chapter 35

"Are you sure you're well enough to go?" Ifeoma asked her husband with care.

After the supposed kidnapping and nabbing experience he faced in the hands of armed robbers a day to her birthday, Ifeoma had been overprotective of her husband even though it had been months already since it happened.

Their neighbours, Fali and Bori had just given birth to a baby boy and it was the naming ceremony. The Fuji music blasting from the speakers, the numerous chairs, the tents, the number of people troooping in and out and even the smell of Jollof rice in their compound was proof that the naming ceremony wasn't going to be a small one.

"Oma baby, of course I'm fine. It's been months already since that. I'm perfectly okay now." Fikayo assured her while limping a bit for dramatic effect.

"Where is your cane? You need it to steady yourself." Ifeoma said as she went to look for the royal-like staff her husband had been using for over four months now.

Ifeoma was dressed in a wine coloured skirt and blouse that fitted her perfectly and she let her twenty inches straight double drawn human hair to drop over her shoulders. Fikayo was in the same colour but a different type of material.

"Fikayo!" Mama shouted as she rushed into their room with an empty carton in her hands.

"Mama, What is it? I've told you to always reduce the volume of your voice. This estate doesn't condone noise." Fikayo scolded his mother.

"Indeed, yet, your neighbours are throwing a very noisy party right in this compound."

"That's different, it's a party and they've asked for permission to throw it." Fikayo explained.

"See, Whatever! I was calling you to see what I saw in the dustbin in the kitchen! See!" Mama said as he gave the carton to her son.

"Postinor 2?" Fikayo exclaimed.

"No matter how old school I might be, I'm educated and I know that it's what is used to prevent pregnancy, isn't it?" Mama asked.

"Yes, mama! Who could be using this in my home?"

"See question! It's me na! Because I've not hit menopause so I'd want to be preventing pregnancy!" Mama replied him with sarcasm.

"How many women live in this house? Is it not that your wife? How can someone who is looking for a child be using pregnancy prevention pill? And when I say she's a witch now, you'll start shouting! Are these not the qualities? How can she be ruining all your efforts on her?" Mama accused.

Ifeoma came out of the bathroom at that moment.

"What's happening here?" Ifeoma asked looking to and fro between her husband and her mother-in-Law.

"This happened!" Fikayo snapped as he threw the drug carton at her.

Ifeoma was confused. "Okay? What should I do to it?" She questioned still not understanding the situation.

"Pretender!!! See her cat eyes! She can pretend so much! Are you not the one using it? What's with the pretense! Wicked woman, while my son is busy working and pouring it in, you're busy turning it into water, ehn?" Mama shouted.

"Fikayo, What is your mother saying? Why would I be using this? For what? Does that even make sense?"

"It's you that we would ask o! Where is the real drug, Oma! Where is it?" Fikayo snapped at his wife as he rushed towards the wardrobe and started going through her own space.

"What are you doing? I just arranged those clothes!" Ifeoma snapped.

"Do I look like I care? I want to see where you hid the whole drug!" Fikayo remained adamant as he kept taking out all the clothes and ruffling them. Finally, he found the drug, three pairs out of it had been used.

He was enraged.

"Oma, are you now adding lies to your list of flaws? It's not yours yet there is the whole drug with six of it missing in the wardrobe? Oma?" Fikayo said accusingly as he dangled the drug.

"I said it! Imagine! And she's dressed up to go to a naming ceremony in which her mate gave birth! Her mate that is married for just a year! I've never seen a woman as shameless as her, tueh!" Mama spat dramatically.

"I didn't put that there, Fikayo! I didn't put that there! I'm not using any drug, I'm trying to get pregnant not prevent it. This is something your mom could have done to start drama again! It's definitely not me! Am I using a drug unconsciously or what are all these accusations for?!" Ifeoma stood her ground as she glared openly at her mother-in-Law.

"Can you hear this stupid woman? I did what? I came into your room to put drug in it? You think my life revolves around you? If you don't have excuses, please, desist from using my own name. And she's even more dressed than the owner of the party. Shameless thing! You that you're supposed to stay indoors and try to commit suicide, when they ask why, you tell them that your womb can't hold a child. Uncultured swine" Mama hurled at Ifeoma who was getting enraged.

She was tired of this woman and she was going to stand her ground. She wasn't going to keep taking abuses over something she has no control over or something she didn't do.

"Mama! I've been patient enough for you but this is the height of it, I will not take this from you, mama! You're the witch here, no one else! It's you and you alone! I'm tired of your antics! You planted that drug! Yes, you! And your cunning sh*t will not work! We are smarter than that! Try again!" Ifeoma shouted at mama rudely.

"Oma! Are you mad? That's my mother you're talking to!" Fikayo snapped at her.

"And so? Have you ever said Mama, are you okay? That's my wife you're talking to! Have you ever said that too? Respect is reciprocal, please. Your mom have utilized the last respect I have for her! If she says she's mad, I'm madder! If she thinks she's crazy, I'm crazier! Infact, she says I'm uncultured anyways, why don't I show her how uncultured I can be!" Ifeoma was heaving heavily as she shouted. She already had it to the brink and she couldn't take it anymore.

Fikayo was now confused and didn't know who to support. His wife was angry and so was his mom, supporting either one was deadly at that moment so he just kept shut.

"Fikayo! I want this woman out of this house! She has done enough harm than good, her house is fine now. She should go to her house!" Ifeoma suddenly let out.

"What?! You can't do that!" Fikayo exclaimed.

"Yes I can! It's my house as it is yours! It's either she leaves or I leave! Choose!" Ifeoma snapped.

Mama suddenly ran out of the house into the compound where people where already seated under the tents and waiting for the naming ceremony to start. Ifeoma and Fikayo followed her.

"Help! Help o! My son's wife wants to send me packing out of my son's house o! She wants to send me to the streets!" Mama shouted getting the attention and pity of the well wishers that had started to watch the scene.

"See your mother, Fikayo! See the drama queen you call a mother! Eh! Nobody have ever heard bad things about us in this neighborhood but now she has tainted our good reputation."

Mama continued to shout and taint her daughter-in-law while the people there were now starting to give Ifeoma bad eyes and talk badly about her.

"All these girls of nowadays, they usually forget that if the mother didn't suffer on her son, they wouldn't be able to marry him." A chubby woman dressed in a fancy Igbo attire said to a fellow woman beside her.

"Lady, leave this elderly woman alone now! Do you want to kill her?" Another shouted as if Ifeoma was busy flogging mama.

"You forget that you'll be old one day too, How would you feel if you are treated like this by your son's wife?" Another told her.

Before the accusations could continue since Mama had succeeded in making her look like the bad person and the crazy one, she went back into their own apartment.

Fikayo stood behind trying to console his mother who was still shouting and crying fake tears.

Ifeoma took off her beautiful attire, washed the makeup off her face, knelt beside the king sized bed and then burst into tears while she prayed.

TO BE CONTINUED...