Chapter 4

The next morning I was up by six, said a very short prayer, did some push-ups, and hurried to the kitchen to tidy up the aftermath of yesterday’s cooking and dinner before Her Majesty woke up. Apart from her dressing, there was one other thing that pissed everyone off in the family—her promiscuous lifestyle, which her parents saw as uncontrollable. This was despite the wealth they possessed, which she easily had access to, and the comfortable life she lived.

She had barely wiped off the toothpaste suds around her mouth when she came and greeted me in the sitting room.

“Good morning,” she said slowly.

“Good morning. How was your night?”

“It was wonderful, the power outage notwithstanding,” she shrugged with a deep sigh as if she wanted to tell me something bad or nasty while avoiding my stern countenance at the same time.

“I’ll be traveling for some days, maybe till Saturday,” she continued.

“Travelling to where?” I demanded, folding my arms and eyeing her suspiciously.

“To Abuja for an official assignment,” she whispered, still avoiding my eyes.

“No problem, have a safe journey. Are you going by air or road?”

“It’s an official thing, Tio, and it’s definitely by air. I’ll be on the 10:30 flight this morning, so try to take care of yourself while I’m away.” 

With that, she tiptoed into the kitchen while the transparent nightgown swept past her. Watching her lean on the door frame brought back thoughts of my mother’s illness and my former coursemate into my mind. I thought of the best way to remind Her Majesty about the balance of the medical expenses while hearing her yawn.

She stood by my side and looked at me from head to toe as if I’d transformed into another person. Moments later, she was holding a tray containing a cup of hot tea, two fried eggs, a tin of evaporated milk, some slices of bread, a jar of honey, a small container of margarine, and a jar of apricot jam. 

‘Perfect breakfast for a saucy princess,’ I thought to myself.

“Come and join me,” she offered with a smile on her lips, which was yet to get soiled with her lipstick. 

“I’m not hungry yet,” I responded, pulling out a chair opposite her. The dining table was small but could comfortably fit four adults around it. Right now, only Bam-Bam and I sat opposite each other; the sun seemed to be slow in rising. For the next five minutes, I kept observing her countenance and thought of the best way to proceed with my request.

“So, Bam-Bam, before you go…what’s your plan for the remaining fifty thousand nairas the hospital is requesting?” I spoke in the softest tone I could muster while she spread margarine and apricot jam on two slices of bread. Afterward, she placed them together and started stirring her tea before raising her head to face me.

“Tio,” she began in a tone that sounded like our mother, sipping a cup of tea at intervals, “I’ve told you a million times…I don’t have that much money, or do you think I’m lying?”

“This is our mother we’re talking about here, your mother, my mother…we are the only children she has, and you think it’ll be right if we let her die without lifting a finger?”

“Listen, about lifting a finger, if I’m not mistaken, we’ve already ‘lifted’ five hundred thousand nairas,” she responded while I heard the resumed sound of the food she was eating. For a second, I tried to imagine how this twenty-five-year-old lady’s face would look like with a slap on it and its subsequent effect on her official assignment. The room was steadily brightening up as I discarded the thought of hitting her from my mind.

“Don’t even go there, my dear. You know you contributed little or nothing to that money,” I whispered to her as the amount of food before her reduced drastically.

“At least I contributed, didn’t I?” At that very moment, I knew her face was beautiful, with or without makeup, and I wondered why she spent that much money purchasing it in the first place.

“Do you know why I switched off my phone?” I asked her, mimicking a schoolteacher.

“Nope,” she whispered without raising up her head as she used her teaspoon to squeeze the teabag into her teacup. Then, she placed it in the tray before crossing her legs.

“It’s because anytime Dr. Okorie calls me, he always reminds me of my present financial state…Mum’s life hanging by a thread and the ‘nonchalant’ nature of his patient’s children.” 

She downed the remaining tea and smacked her lips as she suddenly stood up and headed for my room. She returned with my phone and a face I had prayed not to see in my dreams.

“Here’s your phone, big brother,” she began while switching it on and placing it on the dining table in front of me before going to clear where she ate. When she’d arranged everything on the tray, she pushed the chair toward the table and faced me with anger in her voice, even though she tried in vain to conceal it.

“I did not, you did not, and as a matter of fact, nobody inflicted Mum with any infirmity. God knows I’ve tried the same way you have to find a way to look for funds for her medical expenses. Even a madman knows that the sudden disappearance of all Dad’s money isn’t ordinary. We both know that Mum would give out the same amount of money the hospital is demanding to a lucky charity group on a Sunday service if she was in a good mood…”

She stared helplessly at the ground as she continued in her eloquent voice.