OYINADE

~11~

~OYINADE~

"Daddy welcome!", I exclaimed, jumping into his wide-opened arms. He smiled warmly, revealing his perfect dentition and dimples as he wrapped his arms around me. I knew he was the one. I just knew that it had to be him.

Although mum had told me that he was going to come the next day, I still knew that he was the one at the door when I heard him knock. Why? You might ask. Well, he had a synchronized way of knocking that I could recognize anywhere. That was how I knew it was him.

Ayobami also scampered towards us and my dad, being a pretty huge man, picked him up with ease.

I collected his luggage and took it to his room.
I heard him greet my mum at the kitchen as I walked back to the living room.

"How is work?", I asked.
I sat right next to him, observing his every move as he took off his tie and unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt.
"Hectic"
"But as you know, I love my job and that makes up for the stress", he said, smiling at me and tugging at Ayobami's cheeks.

Of course he did. If not, why was he still working with those selfish, greedy people? My dad was a civil engineer. And although that would have been a good means for my family to be almost wealthy, if not wealthy. His profession and experience wasn't enough. He usually worked based on contracts which he rarely got. Also, he always had issues with whichever company he works with.

Sometimes, they wouldn't pay him until several months later. Most of the superintendents and owners of the organizations were greedy and lacked feeling. They didn't care about the fact that their workers had family members or bills to pay. All they cared about was themselves.

Considering all these with the constant inflation of prices, it was not a surprise that his income was barely enough to sustain our family. Also, it was clear that the passion he has always had for his job was the drive that kept pushing him amidst all odds.

"Bawo ni school?", he asked in yoruba.

I looked down. My feet suddenly became a very interesting object of study as I fixed my gaze on it.
"Oyinade!", my mum called from the kitchen. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Ma!", I stood up without hesitation and dashed to the kitchen.

Whew!
Thanks to mum for the quick safe. I knew I was still going to talk about my grades with my dad.
Even though I knew that my Mum probably already discussed it with him, still I wasn't ready. I didn't want to see his eyes express sadness and every other emotion but warm pride for me.
"Wash these plates so they won't pile up", she instructed.

I started washing, rinsing, drying and arranging them while dreading the moment. The inevitable moment.
I heard shuffling of feet and guessed that my dad was probably going to freshen up after his long trip.
Mum dished everyone's food in their respective plates, including little Ayobami.

Dad had changed his clothes, so I guessed right, he really went in to freshen up.
We all sat at the dining table.
"Let's pray", my dad said. We all closed our eyes as he said a few words of prayer.
We washed our hands and started eating. Throughout the meal,
I avoided my dad's gaze out of fear that he would suddenly pop the question he asked earlier.

Luckily for me, he didn't say anything about my schoolwork throughout dinner. Rather, he spoke about his workplace, the stress, the interesting events that happened and we all listened.