chapter 17

Rosaline's mother couldn't exercise any patience on the issue of Kalu getting married to her daughter.

She liked Kalu so much and needed him to be his inlaw.

Moreover, she had heard many stories of young men disappointing the girls they had vowed to marry especially when things changed for the better for them.

She wanted to avoid such a strategy for her daughter, and the best way she thought she could achieve that was by getting Kalu to perform the necessary marriage task before he would start expanding.

For it was certain that whenever he started making money and became successful, many women would come to deceive him.

Women are known to be attracted by success and flood to wherever it exists.

Rosaline's mother told Rosaline to inform Kalu that he wanted to see him urgently.

Each time the mother made such a demand Rosaline's heart leaped for she knew that the mother would always come up with issues that could be disturbing though the ones she had come up with so far had sounded harsh, they were to her favor.

The mother had always asked those questions that she had always found difficult to ask by herself whenever she was alone with Kalu.

Rosaline had found another opportunity to visit Kalu at the market.

She had always yearned for the opportunity to visit him at the shop and had made use of anyone that came up without wasting time.

Kalu had already told her that he was settled with the same shop he had managed for his uncle, so she didn't have to search for the shop anymore, he had already known the place.

Rosaline had already gained admission into the higher institution.

She was admitted to the Lagos state university after she met the cut-off mark for admission that was after she had written the university admission examination for the second time.

She was studying mass communication and was in her first year.

for the sake of not being so far away from Kalu, she had decided against the wish of her father not to lodge in the school hostel rather she was going from their house to attend her lectures.

The transport fare from their house to the school didn't make a hole in her pocket. For the institution was also located there in the city not too far from their house.

That was the only time she had had her way on such an issue, coupled that she was backed by the mother who was the only one that knew the reason for Rosaline's decision.

The father felt she was old enough to decide on where she wanted to stay.

What the man was interested in, was for her to graduate in flying colors wherever she stayed by the time she would graduate.

That was the reason the man didn't impose his own will on her after she had promised she won't get distracted in her studies.

The mother was the one that suggested Rosaline.

" Is it not better you go from home so that you will not be too far from Kalu, you know that many girls had been interested in him even when he had got nothing when he was still under his uncle let alone now that he had been settled and had started making his own money?" The mother suggested the night before the day she was to go to the school and commence her registration, as they were seated in the sitting room chatting. "You know all these girls, they can easily deceive a man especially when they felt his girlfriend had been far away" she added.

She narrated to Rosaline her own experience with her father when they were newly courting.

How a girl who had been admiring the father wanted to steal her place just because she was away for a month to see her parents.

She was working in the city before she met Rosalin's father.

After she had finished her narration she withdrew to her room while Rosaline was left all alone in the sitting room thinking about what the mother had said.

She thought better of it and made up her mind that night to go with the suggestion.

The next morning before she left for school for her registration, she told the mother that she would no longer reside in the hostel.

"That money that I am supposed to use for the hostel fee, I will use it for my transportation throughout the semester."

When some of the uncles who were also interested and contributed to Rosaline's education demanded a reason for that decision, it was the mother that leaped to her defense.

"She is my only daughter, I want to be looking after her even while she is in school, I don't want her to be corrupted by any school friends. I heard that sometimes their friends in school deceive them into attending night parties and clubs" Rosaline's mother explained.

The uncles were able to be convinced by those words for they knew that Rosaline was just a young girl and could easily be deceived by schoolmates.

According to African tradition, the upbringing of a child is not on the parents of the child alone, the parents are usually assisted by all the relatives and sometimes the neighbors.

One thing they dreaded so much was Rosaline getting pregnant while still in the parent's house.

They knew the father had given her a decent upbringing and provided her all that she needed.

And she was expected to continue in that path that had been shown to her from childhood.

Rosaline's father had not relented in making sure that his daughter remained morally sound that was why he didn't object to that suggestion by the mother and Rosaline's reason.

He was looking forward to the day a decent man would seek Rosaline's hand in marriage which was the prayer of every parent for their daughter.

Rosalin's mother's suggestion was playing out fine.

Rosaline even as she was attending her classes was able to meet with Kalu each time he had wanted to see her.

The next day after that mother had told her that she wanted to see Kalu she left for the market after she was through with attending to the house chores.

It was a Thursday and a public holiday and there was no school.

Kalu had been a boss of his but whenever he was at the shop, he still felt like he was managing it for his uncle.

It's only by the end of the day that it always dawned on him that he was now on his own.

For he no longer accounted to his uncle.

Though on the first week of his return from the village he usually forgot himself and brought the account book to Abuchi.

Abuchi would laugh and ask him to account to himself.

Rosaline walked directly to the shop and got seated on the customer's seat.

Kalu was surprised to see him but didn't express his feelings as he was busy organizing some goods for one of his customers who were there earlier and had placed his demands before leaving to purchase other things in the market.

Kalu nodded to her greeting as he continued counting the products he was organizing for the customer.

He was always glad each time he saw Rosaline even in some situations where he wasn't comfortable with her visit.

Abuchi still came sometimes to check on him in the shop, and to know how he was coping with the business.

Kalu was still cautious of his way of life even though he was now on his own.

He knew that his uncle was like his father in the city and he could still caution him if he misbehaved.

Rosaline sat quietly and watched him as he was busy with what he was doing.

In the middle of what he was doing, he turned to Rosaline and had a proper salutation with her.

Rosaline quickly delivered the message she had come for. So that it won't look as if she purposely came to spend time with him.

She had wanted to avoid making Kalu feel bad about her unnotified visit.

From the facial reaction of Kalu, it didn't seem he was uncomfortable with her visit after he was through with what he was doing.

He was all smiles as he touched her chin in admiration.

"You looked so beautiful this morning!" he smiled at her.

Rosaline chuckled in response as her confidence was awakened.

"I hope those university boys won't steal you from me?" Kalu frowned.

Rosaline stood up and caressed his shoulder as she assured him of her unwavering love for him.

"You are the only one that owns my heart, no one else but you. And I promise not to betray your love, I will love you till I d..." She leaned forward and kissed his lips.

The kiss almost got Kalu carried away, for it was like honey on his lips.

He could have pressed the lips so tight on his but he quickly realized that they were in the shop and anyone could walk in without notice.

Each time he was kissed by Rosaline it felt like the first kiss.

Kalu held her by the arms as she gradually got back on the seat.

A customer walked in immediately after Kalu's hand was off her body and he turned to attend to him.

The customer was one of Kalu's old customers and was also one of his big customers.

He complimented Rosaline's good look after she had greeted him and asked if she was Kalu's sister.

The question was directed to Rosaline but Kalu was fast enough to respond even before Rosaline could open her mouth for a reply.

"Yes, she is my sister!" Kalu replied.

"She has a similar look with you!" the customer commented.

"You are welcome sister!" he said to Rosaline

"Thank you" Rosaline grumbled.

From the way she had responded to the man, Kalu noticed that she was not happy with that introduction.

She was expecting from now that Kalu had been settled, he should start introducing him as his girlfriend to people.

There shouldn't be any more reason for hiding their relationship from people.

Before Kalu was settled, Rosaline understood that his uncle might not be happy with him if the rumor that he kept a girlfriend got to him, but now that he had been settled, she couldn't understand the reason he was still keeping the relationship a secret.

She had learned from a friend and from some of the stories that were shared by the mother that men who usually kept their relationship a secret were men who double-dated and those who never intended to build their future with the relationship.

She didn't want to descend to that state of suspecting Kalu for double dating.

She waved off such a thought each time his mind tried to wander towards that direction for she couldn't face that reality if it happened to be true.

She had always tried to be faithful to Kalu even as faced the temptation of young handsome men approaching her each day in school with a lot of disturbances just to give them a chance. She didn't see any reason why Kalu shouldn't make an effort to resist any woman that tried to steal space in his heart.

She won in the battle to resist the rising urge to revolt that introduction at that juncture.

Rosaline was bold to pour out her grievance to Kalu when there was no more customer in the shop, just only the two of them.

"Why didn't you tell that man that I, am your fiancee?" she grilled.

Kalu paused at the question staring at Rosaline for he was short of an answer at that moment.

A woman walked into the shop and Kalu turned to face the woman immediately.

He was relieved by the woman's presence, cause from the look on Rosaline's face she was determined to elicit an answer from him at that time.

The woman that had come in, had come to inform Kalu that the food was ready.

She ran a food vendor and she had been the one bringing food for Kalu to buy each time he was in the market.

"What will she bring for you?" He asked Rosaline who was still pouting.

"I am not hungry, I don't want to eat anything" she declined.

The way she responded, it was obvious that it was out of anger.

Kalu just placed his demand and the woman left.

He knew that there was no need to try to pet Rosaline in the presence of the woman, for he was still shy about letting people discover that he had a girlfriend.

And he followed the woman as the woman was leaving "let me ease myself!" he grumbled hoping that by the time he would be back, the question would be out of Rosaline's mind.

By the time he was back from relieving himself the woman who had gone to bring food for him had already come and dropped the food with Rosaline.

He handed a takeaway bag that contained snacks and soft drinks to Rosaline since she had refused to eat the woman's food.

In the same vain Kalu wanted to restore the smile on Rosaline's face and to keep her totally from asking the question that was still boiling in her mind.

Rosaline collected the takeaway bag from him after much persuasion for she initially rejected claiming that she was okay.

"Even if you don't want to take it here, you can take them home with you, I have already bought this thing for you" he appealed.

"You didn't you confirm from me first, before buying it?" she retained her frown.

When she noticed that Kalu's forehead was beginning to wrinkle in a frown, that was when she collected the bag from him.

She had never wanted to see Kalu angry, especially when his resentment was a result of her behavior.

Kalu introduced a story of what took place between the market task force and a customer to distract Rosaline further from the question in her mind.

But she seemed not to be interested in any other discussion. She just sat quietly and stared at Kalu as he was prevaricating

Rosaline needed Kalu to announce her as his girlfriend. She was no more comfortable with the fact that she was being introduced as the sister of the man she loved whereas she had been letting everybody know that he was her boyfriend except her father whom she was afraid of his reaction.

"Why is it you are still telling people that I am your sister?" She repeated.

"Am sorry about that" Kalu apologized. He didn't want to present any excuse again for he had presented enough.

He knew they couldn't understand what he was still afraid of, but there's no problem about that if introducing Rosaline as his girlfriend to everyone around him would make her happy, then he would do it.

One of the neighbors who were nosy the last time about Kalu's relationship with Rosaline came into the shop at that time and greeted Rosaline.

The neighbor had admired Rosaline so much the last time that she was in the shop and he had desired to make her his girlfriend.

He revealed to the neighbor immediately that Rosaline was his girlfriend as the boy was gradually introducing his intention.

"Am sorry, I thought she was your sister" the neighbor apologized and left the shop.

Rosaline was all smiles as Kalu had finally performed her heart desire.

"You are happy now right?" Kalu tickled her.

Rosaline could have stayed with Kalu till the market closed but Kalu wasn't still comfortable with the idea.

He gave Rosaline some money and asked her to buy yam and the ingredients for portage and prepare it for him at home for he would be coming that evening to see her mother and he would like to dine on it when he would come.

Kalu did that to discharge Rosaline as evening was approaching, not that he was passionate about the portage but he knew that his uncle could come to check up on him any time from then.

Rosaline left so happily that her man had finally started introducing her as his girlfriend.

After Kalu had closed for the day, he decided to honor Rosaline's mother's invitation though he was tired from the day's activities in the market.

Rosaline made sure that she gave her the best in the preparation of the portage.

Her mother was glad as she learned that it was Kalu that had requested for the portage yam.

That was the first time Kalu would be demanding the meal he wanted before coming to the house.

Other times, he would eat anything that was presented to him. Even when he was asked to make his choice he would still ebb the offer.

Making his choice now simply meant that he was becoming more comfortable with the family. Also, it's a sign of recognizing Rosaline as his future wife.

If he wasn't hoping to spend his future with her, he wouldn't be asking her to prepare a meal for him.

After Kalu had had a belly full of the portage yam, he went back to the sitting room to meet Rosaline's mother who was already seated waiting for him.

"You are now free from your uncle, you have been settled right?" Rosaline's mother began.

Kalu nodded to her in response. He already knew as soon as the woman began, where she was heading.

"Well it's okay, I hope you are coping with the business?" From the way Kalu looked at her, she already understood that Kalu had figured out what she wanted to say.

She had always despised the idea of being predicted, so she ended the discussion right there.

Moreover for Kalu to demand the food he wanted from her daughter, was a good sign that he would soon do the needful.

They discussed the market and things that had made headlines in the news that week before Kalu left.

Rosaline was also surprised that the mother had nothing serious about inviting Kalu.

She had been praying as other times, the mother wouldn't raise a devastating question.

Clara was dressing the bed in the morning after Rose had visited her the last night.

It was a weekend and a day of rest for the husband and her.

As she raised the pillow, she found a written note under the pillow.

She placed the note on the side drawer and continued with what she was doing believing that the note was placed there by her husband.

It was after she was through with the bed dressing that she picked the note to take it to the husband in the sitting room, then she decided to peek into the note and know what it was all about.

Then she saw an address and recollected what Rose had told her the last night while she was sleeping.

She read the note carefully and digested the whole information.

After she had related the information to Alex, he chose to accompany him to locate the woman.

The both of them got ready and drove off in their car in search of the address.

They finally located the house in the neighboring town after they had inquired from different people on the way on how to get there.

The house was an old bungalow standing at a remote location.

The paint had faded but every other thing about the house was still okay.

The street was so lonely.

It was only one man who was just returning from work, that they saw as they drove into the street and it was the man that pointed at the house for them.

"How come people are not in the street by this time?" Clara asked Alex as she drove to the front of the compound.

If not for the fact that she was with Alex she would have been too scared to continue in the search.

She would have simply driven back and looked for someone to accompany her.

They knocked just once at the door and a woman in her late fifties who was nice looking came and answered the door.

Clara's spirit informed her that the woman must be the one she was directed to by Rose.

"How can I help you?" the woman queried after she had responded to their greetings.

Clara was quick to remember all that Rose had told her the last night.

"I was sent by Rose!" Clara's eyes were fixed on the woman in doubt.

She was still not sure if she was the right person though something in her persisted that she was the one.

Alex was standing behind Rosaline without uttering a word watching how it would all play out.

He had wondered how possible the story could be but for the benefit of the doubt, he decided to play along so that it won't appear like he still doubted Rose being alive to avoid hurting his wife.

Clara heaved a sigh of relief when the woman invited them inside the house after staring at them for some time.

She was now confident she had obtained the right message, Alex as well as a bit relieved.

But even at that, the whole doubt was not cleared for there was nobody in that sitting room.

They couldn't find the trace of a baby being in the house.

The woman asked them a few questions about themselves. Though Rose had already told her that the person coming to pick the baby was her sister, and she could see the resemblance from the facial look. But Clara needed to introduce herself for certainty.

It was after their introduction that the woman went through the passage inside one of the rooms and carried a baby who was sleeping outside to the sitting room.

Clara exploded with joy as soon as she saw the woman with a baby in her arms.

She got on her feet immediately and went to her to collect the baby even before the woman could come close to them.

The baby was so beautiful and as Rose had explained, one didn't need to ask if the baby was hers, for they had a striking resemblance.

Alex was dumbfounded at what he had seen at the moment.

Everything had, at last, appeared real, and all doubt had been wiped.

Clara held the baby so tight, as she appreciated the woman.

"Thank you so much ma!" She repeated as there was no other word on her lips to utter at the moment.

The woman smiled and nodded in response as she saw how joyful Clara was to see the baby.

She advised them to take good care of the baby and to make sure they treat the baby as theirs.

They promised to give their best to the baby.

Alex being convinced at this time that Rose was alive asked the woman how come she was able to see her.

Clara would have asked the question if Rose had not first explained to her that the woman had supernatural power.

"I am blessed with the ability to see what many don't see" the woman replied Alex.

Clara couldn't wait anymore she started making her way towards the door in joy.

She had finally got evidence to silence those who were doubting her about Rose being alive especially her mother and brothers.

Alex got up from the seat also and followed her and they bid goodbye to the woman as they left the house with the baby still sleeping.

Clara gave the car key to Alex to drive this time while she was carrying the baby.

She couldn't stop staring at the face of the sleeping baby as they drove back home.

And Alex too was stealing a glance at the baby as he taking charge of the wheel.