The Externals Reloaded - Chapter Twentyfive

 

Minister Adekunbi Omowale was the only child of his parents. He got the opportunity to move out of his village for a University education in the city when he was eighteen. Even at that, they paid him special attention knowing being an educated person had its own detriments. When he was getting too old and couldn't produce a wife talk less of children, his mom tricked him into coming home by pretending she was ill. Meanwhile, they had prepared the necessary things for his marriage to the most respectful girl in their village. The same person Quinn had been living with since his arrival in Lagos.

Despite being civilized, Mr Kunbi really didn't care about whom he married at that time probably because he was too engrossed in his work. Their marriage seemed pretty cool to everyone as it produced two beautiful babies in less than a year even though patriarch Kunbi felt a single boy would have made more difference. Unlike her husband, Mrs. Kunbi bothered less about the gender of their children but rather on getting means of providing their needs. Since there was no hope that his meager paying teaching job would live up to expectation, Mr Kunbi resolved to travel out of the country.

Through the help of a philatronphist, Mr Kunbi got his work visa and made other arrangements for his migration to the United States Of America. Certainly, his wife wasn't completely happy about it but had to let him go since he was doing everything in their interest. Outside his home country, Mr. Kunbi still kept his shoulders high and thus succeeded in his endeavors. At last, he started making enough to sustain himself and take care of his family back home through the same teaching job that had no value back home.

In his new settlement, Mr. Kunbi felt at ease with himself. With a clear head, it was easy for him to calculate the amount of money he would need to establish a school in Nigeria so as to have something to return to. He already had an estimated day of departure until miss Claire came along. After her duty started as a counsellor in the school he worked with, they got close because she needed his help in communicating well with her first client, a Yoruba student who recently transferred and couldn't speak English well.

Miss Claire was from a family of racism devotees so working alongside Mr Kunbi hard but, "what was meant to be came to be". Both felt connected to each other in a way they never did; the attachment was strong enough to lead them to the court where they exchanged marriage vows with neither of their family members in attendance. Certainly, someone's out there calling Mr Kunbi all sort of names. Well, he deserves that because he underestimated the power of love and realized his mistake too late. The only Nigerian friend he had back then also made matters worse by telling him he wasn't the first and wouldn't be the last to tread that path.

To the disappointment of many, the love shared by Wale and Claire waxed stronger. Quinn's birth even brought them closer as they joined hands to perform their parental duties. Unfortunately, their bundle of joy also became the reason their love turned sour. Wale had a good start with his son but the young lad began having issues at school; kids bullied him because his dad was black. They didn't care about the fact that he had an untanned skin, American accent or a white mother. When he could no longer bear it, he resolved to get rid of his dad as he even doubted if he was truly the one that gave birth to him since their skin color was so different.

Claire loved Quinn dearly so she didn't entertain Wale spanking him the first and second time yet she didn't tell the cops. It was quite obvious they would treat his case different given his skin color and she didn't want to lose him. She also understood that his culture greatly influenced his method of discipline, meaning it'll be extremely hard for him to adjust. As a psychologist, she felt counselling would help, leading to her decision to register him for one. However, the third time, Quinn poured warm milk on his dad's face and intentionally called him stupid in front of his aunt who was clearly still finding it hard to accept a black man as her brother-in-law.

"Hey, buddy. I noticed you've been moody all day. You shouldn't let that witch bother you. Stepmoms are just...." Lily interupted his thought. She was greatly troubled by his mood.

"It's fine, Lily. This isn't really about her. I just have a lot of classworks to cover up because of our trip", He lied not to make her worry.

"I'm so sorry about that. I also have the same issue but we can do this! Lambert's a piece of cake when we work together", Words flew out of her mouth with the aim of motivating him.

"Come on, Lily. You were fine before knowing me. I believe you can do this. Take care!" He left briefly without even giving her a hug.

"Zach will kill for the opportunity he shabbily rejected you know", Omma whispered behind her.

"Are you seriously telling me to replace a friend in his trying times?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"If you call this trying, what would you call having a mom with cancer? After discovering my dad is a minister, why else should I worry? Quinn is just stupid", Khadijat joined the conversation.

"Even you, Dija!" Lily wasn't expecting her response.

At the Muritala Mohammed international airport, the minister was seen dressed casually to conceal his identity. Yet, his bodyguards stood in strategic positions to protect him from any form of attack in case an enemy recognizes him. Instead of taking flights either for official assignments or leisure trips, he came to welcome his ex-wife to his home country. Years ago, he couldn't bring her over even though she wanted to come badly because he was scared that his Nigerian mother-in-law, an alleged witch would murder her with Quinn right in front of his eyes. However, he promised to receive her warmly whenever she decides to come the last day they saw each other.

"Oh my God! It's so good to see you again", Miss Claire experienced a rush of emotions as she laid eyes on her long-lost first love after years of being apart. They attracted a lot of attention with their reunion scene.

"This is for you, my lady", he handed her a bunch of heart shaped balloons and grabbed her suitcase.

"Awwwn. Thanks, Wale", she blushed.

"It's my pleasure. After you, my lady", He led her to the car park.

"How did you get a belly this big?" She teased him as they walked. "The stress of being a minister should have helped you keep fit".

"Politics over there is quite different from what we have here, my lady", he replied.

"Our worlds are still far apart", she sighed intensively, remembering the disgustful look on her dad's face when she first introduced him.

"You still look beautiful", Their eyeballs met briefly.

The twins helped their mom prepare an exquisite meal for Miss Claire while Quinn was put in charge of the saloon for the time being. He didn't know his mom was coming to visit since they hadn't been communicating. Besides, she wanted to surprise him. Prior to their arrival, Mrs. Kunbi called him to start coming and he came shortly after his mom's arrival. When he entered the living room, everywhere was dark, which he found weird since Mrs Kunbi told him they were home. After he turned on the lights, his mom's figure became apparent. Quinn's reaction to that was hugging her like his life depended on it. Judging from the way he welcomed miss Claire whom he had issues, Mr. Kunbi expected more from him but all he got was a, "Good evening, minister".

"Your meal really tastes good, Esoshe", Miss Claire complemented her after having several spoons of rice boiled to perfection with seafood stew and round shaped fried plantain pieces.

"Thanks, Claire", She smiled.

"Mom didn't do everything alone. We deserve some complements too!" The girls complained.

"Sorry about that. You girls did a great job too!" She gave them a thumbs up.

"Is there really nothing we can do to make Quinn eat?" Mr Kunbi felt bad for being the reason his son chose to isolate himself in his bedroom.

"You see that one...", Mrs Kunbi lowered her voice. "I've caught him scraping bottom pot in the middle of the night. He's a true son of his father!"

"That's hilarious!" Claire kept laughing even when others were done.

"Alright. Let's make a toast!" Mr. Kunbi said and they raised their wine glasses. "To Claire's first visit to Nigeria".

The seniors in Johnson College dedicated more of the lunchtime to planning for the upcoming cultural day than eating because they wanted it to be memorable. Activities related to cultural recitations, poems and songs were left to the Juniors while the seniors chose to handle drama which was more complex. To make this activity successful, the students of Grace Model College begged their drama teacher to help them out and he agreed. On their first meeting, he created an avenue for the best script writer among them to pitch her idea then she suggested a drama about the wartime activities of the old Benin empire but he didn't feel connected to the idea.

Not everyone who came for the meeting was really interested in what they were doing; they only wanted to show support to their colleagues. One of such was Lily who kept gisting Omma about the young virgins rites in Edo until their drama teacher caught her. He found their discussion intriguing and decided that their drama will be centered on it. The only problem was that he chose the wrong persons for the lead role.

"Good morning, sir", The drama teacher for Grace Model College entered the proprietor's office upon request the following morning.

"Good morning, Mr. Segun. How are you doing today", The proprietor for Johnson's College welcomed him into his office.

"I'm fine, sir", Mr. Segun replied him.

"You can have your seat", The proprietor pointed at a swivel chair for him to sit on. "Which do you prefer, coffee or tea?"

"I'm fine, thank you sir", Mr. Segun rejected his offer politely.

"First, I'd like to thank you for the impact you've made in the school so far", The proprietor gave him a wide smile.

"It's my pleasure, sir", Mr. Segun replied humbly.

"Then again, a student wrote a letter against you for giving him a drama role he's not interested in", The proprietor showed him the letter.

"I had to do that because a bad attitude he displayed at our first meeting", Mr. Segun defended himself.

"I just want to be careful around him. His dad is the minister of education, you know", The proprietor warned him.

"Alright, sir", Mr. Segun replied.

The second rehearsal for the stage play happened in the SS3 students' classroom. Even in his angry state, Mr. Segun made sure Quinn participated and refused to let Lily off the hook. He needed her personality to play the role of a naive virgin excellently. He made them repeat scenes until he was satisfied and also gave them scripts to memorize. They also tried discouraging him from producing the play by reminding him of their lack of appropriate costumes but he refused to give up.

"Hope you didn't forget anything?" Nurse Zara asked Lily in the evening as she prepared to return home with her dad.

"I'd be happy to come back for just to see you", Lily smiled.

"I'm going to miss you a lot", Miss Zara hugged her. Keep being a good girl, okay?"

"I will, ma", Lily assured her.

"Goodbye, Mr Allen", Nurse Zara waved at him. Please make sure you follow your drug prescriptions".

"Goodbye, Nurse Zara. Thanks for everything. I'll never forget your kindness. I'll come check on you soon enough", Mr Allen responded.

"Don't sleep on it. Maybe you'd luckily run into him after having three children", Lily whispered to the nurse without her dad's knowledge, causing her to laugh.