling.

"I think we had better start thinking of leaving," she said, as I went


back into the room and pulled on a pair of jeans. I agreed with her and
continued putting away some clothes and make-up kit into the overnight
duffle bag we had brought with us. Yele peeled the bedcovers off herself,
as she got up to go to the bathroom. The action seemed to have awakened
Mosun, Laide's younger sister, who was rather startled to see us getting
ready to leave.

"Are you going already?"

"Yes," Wanita answered softly, with a smile.

"Without any breakfast?" she asked insistently.

"Don't you think we've had enough food to last us a week?" Yele
asked, as she playfully tugged at Mosun's ear.

"Well, I can smell cooking coming from downstairs and I tell you,


Mum would be cross to have you leave without any breakfast"

"You mean the festivities have still not ended?" Wanita asked,


incredulously, in her soft tone.

"Yes, they have," Mosun and her friend Shade answered in unison


and with amusement. "But you see, tradition requires that Mum, if she
has the wherewithal, should take some food to the new couple in their

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new home. Mum, as you can well imagine, is preparing all of Laide and
Dales favourite dishes," Mosun explained, as she got up to go into the
adjoining bathroom.

"I've told Mum she's going to have to do exactly the same for me


when I get married," she added with characteristic defiance, as she
disappeared into the bathroom.

"At least you have plans in that direction," Shade replied.

"Practically everyone I met at the reception yesterday wanted to
know when it was going to be my turn to get married," she added.

"I'll soon be labelled the professional wedding guest of the year"

Shade went on.

"Half the people I saw had been guests at two previous weddings


I attended this month. I've still got about half a dozen more to attend
before the year runs out and I'm sure I'll meet them at those as well."
We all laughed at that. Olanike, another of Mosun's friends, who had
shared the bed with us, smiled in her quiet manner, as she sat up in bed
listening.

"What everyone is calling me at the moment is 'The professional


airport escort'. I keep accompanying people to the airport to board a
plane to some exotic place in Europe or America, but I never go to any of
those places myself," she said with a soft smile.

"There is nothing that exotic about most of Europe, or America for


that matter," Yele said beneath the pile of pillows she had placed on top
of her head, in an attempt to shut out the early morning sunshine.

"Most of my adolescent years were spent travelling in and out of


Europe and America and I cannot say I am the better for it. As a matter
of fact, I find myself itching to get back to good old Nigeria, with all its
topsy turvy ways of doing things, each time I travel out these day."

"The novelty of going abroad has probably worn off for you now",


Olanike answered serenely, with her genial smile. "But I would still
want to find out what those places look like. Let's call it broadening my
horizon," she concluded softly, as she rested her chin on her hunched
knees.

"Suit yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you," Yele answered gaily,


as she finally got up to get dressed.

Olanike was one of Mosun's closest friends. As a matter of fact,


all three of them (that is, Mosun, Shade and Olanike) had been friends
right from their secondary school days. All three girls had been through

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'A' Levels together and shared a room at 'Moremi' (the main hall of
residence for female students at the University of Ife). Olanike, who
had lost her father a few years earlier, was from a relatively humble
background. She was in her penultimate year in the law department of
Ife university and was one young woman, who was endowed with a clear
vision of what she wanted out of life. I gather she was actually doing
some part-time teaching in a secondary school to help her mother see
a brother and two younger sisters through secondary school. She had a
serene maturity that was well beyond her years. Laide had a high regard
for Olanike and thought her to be a good influence on her flighty and
strong-willed younger sister.

Just at that moment, somebody emerged into the room with a tray


load of food. Yele made a bee-line for the bowl of fried meat. I settled for
some corn-meal pap (Ogi-baba as it is called in Yoruba) and found it as
refreshing as I thought it would be.

In spite of the initial protests about having eaten too much the night


before, the girls and I cleared a good portion of the food on the tray, and
thirty minutes later, Wanita, Yele and I were on our way downstairs to
say good-bye to Laide's mother.

We found her in the kitchen, busy presiding over the cooking. The


place was simply a beehive of activities and Laide's mother had her
hands deep in a basket of vegetables she was shredding. She was being
assisted in the cooking by several other women, some of whom were
friends and others, relatives. She looked up from what she was doing and
greeted us warmly, as we walked towards her.

"Good-morning Maa!" we greeted in unison and curtsied as we did so,


in keeping with the Yoruba tradition of treating your elders, particularly
one's parents, with reverence.

Laide's mother wiped her hands with a dish cloth and hugged each of


us for a brief moment. It was easy to see where Laide had got her warmth
and good nature from.

"I hope you are well-rested?" she asked in her attractively husky


voice.

"Yes, we are," we assured her.

"And thank you very much, Maa, for the breakfast and your
hospitality," we added.

"If any gratitude is to be expressed then it should come from me," she


responded.

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"Thank you so much for having been such good friends to Laide. I
hope I'll soon have a similar opportunity to say thank you to each one of
you in kind. I wish you all that I wish Laide," she added softly.

Laide's mother was one woman who forever intrigued me. She was


not only well-travelled, but also had a superb command of the English
language and yet she managed to retain a distinct African flavour in her
personality. She had a subtle air of sophistication, which only made her
proud and confident to give full expression to her Africanness.

She dished some food into two porcelain dishes and insisted we took


them home with us. We finally gave in to her insistence and piled the
dishes into the back seat of Yele's vehicle along with the rest of our
luggage.

Laide's mum and twin aunties then stood waving at us as we drove


away.

On arriving at the flat, we found Mama Biodun had let herself in with


her keys and was busy with her chores. She was also in a chirpy mood
and was ready to go over all that had taken place the day before. Yele,
who was always ready to engage in any fun/tomfoolery with Mama
Biodun, fuelled the woman's enthusiasm to chat and in no time at all, the
two were doing an instant repeat performance of how they had danced to
their favourite Apala music.

I was itching for a bath and promptly took my leave of them. As I


got up to go upstairs, a package on the side cupboard in the dining area
caught my attention and I went over to take a look at it. Mama Biodun
noticed my action and quickly explained that it was for me.

She said it had arrived for me only a few hours before. A written note


accompanied it and I immediately recognised the distinctly flourished
handwriting as Norman's;

Darling,


I'm sorry I'm unable to attend Dale and Laide's wedding. I had to
travel to Auchi with the President after all... Do extend my apologies-
cum-congratulations to them and take good care of yourself for me!

I love you.

Norman.

PS. I'm instructing the service Courier at the secretariat to deliver this


to you as soon as they can. Cheerio!

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I gently eased the present he had addressed to Dale and Laide out of
the carrier bag it had come in.

"What is it?" Yele asked, with childlike interest and rushed forward


with the others to see what it was. It was a twin set of cut chrystal wine
goblets, with Dale and Laide's names engraved on them. It was a lovely
present and everyone 'Ooohed and Haaed', as I held it out for all to see. I
took the package upstairs with me after some of the excitement had died
down and put it away with the intent of giving it to Laide the next time
I saw her.

I waited for Wanita to finish in the shower room and then had a quick


wash myself.

I went downstairs for a paperback I wanted to read and found Yele


fast asleep in her bathing robe. She had obviously used the shower in
the guest room and had settled on a settee in the sitting room listening to
some music. I turned off the stereo set and made sure the front door was
securely locked. Mama Biodun had finished her chores and gone home.
I took the book I wanted upstairs and settled in bed with it. I soon fell
asleep after a few pages and, like Yele and Wanita, I slept right through
the rest of the day.

134


Nine



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