Externals - Chapter Twenty-one

 

"Here we are!", Zach assisted me in getting down from the bus when we reached our destination even though I didn't need his help.

"Thanks", I smiled.

"Zach, please come and help me carry this boy", One of the women in the bus begged him to help carry her sleeping son.

"Alright, ma", He carried out her request even though he seemed more eager to take me inside the house so I could sit down and relax.

When Omma and I later went to the restroom, she told me he would have replied her rudely if I wasn't there. I didn't know if that was supposed to be a good or bad thing.

Mrs. Thompson's family house wasn't a bad site to behold. As most Nigerians do, the parents of the bride contracted a painter before the wedding because the painting of the house looked new. Likewise, some new furniture in the living room smelt of painted wood. Outside the house, an area that seemed like it was once bombarded with weed was smooth. It was the same place they set up tents for the event. There were two tents for the general populace and a special one for the couple. Of course, the couple's tent had a more glamorous decoration.

"I'm so glad you guys made it!" Zach's stepmom look excited to see everyone but she welcomed the women especially.

"Mum favor, your house is very fine oo", Omma found something to endear herself to her.

"Thank you, my dear", She caressed her cheek.

"There are many fine girls here too", ID commented.

"They're all my sisters oo. If you mess with them, I'll show you pepper", She gave him a stern look.

"Yes, ma", He saluted her. I was quite surprised that Omma didn't say anything about him eyeing other women. Rather, she gestured at me to say something nice to Mrs. Thompson the bride's sister.

"Congratulations, ma", I told her.

"Thank you", She said casually and left to get us some chinchin to keep our mouths busy.

Since the party didn't start as soon as we got to the venue, we searched and found a suitable place to take several pictures on Zach's iPhone 9 and watched an interesting movie in a guest room he secured for us by sending out the kids who were there before us. However, the movie didn't crack me up, it was Zach and ID's criticism of the movie that did. Omma wasn't even able to concentrate on it because she was using ID's data to post the number of pictures she wouldn't have posted if it was hers.

Even though the tables arranged for the party weren't that much, we didn't have to fight for any because Mrs. Thompson secured one for us. The party started with every guest rising to honor the members of the groom's family as they arrived. For extra ten minutes, the MC for the event still kept them waiting. She claimed it was their punishment for coming to an in-law's house late but it afforded her more time to get extra money from them.

After they got in, the MC taught them how to greet their inlaws, and they did exactly as she did. Since the wedding was between an Edo girl and a Yoruba guy, she merged both cultures to make it an intercultural event. When it was the groom's turn to greet his inlaws, his friends were there to support him. For more times than I can remember, I kept looking at him because he looked handsome in his agbada attire paired with local beads. No deformity in his body could make the bride's parents deny the fact that he was suitable for their daughter.

The bride herself wasn't bad. She had eyes that were as bright as the sun and a sparkling white set of teeth. As her friends ushered her to the stage, she showcased various dance styles that showed she was an enlightened person. Seeing her made me want to imagine how I'd look on my wedding day but I couldn't. Instead, I imagined her and her parents' pictures fitting into a frame that would soon be hung in their living room. I imagined her shedding tears of joy in years to come when she also gives her daughter's hand to a man in marriage, as her mom did. She also cried at the event but those tears were short-lived. They didn't make it to the couples' special tent where her groom was waiting for her or the daddy-daughter dance.

When it was time for Mr. and Mrs. Thompson to dance, Omma and I helped them to pick up the new naira notes people sprayed them because the other family members who could have helped were busy serving guests; it was that time at a Nigerian party where everything becomes rowdy and even the servers can't handle things alone, no matter how much they are. Unfortunately, our seats were taken away before we returned to our table by important guests. The guys, especially Zach would have protected it with their life if they were around but they had to assist the servers in delivering drinks to guests who had just arrived.

Since there was no hope of us getting a new place to sit or meals to eat, Omma and I resolved to go rest inside. As we were about to do that, we came in contact with a guy who Omma introduced as Zach's elder brother. His name was Mark and he looked completely different from Zach but was finer. She complained about our situation to him and he decided to take us to a restaurant where we had Ofada rice and stew. While I chose Coke to have my meal, they both went for Fanta.

"I'm so full", Omma belched when she was done eating her food.

"That's good, fatty", He cleaned a stain near her upper lip with his napkin.

"When will you stop calling me that?" She rolled her eyes.

"You'll agree with me that the name suits her perfectly, right?" He turned to me.

I smirked in response. No matter how slim Omma became, she still had a puffy cheek but I couldn't betray my friend.

"How come you didn't tell your only brother you were coming for the party?" Zach said as he and I.D. joined our table. I didn't remember Omma or Mark telling them where we were going so I wondered how they figured out.

"I'm sorry, kiddo", He patted his brother's hair." I wanted to surprise someone".

"Well, you did surprise me", Omma blushed. I had never seen her act the way she did around him.

"We should start heading home now, it's getting late", I.D seemed nervous.

"It's just 3:30 pm, we still have time", She replied him and turned to Mark. "You have to tell me all about uni.

Seeing that he couldn't convince Omma to come with him, I.D stormed out of the restaurant and Zach followed him. I was scared they might leave me alone but she assured me Mark will gladly take us home if that happens. Anyways, she wasn't the only one interested in hearing him talk about university life. I also loved hearing him talk about how much freedom he enjoys while in school and the countless nights he spent in his hostel library reading for his first-semester examination. He also mentioned the day he almost excreted in his body after eating a badly cooked meal because he spent most of his food allowance on a girl who barely looked
him in the eye. Omma and I couldn't stop laughing.

When we got back to the house, the party had already ended but there were still kids dancing in front of the DJ to attract money from the few extended family members around. The only adult among them was a drunk I.D. who was dancing weirdly. Upon seeing Omma, he took her hand and forced her to dance with him. He wouldn't stop trying to do the salsa dance to impress her until Zach came to inform him it was time to go home.

In less than five minutes, we all reassembled ourselves in the bus that brought us. Zach's eyes clearly showed he was eager to talk with me throughout the journey since we didn't spend enough time at the party. He even requested that I sit at the passenger's seat to support him in driving instead of his friend who wasn't in his right state of mind.

Unfortunately, the bus didn't start. Instantly, Mark who didn't initially plan to spend the weekend in his dad's apartment offered to take I and Omma home. I.D opposed the idea, saying he was going to fix the bus in no time. We waited for fifteen minutes but all he did was rush to a nearby gutter to empty his bowels. I couldn't afford to infuriate my Aunt by getting home late so I rushed into Mark's car.

Omma knew it was her responsibility to bring me home safely so she followed Mark even though I.D made a scene. He accused Mark of stealing his girlfriend, and Omma of betraying him. If Zach didn't hold him back, he would have punched the pretty boy's face. It's not like was even finer than him anyway. Mark just had finesse and intelligence.

Mark and Omma did most of the talking during the journey back home since my eyes were shut. Their discussion was centered on her relationship. Mark wanted to know why she was still with I.D who didn't seem like he had any good plan for his future, talk less of theirs. Her response was because he had always been for her even when she was being ridiculed by everyone including him about her body weight.

They thought I was sleeping but that wasn't the case. I was disturbed. As much as I would have loved to commend I.D, I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that we weren't going to make it home before my curfew because an accident that recently took place along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway was causing a heavy traffic.

"Did you enjoy your sleep?" Omma asked when I finally decided to open my eyes. She saw that through the side mirror.

"I wasn't sleeping", I muttered from the back seat where I folded my arms.

"Hmm..so where you thinking about Zach then?" She decided to tease me without examining the implication of what she was about to do.

"I wasn't thinking about anyone!" I yelled at her with furrowed brows. "I was blaming myself for allowing you drag me into this mess and how to save myself!"

"Lily, eve....." Omma replied but I didn't allow her finish. She still remained calm.

"If you don't find a way to get me home before 8, you'll regret the day you met me!" I threatened.

Anyways, we made it to our neighborhood without having to pay any hoodlum to help him pull his car out of a ditch or a vulcanizer to pump his tires. Besides, my aunt was at her friend's shop when I entered the house so she didn't know the time I got back home and neither asked me. She only replied my greeting, told me my dinner was waiting for me in one of the pots in the kitchen, and went to bed.

While I was transferring the beans and plantain from the pot into my favorite white bowl, a call came in from an unknown number. I ignored it at first because my Aunt warned me never to answer that kind of call. After all, she's heard stories of fraudsters using them to scam people. However, I also thought it could a call to inform me of an urgent situation so I decided to answer it after covering myself with the blood Of Jesus.

"Hi", The caller's voice was far from being that of a fraudster.

"Hey", I was still nervous.

"This is Zach", I imagined him smiling like he usually does.

"Oh...Zach. How're you?" I became calm.

"I'm good and you. Are you home?" He asked with concern evident in the tone of his voice.

"Yes", I smiled."Have you guys been able to fix I.D's bus?"

"No but we'll take it to the workshop tomorrow", He assured me.

"Good. How's I.D?" I didn't know what else to talk about.

"He's in bed already. I'm so sorry for what happened. He wasn't his.." He said on behalf of his friend.

"It's okay. I understand", I adjusted the position of my phone on my ear.

"Alright. Thanks for honoring my invitation", He replied.

"You're welcome. Thanks for the treat. My regards to your brother", I said.

"Okay. Bye. Have a good night's rest", He hung up.

As the call ended, I saved Zach's contact on my phone and started eating my food in the silent kitchen. After eating, I logged into my wattsap account where a message from Zach was already waiting for me. I quickly replied it and other messages followed. He wanted to know if I already taken dinner and was about to sleep. I told him what he needed to know and asked likewise. He said he ate from the remnant of the party and had to share a small bed with I.D and two other guys because the house was full so he didn't think he was going to get a wink of sleep that night.