Story: Conflicted Destiny - Season 1 Episode 49

Episode 8 years ago

Story: Conflicted Destiny - Season 1 Episode 49

The next day, with the marriage ceremony out of the way, I hired a taxi and we went to the famous Lekki Beach. Maria Joana and I spent a few hours there, walking along the beach, drinking the juice from fresh coconuts. We later relaxed in a bar and had a few drinks and some lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying different attractions at the beach. The next day, I rented a boat for two hours and we cruised around Victoria Island lagoon, all the way to Lagos Island. Maria Joana marveled at the scenic view and the many skyscrapers dotting the Lagos skyline. She hadn’t imagined Lagos to be that modern and beautiful. We went to an exotic, secluded beach at Tarkwa Bay, where we swam and took a quick tour of a nearby fishing village. After the boat ride, we walked around the crowded Lagos City. By evening Maria Joana was exhausted and we returned to my cousin’s house.
The next morning, Maria Joana and I went to the Spanish embassy and registered our marriage. We were issued a libra de familia (family book), which was typically issued to married couples in Spain. As the family expanded, names would be added to the book. At the embassy, we also tried to get a Spanish immigrant visa for me. Of course, we had to explain that I had been living in Spain and my passport had gotten lost there. I showed them the emergency traveling document I had gotten from Spain, as well as the police report indicating that I had a clean record in Spain. However, the embassy wasn’t completely satisfied with everything I had presented; they accepted everything but the police report. They wanted a fresh report to the embassy directly from Spain. I was completely disappointed. I had thought the process would be a lot easier. But all hope was not lost; this just meant I would have to work extra hard to keep Maria Joana happy so she wouldn’t change her mind. It was decided before we left the embassy that, upon her return to Spain, Maria Joana would process another police report that she would send directly to the embassy, after which, depending on the contents of the report, I would be issued an immigrant visa.
We left the embassy and went to an Indian restaurant in Ikoyi. As we ate, Maria Joana reassured me that as soon as she got back, she would hurry with the process and make sure the police report got to the embassy as soon as possible. After eating, we took a tour of Ikoyi and returned to my cousin’s house.
The following day, we started on our journey to the east to see my family. We arrived at Owerri late in the evening and spent the night at a hotel. Early the next morning, we continued on to my village. As soon as we arrived, everybody in the village rushed out to see us. They were all pleased that I brought a white lady home, and everyone, young and old, came to shake her hand. Some of the children touched her skin and wanted to touch her hair, too; they were quite fascinated. For me, it was a strange situation. There were a lot of similarities to my personal experience living in Europe. The behavior of my village people upon seeing a strange white person was similar to that of white Europeans when they saw a black person in their community. The difference was that the people in my village were genuinely curious about someone who was unlike them; they had no malice toward her at all. But in Europe, it was quite the opposite most times. For her part, Maria Joana seemed really pleased with the way the people treated her—like some kind of goddess. I felt like a king because my family, and the entire village, was very proud of me.
I introduced my family to Maria Joana. I wasn’t sure how my mother would feel about her, but I could see that my younger brothers and sister were proud. Maria Joana took a particular interest in my brother, James, and she gave out gifts to the endless troops of visitors. After a while, I took Maria Joana to the place where we used to live. My father’s house was no longer there because I had torn it down and sold the zinc and blocks to raise the money for my initial trip to Liberia. I also showed her where my father was buried, after which we walked around the village. Later, my mother made traditional food and we all ate. That evening, on our way back to Owerri, we stopped at Orji and spent some time with my grandmother, Eunice, and a few other relatives.
The next morning we traveled to Aba and went to my uncle’s house. I didn’t anticipate any problems because my uncle and I had made peace since I came back. I had told him that my girlfriend was coming to visit and would be staying with me at his house, and he had said it was okay with him. When we got to my uncle’s house, his wife had already fixed up the guest room for us. Everybody was happy and received us well. I gave a large sum of money to my uncle’s wife and asked her to prepare a good meal for the whole house. Maria Joana gave out gifts to my cousins and we were all merry. But the happiness did not last long.
As usual, my uncle returned home very late that night, close to midnight. I didn’t know what had gotten into him that night, but I suspected he was either intoxicated or suffered a momentary memory loss, because as soon as he learned that Maria Joana was staying with me in the guest room, he went ballistic. He screamed at his wife, questioning her judgment for allowing me to bring a prostitute into his house. I went out to confront him and told him I had heard everything he said. I insisted that he had crossed the line, and that this trumped everything he had done to me in the past. He had known full well that I would be staying at his house with my girlfriend and had already consented. For several minutes we exchanged harsh words until Maria Joana finally came out of the room. She did not need to speak English to understand what was going on. She tried to calm me down, but I refused to listen. I wanted to deal with my uncle, and if Maria Joana hadn’t been holding me back, I would have beaten the living daylights out of him. She insisted that we leave the house that night.