Episode 27
âUwanah, have you gone deaf?â, Mrs. Martins asked, âno, no, maâ, I replied stammering âwhy did you lie that my husband is calling her?â, she questionedâ, âerrrm, ma, Iâm sorry maâ, I pleaded, âdo you think itâs about sorry?, you just made my daughter look like a fool in front of her fatherâ, she yelled, âIâm sorry ma, Iâm really sorry, it wonât happen againâ, I apologized, âNo, sorry isnât going to solve this problem, youâll do it again and Iâve been noticing your incompetence and freelance attitude these days at workâ, she said, âIâm sorry ma, Iâm really sorry Stellaâ, I begged. She faced Ngozi and ordered, âNgozi, tell all the workers in this house to look for any maid for me, before the end of tomorrow and nextâ. Yes, yes maâ, Ngozi answered. âUwa, youâre firedâ, she announced. I was shocked, âhow could such a small mistake make her sack me?â, I asked myself. I noticed the hideous smile on Stellaâs face when her mum fired me but, she tried to conceal it with pity when she saw me looking at her. âMum, itâs not necessaryâ, she said, like she really cared for meâ. She did it, in order to make me tell David, about how she had tried to support me but, her acting wasnât selling it at all. After begging doggedly for a while, my pleas fell on deaf ears, âmy words are finalâ, she said and left the kitchen dragging Stella along. Ngozi tried to console me but I assured her, I was okay. As far as I was concerned, that call for Mr. Martins was going through that night, after all, it was getting his phone number that cost me my job.
âUwa, youâre joking abi, what do you mean by you lost your job?â, David asked after we had dinner . âI donât have job again oooâ, I said again for the fifth time. âWhy?, what happened?â, he asked.
I wasnât ready to start explaining that I lied to Stella to collect her fatherâs number because of the strong notion of Mr. Martins, being my uncle to him just yet. Instead, I said, âI think, itâs because she doesnât like meâ, I said, âcome on, Uwa, Stellaâs mum doesnât like anyone apart from herself and family, so that canât just be the reasonâ, David said, âDavid, thatâs the reason, maybe, she dislikes me speciallyâ, I said angrily, âI donât want to talk about itâ, I said abruptly and lay down to sleep leaving David perplexed. âokay, just relax, weâll talk better tomorrowâ, he said. I couldnât wait for David to leave for work, the next day in order to have all the time alone to comfortably explain things to Mr. Martins.
All through the night, I rolled from one end of the bed to the another, I was like a kid who was waiting for Christmas morning to try on her new dress. I anticipated the call with Mr. Martins, I even made up conversations in my head. I didnât have any pessimistic thoughts, I was certain that things would go smoothly.
At long last, the long night was over and, it was time for David to leave for work. I would have seen him off but for fear of the prying eyes of some neighbours, I decided to remain inside. âOkay, dear, Iâm goingâ, David said, âokay, see you in the evening, take careâ, I said, âIâll miss coming home with you today after work oooâ, he informed, âOkay, thanksâ, I said. While he left the house, I felt like a jobless housewife. One of the these were true, the other wasnât. The untrue one, was being a housewife. The true one was being jobless. I sat on the bed staring at the change Dayo dropped for my breakfast and lunch. I was really touched, despite my rude attitude the previous night, that still didnât stop him from keeping money for my lunch. I wanted to wait till noon before calling Mr. Martins but, I guess, my impatience got the better part of me. I took in a deep breath before I dialled Mr. Martinsâ number. âHelloâ, he said, âyes, who am I talking to?â, he asked, âuhm, good morning sir, itâs me Uwanahâ, I answered, âUwanah from where?â, he asked, ânawa, how many times will I tell this man my name?â, I asked myself. âThe maid sirâ, I replied, âokay, I havenât seen you at work this morning, should I give your madam the phone?,
[b]so that you can explain, that you wonât be at work?â, he asked. âNo, no, sir, Iâm not at work because madam sacked meâ, I informed , âIâm so sorry but if my wife sacks anyone, I donât have a say, she probably has a good reasonâ, he explained, âNo, sir, thatâs not why I calledâ, I said, âthen why did you call?â, he asked. I took another deep breath, before answering, âI called becauseâ, I stopped again and took another deep breath, âbecause?, speak up, Iâm on my way to workâ, he said in a raised tone. âSir, the Ekaete you were talking about, the other day, I know herâ, I said, âyou know Ekaete?â, he asked, âyes, sirâ, I replied, âbut the other day, you said, you didnât knowâ, he said. âIâm sorry sir, you should have told me the truth instead, thereâs no benefit in telling liesâ, he advised. He was right, I was telling too much lies recently. âIâm really sorry sirâ, I apologized again, âokay, so, how do you know her?, who is she to you?â, he asked, âshe is my mother sirâ, I answered. Mr. Martins said nothing for a few minutes which got me nervous. âSir, are you still there?â, I asked, âYes, yes, Iâm here, is your mum here in Lagos?â, he asked, âno sir, she is our villageâ, I replied, âwhich village?â, he questioned, âBoma sirâ, I answered. âUwa, start coming to the house right nowâ, he ordered and ended the call, I guess my hunch was right, considering his reactions to the name, âBomaâ, he was undoubtedly my uncle.
I dressed up in a haste and left the house like something was chasing me. However, my footsteps slowed down a little when I reached the gate. Knowing Mr. Martins asked my uncle, was one thing, him accepting me as his niece was another thing. I hoped for the best, if things turned out well, my life and that of my mumâs would be changed forever. I thought Ngozi would have announced to all the workers as she was being instructed but obviously she didnât because, the gateman still didnât know, I was fired, therefore he was worried about my late arrival. âUwa, wetin happen?, why you come late?â, he inquired, âNothing jahre, good morning sirâ, I greeted, âgood morningâ, he responded, âyou sure sey, nothing happen?â, he asked, âyes sir, thank you for asking, nothing happened sirâ, I said and moved towards the entrance of the house. I opened the door and refused to move any further than the sitting room or where I stood. I brought out my phone and dialled Mr. Martinsâ number quickly. âYes, Uwanah, are you here?â, he said, âyes, Iâm hereâ, I replied, âwhere are you?â, he asked, âin the parlour sirâ, I answered, âokay, Iâm coming right nowâ, he said and ended the call. In less than five minutes, Mr. Martins joined me in the living room, âgood morning sirâ, I greeted, âmorning Uwanahâ, he responded, âso, do you have your motherâs picture?â, he asked, âno sirâ, I replied. âwhat is your surname?â, he asked, âEkong, Uwanah Ekongâ, I said, âit is true, itâs really trueâ, he yelled smilingâ. âWhat is true?â,[/b]
asked his wife coming from the stairs, âSee, dear, you know that my sister I told you about, this is her childâ, he said pointing at me. âIf you have always talked about your sister, how come, you never remembered her?â, I murmured. Mrs. Martins asked with a frenzied look on her face, âWho?, this useless girl, I fired yesterday?â. âNo, dear, stop it, I just told you, sheâs the child of my sisterâ, Mr. Martins said, âUwanah, do you have her phone number here?â, he questioned, âwhy wouldnât I have my motherâs number?â, I mocked in my thoughts. âYes sir, I have it hereâ, I replied, âoya, give it to meâ, he said. I thought of the shock it would bring my mother to hear from her long lost brother, so, I asked him to wait for a bit to allow me call her and prepare her mind.
âHello, mama, good morning maâ, I greeted, âgood morning Uwanah, how were you?â, she asked, âIâm fine ma and youâ, I asked, âI do fine, itâs just that I missered you oooâ, she said, âI miss you too maâ, I said, âokay how are working doing?â, she asked, âwork is fine ma, ehen mama, you know that Mr. Martins, I told you about, that asked of you?â, I asked, âyes, Mr. Martisse, I remember â, she said, âmama, I just discovered that he is your brother Basseyâ, I informed, âcome, Uwa, if youâre called me this hours that are early this morning to tell me that kind of play, stopped itâ, she said yelling, âno, mama, Iâm not jokingâ, I said, âwait Uwa, youâre talk that Mr. Martisse is Bassey?â, she asked, âyes maâ, âhow are you take and know?â, she questioned, âitâs a long story maâ, I said. âWhere was you now?, have you telled him?â, she asked. âIâm in his house ma and he wants to talk to youâ, I informed, she screamed, probably out of joy and surprise, then she warned, âUwanah, listening to me, donât left side of your uncle, gum his body, do you hear?, just stay in him, Iâm coming to over there, in the first thing of the morning, donât leave in him oooâ, she warned. Mr Martins had an inquisitive look on his face, all the while, I spoke to my mother. I called out my motherâs number to him, he hurriedly typed it on his phone and dialled her phone number, âthey spoke for a long while, I couldnât hear my mum but Mr. Martins apologized severally and encouraged her coming to the city. The spiteful look on Mrs. Martinsâ face couldnât scare me anymore, with the way Mr. Martins enthusiastically spoke and apologized to my mum, I already started picturing myself as a member of that house hold not to be intimidated by anybody. Mr. Martins ended the call, with a note of, âthatâs my sister, I still remember her spoken Englishâ, he said and laughed, âUwanah, your mum will be here tomorrowâ, he said, âokay, sirâ, I answered, âand get your things here by the end of today, I take it that you live alone, since your mother is not hereâ, he said, âyesâ, I replied, there was no way I would say I lived with a boy. âOkay, Iâll be off to work nowâ, he said.
âWait!, is she really coming to stay here?â, Mrs. Martins asked. âYes, of course, the house is more than enough to contain both my sister and my niece, so yes, sheâs coming to stay hereâ, he said. âWho is coming to stay here?â, Stella asked resting on the pillar of the staircase, âyour niece Stella, your niece, thatâs what your father saidâ, Mrs. Martins said scornfully, âWho is the niece?, where is the niece?â, Stella asked scanning the living room with her eyes, âare you blind?, her mother asked, âSee the niece here naâ, her mother said pointing to my direction. The look on Stellaâs face didnât depict any sign of happiness at all, surprise and contempt was written all over her face. âUwanah, donât just worry about anything, get your things here by the end of todayâ, Mr. Martins said and left the house. I chuckled because, Stella and her mum were ignorant of the kind of mother I had, there was nothing like fear or intimidation in my motherâs dictionary, if they wouldnât accept my mother, which was very far from their minds, âthen, they should be ready for her wahalaâ, I said to myself, I headed towards the door, I would look for Dayo, explain things to him, before moving my things out of the house. In the meantime, Stella and her mother would have to get used to having me around the house.
Choose Episodes Below;
Note: episodes already read are highlighted in red!
Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 5 Episode 6 Episode 7 Episode 8 Episode 9 Episode 10 Episode 11 Episode 12 Episode 13 Episode 14 Episode 15 Episode 16 Episode 17 Episode 18 Episode 19 Episode 20 Episode 21 Episode 22 Episode 23 Episode 24 Episode 25 Episode 26 Episode 27 Episode 28 Episode 29 Episode 30 Episode 31 Episode 32 Episode 33 Episode 34 Episode 35 Episode 36 Episode 37 Episode 38 Episode 39 Episode 40
Leave a Reply