“Hello”
“Hi Brenda, Long time!”
“I’m coming to Lagos next week… I’ll finally get to know your house!”, Brenda burst out excitedly.
“Next week? Really?… What for?”, I stammered, a mixture of confusing and surprise.
“It doesn’t matter jor, at least I’ll get to see the latest Iyawo in Lagos”, she laughed in her usual boisterous manner. Who said it doesn’t matter? Brenda of all people was coming to Lagos.Just six months after her wedding, tired and pregnant, Chidi was not in the mood to receive guests… especially Brenda. Not that Brenda is a bad person. She’s just one of those friends that don’t understand some things. Although from a polygamous family, Brenda’s mum had worked very hard to make her children comfortable. After secondary school, she got a scholarship (through her mother’s connection) to study medicine abroad.
On graduation, she came home, got a mouth watering job and a brand new car as a gift from her mum. Even her dad who had never really been in the picture was proud to have a medical doctor in the family and he paid her first rent. Life was perfect for her. Now, she was getting married to an equally successful young man who would further cushion her life. What more could a young girl ask for in life?
Well, all that was not the issue right now and had nothing to do with Chidi’s discomfort. After all, Brenda was a really nice girl but… she just didn’t understand how things worked in ‘real life’. Things like why Chidi, instead of her husband had to pay the caterer for the wedding food and why Chidi pleaded with her father (almost in tears) to cut down the traditional marriage list.
To Brenda, Chidi always seemed to worry about money and it was annoying because that wasn’t her job. It was the man’s job to do whatever it takes to make sure his bride is happy and that includes doing all the worrying. Besides, why was Chidi always making excuses for him? The guy is a banker for Christ sake… if he can’t afford a wedding, how would he afford a family?
This and many other similar issues was the reason why she couldn’t let Brenda come to her house. She honestly thought she had escaped all the scrutiny by moving to Lagos after the wedding.
“Things will not always be like this”, she told herself.
“We just need time to settle down. Once Peter pays off the loan on the car, we will be able to move to a bigger apartment in a better neighbourhood”.
Her own salary was being saved as start up capital for a family business.
It was bad enough that Mama was coming to visit. She had tried to explain to her mother-in-law over the phone that it wasn’t a good time but the woman had refused to get the message.
“It’s just six months after the wedding… why wont they let us settle down before they start trooping to Lagos?”, Chidi muttered in frustration.
Anyway, Mama was not her concern right now… it was Brenda. She probably had a distorted picture of what newly married life was like for a pregnant woman. And of course the picture would include little treats like breakfast in bed, a house keeper, driver etc. The thought brought a smile to Chidi’s face. It was indeed amusing that her friend still believed in fairy tales with all the hardship in this Nigeria… mstchewww…
Well, this was a challenge and Chidi loved challenges… Isn’t that why she was called ‘Chidi the great’ in secondary school?… lol… good old days! Right now, she could already think of two options:
- Find a way to prevent Brenda from coming to the house or
- Brace herself for the disappointment Brenda would express when she found out that her dear friend was living like a pauper in Lagos.
Which would it be?
