Episode 18
âBut are you sure, I shouldnât accompany you?â Tosinâs voice came over the phone. I let out a horrible laughter, holding the phone to my ear with a raised shoulder as I tied a blue scarf round my head before my bedroomâs standing mirror.
âWait Tosin, you drove me down home yesterday. In fact, if I let you, you would come to my school every day. Thatâs aside the daily extremely long calls you bombard me with. You also donât mind following me all around too, do you?â I asked rolling my eyes as though he could see me, âAre you that jobless?â
Tosin cleared his throat and gave a mild chuckle before replying,
âWell, I could at least escape the punishment of God by not failing in my responsibilities to you as your guardian angel.â
I hissed amidst my laughter. That âguardian angelâ issue doesnât come across as funny to me always. Itâs rather irritating. âYou really need to get a life Tosin, like seriously. Get a life. Nigeria is not same as the U.S.â I quickly drew my eyebrows, trying to hurry up my dressing. Daddyâs horn just blared loudly again for the second time. I guess âmaking upâ is typical of ladies⊠regardless of where we are going
Tosin giggled. âYou can be generous enough to come get one for meâŠâ
â⊠Oh my God! Tosin, I have to run. Talk to you laterâ I interrupted him and hung up the phone before getting any reply. I threw the phone into my handbag, quickly picked up my handkerchief and ran out of my bedroom.
I hurriedly opened the back door of the car and sat very fast hoping daddy wouldnât say anything. But guess I know my father so well. He must express his displeasure at any âill-attitudeâ displayed- as he always called it. Theyâve both been waiting for me to get dressed for quite long. All thanks to Tosinâs âforeverâ calls.
âYoung lady, next time you donât want to keep your appointment, you better tell me on timeâ Dad yelled
I didnât have any explanation; he deserved to be angry anyway. I have wasted their time.
âI am sorry dad! I am sorry mumâ I said politely like an innocent child
Dad kick-start the car and drove gently out of our compound.
âCâmon, you know I wonât be telling you if I gave it a second thought. I mean this whole idea sounds crazy to me, it should come across to you as funny tooâ Jerry said, dropping the carton of drinks on the tiles in the lobby and holding his phone firmly against his ears with the other hand.
âI know Dearie, I donât just know why am so uncomfortable with this whole idea, seriously!â Lara said on the other side with a downcast voice
âCome off it, Lara! Now you are making me look as though I donât even trust my own self. Christ! You think my parents would just prescribe a girl for me from nowhere like a drug from a pharmaceutical and am just supposed to embrace her? I am older than that for Godâs sake, and they both know itâ He explained with slight irritation in his voice.
âIt could be any girl Jerry. It could even be our madamâ Lara said. Her voice was getting softer than normal.
Jerry laughed out loud. âGive yourself rest my dear, it canât be her. This one in question was born when I was two years old thereabout, and we left here for Lagos about that same time according to Mum⊠I have not the slightest idea what they are saying. Its only school that brought me back to Kogi state, so whatever history there is? That is their damn business. I am only accepting to meet her because my dad literally begged me yesterday. Else!! You needed to see how enraged I was.â Jerry said
Lara sighed âI hope so JerryâŠâ
Jerry laughed again. Lara was going âone-wordedâ on him again. She does this anytime her mind is unsettled about something. She just has this instinctive part of her she upholds so much. He didnât understand why she was worried over nothing. As far as he was concerned, his parentâs canât talk him into doing what he wouldnât want to do. His mind is already made and that is; nothing can work regardless of whoever the âarranged girlâ is.
âAlright Babe, I have to go now. Mum got me working since morning, because of the so-called graduation party this evening. She invited church members over. God! I am so tired of that woman. Let me go keep these drinks in the fridge before she starts screaming all over againâ He said as he picked up the carton of drinks he dropped on the floor earlier.
Lara gave out a mild chuckle, âYou are not even grateful you have a mother that stays with you and loves you as well. Have a great party aheadâ
Jerry hissed. âGrateful ke? Donât even play on my conscience⊠Alright byeâ
âWaitâŠâ Jerry paused to listen to Lara âJerry! You still havenât told me you love meâ
Jerry took a deep breath and dropped the carton again. He stood speechless for a while not knowing the best answer to give to Lara. Love, is one word he has been extremely careful to use since Tonia.
âYou see what Iâm saying? Itâs taking you forever to say you love me Jerry!â Laraâs breaking voice brought him back.
âOh no! Lara, letâs not start this morningâŠâ He tried to pacify her,
âBabe, you know I care a lot about you. You know all these, donât you?â He paused for a while and then continued, âFor love? We will get there Lara, just a little more time! Pleaseâ
Lara kept mute.
Dr Wale saw us off to where we parked our car. We have been here for over an hour. I ran my normal tests and as usual, I was told âthe dialysis seems goodâ when we all know am gradually vacating this planet by each passing day. Even though we are still praying for a life donor in no distant time from now, if not! Well, am hopeful and am living.
âAm sure you have met your namesake?â He asked placing his right hand on my back
âYes Doctor. She took the bulk of my sessions after the matron went on leaveâ I answered quite politely
He chuckled. âYea, she told me that. She prefers working anywhere else other than this hospital. I guess she is one smart kid like you. You should be good friendsâ He said, smiling.
âI would love to sir. Alright sirâ I replied and quickly entered the car.
He shook hands with dad and mum and made to leave for his office. Mum easily gets moody after every appointment with my doctor. Her cheerless face says a lot about how many things are going through her mind right now. Am sure she is praying for a miracle in her heart. Arenât we all praying for a miracle?
âHoney, you will drop us over at the boutique, there is no need going back home again. The day has been long spentâ Mummy told her husband as they entered into the car.
âYou and Tonia?â Dad asked as he thrust the car key into its hole
âYes! Of course, Dad. Have your forgotten your daughterâs marketing prowess so soon?â I asked feigning seriousness. Dad saw my face through the mirror and smiled,
âHow can I forget? You that won award for âbest entrepreneur of the yearâ five years in a rowâ Dad scorned. Mum and I burst out into a loud laughter but dad still maintained his serious look, and that made us laugh even more.
âItâs okay Dad, please!â I pleaded when my belly was almost bursting out with laughter. Dad jokes a lot when he chooses to and Iâm always his victim.
He killed the engine in front of our boutique, TSD Fashion&Accessories. The contemporary boutique is situated in the heart of Lokoja. And ever since I was little I have watched mummyâs business blossom more and more. She has customers coming from all over the country to purchase her goods and even seems to have monopoly over the textile business as all top government officials in this Kogi capital city- Lokoja- buys clothing materials only from us. Mum said she named the boutiques after the initials of me and my siblings. Her cheerful, attractively dressed and smart sales girls have set up everything and customers are already packed full in there. It is always that busy.
âWe have to hurry Honey, itâs like there is a lot of work here today, you know how it is during festive seasonsâ Mum said, hugging dad lightly. She opened the door to step out while I tried to pack all the bags and loads she dumped on the back seat.
âIt is as usual Honey; I guess the Sallah makes it more obvious. But donât forget to come early for Jakeâs sonâs graduation party.â Dad added as mum stepped out, âAnd Tonia, you must look exceptionally gorgeous to that party tonightâ he said turning in my direction
I smirked. âMe? What is so peculiar about me?â
Dad made a snort as well.
âHoney, I will explain things to her, you can go. Oya! Tonia lets hurryâ Mum said impatiently as she hurried over to my place and helped me with what I was carrying. We walked hastily into the boutique and dad zoomed off.
âMaâam, this is one of the most classic laces you can get around in this country. My boss orders her goods from the Arab emirates and our customersâ satisfaction is guaranteed.â I spoke confidently to one of our customers while taking her round the show glasses. She seemed to be confused about what exactly to buy; every textile she saw looks so sheen to her
âReally, I can attest to that. This one is so beautiful, this too and even thatâ she said pointing greedily at the beautiful laces hung in the show glasses.
âThis is Honiton lace and it goes for a hundred and fifty thousand naira for five yards. That other one is called Alencon and it goes for two hundred and fifty and this embroidered laceâŠâ I said raising the clothes up from the glass and placing them on the table as I called their prices âgoes for a hundred and seventy. All are the same number of yards, and basically the best quality but I guess the difference in the manufacturers explains the reason for the slight difference in price.â I explained, placing a smile firmly on my face. Business ethics, you know!
The woman was dressed in beautiful orange chiffon skirt and blouse with neatly tied âgeleâ on her head and her glasses placed on her nose like my doctor. She is quite old in age, am sure but I think her make-up artist is really doing an awesome work- Her uniformly toned âMary-Kayedâ face, neatly drawn eyebrows and the light pink lip stick adorning her lips â are the basis of my inference. And as I always say, education has its way of keeping us young.
âHello madamâŠâ Mum said as she came over to join us. We have actually spent more than normal time, trying to make a decision. The elderly woman smiled at my mum. If I am not being mistaken, she has some aura of intimidating excellence around her and thatâs so glaring in her carriage as well.
âWhen Mariam directed me to this place, I didnât take her serious. I even opted to buy the materials on my way to Nigeria but I considered the extra baggage charges. Now look at me confused about making a decision.â The customer explained letting out a big grin that displayed her teeth. I donât want to comment on that for now because I would be compelled to consider using dental braces to get mine that arranged.
âOh! You are the one Dr Mariam Azeez, the honourable commissioner for health told me about? We are very honoured to have you maâ my mum responded excitedly.
âOur elite women group sews a uniform every festive period and I was appointed to take charge of it this time. I canât seem to be able to select any, everything here is so beauâŠtiâŠfulâ she stressed, this time staring with ardent desire at both the materials in her hand, those on the table and even the ones in the show glass.
âIf you donât mind Maâam, I think you should choose thisâŠâ I opined giving her the embroidered lace and trying to help her with her difficulty in selecting from the chunk of laces on the table. âIt looks better since itâs the association year cloth or sallah festivity cloth, as the case may be. And who knows, you could buy one more association cloth before the year runs out and next year and on and on, before you know it, you will have all these beautiful laces in your bedroomâs wardrobeâ
She looked at me, nodding her head convincingly as she laughed to my gestures and displays
âYou are right young lady; I will just shut my eyes and have this one I guess.â She concluded going with my suggestion
âYes Maâam! I would package the 20 pieces for you. Just remember to tell the honourable commissioner that I helped out with the decisionâ I said jokingly
She and mum laughed.
âOf course! Iâll.â
She seem to be very impressed with me already,
âMuch more than buying the clothes, I may have to hire your extremely smart sales girl for some time. Would you let me, madam?â she asked beckoning to my mum.
Mum tittered lightly. âShe is my first daughter, donât mind her, she could be very dramatic at timesâ
âWow, she told me you were her boss. Didnât realise she was just being courteousâ She explained, with a broad grin plastered on her face.
I laughed within myself proudly as mum walked over to her office. The woman turned to me while I was still packaging the laces into our customized leather bags.
âAnd I canât forget to add that I already like you a lotâ she said. I felt flattered impressing another of my mumâs customers again. I truly should be given a trophy
âItâs my pleasure, thank you Maâam.â I replied politely
âI am Dr Bukky, and you are?â
âTonia, ma.â
I replied handing the paper bags to the salesgirls as we helped her to her car.
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