Beginning Again 4 (Aunty Janet's Story)

Photo Credit: Google

“Madam, you dey house?” He knocked at the door mildly “She suppose dey house, because I never see her comot today, she no even follow Oga go work” He knocked again. Foggy from sleep, I tried to stand up but my head was swimming. As I moved towards the door, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach and stopped to hold it in a bit.

“Maaaaaaadam oooooo” my maiguard’s voice pierced into my reverie. Irritated at the disturbance, I moved with force towards the door for two reasons. One because I wanted to give him a piece of my mind for the disturbance, then I was curious to know who he was talking with. As I opened the door, the sweet face of my younger sister Margaret calmed me down. Seeing her I burst into tears and forgot my annoyance at the gateman, she stepped in quickly as she always does, held me close while she discharged the gateman.

“Sis, are you okay? What’s going on, I’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday evening but your phone was not reachable”, she was searching my face and I knew she would notice the slight bruise in no time. Although the bruise from Phil’s slap had gone down, it still stings anytime the memories came back.

“I am fine”, I tried to muster some courage

“If you are fine, then explain the tears and…the bruise”

I moved further into the sitting room, trying to gather my scattered items back into my bag, while looking for my Kleenex.

“Sis, talk to me. Did something happen yesterday? Why are you not at work by the way, I stopped by at your workplace and I was told, you didn’t come in. Knowing my workaholic sister, that felt very strange. Then I come to your house and……:

“Why were you trying to reach me again?” I cut her off mid-way. I’d turn to see her confused face, I’m sure a lot of things were going through her mind. She sighed and took a seat.

“It’s Toke” hearing her daughter’s name made me forget all I was going through. When it comes to my sister and her baby, my love for them is very fierce.

Margaret had Toke just before she finished her final year papers. It was a tough one for her handling the pregnancy and reading for exams but I made sure I was there for her all through. Well as my only sister, what do you expect? Her boyfriend then, now husband had run away from the responsibility at first but when Omotoke was born, he was broken by the purity and innocence of the little one. Since then, he never left and officially asked for her hand in marriage as well as our parent’s blessings. My folks had not taken the news of Maggie's pregnancy well at first. Being the second girl and third born of a family of six, she was expected to have followed the footsteps of her elder sister (that’s me) and keep herself till her wedding night, typical of old folks back then.

However, after much pressure from me and my brothers, my parents gave in and supported her till she finished her final exams. I remember how my dad had proved very tough a nut to crack, he felt disappointed with Maggie, but my mum and I helped him get over it. He finally cracked when Omotoke was born and my mum put the baby in his hands. I had never seen my dad cry but I was comforted to know that they were tears of joy and not of residual pain. My two brothers, had been quite protective of Maggie and me, so when Maggie’s boyfriend, James came back, he had a tough time with the boys. I was out of school at the time, so I nursed Omotoke while Maggie went for her National Youth Service and I really loved her like she was mine. Toke had been an easy girl to adore, I remember how she would cling to me when I was going on one of my numerous research trips for my book, wanting me to carry her along and I would pacify her by telling her that I would tell her stories of the trips when I come back and bring back souvenirs. It was on one of such trips I met Phil. All through my friendship stage with Phil and even when we started planning to get married, Toke never warmed up to him but I felt with time she would.

Now it was almost three years into my marriage and the last time she visited with her mom, she hung on to me and begged that we go back home (home being our parents place). Maggie was preparing for her wedding ceremony that time, so they had dropped by from one of their ‘shoppings’. That was the last time I saw her, because the wedding didn’t hold again. James lost his dad and as the first boy of the family, he could not get married until after the ceremonial 1year period of mourning. It had been tough for Maggie and Toke considering the fact that they had all gotten visas to travel abroad immediately after the wedding to start a new life as a family before tragedy struck.

“What is wrong with Toke?” I asked again moving close to where my sister Maggie sat twisting her fingers. That and the look on her face got me alarmed.