Chapter 69

Ibeabuchi maintained a large grin on his dark face while the cab driver sped towards the specialist hospital, where I’d been admitted for over a month. He adjusted his six-foot frame inside the narrow back seat of the aged 

Toyota Corolla

. 

Any careful observer would immediately realize he wasn’t used to wearing suits, especially black ones. While turning his big head to look through the window, Anthonia Alozie bade me farewell after a lengthy prayer by my bedside. Watching her leave the room, I examined what she’d prepared and brought for me. I knew it would take the entire day for me to finish the jollof rice, ¾ smoked chicken, strawberry ice cream, and freshly squeezed orange juice. 

I’d often heard my late mother talking in anger about Anthonia Alozie’s cooking, which she saw as a threat to hers since both were women-owned catering establishments. Every first Sunday of a new month, my late mother made it a point of duty to cook and pack food for all the