Dear reader, I’m sure you have enjoyed this season of The Blue House. Please note that there will be only two more episodes after this one. I’m always grateful for every comment and suggestion, and for those of you hoping that the series will one day be a movie, cross your fingers along with me!
Enjoy this episode and don’t forget to share!
“What happened Ayodele, why did you beat your sister like this?” Ronke was appalled when she got upstairs and saw Joke’s face.
“She was rude to me.”
“And that’s why you had to beat her like this?”
“Mummy he wanted to beat Posi and he wouldn’t tell me why.” Joke was glad her mother was finally home to speak some sense into her brother’s head.
“Shut up!” Ronke had always favored her eldest child, she believed only the best of him. “Did I ask for your opinion? That’s why your brother always beats you, you don’t know when to be quiet. Don’t you know he’s a boy and you’re a girl? A girl must learn to be respectful, if you grow up like this your husband will beat you.”
“She was rude to me.”
“And that’s why you had to beat her like this?”
“Mummy he wanted to beat Posi and he wouldn’t tell me why.” Joke was glad her mother was finally home to speak some sense into her brother’s head.
“Shut up!” Ronke had always favored her eldest child, she believed only the best of him. “Did I ask for your opinion? That’s why your brother always beats you, you don’t know when to be quiet. Don’t you know he’s a boy and you’re a girl? A girl must learn to be respectful, if you grow up like this your husband will beat you.”
Tears stung Joke’s eyes, she couldn’t believe what her mother had just said to her. She wanted to respond that she wasn’t like her, that she was not a wimp who tolerated whatever a man did just because he was a man. Why did Ayodele always get preferential treatment from his mother? Why did she refuse to see that he was a lazy, ill tempered coward?
“And as for you,” Ronke tuned back to Ayodele, “Don’t ever do this again, do you hear me?”
“Yes ma”
Ronke settled on the couch and called Posi. “What did you tell Mummy Teni?”
“Nothing Mummy” Posi fidgeted with his fingers, he had heard the exchange between Aunty Banke and his mother.
“Are you sure? She told me some things, if I find out that you’re lying you will be in serious trouble!”
“Nothing Mummy, she only asked me if I was okay”
“And what did you tell her?”
“I said I was fine.”
“So what where did she get her story from?”
“What story Mummy?” Ayodele asked panicked.
“It must be that Joy girl, she was the one who said she found…” Ronke had been thinking aloud, forgetting that her children were looking to her for an explanation. “Oya go inside and do your assignments, Ayodele you better go and study for your exams, oh and tell Peace to come here.” She said to Joke who was wiping off the tears from her eyes. Ronke sighed, her back aching with the growing pregnancy, sometimes she hated her life.
**********
“We need to talk” Kunle said to Banke after dinner, opening up his journal to a page where he had drawn up a new budget.
“We sure do.” Banke replied cynically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means we need to talk, does that sound strange to you?”
Kunle waved his hands dismissively. “Whatever. We have to talk about our finances.”
“Really? Why doesn’t that surprise me? Oh, it’s because we always talk about our finances.”
“We are going to make some changes.” He ignored her, refusing to allow her veer him off track. “First on the list is Teniola’s school…”
“What about Teniola’s school?” Banke was alarmed, Kunle was unusually calm.
“From next month she’ll be attending Havillah…”
“What?”
“I’ve made the enquiries and paid for the fees, also we will…”
“Absolutely not! My daughter is not going to Havillah where all the average people take their kids.”
“I agree with you, your daughter is not going to Havillah but our daughter is.”
“Kunle this is…”
“Let me finish please, there’s more. We will no longer pay for the ‘premium bouquet’ for the cable TV subscription, from now on we pay for the ‘compact bouquet’. Also, there will be no more buying of any electronic device, decoration, clothes, shoes, and bags for all of us. We stick to the bare necessities of food, rent, school fees, fuel for the generator, household upkeep, bills and savings. There will also be no vacation outside the country for the next few years until we consolidate our finances. Teniola’s first birthday will be celebrated here in our sitting room…” at this point Banke lost it.
“God forbid! Are you trying to make us suffer? Look I’m from a wealthy family and I…”
“You are married into a middle class family now, you made the choice to be married to me…”
“And I regret it!”
“Well that’s too bad. These changes will commence immediately…”
“Why don’t you admit that you’ve taken on more than you can handle and ask for help? Ayodele’s mother called you a debtor…”
“That’s because my wife must always buy something and I didn’t have the good sense to stop her on time!” Kunle thundered. “We owe a lot Banke…”
“No, you owe a lot! I have the means to live a good life and I won’t let you or anyone tell me otherwise.”
“You know what?” Kunle slammed his journal on the table. “I have had enough of your whining and your terrible upbringing that I refused to see before. I will not tolerate you speaking to me that way…”
“And what are you going to do about it? Slap me?”
Kunle laughed coldly. “I know that’s what you want so that you can run to your father and tell stories. What I’m going to do about it is give you an ultimatum. Choose between Teniola and I and your father’s money.” Banke went still, eyes wide. “Yes Banke, since what I am offering is so inadequate that you have to collect your father’s money in spite of my objection to it, you’re going to make a decision. Us or your father’s money.
“And who says the choice is between my Dad’s money and both of you? Whatever happens I’m taking my daughter with me.”
“I agree with you, you can take your daughter but not our daughter. Our daughter, Teniola, stays here under her father’s roof.”
“I hate you and I regret marrying you!”
“Well you don’t have to stick around, let me know what you decide by tomorrow morning.” He grabbed his journal and rose up from the dining table.
“Oh and by the way, we can’t afford the rent of this house. We’ll have to move out when the rent is due, I’m speaking with agents about a cheaper place.”
Banke put her face in her hands and cried.
**********
Peace lay on her side on the mattress thinking about the day’s events. Someone had told Mummy about she and Ayodele and it could only have been Posi but Mummy had said Joy found something. What could it have been? She remembered Joy’s threat to expose her and she shuddered, she liked it here with Ayodele. If it wasn’t Posi who told Mummy what could Joy have found? And then she remembered that she had been writing a love letter to Ayodele when she was doing her English assignment with Joy’s textbook. That was it! Joy must have found it and given it to Mummy. But why hadn’t Mummy confronted her? The note was convincing enough even though she had written it in cursive style. She shifted uneasily and sighed.
“Stop disturbing me.” Joke snapped at her, she was convinced that the argument between Ayodele and Posi had something to do with Peace.
“Joke don’t look for my trouble, I’m not your mate.”
Joke hissed. “You should go back to your house.”
Peace laughed. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You will, when I find out your secret”
“And what is my secret?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
“Useless girl!” Peace shook her head disdainfully.
“Smelly girl!” Joke shot back.
Peace got up and knocked her hard on the head. “I’m not your mate!”
Joke whimpered. “I will tell Mummy”
“Go ahead and tell her!” Peace laughed, knowing her mother would do nothing about it and that Joke knew it too.
“And as for you,” Ronke tuned back to Ayodele, “Don’t ever do this again, do you hear me?”
“Yes ma”
Ronke settled on the couch and called Posi. “What did you tell Mummy Teni?”
“Nothing Mummy” Posi fidgeted with his fingers, he had heard the exchange between Aunty Banke and his mother.
“Are you sure? She told me some things, if I find out that you’re lying you will be in serious trouble!”
“Nothing Mummy, she only asked me if I was okay”
“And what did you tell her?”
“I said I was fine.”
“So what where did she get her story from?”
“What story Mummy?” Ayodele asked panicked.
“It must be that Joy girl, she was the one who said she found…” Ronke had been thinking aloud, forgetting that her children were looking to her for an explanation. “Oya go inside and do your assignments, Ayodele you better go and study for your exams, oh and tell Peace to come here.” She said to Joke who was wiping off the tears from her eyes. Ronke sighed, her back aching with the growing pregnancy, sometimes she hated her life.
**********
“We need to talk” Kunle said to Banke after dinner, opening up his journal to a page where he had drawn up a new budget.
“We sure do.” Banke replied cynically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means we need to talk, does that sound strange to you?”
Kunle waved his hands dismissively. “Whatever. We have to talk about our finances.”
“Really? Why doesn’t that surprise me? Oh, it’s because we always talk about our finances.”
“We are going to make some changes.” He ignored her, refusing to allow her veer him off track. “First on the list is Teniola’s school…”
“What about Teniola’s school?” Banke was alarmed, Kunle was unusually calm.
“From next month she’ll be attending Havillah…”
“What?”
“I’ve made the enquiries and paid for the fees, also we will…”
“Absolutely not! My daughter is not going to Havillah where all the average people take their kids.”
“I agree with you, your daughter is not going to Havillah but our daughter is.”
“Kunle this is…”
“Let me finish please, there’s more. We will no longer pay for the ‘premium bouquet’ for the cable TV subscription, from now on we pay for the ‘compact bouquet’. Also, there will be no more buying of any electronic device, decoration, clothes, shoes, and bags for all of us. We stick to the bare necessities of food, rent, school fees, fuel for the generator, household upkeep, bills and savings. There will also be no vacation outside the country for the next few years until we consolidate our finances. Teniola’s first birthday will be celebrated here in our sitting room…” at this point Banke lost it.
“God forbid! Are you trying to make us suffer? Look I’m from a wealthy family and I…”
“You are married into a middle class family now, you made the choice to be married to me…”
“And I regret it!”
“Well that’s too bad. These changes will commence immediately…”
“Why don’t you admit that you’ve taken on more than you can handle and ask for help? Ayodele’s mother called you a debtor…”
“That’s because my wife must always buy something and I didn’t have the good sense to stop her on time!” Kunle thundered. “We owe a lot Banke…”
“No, you owe a lot! I have the means to live a good life and I won’t let you or anyone tell me otherwise.”
“You know what?” Kunle slammed his journal on the table. “I have had enough of your whining and your terrible upbringing that I refused to see before. I will not tolerate you speaking to me that way…”
“And what are you going to do about it? Slap me?”
Kunle laughed coldly. “I know that’s what you want so that you can run to your father and tell stories. What I’m going to do about it is give you an ultimatum. Choose between Teniola and I and your father’s money.” Banke went still, eyes wide. “Yes Banke, since what I am offering is so inadequate that you have to collect your father’s money in spite of my objection to it, you’re going to make a decision. Us or your father’s money.
“And who says the choice is between my Dad’s money and both of you? Whatever happens I’m taking my daughter with me.”
“I agree with you, you can take your daughter but not our daughter. Our daughter, Teniola, stays here under her father’s roof.”
“I hate you and I regret marrying you!”
“Well you don’t have to stick around, let me know what you decide by tomorrow morning.” He grabbed his journal and rose up from the dining table.
“Oh and by the way, we can’t afford the rent of this house. We’ll have to move out when the rent is due, I’m speaking with agents about a cheaper place.”
Banke put her face in her hands and cried.
**********
Peace lay on her side on the mattress thinking about the day’s events. Someone had told Mummy about she and Ayodele and it could only have been Posi but Mummy had said Joy found something. What could it have been? She remembered Joy’s threat to expose her and she shuddered, she liked it here with Ayodele. If it wasn’t Posi who told Mummy what could Joy have found? And then she remembered that she had been writing a love letter to Ayodele when she was doing her English assignment with Joy’s textbook. That was it! Joy must have found it and given it to Mummy. But why hadn’t Mummy confronted her? The note was convincing enough even though she had written it in cursive style. She shifted uneasily and sighed.
“Stop disturbing me.” Joke snapped at her, she was convinced that the argument between Ayodele and Posi had something to do with Peace.
“Joke don’t look for my trouble, I’m not your mate.”
Joke hissed. “You should go back to your house.”
Peace laughed. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“You will, when I find out your secret”
“And what is my secret?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
“Useless girl!” Peace shook her head disdainfully.
“Smelly girl!” Joke shot back.
Peace got up and knocked her hard on the head. “I’m not your mate!”
Joke whimpered. “I will tell Mummy”
“Go ahead and tell her!” Peace laughed, knowing her mother would do nothing about it and that Joke knew it too.
Ayodele is way in over head. His parents' holier-than-thou attitude brought has caused a lot a lot of damage to the whole family. I pray Ayodele can be redeemed from the path of destruction before it is too late. Well done Omolola Opatayo.