CHAPTER ONE

Seven'o clock in the morning on a Saturday was too early for someone to be knocking at our gate. Saturdays were when the whole family take their real rest. Everybody woke up late except my mother who would have woken up as early as 5am to clean the dishes, do the laundry, sweep the house and the surroundings and put the food on fire. She gave me the weekend offs considering the fact that my weeks are always crammed with activities from school . And besides, I was now in the first year of my Senior Secondary School Education and would be writing my West African Examination Council in 3 years time. On weekdays, my routines were simple: I woke up very early to wash the dishes, put the food on fire, bathed for Mary, and ensure that Khalid, and Chineye got ready for school before leaving the house. Chineye and I were going to the same school and she was in the second year of her Junior Secondary School Education. We both usually left the house at the same time until when I started leaving her behind because she took too long to dressup in the morning.My mother took the full charge of the home on weekends and allowed us to have the longest sleep of our time. I usually woke up as late as 11am and would walk straight to the kitchen to have my breakfast which my mother would have prepared.

When the banging on the gate would not stop, my mother yelled at me from the kitchen to go and open it. I rolled to and fro on my bed, fuming in the mouth, and being careful enough not to hit Chineye, before I sat up straight, yanked the duvet off my body and tossed it to the floor. I cursed under my breath. Not only had the intruder disturbed my blissful sleep but also had succeeded in giving me a nasty headache from waking me up from my deep sleep with those awful knocks. I grabbed my ankara print wrapper and tied it around my chest and it draped all the way down to below my knees. I took a glance at Chineye who was still sprawled on the bed unmoved and unperturbed by the sounds. She was a deep sleeper and could sleep even on water if situations called for it.

I reluctantly walked to the gate, dragging my feet along. When I unlatched the door, Aunty Christy burst in almost knocking me out of her way. She paused, just long enough to take in my looks: My hair was disheveled, dried crust of saliva trailed the corner of my lips and to make the view more disgusting, I kept on brushing a finger across my right eye which itched a lot and picked out a speck from the inner corner of the eye. Aunty Christy barely walked straight to the house without sparing me a second look. Normally, she would have scorned and scolded me for looking like an old woman when I was actually sixteen--and even though she knew I was not supposed to look flawless when just waking up very early on a Saturday morning.Aunty Christy was a beauty mogul, a fashion goddess and her styles were impeccable. She was obsessed about her looks and wears even makeup to bed. Many a time, she would call Chineye and me and give us her quick lecture on why we should be girly and always strive to look good.

" Life is all about packaging. Especially when you are a girl. Your styles will determine the type of person you will attract. Don't you see the type of men that I date. They are men of class and high caliber. I raise the standards already," she would always say. But Chineye and I paid little or no heed to what she would always say. I still continued to wear my hand-me- downs from my mother while Chineye wore mine.

That morning, Christy outfit was not christy-like. She was clad in a slip gown that would pass for a maternity wear. Her feet looked like they were covered in white powder. Her visage was completely free of makeup. And fresh pimples which she would have covered with foundation broke out of her face. I wanted to laugh so badly at her but suppressed the urge to do so when I realized that her eyes had lost their sparks. Deep down, I knew something was wrong with her. She just got married two weeks ago and was back at our house when she was supposed to be away on her honeymoon. The just-married glow was not radiating from her and her charming smile had vanished from her lips. I wanted to ask her what was wrong. I wanted to tell her everything was fine ,even when I had no idea what was going on with her, but she was already gone, her steps faster than the usual.

When I walked back to the house, she was already settled on the sofa in the sitting room, her legs crossed at the ankles, her chin nestling on the palm of the hand which she braced on one arm of the sofa. Her eyes were staring into emptiness. She paid no attention to me as I hurtled across the sittingroom into the kitchen where my mother was cooking.

" Who was that?" My mother stepped back to avoid hot oil splashing on her as a spoonful of the bean puddle she tried to put into the oil to fry made the oil sizzle and hiss. She was making akara.

" Aunty Christy."

" Aunty Chr.., who?" She is shocked and all over her face are questions like, " do you even know what you are saying?", " are you sure you are fully awake?", " what will Christy be doing here when she is supposed to be on a honey moon?" My mother knew better that the house was not supposed to be quiet if Aunty Christy was around. She had the habit of calling everyone's name and making silly jokes about everything.

" Ok," she sighed and continued frying the bean puddle. She did not bother to ask me to take over the cooking. instead, she kept murmuring words to herself questioning what brought Christy to the house. I stepped out of the kitchen and walked back to the sittingroom. I stood at the threshold of the door looking at Christy who was now all haunched up on the sofa still staring into emptiness. I was still looking at her when I felt l something tug at my wrapper. I cringed and almost jumped out of my skin. My four-year -old step sister, Mary was standing next to me. She just woke up from sleep and seemed so lost.Her night wear reeked of urine. Mary strolled into the sittingroom as she saw Christy on the couch.

" Aunty Christy," she screamed.

I wanted to grab her and stop her from going to her, for her own sake. First, Christy was not in a good mood and second, Mary had soiled her clothes with urine. But Christy's attention was already shifted to her and she beckoned to her to sit beside her on the sofa. She was not pissed that she reeked of urine. Again, that was not Christy like. I went back to my room where Chineye was still sleeping on the bed. Chineye was my gist partner and I needed to wake her up to inform her of Aunty Christy's presence.

" Chineye, wake up," three deft blows to her thigh and she was still not burging. I reached for the glass of water on our bedside table and sprinkled the water on her. She frayed her arms and legs like she was about to swim. I stiffled the urge to laugh.

" Who's that," she said as she jumped out of the bed.

" Aunty Christy is here." She was still trying to make her eyes focus so her blurry vision can be clear.

" Aunty Christy is here," I said again.

She hissed. " Is that why you woke me up? Monique, what's wrong with you?" Her nostrils were already flaring up.

" I'm sor..."

" Wait, did you say Aunty Christy is here?" Chineye sounded so surprised herself. It seemed like she just processed what I said. " She's supposed to be away on her honeymoon. What's she doing again in our house. Has it not occured to her that she's married and is supposed to be in her husband's house. Emphasy on huuuusbaaand houuuuse."

" Don't be mean, Chineye. I think there is something really going on with her. You need to see the way she looks."

" What? Where is she?"

" She's in the sittingroom."

Chineye dashed out of the room and come back later after some minutes.

" Why does Christy look like she's mourning? That's so unlike her."

" I don't know, " I shrugged.

My mother voice echoed from the kitchen calling us to come for our food. She'd already served the pap in cups and put some Akara in paper plates. Akara and pap was what we usually eat on Saturdays. Mary walked to the kitchen. Her prococious mind was enough to tell her that food was ready. She demanded for her food but my mother said," let Chineye carry it for you."

" No," she protested already carrying the paper plate in a hand and the cup of pap in another.

My mother issued a serious warning. " Don't let it fall. I won't give you another one. Carry them one at a time." Hardly as she finished speaking when Mary tripped just at the threshold of the kitchen door. The pap splashed all over and the balls of akara went flying in different directions. Mary sucked on her teeth almost at the verge of crying. Chinese was already up against her and delivered a knock on her head which triggered the tears and Mary started wailing.

" Why did you do that Chineye?" Said my mother. " You want her to start running temperature when you know I have no money to spend at the hospital. I do not give you the permission to beat your sister up." She served another pap in a cup and some balls of Akara in another paper plate and instructed Chineye to carry them for Mary to our room. She asked me to clean up the mess in the kitchen. I checked behind the kitchen door and picked the mop and dustpan. I mopped the splotches of pap on the tiled kitchen floor and swept the balls of akara into the dustpan before emptying them into the bin. My mother had already dished Christy's food and asked me to take it to her. Mary's father always had his meal last. My mother didn't bother to dish his portion so she left it in the pot and

he came for it whenever he was ready. My step brother Khalid was out of the house to play with the neighbors.He was already in his teen years and had begun to grow more obnoxious and recalcitrant. Many a time, he and my mother usually got involved in some altercations which usually end in physical combats. My mother turned anything to missiles which she launched at him starting with her slippers, nearby plates,cups to mention but a few. But Khalid was deft in dunking and dodging things. And my mother would swear bitterly and accused him of talking after her ex- husband, his father.

When I got to the sittingroom, Christy was already sitting up on the couch. She no longer stared at emptiness but seemed to be aware of her environment now.

" Aunty Christy, your food." I drew the stool from beside the couches to her front and set the cup and paper plate on it.

" Thank you Monique." She said. I thought whatever iwasbwrong with her was already wearing off and her real self had begun to resurface. " How are you?" She asked.

" I am very well fine." I replied. I wanted to ask her why she was not on her honeymoon. I wanted to know what was troubling her but I dare not. It would be like I was meddling in her affairs. But I really wanted to know what was going on with her. So, I went back to the kitchen to get my food and proceeded to sit on a chair at the big dinningtable. The dinningroom was the most inconspicuous part of the house. The shafts of light sieving through the mesh on the window cast shadows beside them. I sat lurching in the shadows.The kitchen's door which was wedged open with a stool slammed shut and I heard the flip-flap of my mother slippers on the cold tiled floor of the sittingroom.

" Iyawo, our wife. What are you doing here on a Saturday morning when you are supposed to be snuggle up against your husband chest?"

Aunty Christy turned to face her. " Goodmorning Bimbo."

" Why do you look like this?" My mother gasped.

" Bimbo, the way I look, is the least of my problem right now."

" What's wrong?" My mother plopped into a couch beside her. " First of all, how is your husband? is he fine? I hope there is nothing wrong with him."

Then Aunty Christy went silent.

Her silence was already communicating a lot to the still room. I knew this is all about Kay. The Kay she adored a lot. If Kay could make the lively Christy went dead and taciturn, I thought he was not actually worth it. When I saw growups crying over their men, I wanted to flog them badly. It pissed me off to see them behave like children. Now, the almighty Christy was acting dump and weak because of a guy. Chineye told me I would never understand because I didn't know what it meant to be in love. Whether I was in love or not, I would never be a simp for a guy. I would always say that to Chineye. I didn't even think I wanted to be in love because it was not worth it.

" Christy, all of this is about your husband right?" My mum broke the silence.

She nodded.

" Tell me everything that happened without mincing words."