"Mummy!" Annika ranted in her south african accent.
"What! It's true, many Nigerian girls gets pregnant before marrying their supposed husband."
"That's some nigerian mentality.... I'm south african."
"All the same both countries are black skinned, it's just the way of living and thinking is different." Mrs Twala says, before going to the other side to pick out shoes.
"But Mum,"
"Yes darling?"
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you and it's bothering me. With the way i am and my profession, you don't think Mide's parents can't like me, right?" Annika asked as Mrs Twala has a sour look on her face and turns away to begin rummaging through a clothes rack.
"Mum...What was that look? I saw that."
"Nothing. It's just, Mide bringing a girl all the way there to meet them can mean a lot to these overseas families. Eh, they're different from us."
"How are they different? They're Nigerian, I'm South African. I'm an african girl, I'm a successful media personality with lactose intolerance."
"Yeah, but you grew up here in Johannesburg. Your face is South African. Your culture is South African. You speak Zulu and not Nigerian languages. But here...and here...." Mrs Ndamase points to Annika's head and mouth.
"You're different. But wearing a lucky color will make a good first impression and trust me Mide's mother will love you. And I know you are always so cautious, and you don't want to be disappointed, but I just know in my heart what's going to happen and trust me you'll be happy." Mrs Twala said merrily with an assuring smile.
Annika and her mum arrived back at the resort with lots of items from their shopping spree, all on Mide's black card.
Valencia bought alot of things, Mode had ask Annika to take good care of his future mother in-law, which she did but Annika couldn't help but answer every question that was thrown at her by her mother.
"Mummy for the hundredth time, nothing is going to happen, you need to stop having all these thoughts and superstitions in your head, except if you want something to happen, untill then, there's no point making a big deal out of it," Annika insisted as she placed some of the boxes on her bed.
Her mum sat the nearest sofa not too close to the bed. "So where will you be staying in Nigeria?"
"Well i don't know, maybe at his parent's place, I guess."
"His parent's place, mmmmm, Do they live in a house or an apartment? A mansion?" Mrs Twala ask curiously.
"Mom I have no idea."
"Hiyah Annika, You should've find out these things!" Mrs Twala threw her hands up in the air.
"Why does it matter? Are you going to try to sell them a house in Nigeria?"
"If i can.... yes, since we'll be inlaws, atleast for we'll be business partners and I'm not just going to sell them a house, I'll give it them for free as per your dowry."
"Mom!!!" Annika exclaimed, her mum stood up
"I'm just saying that might be in a guest bedroom or sharing a bed with him, and you know how nigerian families will react when they find out that their golden son is doing a sleepover with his financée under their roof?"
"It never occurred to me-........"
"My daughter, that is the most important thing. You mustn't assume that Mide's parents are going to be as liberal-minded as I am. You are going to Nigeria,and those nigerian people are the most uptight of all the africans, you know! I don't want his parents to think I didn't raise you properly."
Annika sighed as she started removing the clothes, shoes and other items from the shopping bags. She knew her mother meant well, but as usual she had managed to stress her out about details she never would have imagined.
"Now, we must plan what you will bring as a present for Mide's family members,"
"Family Members?"
"Yes. His father, his father's first wife, second wife, his sister's, they're husbands, Mide's siblings, step brother and sister, his grandparents, cousins, nephew and nieces. You need to present yourself that you have all of them in mind, especially his Mother." Mrs Twala stated, enunciating the last word.
"And you want me to buy gifts for all of them?"
"Yes you will, don't you know that if you go to a nigerian home for the first time and you don't come bearing gifts, they assume your un-enthical, no home training,......" She continued eagerly, Annika just shook her head.
"Find out what Mide's father likes to drink. Scotch? Vodka? Whiskey? I have so many spare bottles of Johnny Walker left over from the Christmas party, I can send you one."
"Mom, I'm not going to cart over a bottle of booze that they can get there. Let me think of the perfect present to bring them from South Africa."
"Oh, I know just the thing for Nick's mother! I'll call your sister to go to Macy's and buy her one of those pretty gold powder compacts from Fenty Savage Beauty. They are having a special offer right now, and it comes with a free gift-an expensive-looking leather pouch with lipstick and perfume and eye-cream samples. Trust me, every Nigerian woman loves those free gifts........."
"Don't worry, Mom, I'll take care of it. Thanks for the advice it was helpful."
"Of course it's helpful, do you think I'll let you off to Nigeria without giving you some insights, darling you have to be prepared, who knows maybe Mide's mother will ask you to prepare a Nigeria dish for the family." Mrs Twala said as her daughter looked at her dumfounded.
"Mom!!!" She exasperates.
"My dear I'm just saying. It's part of their culture, new wives cook for the whole family, it's a way to approve if your worthy to be a wife material. As a matter of fact, tell me what Nigerian food can you cook Mihali, I'm seeing some YouTube videos here and i think they will be very helpful to you." Annika's mum said, scrolling through her iPad surfing the internet for tutorials.
"Really Mom! You think my fiance's mother will ask me to cook? Me cook?"
Mrs Twala scoffs. "Ah.... of course she will, I'm sending the links to your WhatsApp." Her mom said as she hit the send button, and immediately Annika's phone starts to beep of notifications. Her mum had sent her tons of links. She opens her mouth in amazement and then averting her gaze to her mother.
"Are you sure about this, all these aren't necessary."
"Trust me darling, you will learn fast, very fast. Nigerian dishes are very easy to prepare" Her mother stated as Annika throws her phone to the side, rolls her eyes and dashes straight to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her for some peace and quiet.
The south african damsel looks at her reflection in the mirror and let's out an exhale. "You can do this Annika, you can do this. It's just a visit to Nigeria to see the family nothing more." She mutters to herself inhaling and exhaling, but it was certain her mind was not at rest.
Lagos, Nigeria,.
It was 4'oclock and bible study started 30mintues ago. Shola was late and her mother in-law would not be pleased.
Every Friday afternoon by 3:30pm, Yemisi Ajírọtútù Salami the matriarch, always had an important day at her house in Ikoyi, Lagos, Banana Island.
Everyone, whether it be rumour or truth, knows that the Ajírọtútù and Salami's made their fortunes from past decades, even when Nigeria was colonized till she became an independent country, the family's wealth remains unquestionable, and their name is burnished into the chronicles of africa respectability.
The grandmother of the Ajírọtútù family held a Bible study luncheon for closest friends especially her two daughter In-laws, along side their closest friends in her palatial bedroom and Shola Ajirotutu was sure to attend.
Her house was indeed a Palatial Mansion, it was
was not actually in the sprawling glass-and-steel structure, Instead, on the advice of her husband's security team, their bedrooms was hidden away in the pool pavilion, a white travertine fortress that spanned the swimming pool like a postmodern.
To get there, you either had to follow the footpath that wound along the coral rock gardens or take the shortcut through the service wing.
Shola always preferred the quicker route, since she assiduously avoided the sun to maintain her fair complexion, and also, her husband's second wife Nike, who always considered herself exempt from the formalities of waiting at the front door, being announced by the butler, and all that nonsense. Always wants to be noticed by her mother-in-law.
Besides, Shola enjoyed passing through the kitchens, the old and new chefs in their white chapeau and aprons pacing back and forth in the vast kitchen, preparing different dishes, both international, african and local dishes.
Whenever she came over the house, Mathew, the head of kitchen stood over enamel boilers, would always open the lids for Shola to see the freshly cooked stew with shaki, èdoo, roundabout, pumo, prawns, and sea fish, also catch fish pepper soup boiling, garnished scent leaf, prawns and crabs that is always specially prepared for her mother-in-law and the brewed herb that washes her system medicinally.
Not to the mention, the kitchen maids gutting fish in the backyard, they fawned over how youthful Mrs Ajírọtútù still looked at the age fifty, her fashionably bone straight hair and her unwrinkled face and flawless skin.
Infact the servants always gets into furious debating, the moment she was out of side of what expensive new cosmetic procedure Mrs. Shola Ajírọtútù must have endured, her expensive bags, to asoebi, to her jewellery before gushing over Nike's lifestyle as well.
By the time Shola arrived at Yemisi's sitting room, her mother-in-law's friends were already there;
Not to mention her friends, the bible study regulars: Yinka Otedola, Bolanle Williams, and Tiwalola Alakija and Aisha Dangote.
And Nike's friends: Oyindamola Balogun, Laide Amuni, Funke Oguntono and Uju Wellington were all assembled studying the Bible.
Here, sheltered from the harsh equatorial heat, these longtime friends were sprawl languorously about the room, analyzing the Bible verses assigned in their study guides.
"Shola........ you're late, ki lo shélé." Yemisi said as everyone raised her heads to look at her.
"Ekasan ma......"Shola greeted, slightly bending her knee. "Something came up, I lost track of time...... I'm sorry, ema binu.... Good afternoon everyone.." she said as they replied, except for Nike's friends who answered with their nose.
"I see...welcome........i guess there was traffic as usual.........wa jó kó." Yemisi gestured her to come over, as she continues to read the bible while Shola made her way across the room to the empty sofa beside her mother-in-law and sat down, took out her bible from her expensive Birkin bag and joined the fellowship while a chef came ti serve her a glass of grape juice to calm her nerves.
Shola mouthed thank you as she took a sip of her drink. She always sat beside her mother-in-law whenever they had bible study. Yemisi always reserved the seat for her, an imported peach chair from Singapore, same chair the rest of them sat on richly, even though this was her house, her mother-in-law is never partial, after all she's the first wife of her son before Nike came along.
Yet Shola always respected and deferred to her mother-in-law's wishes and sometimes disobeyed her, more reason why Yemisi held her in high esteem, because she is open-minded and blunt unlike Nike, her husband's second wife, the tush one with a proud look, whenever she spoke her British accent, you can't trace an ounce of Yoruba accent, despite she's from Ondo state.
Nike too, couldn't help but look at Shola with envy and jealousy, how her mother in-law always treated her specially, irritated her guts, after all she's Femi's wife as well, so she should have the same treatment like Shola.
But no, her mother in-law always placed Shola above her, because she is the first wife. First wife my foot, they're equals, married to the same man with children bearing his name, so what's the problem? What has Shola done that she hasn't. She always wondered.
Coming from a well known family in the country, Nike had always felt inferior to Shola, She was brought up speaking English, lived a luxurious life on the island in Lekki, schooled in UK and did her masters in England, and Shola a Yoruba girl from the trenches in Surulere, came from a poorly background, a mechanic father and a mother that sold akara, yam and potatoes, while she struggled to get her way through school, went to Unilag, did ushering jobs, sold zobo and puff, clothes and food every evening in front of her hostel, after graduating, played a lottery and won a trip to the USA to do her masters and one way or the other she meet Femi in an Art gallery and love happened.
Despite how the family didn't accept Shola, it was a thug of war, she was hardworking like people said, but had not roots of wealth nor riches, not to mention societal status, moreover his parents didn't approve of their marriage, threatening to disinherit Femi, but he never bulge, stood his ground to marry Shola damming the consequences.
Accepted his fate to lose his inheritance and this feared Yemisi, she couldn't lose her first son and her husband Segun couldn't lose his heir, so they had to give in and accept Shola as their daughter in-law and after three years he married her as a second wife.
Yet still even among these exceedingly well-married ladies seated in this room, Nike knows deep down she can never match up to Shola because the first wife had trumped them all by becoming Mrs. Shola Ajirotutu Salami. The woman after her husband's heart.
*******
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." Shola reads the bible passage as her mother in-law continues to preach.
Yemisi sits with ten fabulously dressed, bejeweled women, all in their (50s), (Late 30s) & (40s). Uniformed maids serve tea and chocolate, carrot and vanilla cakes. They were now seated at the dinning table beside the pool outside the Palatial Mansion, whilst the servants came in with the first course.
The lunch started off with braised turkey, and sauce over pasta, Shola's friend, Tiwalola Alakija, married to the an oil magnate, flips to the next page while reading 1st Corinthians in her Good News Bible.
After she was done, Yemisi urged Uju Wellington, Nike's friend on reading from her own version, Yemisi with her hair on low cut, her rimless reading glasses perched at the tip of her nose, she looked like the principal of a girls' school.
At seventy-five, she was the oldest of the ladies, and even though everyone else was on the millennial age of Gen Z era, Yemisi always insisted on saying, "I went to Queen's college school and was taught by nuns, you know, so it will always be King James for me." She always said.
After reading, tiny droplets of sauce splattered onto Uju's like tissue-like page, but she managed to keep the good book open with one hand while deftly maneuvering her fork with the other.
Laide, meanwhile, was busily flipping through her Bible-the latest issue of Genevieve magazine. Every month, she couldn't wait to see how many pictures of her daughter Motunrayo-the celebrated "Amuni Foods heiress"- were featured in the "Soirées" section of the magazine.
"Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on Earth." Yemisi continues to preach but Laide herself was a fixture in the social pages, what with her gelé and bubba, and makeup, tropical fruit-size jewels, and human hair. Iya- olode number one.
"O ga o, Uju, Genevieve devoted two full pages to your Christian Helpers fashion gala!" Laide exclaimed.
"Already? I didn't realize it would come out so quickly," Uju remarked. Unlike Laide, she was always a bit embarrassed to find herself in magazines, even though editors constantly fawned over her "classic Nigerian looks." Laide simply felt obligated to attend a few charity galas every week as any good born-again Christian should, and because her husband kept reminding her that "being a devoted holy holy is good for business."
"Laide! do you realize were having bible study?" Yemisi cautioned her, her tone was furious.
"Mummy e ma binu." Laide apologized as she continue to scan the glossy pages up and down. Later on the bible story ended with Yemisi giving an order to Laide, who began offering the closing prayers like a prayer warrior.
*********
Here's a picture of Yemisi Ajirotutu Salami "Mide's Grand mother.
Mrs Valencia Twala "Annika's Mother"
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