MARRIAGE TROUBLES

(Flashback to childhood mama and papa play)

I looked at Sandra furtively, I was subtly irritated by her now, she wasn’t listening to me. My opinion on how the family should be ran, mattered little to her.  My mum listened to my dad that was what supposed to be playing out here too! I stood there annoyed, secretly wishing she wasn’t my wife that afternoon. 

I missed Nifemi, she wasn’t like Sandra, she was calmer, didn’t behave as if she was the smartest one, wasn’t as bullish as Sandra. I wished she was the one who was cooking in front of me, I wasn’t enjoying this marriage.

“We need tomato, there’s none here” Sandra turned and said to me. She must have felt I was enjoying this. This was a guess though, her countenance was rigidly expressionless.

I stared at her for a while, bewildered at what she was asking from me. That wasn’t supposed to be my job. Didn't she understand how these things were done? She couldn't just follow convention. I hissed silently. 

Was it not children that went on errands? 

I was the head of the home, my duty should be to fend for the family, give out monies, send my children on errands; stuff that Nifemi would understand, not to help get tomatoes!

 I shook my head while I went to fetch the tomatoes. I enjoyed being in control, dictating what to do. She was gradually sucking the fun out of this too, that's how things with her always turned out to be. Monochromatic. Dull. Kill joy. 

Kunle was there when I returned. Kunle was always the erratic son who seldom like to stay with the family. He had become stereotyped, not that he ever cared though. He was considerably taller than me, some would even say bigger, but all that was trivial.  I was his father now. The script was that sons listened to their father, and he didn’t do otherwise, he liked being my son, or any body's son. He was holding the baby. Rocking her gently as any older brother would, firmly in character. The look in his eyes was that of sublime admiration. I always maintained he was too good for this role, but he never really liked being a brother or friend, being a son was what rocked his boat and he stuck with it.  Today, he was no different; today he was totally following my script, pretending to do the things I asked. I like the days he behaved like this, the days his mood wouldn’t be too ecstatic and he’d forget he promised to be my son after we had agreed the day before.

‘’Daddy, welcome’’ he greeted cheerfully.

‘’My son welcome, how was school?” I quizzed, as I handed the canned tomatoes to Sandra.

She wouldn’t understand the uncanny stunt I pulled to get it, or did she? Normally a bad one would suffice but not for me. Even though I wasn’t with any money, I had arrived with a fresh can of tomatoes, how I enjoyed making the cooking not too farcical. 

She was stirring the food which was still heating. Her cooking always took long, I wondered if she was lost in the drama of the entire theme. She was too meticulous, too ‘’by-the-book’’, but I had just admired Kunle for being the same, there was just something about Sandra, something irksome.

I thought of Nifemi again, she wasn't back yet, she probably was still in school. I looked on at Sandra now, becoming half disinterested, I was already half annoyed. 

The room was musty now, it was probably because of the bad vegetables she used, or the obvious mixture of "unmixables". It only meant one thing though; the food was almost ready. I looked out the window and saw Ogijo. Not so long ago, he was my brother in the scheme of things, but he too would not visit again because of Sandra. He had abandoned us. He and Sandra were not talking to each other now. She liked to boss everyone around and Ogijo didn’t tolerate that, he disliked her too. There, I had said it, I disliked her. I wondered why I was still with her, still married to her, maybe the prospect of being a Daddy was all too good and it attracted me totally, blinding me to the vivid obnoxiousness of my wife or maybe I was just bored of the TV programs that afternoon; too close to call.

Ogijo had his own family now, apparently, Julia was his wife now and I could tell they were returning from the rear of the compound. They held different kinds of foodstuff in their hands, some had obviously lost color as usual, but nonetheless, they looked happier, no one was overdoing anything. I envied Ogijo, though I knew I would only be as happy as him, if it was Nifemi cooking beside me, if it was her that was my wife. 

‘’Kunle, your sister is crying, you don’t know the smoke is disturbing her? Take her outside” Sandra barked. 

‘’Daddy, while I’m dishing out the food, help me call the children in so we can all eat’’ she quipped. 

Daddy? She had called me “Daddy”. Nifemi would say Jindu or Darling, everything seemed so surreal with Sandra. I felt nostalgia, just yesterday when I was with Nifemi. When it was Nifemi that was my wife, everything had been so convivial, it was always more fun with her. My disinterest grew as I sat on the stool at the side of the room, the room whose ceiling was probably crawling with all the genera of cobwebs known to man. I felt niggles. I wanted to leave but I didn’t know how to tell Sandra, how would she take it? I was a little scared of her, I had to admit that. She had beat me up a few times, not that I ever admitted that though. I always preferred to say we tied.

I was watching the swarm of ants that was crawling on the wall above me, they were always so courteous, never failing to acknowledge one another, no matter the kind of hurry they were in. I marveled at them. 

‘’Daddy, call them now’’ she was sounding bullish now, obviously proud of the meal she had prepared.

I wondered if she couldn’t read my body reaction, which was screaming leave me alone, albeit as mildly as I could let out. I strutted out of the room looking for Kunle and the baby, he was at the other side of the compound, he had left the baby on the pavement, playing football with Ogijo. I wondered why Ogijo had left his family so soon. Julia was still cooking her own version of the "unmixables" when I passed her near the gate, at the rear of the compound. We had gotten the favorable spot for our own family. She and Ogijo had to make do with the shade which the tall building provided. Truth was that, normally we left our families anytime we wanted to, except of course it was Sandra playing your wife. 

Then it happened! 

“Chukwujindu’’ screamed my mother on top of her voice. 

That signaled two things; my little family play with Sandra and Kunle was over and It spelt trouble, she only ever called my full name when I erred, when I had ‘’done something’’. I dashed away screaming ‘’ma’’ as loudly as my voice could take, as I ran, I wondered what I had done, I had to think fast, I had to prepare my defense.

Was it the can of tomatoes I had collected from the fridge? 

But I had seen two there, and they had been there a long time, no way she was going to use it today, or was she? I picked up my pace and suddenly stopped, the baby (my cardigan which Sandra had folded to the shape of a baby cot) still lay at the pavement, where Kunle had left it. I couldn’t risk my dad driving in and seeing it at the front of the compound and he could drive in at any moment, a voice in my head quipped. I ran back to collect it, there I saw Nifemi and her mum enter the compound. She probably stayed back at her mother’s shop after school, I was saying a quick ‘’good afternoon ma” to her mum when I heard my mum scream my name again, this time louder, and more ferocious. I entered the living room, with palpable fear, there she was scowling.

‘’Gini ki ne me since mmu na akpogi. Your lesson teacher has been looking for you’’. 

 I looked up and saw her, Auntie Eunice, smiling away, I could see through the facade though. I had written absolute guesses on my quantitative reasoning assignments. It was deliberate, I never seemed to understand that subject and even all my brainstorming efforts still produced the wrong answers. I went into my room to get my backpack and then I thought of Nifemi again…

Chris Izuchukwu Okafor