The Exchange
Episode 7
Laide told me they were travelling to Paris for their honeymoon & 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 & 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 thirty eight 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 & her husband at the airport & I left their new house 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 & I also didn’t want any issues with Tunji. He wouldn’t listen & 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 u?” he added. I became uncomfortable again & from the look on my face, Baba T knew I did like the trend of the discussion but he continued talking. He told me he almost married an ‘oyinbo’ (a Caucasian) while in the United Kingdom but the lady had introduced him to heroin & it almost ruined his life. His father used everything within his power to get him clean (rehabilitated) & back to school. When he graduated, his parents made him returned home to Nigeria to work the family business; his mum swore that she would see to it that he married a Yoruba girl. He told me he’s an only child & that his mum could not wait for him to get married.
I asked what was delaying him & he responded that he tried dating a few girls after he got back but there were issues & besides, his mum had never liked any girl he brought home. I asked what he meant by “there were issues” but he told me not to worry, he would tell me as our relationship progressed. I immediately told him I was engaged to be married but he said he knew already but since it wasn’t official, there’s no harm in being good friends. As we approached Abeokuta, I secretly prayed that Tunji would not be in our house when we arrived. When we got home, Baba T helped me with what was left of my luggage, since most of my things had been brought home in the vehicle my aunt gave my Mom to bring my family from Lagos. He also came in to say hello to my mum (who was shocked to see him). My eldest brother was also at home when we arrived & he was very pleased to see Baba T. They talked for a while & when Baba T was about to leave, he gave some money to my mum; who somewhat hesitated but had to take it so that the giver won’t feel slighted.
“What do you think you 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 & 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 & he will make u happy. Don’t let money entice you.”
I told her there can’t be anything between Baba T & I, bcos I have told him I am engaged to be married but Laide’s wedding that brought us together, made us friends & nothing more.
“When a child is cutting a tree in the forest, only the elders can tell in which direction it will fall but” my mum said & she stopped talking about it. My mum was never the nagging type; she would say what’s on her mind & let you make your own decision.
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