Tunde just lay on the bed like an innocent dog, like one without the troubles that life gives as a price for living. His mother entered the room and walked as silently as she could to Tunde’s bed. She placed her palms on him and gently tapped him. Tunde woke up gently stretching his body as lazily as he could. He opened his eyes for some seconds. “Good morning, Mom”.
“Wake up, we are going for a visit to your uncle’s wife, Uche. James just left her like that”
Tunde opened his eyes “For how long?”
“For three days now”
Tunde stood up from the bed and placed his palms on his waist. He twisted his palm, hoping for the remaining story.
“I don’t know what that guy is up to” His mother, Gladys, sighed out, she was forced to frustration.
“Mommy, have you called the police?”
His mother hissed. “It’s not a detective or a mystery solving issue. It is just James being a child “
Tunde scratched the back of his head; he is still not getting the issue. James had just fled his wife, on the pretext of him finding out who he truly was. That is what happens when you take a lot of social media quote too seriously. James was this mischievous man, that never cared what people around him were affected by after taking this decision. His wife, Uche, for instance, has been patient ever since. Gladys had always troubled her, and told her to explore other options. Gladys would always tell her, marriage is not slavery, and it should not be treated as such.
Gladys and Uche have been close friends for a long time. Uche Married James, Gladys husband’s brother. Gladys husband, Damilola was still baffled on how close the two were. For one, Damilola wasn’t really that close to James. It baffled the brothers a lot. But Damilola came up with the conclusion of women building friendships in the weirdest conversations, and he didn’t really bother about it.
Damilola walked into Tunde’s room.
“Good morning, Dad” Tunde greeted his father.
“Good morning, Son. Can you give me your comb, my hair has grown a little long.”
“Daddy, Mommy is just telling me about Uncle James”
Tunde went to his drawer and brought out a comb. Damilola rushed to the mirror hanging on the wall and checked himself out.
“I heard about it, and your mother stopped talking to me because of it”
Damilola gave the comb to his father. Damilola combed his hair gently. Damilola still adopted that younger side of himself.
Gladys hissed, and stood up from the bed. “Tunde meet me in the car in thirty minutes”. Gladys could not handle the amount of irritation in the room. She walked out of the room.
“Daddy, is it a must that, I go, I mean I am 33 years old and should be able to make my own decision”
Damilola held his son by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. “Son, as it is, your mother is going to behave like this for the next two days. I can’t do anything more to extend that behavior, a man like me has needs. You would understand one of these days” Damilola threw a salute at his son as he strolled out of the room.
**
Tunde and Gladys in the same car was Gladys seeing her son as her therapist as she expressed her annoyance of the world for him to hear.
“Mummy, I still think that this is something for a couple to address without any form of interference”
“Well, where is he?” Gladys twisted her face, looking for an answer.
“Mummy, I still think, it is an issue for them… you know as a couple to solve, maybe therapy”
Gladys laughed at her son when she heard about therapy; one thing that she knew was that Nigerians, whether rich or poor, never believed in such.
“Or a family meeting or a pastor, whatever they can do, so that I won’t be present” Tunde angrily explained to his mother. He went to a party late at night after coming home from work, and came back drunk. He had just had some few hours of sleep and he wanted more, but he was stuck at the wheel as a driver. It annoyed him so much.
“Tunde, I didn’t ask for your opinion” Gladys started to boil with anger
“Mummy, I need this Saturday to sleep, but I am stuck in this car with you” he replied
“Well, next time, you would know that it is not a good thing, coming back from work, drunk”
“I work 9-7 everyday, and I come back home smelling of sweat, can’t I just have a night to myself”
“You can just as well get your own house, and pay the bills, if you think you can do as you like”
“So you are punishing a 33 year old man”
“Yes. Now, hear me complain and just drive the car”
Tunde sighed heavily. There are some certain battles you cannot win against Gladys. Like her making sure that, Damilola didn’t buy the G-wagon he always dreamt of. Damilola wanted to promote his brand like he would say, and expensive cars are a good idea. Gladys thought about it as being an avenue for him to get younger girls and flirt with them. Gladys would always say the only thing that you can never do is trust a man.
“Men, they just feel like they shouldn’t do anything about critical situations if it doesn’t affect them” Gladys shrunk her face with anger
“Mummy what are we supposed to do? Remember, it does not affect us”
“He is your uncle, your father’s brother”
“He is also a 53-year-old man, that is fit to make his own decision. Who are we to stop that from happening?”
“We are family, you hear me, we are family”. Gladys yelled at her son.
“Mummy, you don’t even care about your own family, when last have you seen aunty Idrine?”
Idrine was Gladys elder sister; she died from a car crash, after stealing her father’s car to meet her boyfriend. Good roads sometimes cause accident. Idrine was driving like a mad woman that night; she never knew when she collided with another car. They could not bury Idrine. Gladys’ father once loaded the car with two 25 liters kegs of petrol, fearing there might be a black out. The collision created a spark and the bomb blast was looking like the final stage of World War 2.
“Idrine is in the grave and probably in hell for what she did to my parents” Gladys said. “My father had two strokes”
“Mummy. Okay. Just okay. You are moving away from the point” Tunde tried to evade the topic. He has already opened Lion’s Den, and there is no escaping from it.
“How am I moving away from the point, you asked a question. Do you know what she did, while she was dead, my parents forgot I even existed”?
“Mommy, sorry about that, but that happened 20 years ago, and even before then you stopped talking to her and you are somehow exaggerating this too much”
“Because, she was acting without her senses”
“But she was family, and you not talking to her might have, I don’t know, maybe caused her death”
Tunde glanced at his mother. Gladys face has changed to something else. Her eyes squinted, and her face wrinkled. Tunde gulped in the air. He was in trouble; what could save him from his mother’s rage is unknown.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing”
There was a pause. Tunde’s chest was moving back and forth.
“Tunde?”. Gladys called his name with a stern face.
Tunde just looked in front, trying to evade eye contact. He knew what the look meant to him. That look always had its way of instilling fear into Tunde.
“Yes Mom”
“What did you say?”
“Mummy, just try to calm down”
There was this outburst from his mother. She would not let the moment go. “What did you say”. Gladys shouted.
“I didn’t mean what I said, I am so sorry”.
**
The afternoon was hot. Gladys came out of the car and slammed the car door. Tunde rested on the steering wheel; he sighed. Tunde was drowning in an ocean of guilt. “I should never have said that” he thought to himself. But the deed was done; he can never undo it. He slammed his hand against the steering wheel.
Idrine and Gladys history was because Idrine had a drinking habit after her divorce. Idrine had caught her ex-husband on multiple occasions cheating with younger girls. She told Gladys about the situation, and Gladys persuaded Idrine to divorce him. Gladys would confront the guy and make a mess of him. Idrine took her sister’s advice and divorced him. The man could not handle himself and committed suicide. Idrine could not handle her urges after meeting another man, and, well, you know that story.
**
Uche and James lived in glamour; there was a large pool dug, a spacious car park. It is like seeing a mansion right in front of you. Inside the living room, there was an 85-inch television, seated on an expensive cabinet. There was a bear rug laid on the floor. There is a mini library at the angle. At the other angle was a standing ac. The floor design was upper class American. Chandeliers hang on the wall. The sofas and chairs were expensive. One would wonder what went wrong that made James leave this life.
**
Uche was seated on the couch, sobbing heavily. There was a tissue on her hand that she used to wipe her snort once in a while.
Gladys entered the house, and they exchanged embrace.
“I don’t know what got into him” Uche talked with exhaustion from crying.
Gladys carefully took her hands and guided her to the sofa. Uche had finally seen someone to talk to. She explained the full incidence in details. James, she said, was acting immature. He turned down the chance of being the chairman of the company to pursue a career in music. His story was one complicated one. James was having an income that was more than 95% of people living in Nigeria. but he was not really feeling the money, as he wanted that dream of becoming a Fuji artiste, even if it meant quitting a job from one of the biggest companies in Nigeria.
“A fuji artiste, that is so hilarious”. Gladys burst into laughter.
“That man is 53 years old and he wants to become a fuji musicians, is he on drugs”
“I don’t think so, or maybe” Uche shook her head.
Tunde came out of the kitchen; he was holding a food tray of sandwiches, an orange drink, and a can of beer.
“Mummy, what time are we going” Tunde asked his mother.
“Tunde, I beg you, don’t annoy me, and I have not still forgotten what you said”
Tunde went to the sofa and placed the tray on the sofa. He picked up the sandwich above his mouth and dropped it into his mouth. The women stared at him with amazement.
“I think it is better if you go to the dining table” Uche suggested.
“Mrs. Uche, I promise myself to behave while I am seated, no crumbs on the couch, no splash of juice on the couch, and I won’t make it obvious when I am drunk” Tunde talked childishly. This was his way of making things more complicated. Everyone would have to leave him alone.
“What is his problem?” Uche faced Gladys.
“I don’t know, I am very sure something is wrong for someone that is 33 years old” Gladys had a smirk on her face as she faced her son.
Unable to hold back the annoyance, Tunde brought about a piece of his mind “Mrs. Uche, I guess you should maybe persuade your husband, and talk to him, instead of getting my mother involved. Because my mother might give you an advice that would make you end up dead, and I don’t mean it figuratively”
“What is that supposed to mean” Uche faced Tunde with a great deal of anger.
“Yes, what is that supposed to mean” Gladys looked at her son.
“Well, it is just the fact, and I won’t feel bad for stating it”. Tunde walked stood up angrily, and walked out of their sight.
“He is a spoilt child” Gladys said with disappointment written all over her face.
Tunde came back to the living room and took his plate back. He could do anything for food at the moment. “I forgot to take this”. He packed the food, and munched on it while he walked out of the living-room.
The ladies stared at each other. To Uche; that was the of the weirdest thing she had seen that day. To Gladys, it was her son being a spoilt brat, at 33.
“Gladys, what is wrong with your son”
“The men from the family we married into are going through a phase, and we are deeply affected by it”
“Gladys, my son and my husband are perfectly fine”
“Your husband wants to become a fuji artiste. I mean is that normal?”
“Something is bothering him, if I can just talk to him”
“That something that is bothering him is the phase he is going through, we are both saying the same thing”
Uche sat properly and rested her elbows on her knees. She felt her intelligence had been insulted, from Gladys and her son.
“What is the problem?” Gladys asked.
“Nothing is the problem. I feel like this is being exaggerated”
“What is being exaggerated?”
“It is better you chase me and my mother away from your house”. Tunde shouted from the kitchen. He was seated in the washing machine, and was stuffing his mouth with food, using the beer to wash the food in.
“Tunde are you out of your mind, go to the car and wait for me”
“Mummy, no, you can’t just boss me like that, I am a 33-year-old man, and not 14”
“Well, you are not acting your age, you are acting like a brat”
“Mommy, if you say that again, I am going to take the car home, and not care if you followed me or not”
It is not a good thing to dare or threaten your mother. She is your mother and she knows how to break you. The wrath of a mother is similar to a dragon; Tunde knew this.
“You are not acting like your age; you are acting like a spoilt brat”. Gladys said slowly.
“Well, if you weren’t my mother, I would have left you”
Uche has had enough of this. She slammed her hands on her knees, and stood up.
“Gladys, I think I need sometime for myself to think to myself”
“Thank God” Tunde could not hold his excitement.
The unexpected happened, Damilola came in with his brother James. Uche ran to James and hugged him as tight as he could. He kissed her head; it was starting to look like a fairy tale. Her face turned hard suddenly and there was a slap on James.
“Uche, why did you slap my face?”
“Because, you put me through a lot”.
“I told you that I was traveling to sign some Fuji artiste, I told you I am entering into Fuji music business.”
Uche tilted her head; she was amazed. “I thought you said something of becoming a fuji artiste”.
“Fuji artiste?”
“Uche, I left pounded yam and Egusi soup inside the kitchen, I would love to go and eat it”
There was this settlement in spirit for the first time in 3 days; for Uche, she might have misheard what he said initially. But her husband was right back home, and that was all that mattered. She went into the kitchen.
“Where did you see him?” Gladys asked her husband.
“I just picked him from the estate gate. Where is my son? I need to fix something in my laptop”
James screamed, he thought Tunde to an intruder.
James wanted to become a fuji artiste; he invested 1/3 of his life savings and investments in crypto-currency, but the worst happened, it went into a dip. James was lucky, the email he sent to the board didn’t go through, and the cause was internet issues. He could go back to his office like nothing ever happened, becoming chairman.
Gladys, Damilola and Tunde went to an eatery. Tunde, even though he was a 33-year-old man kept on complaining about how hungry he was. His parent took him to eat Amala and Ewedu. Tunde called it “therapeutic food”.
David (A WRITER'S BLOG) 