I took the last seat in
the cab from Dugbe. A fat woman occupied the center seat and had taken a great
deal of space. I just had to bear with her. In the next ten minutes or so, I
should be at Idi-Ishin quarters, my destination. I finally got down and gave a sigh of relief.
I gave the driver money, but he complained he didn’t have change. When it was
obvious he was wasting my time, I decided to forgo the change and moved on.
Our home was a white
storey building that needed repainting. It used to be a very beautiful duplex,
but the peelings on the wall had done some damage to its aesthetic values. I unlocked
the pedestrian side of the gate and made for the entrance door. It was locked
from inside. I pressed the bell and waited patiently.
From inside, a curtain
was moved aside as two eyes peered to see who the intruder was.
‘It’s me, Simi,’ I
called out, in case the person had some doubts.
Quickly, the door was
unlocked and thrown open.
‘Welcome, aunty,’ Titi
said, coming to hug me, and to relieve me of my handbag.
Titi would not stop
amazing me. Just about nine hours ago, she had seen me off to work. Now she was
greeting like someone who hadn’t seen me for months!
‘Thank you,’ I mumbled
and entered the house. She knew where to take my bag to. We went straight to my
bedroom which was the first by the right on the first floor.
‘How was work?’ Titi
asked.
I smiled. ‘Fine.’
She lingered a bit. I
opened my bag, brought out a roll sausage and handed it to her.
She smiled. ‘Many
thanks, aunty,’ she said.
I nodded. ‘You’re
welcome.’
She left my room. I
sighed, sat on the bed and removed my shoes. Then I changed from my office
wears to a t-shirt and shorts. I lay on
the bed, thinking of Daniel. The guy was becoming erratic these days and I was
getting fed up with the relationship. I had complained to mummy about him, but
she said I should be patient. How long would I continue to condone his childish
– almost foolish – behavior?
There was the hooting
of car at the gate. Titi went to see who it was. Soon, the wide gates were
opened and a car drove into the compound. That must be mummy. She was on
afternoon duty and anytime she was, she came in about this time. I could hear
the voice of Titi welcoming her. Moments later, I could hear footsteps coming
up the stair case.
‘Has Simi come back?’
Mummy was asking.
‘Yes, mummy,’ Titi
answered.
Mummy raised her voice.
‘Simi! Come o! There’s good news.’
I sighed, wondering
what could be the news. The greatest news I would have loved to hear was that
my father, the late Brigadier-General Michael Akolade, had come back to life.
Since daddy died about two years ago in a ghastly road accident, I believed I
was the one that missed him most. Not even his wife, my mother, missed him the
way I did. I believed he was the most loving father in the world, even if his
wife did not think so.
But I knew his
resurrection would not likely be among mummy’s news items. I got up from the
bed and left my room. Mummy was removing her uniform when I entered her
bedroom.
‘Welcome, mummy,’ I
greeted.
‘Simi, my dear. How’re
you?’
Mummy was in good mood.
There must be good news she wanted to pass.
‘Fine. How’s work
today?’
‘Hectic, as usual.’
She removed her
stockings and white gown. I had always known mummy to be a nurse, ever since I
could remember. She was once a slim and
beautiful woman and I took after her. Even now that she was fat and not so
young again, she still looked beautiful.
Months ago, I and my
only sibling, Deola had teased her about re-marrying.
‘You girls are not
serious,’ mummy had said.
‘But we’re serious,
mummy,’ Deola had said. ‘I’m sure you’re still getting toasters.’
‘Plus micro-wave
ovens,’ Mummy added.
We had all laughed.
I sat on her bed. She
was not in a hurry to tell me the good news, so I waited. Mummy changed into a
long house gown.
She turned to me. ‘Yes,
I suppose you’re eager to hear the good news.’
I nodded.
She came to sit by my
side on the bed. ‘Mrs. Shitta is commissioning her hotel in Lagos next week.’
‘Oh? Congrats to her.’
Mrs. Maria Shitta was
mummy’s good friend. She was also a nurse at the teaching hospital in Ibadan
years ago before she relocated to London. She wanted mummy too to change her
place of work, but mummy chose to remain in Nigeria. After ten years in London,
Mrs. Shitta was coming back home with an investment. She had built a hotel, as
she said she was passionate about hospitality business.
But was the opening of
the hotel the good news mummy wanted to tell me? I waited.
‘Well, you know her
three children are all abroad,’ mummy continued.
‘Hmn hmn.’ I nodded.
‘Her children would
have supported her in running the place, but for the fact that they’re not
around. She wants a very trusted and capable person to handle the business for
her. She wants a reliable person to be her Business Manager. She wants you work
for her.’
I opened my mouth in
astonishment. ‘What! Me?’
‘Yes, you, Simi,’ my
mother said. ‘You can do it and you will do it.’
‘I read Pharmacy, for
God’s sake! What has that got to do with running hotel business?’
‘Studying Pharmacy does
not mean you can only be limited to that line. With commitment, you can succeed
as Business Manager, my dear.’
Presently, I worked at
Dravos Foods, a company that was into the production of biscuits and
confectionery. The pay wasn’t that good, but it was still better than being idle
at home. Daddy’s ex friends who had promised better jobs were yet to fulfill
their promises.
I was thoughtful for a while. At twenty-seven, I had graduated over five
years ago and had completed my national youth service over fours ago, now. I
had taken the job at Dravos, after I could not secure a job at the
pharmaceutical industry. Mummy herself promised to get me employed by the UCH,
but it wasn’t easy succeeding in that.
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