THE EXCHANGE
Episode 22
“Don’t worry about him, we will deal with him…just take care of my grandson for me.
We will make sure that it never happens again. Let’s just keep this within the family.
“Wèrè l’ará ìta máa pèé” (Outsiders will not understand, they will blow it out of proportion)” she continued as she motioned me to follow her into her room.
One of the maids had a look that suggested she knew what was going on; she stood around & wouldn’t leave. “Gbéborùn játijàti (worthless busybody) get out of here” my mother-in-law yelled at her as she sent her away.
We stayed at my parents-in-law’s place for about a month and even had the christening party there & it was huge. My folks came over for the party & my mum asked if everything was okay…she said I looked confused. I told her all was well but I was tired with all the travelling, giving birth & partying. Laide also asked why we returned to the country sooner than we had planned…I really wanted to tell her what happened in London but I remembered my mother-in-law’s instruction & didn’t want to be in her bad books, so I made up a story.
While we were at my in-law’s house, Baba T & his dad would leave the house & return together every single day. Baba T would only play with the baby for a while then he would go into his dad’s room…if he was staying too long, his dad would send for him. Everything seemed strange but my mother-in-law kept telling me not to worry, that her husband was simply teaching my husband how to be a responsible man.
We went back to our home & somehow everything went back to normal. Baba T was back to his loving, caring self but refused to talk about the London incident. He just said “It’s water now under the bridge; I’m here now better than before, that’s what matters”. I chose to go with that phrase ‘what you don’t know can’t hurt you’ so I let it go.
Baba T actually took care of my family, my elder brother got a good job, after youth service, through BabaT’s contract. The only person who refused to get anything was Brother Dipo. Even my mum got a monthly allowance of 30k & since my business was doing well & growing almost more than what my husband had projected, I made sure she wanted for nothing.
I got pregnant again about three years after my first baby Ayodeji. My mother-in-law had been beside herself with worry; I had gone through so many tests until the doctors had to tell her to let my mind & body become synced together or else all efforts would prove abortive.
My mother in-law was the first to one to know & told me to go confirm it, bcos according to her I looked pregnant. True to her words, I was like 8 weeks gone…she was super excited. I broke the news to Baba T & he was happy too. In the fourth month of my second pregnancy, I woke up in the middle of the night to drink water; Baba T was not in bed. As I was about to enter the kitchen, I noticed that the sitting room was slightly lit & I could sense that there was someone there, I tip-toed & saw my husband snorting some white substance from our center table. I wasn’t very exposed at that time so I didn’t know what to make of it. However, I could tell it wasn’t right bcos of the look on my husband’s face; it was obvious he didn’t want anyone to see him. I gently backed away from the kitchen but inadvertently knocked down a mug cup that was on the dining table. The sound jolted Baba T to reality & he ran into the kitchen, the white substance trace still on his left nostril; he could tell I had seen him “What are you doing here? Why are you sneaking around?” He yelled at me. “Can’t a man have peace in his own house?” He continued.
I didn’t know how to respond bcos I wasn’t expecting that reaction…he continued to yell & scream; I had never seen him like that since I met him. I thought he was going to hit me. It was the shrieking cry of our son that made him stop…but he was obviously very mad & went to sleep in the guest room.
He left for work very early as well & didn’t eat breakfast…I really couldn’t tell why he was so angry. I checked the sitting room after he left, to see if I could find any trace of what I caught him doing, but he had cleaned the place up. I checked our room & ransacked his closet but found nothing. BabaT did not come home & I didn’t know what to do. So at 11PM I called his parents & talked to his mum. I told her what I saw & how my husband reacted “Ó se kíni? (He did what?)” My mother-in-law asked I repeated what I said, she was quiet for a while, then I heard her calling her husband & talking. I could only pick some words in their conversation. I heard my father-in-law say something like “I’m done, Babatunde ò lè wá pamí (I’m not going to let Babatunde kill me)” My mother-in-law got back on the phone & advised me to come over to their place the following morning. She told me not to talk to anyone about it, even if my husband came home I shouldn’t challenge him or get him aggitated, she said, she would take care of everything & if he didn’t come home, we would find him.
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