Nwanyieze's POV~
I wake up the next day to see a box containing two dozens of red roses, waiting for me in the living room.
Because I came home late (or very early in the morning), I overslept. Mama Uju is seated watching Nick Jr with Adanna, who is still dressed in her small grey overalls, her brown hair curling around her face and making her look like a huge sunflower, except with dark petals.
"A delivery man brought them," Mama Uju responds when I ask her about the roses.
I read the small, white card attached to the bouquet and let out a hiss.
I took things too far. I'm truly sorry. Saheed.
The thought of his forceful kiss annoys me the more.
What to do with these flowers?
Yes, I think, smiling wickedly. I'll give the damned flowers to Iya Tunde's goat, aka the compound goat.
"Where are you going with those?" Mama Uju demands when I move towards the front door with my unwanted gift.
"I don't want them."
"And so what will you do with them?"
"Give them to Iya Tunde's goat."
She widens her eyes in shock. "Do you know how much roses cost?"
I know they're quite expensive, but I don't care. Expensive gifts won't make it up for the violation of my mouth.
But haven't you been letting yourself be violated all these years? my conscience mocks me.
"Don't you dare do such a thing, do you hear me?" Mama Uju commands. "Remove those plastic flowers from that vase and put the roses. Pour water into the vase, too." She points to the large white vase standing on the small dining table.
Reluctantly, I obey her. The flowers actually smell nice, that I can't deny.
"I made some French toast and baked beans sauce," she says to me while holding Adanna up in the air and kissing her face. The little girl laughs gleefully and puckers up her lips for her mother.
While eating in my room, I reflect on how fortunate Mama Uju is to have Adanna. At first, when she fell pregnant for that bloody expatriate, she cried a great deal because she feared she would lose a second child, and catering for her even if she survived would be a problem because she had me to care for, too. It was Adanna's birth that prompted me to go into prostitution because I didn't want to be a burden.
We've both grown to love and appreciate this bundle of joy, and we've both sworn to protect her from the harsh realities of life for as long as we can. She isn't going to end up like her mother and I, forced into a corner by circumstances beyond our control.
I'm pulled out of my thoughts by the ringing of my phone near the kitchen window. It's an unknown number, one I don't have on my contact list.
"Hello?"
"Queen."
Oh, sweet heavens, I think, mentally kicking myself for wishing it could have been Maduka.
Wait, what? Why was I expecting his call?
"Are you there?" Saheed's deep voice fills my ear.
"Yes. Good morning," I say frostily.
"Did you get the flowers?"
I'm sorely tempted to tell him that the compound goat says thanks for the breakfast, that it was delicious and could he please send some more soonest? But instead, I reply, "Yes, but that was very unnecessary."
"Nothing's unnecessary when you're concerned, Queen."
"Look, Saheed. I don't get your fascination with me but I can assure you, it will die off soonest. We are really not each other's type."
He laughs out loud. "You and your blunt words. All I ask is your forgiveness. I'll be leaving Nigeria tomorrow morning, and I want to make sure we're on good terms before then."
This news makes me smile. "Leaving too soon? Aww."
"I know you're happy to get rid of me, baby. Don't pretend."
I find myself laughing. What a great way to start my day! Saheed is finally going to be out of my 'fro!
"I wish you a safe journey, that's all."
"Thank you. And I'm really sorry about last night."
"I'll think about forgiving you. Give me a year."
"Ahn-ahn!"
"I'll be going now. Safe trip."
"Thank you. And Queen?"
"What?"
"I'll be back. You can trust me on that."
He hangs up with a chuckle, leaving me staring at my small Nokia cell phone. What I wonder is why he never questioned me about Maduka, after seeing us together last night.
Maduka's POV~
"Somto!" I complain.
"Get-off-the-freaking-bed-now!" Somto yells, pulling at one of my legs.
"You promised, Kaka!"
"I was tipsy! You took advantage of me!" I retort, still clinging to the headboard of my bed, which, sadly, is short for me. My feet stick out over the edge each time I lie down.
Somto's attempts to pull me off the bed prove futile. The last time she succeeded, I had been sixteen and she had been twenty-one.
"Kaka, don't be mean to me. It's me oh, your beloved sister!"
With a growl, I pull my leg out of her hands easily and sit up in bed.
Somto and I have been close from the moment we first met, the first time my adoptive parents had brought me home. Clutching my small travelling bag containing my belongings, I had looked at my scuffed shoes and sat on the edge of the seat in their living room, fighting back tears and listening to the introductions.
My new siblings, Obinna, Chijioke, Amara and Somto, the youngest, had all been staring at me with interest when I managed to raise my head up. Only Somto had been smiling.
"Baby boy," Somto had said cheerfully, standing up and rushing over to give me a hug. "Welcome to the family. Don't be scared, okay?"
"Somto is just happy that she won't have to wash the dishes alone anymore," Chijioke, the stocky brother, pointed out in a serious voice, prompting everyone to laugh.
"I didn't think of that!" Somto had yelled.
Everyone had gladly accepted me, and I was treated as the last born of the family. But I was closer to Somto, because of her easy laughter and free nature. She was the one I ran to when I got my first crush on my classmate, and also the one I ran back to when she had turned me down and chosen someone else.
"Come on, it's just till Sunday night," she pleads.
"Oh, now you've extended it till Sunday, ehn?"
"Baby boy, you know Daniel and I need some alone time. We've been planning it, and we don't want to disturb Mum and Dad this time around."
Somto is happily married with three children between ages two to eight. Her children, Max, Prince and Noel are the most energetic bunch I've ever come across. They're adorable, no doubt, but they make me wonder what on earth my sister feeds them.
"I shouldn't have come over to your place that night," I moan, rising from the bed and stretching. "You want to drop your children with me and go and do your husband abi?"
She grabs the nearest thing--my shoe lying on the floor--and hurls it at me.
"Uncle Kaka!" comes a small, cheerful voice. In walks four-year-old Prince, dressed in his Black Panther costume and a huge grin.
"He's refused to take it off for two days now," Somto whispers to me.
"Super hero!" I greet, scooping him up into my arms. He smells of baby powder and Golden Morn cereal.
"Good morning, Uncle Kaka." Max comes in and Somto walks out of the room, pleased that the presence of her children have melted my heart.
"Good morning, Chairman," I reply. Max allows me to scoop him up, too, not bothering that he's too old for that.
"I lost another tooth last night, see?" he says proudly, smiling and sticking the tip of his tongue through the gap where his upper left canine had been.
"You're such a big man now--"
"Kaka!" comes the loudest squeal.
Noel trots in, clapping her tiny hands. Her little Ankara play dress is just the cutest thing ever. There is even a matching head band on her head, keeping her curls out of the way. Seeing her brothers in my arms, she rushes forward and clings to my leg in an attempt to climb and join them.
"Somto," I groan.
Somto is laughing as she walks back in. "I can't wait for you to get married and start having your own kids."
"Well, you've got to wait a while, I suppose."
"Okay, let Uncle Kaka get ready for the day, okay? Remember, he's taking you to the beach today!" Somto sings.
The boys yell in glee, and Noel, not understanding, joins in, anyway.
"What?" I mouth at my sister.
"You promised."
"When?"
"You were tipsy," she says with a smirk.
"What's 'tipsy', Mummy?" questions Max.
At the front door, she tells me she has packed all their needed belongings in the huge travelling bag on the couch, warns me to please check Noel's daipers every hour because she's toilet training, not to give Prince sugar at all. She kisses her children good bye, pecks my cheek, winks at me and runs off, her laughter still ringing in my ears and sounding like the evil laughter of some villain from Cartoon Network.
I turn and face the three little faces looking up at me, excitement and expectation dancing in their eyes.
Note to self: Never drink at family gatherings. Especially when Somto is around.
A/N: If you're glad Saheed's going away I want to see your hands! 🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿