"Adaku, bụtụe ọ? Just be calming down na, I promise I'll visit your Mom tomorrow so that we can discuss, eh?" The Man pleads with me. He'as been trying to whine me since with gists and other nonsense. He had earlier tried to engage me in the past loofball match that was played yesterday.
"Adaku, you see that volley wey Chinenyelugo score that yesterday for Osogbo? Guyyyyyy, no dey cap me, that Girl too good Nne. E sha dey pain me say she dey play for Awolowo LC because if to say she dey play for Onitsha City, makachị, no body go fit win us..." I smile awkwardly as he shakes me around.
He knows I watch sports and he is trying to use it to his advantage against me but I wasn't having it.
"Gee pay me my money joor, kedụ udị okwụ ina kọ lụ m ebea, way nye m my cut biko!" I pala for him because he thinks that cos I'm a Girl he can whine me or some shii, e be like say him no know say 'Guy no fit guy Guy wey sabi guide.'
"Adaku..."
"No dey Adaku me way! See, nga pịasụ gị ọ, amaazị kwo m ụzọ gị o!"
"Adaku, bụtụe na, ina kụụzị m pala na gini mere, eh Nne? Ọkwa mmụ bụ your Guy na ekwụ o, Chijioke bụ your main gee o, ịlozọ?" He tries to calm me down looking out of the shop to see if anyone was coming.
"Ee guy, nnapịa gị pala maka kedụ udị akịkọ nyele ina kọlu m ebea n'ụwa? Guy, ichọ ka ọra zụkọbalụ anyị ebea? Mba jụ ebea ọge aka kwọ njọọ ọ!"
"Adaku bụtụe ọịsọ! Bịkọ bụtụe ka anyị kọ ka ndị bụ ọkenye nu! Bụtụe n'ọge erurọ ogo ịkpọ ọra, Adaku calm down lemme buy you a drink or two and meatpie biko," I look at him squarely and eventually decide to sit down on one of the foam designer sofas in square shape which is by the door. He runs one of Mom's thirteen shops, he just began in this business, he's dealing on designer foams, pillows and luxury bedroom and parlor items basically just living room or in general house hold furnitures and shii.
I knew him personally because he was my immediate senior back in secondary school, Onitsha high. He chose to go into business rather than further book education. In a sentence, he chose trade school over book school and so far so good, it was going well for him... Lately though, he was delaying in paying Mom her rent, it wasn't so before and it was becoming just unbecoming.
His brother Chijioke was my classmate that year, one of my gees but we were not that close.
Funny enough, the person who he was to do boy for, Ojinnaka nwá ịzịzị bé ndị bé Onochie nwá nke itọ Mgborie mụtara sị na aka Nzobiwu na Ụmụarọlị village of Onitsha, Mgborie from Ụmụdei actually being the Lady whom Mom's grand Aunt Nnebuifem shared her first kiss with as Mom told me, that's by the ways.
Anyways Ojinnaka decided to sponsor this guy's younger brother Chijioke in school and that was how me and Chijioke ended up in the renowned Redeemer's University in Ede Land in the region that was formerly part of the old Oyo empire in the now Osun province of Oduduwa Republic.
So I knew this Boy Nnadi very well, so well I understood that he was now following Ladies up and down simply because he don blow. Ojinnaka had freed him two years ago and recently, he was changing Ladies like underwear after every bath whereas he was oweing Mom two months rent. The last one was seven, Mom forgave him because she really liked him. He tried four months and Mom left him, all these cos he eventually paid back at both times but this time around, he is on two months debt and he's carrying Ladies from one hotel to the other so I just quickly took one picture of him with a Girl at Orchid hotels, Asaba with my phone and sent it to Mom.
Mom said I shouldn't make a raucous but of course I did. It hurt that he didn't wanna thread with caution. The beautiful thing with my Gender, Women is that we can make anyone, including each other and mar anyone, including each other, clearly this fool doesn't know or he's ignoring that.
When I hear niggas shouting and screaming saying "Avoid Women if you wanna be successful," I laugh. How dumb they are. The real ones understand that we don't avoid Women if we wanna be successful, but we find the right one and stick to her. You share her energy and she helps you best she can as you equally help yourself and help her too and when you're successful, just know you ain't letting her go no matter the temptations. You're stuck with her till the end of time. People should unlearn to learn.
Nnadi didn't know all these, he was just dumb, he's rich now and successful, yes and at a young age, he's thirty. It is evident because years back he was struggling, genuinely struggling to clear his debts but now he's stable, he'as been planning to have his own shop for a while but suddenly he's out chasing Ladies.
His brother Chijioke is my age mate, he's currently in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso doing what I dunno. He was not replying my texts so I stopped texting. Who dey chase people? Me, Adaora Dumebi Chisom, Mgboafọ dị ka m chase a daddy fucking human being if it's Mom, she would say. Ọlekwa! Be they Lady or Male, I no dey chase. If you're going to prove difficult to come, Na awalu ọnwe gị, Be going your own way!
Nnadi doesn't understand, he's just jumping from one lady to the other, my Boy is not necessarily a wise Guy.
"Adaku nụ! Bikozie nụ na," He pleads. I pull out my phone and cross my legs. I snap the chewing gum I'm on so loudly so as to ensure he hears it.
"Nnadi, my money o," I call out. He sits near me.
"Nne this is not the way to go about this..." He says locking my fingers in his, I give him the death stare and he quickly drops my hand. As we're still talking a Girl walks in on us. She first of all stops by the door studying us critically. Nnadi makes to explain but he too is stiff, she stares at me with disgust, he stares at her in 'Babe, I can explain.'
I'm sitted as I am on my phone giving them the 'una two no really get sense' attitude. I won't fidget because I've got nothing to lose neither did I do any shii wrong.
"Babe, who's this? Kedụ ọnye bụ mgbe..." I turn to Nnadi.
"Babe, bụtụe o, jịlị kwọ nwayoo o! This Girl sitting here is my Ọnye isi o. Na her Mama get this entire line, try dey calm down."
Hearing that she warms up to me. She smiles and stretches out her hands to hug me. I give her a death stare but too late she is already all over me, I hug her back reluctantly. She releases me and sits on the foam adjacent us.
"Aunty na, how're you doing?" She asks excitedly.
"Fine Girl I'm good o," I smile, "You wanted to call me an Mgboeke?" I chuckle.
"I'm sorry Ma..."
"No, no, no, no, no need to be, I'm actually an Mgbeke because..."
"No Ma o! God forbid..." She makes to go down on her knees, Nnadi covers his face in shame and rolls it up to his head.
"Itoro, what have you done...?" He muffled a cry between his hands.
"You both should calm down joor, God is not forbidding anything, For it cannot forbid shii you haven't forbidden yourself, anyways, I'm actually not an Mgbeke, a fire child because I was not born on an Eke market day but I'm an Mgboafọ, an Earth child, I was born on Afọ market day," They both look confused. I laugh, "You both are confused, lemme explain. See we're all ndị Igbo and we have four market days, another word for four days in a week, seven weeks in a month, thirteen months in a year and three hundred and sixty four days in the Ịgụarọ ndị Igbo, Igbo calender," They nod still in confusion. I uncross my legs and bend forward towards the Girl, I rest my hands on my laps and intertwine my fingers.
"I was born on a Wednesday, on an Áfó market day, and I'm an Mgbo which is the Igbo word for a Lady, so I'm a Lady born on an Afọ market day, hence I'm an Mgbafọ. And the universal element for every Afọ market day is the Earth or Sand. For Eke is the Sun or Fire, Orịe is Water or Rain, Nkwọ is Air or Wind, hence Eke, Orịe, Afọ, Nkwọ, four days a week, the Igbo calendar," They look to each other and smile in understanding. They're actually pretending to understand but it's whatever, "So it's not an insult."
"Ok Ma, it's good."
"So babe, why did you decide to pay me a visit?" He asks his girlfriend. She looks way too young for him but I didn't wanna have any ideas, I mean she looks twenty or less but he's thirty... That's still child abuse. She looks to me before eventually responding in her language but she was actually speaking to me.
"Mmekọọm... Mmekọọm..." She's not making any indications but I see she's trying to talk to me, I don't respond. I search for my phone.
She turns to Nnadi and smiles, he goes over to a seat adjacent us and sits down. I pull my phone out and begin to press it. I wonder what the fuck she thinks she's doing.
"Ame nkop se ntano?" Is she, is she still, trying to talk to me? I mind my own business.
"Babe, enye ikopke uyo fo, mbok!" I smile at something on my phone. The device is on loud speaker. She nods.
"Eti, eti. Babe, mmekọọm nde o."
"Itoro, Nso ke afo oyom? Ntak emi afo adi?
"Ima mmi," She looks at him and takes a deep breath. "Ima mmi, the last time we were together..." His eyes widen, she continues, "Babe, mmọm ọyọhọ ke idib," He arises from the foam stool.
"Mba, mba, mba, mba, mba, mba, mba! No! No, Itoro, no!"
"Ima mmi, but Eka mi?"
"Itoro, what do you mean afo eme idib?"
"Ima mmi naaaaaa..."
"Itoro, go and find the person, not me!"
She wants to cry but looks at me and fights back her tears.
"Guys, is anything the matter?" I ask with concern.
"No, Adaku, she's just telling me about a film she watched," Nnadi says with a fake smile. Itoro tries her best to smile too but I know it's all fake ass shii.
"Itoro?" I call out.
"Daada trust me, I'm fine as hell," She replies. I nod in agreement.
"Ok o, if you say so."
"Itoro, you must... Afo osụk ufan emi."
"Ima mmi! Chai!, Eiiii, babe, me? Mi? Báyá? Ima mmi naaaa, as how? As how nụ? As how?" She asks walking up to him.
"Itoro, Afo enyene ndisio idibi oro idahaemi!"
She stares at him bewildered and turns to look at me. I don't look away from my phone, she stands up and continues, "Ima mmi, mi? Ima mmi?" She snuffs in a snort or two, she smiles and puts on her slippers.
"Hope you've heard me Babe?"
"Yes Sir. Ima mmi, uduak fo edi ibet mmi. Nnam se afo edoho," He smiles.
"Good!"
"Yak uduak fo ana," She concludes.
"Now, wọpọdọ! Wọpọdọ mi, kaa idahaemi!"
"Yes Sir," she takes her purse and hanging around her shoulder, she kisses him. She smiles and waves at me as she leaves. I smile and wave back.
"Nnadi, what was that about?"
"No mind all these small pikins why I see for street, this one I just use am dey catch cruise," I raise my eye brows, "She just come here dey cap me nonsense," He says. His hands kinda shaking.
"Real, that kain thing. All these prostitutes abi?" He smiles and comes to shake me.
"Guy! Nne you know na, nara aka, nara aka, nara aka, ịbụ Guy, ịbụ nọ real guy Girl," We shake hands, his palms are warm and shaky. I stand up.
"Nnadi, you say you're coming to our house tomorrow nụ right?" He smiles with an "anyway" hiss.
"Makachị Nne, unfailingly."
"Sha come o, you sabi Mom na..."
"Nne, I no fit miss for the world."
We shake hands, "Ngwa nụ gee," He stands up to me, "Tomorrow nụ, we go relate."
"Unfailingly!" He throws me a brotherly hug. Punching my back gently like we're Broes, I do the same.
I give him a guyly salute and casually proceeds away from his shed. I feel for my phone in my pocket, she's still in there. For inside market, you no go secure your phone kwá, I chuckle.
I begin to walk fast, down the stairs and avoiding people like the plague. I wanted to catch up with the Girl, Itoro. Soon I sight her, she's about chattering a taxi, commonly known as Keke Napep.
I hasten up at her.
"Fine Girl," I call out. She turns to verify whether she's the one, "Itoro right?"
"Yes Ma," She replies.
"Asa, you look cute biko. You're too beautiful, you're Ibibio nụ okwa nya? Itoro?" She blushes like an overripe banana.
"Thank you Ma. Yes I am, Itoro, Praise."
"Awwn, she's blushing," I continue. She quickly hugs me and gives me a peck on the cheeks. How genuine.
The Keke driver drives off in annoyance
but we don't mind.
"Now, the main question at hand. I'm Adaora Dumebi Chisom by the way, your Man calls me Adaku, daughter of wealth," As I talk about her Man, her smile quickly disappears. I hold her hand and I ask, "Girl," She looks to me, "Babe, are you really going to abort this pregnancy?" She looks me eye ball to eye ball this time, she's bewildered beyond measure.
"How did you..."
"Yes Love, I heard everything and, we need to talk, Immediately..."