The Exchange Episode 7
Laide told me they were travelling to Paris for their honeymoon and wanted me to stay for a few more days until she travelled. I sent my mum to Tunji to let him know I would be staying for 3 more days and I would see him as soon as I got back.
I helped Laide to count how much money she was ‘sprayed’ while dancing…my God! Let me just say that I made close to ten thousand naira (trust me, that was a lot of money back then…I had never even had or handled that much money in my life); that should give you an idea of how much money Laide was ‘sprayed’. Baba T offered to drop Laide and her husband at the airport and I came with them.
After they departed, Baba T offered to drop me at Abeokuta; it was already evening so I opted for public transportation. He insisted that he would drop me at home but I was scared as I didn’t want him to know where I lived and I also didn’t want any issues with Tunji. He wouldn’t listen and just kept driving towards Abeokuta…he said his mum would not forgive him if he told her that he didn’t take me home. “And how would she know?” I asked.
He replied that she would ask him.
“Don’t you know that my mum likes you?” he added. I had this uncomfortable grin on my face and Baba T continued by telling me the story of how he almost married an ‘oyinbo’ (a Caucasian) while in the United Kingdom and how the lady had introduced him to heroin and how it almost ruined his life. How his father used everything within his power to get him clean and rehabilitated and back to school. How his father helped him to complete his education. How his mum made sure he came back to Nigeria to join the family business after he graduated and how his mum swore that she would see to it that he married a Yoruba girl. He told me he’s an only child and that his mum could not wait for him to get married. I asked what was delaying him and he responded that he tried dating a few girls after he got back but there were issues and besides, his mum had never liked any girl he brought home. I asked what he meant by “there were issues” and he told me not to worry about it. As we were approaching Abeokuta, I was secretly praying that Tunji would not be in our house when we arrived. When we got home, Baba T helped me with my luggage…he also came in and said hello to my mum (who was shocked to see him). My eldest brother was also at home when we arrived and for whatever reason, he was very pleased to see Baba T. They talked for a while and when Baba T was about to leave, he gave some money to my mum; who somewhat hesitated but had to take it because the giver insisted.
“What are you doing?” was my mum’s question as soon as I entered the house after seeing my ‘visitor’ off. “Maami, I don’t understand what you are saying” was my response. My mum was not very happy as she went on and on about how greed could cause a person to make wrong decisions.
“Be content with what God gave you” “Don’t be distracted because of what you saw at your cousin’s wedding”
“Tunji is a good boy and he will make you happy. Don’t let money entice you”
I was getting really angry at my mum because Baba T had not even said he wanted to date me. I told her it was our roles at the wedding that brought us together, made us friends and there was nothing else to it.
“When a child is cutting a tree in the forest, only the elders can tell in which direction it where it will fall” my mum said and she stopped talking about it.
My mum was never the nagging type; she would say what’s on her mind and let you make your own decision
