Chaos and painkillers

6. A little family Problem.

Baba Alhaji sat with a tight emphasis.

His wrinkly fingers wrapped around the slightly cold ceramic tea cup. He tutted, dropping the cup back to its platter. "It's not the normal ginger content."

The man with a striking resemblance to the senior man rose to his feet immediately. He reached for the tray with the motive of getting his dad a new one.

Baba Alhaji's cold hands halted the motive by holding down Sudais' hand that was ready to take the tray away.

"You don't have to do that, Abba."

"I can just-" The old man cocked his head, signaling to his son that he was fine.

"Joda. (Sit down.)"

Dread.

Dread was an easy way to describe what he had been feeling his entire short trip home. What could the old man possibly want to tell him that he had him fly across the country in a day?

Nonetheless, he knelt/sat and cast his head down with the man's stare drilling into him.

He didn't know what to think or what to expect. And that was the scariest part.

Voice as calm as ever, the dark man of high rank quizzed while dropping the platter on a table by his side. "Sudais, a andi ngandume noddumami? (Sudais, do you know why i called you?)"

Sudais shook his head in pan. "Aa. Mi anda ni. Kori baasi fuu walaa. (No, i don't know. i hope there are no problems.)"

"Sedda. (A little.)"

Sudais' eyes rose. He raised a hand as if to ask then what is it? Instead, he asked; "Abaa selli naa? Jam bandu na? (Are you in good health? How is your health?)"

His dad nodded, "Jam tan. (All good.)"

Then what the hell was going on? "Toh miya faru?"

Baba Alhaji took his eyes off his son to the high ceilings as he rocked on the lift chair harder, opening the topic of discussion. Or more like the topic of decisions. "We have a little family problem." He paused to scrutinize Sudais. "The council is talking...they've been talking for a long time now and it's time i listen to them and your mother."

Sudais sucked air over his teeth and exhaled. The sound made his old man study him for a moment before he was admiring the ceiling again. "You knew this was coming. I've given you time. Time after time. Opportunities after opportunities. Ka kawo mata, ka kawo mata. But you just don't seem to take it. Ya kake so nayi? Baaka jin magana na." The room was suddenly rewarded with the sound of sandals slapping against the tiles.

The woman in a laffaya closed the door, turning with a glass platter and a covert cup.

Sudais didn't need to be told who, after all, he spoke to her first before this so-called conversation.

Silently, she handed the platter to Sudais who hesitated to take it at first but eventually did. The mother planted herself on the bed before the father went on.

"Let me remind you of some of our realm rules that you seemed to have forgotten..." Baba Alhaji paused for a hypoxic break before raising an index, "First, every male child of the family must marry before or at 25," He raised another finger, "Second, The first two male children must marry from a royal home or a big and esteemed family," Then came the third finger, "Thirdly, their first marriage is arranged by their parents. A political marriage. Whether you like it or not." He paused to intertwine his fingers in between each other. "But you've turned a blind eye on everything."