Must Read: Taking Chances

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: Taking Chances

Daisy woke up rather late this morning for she was an early riser, the
bed-side clock showed the time to be 7:30am, but Daisy made no move to
stand, instead she curled up further into the blanket, she was feeling
sick and her head really hurts. This was an aftermath of skipping her
nightly dose of juice and as she had predicated, the consequence had
been grave, it shook her like an earthquake.


She had all but consciously walked to the kitchen at about 2am earlier
that morning for that was the time the craving begins. Still not fully
awake, she searched the fridge and cupboards looking for Juice, it was
minutes later that it dawned on her that She wasn’t in her apartment in
Boston.



But by then, the kitchen was a mess, things were out of their place and
sprawled on the floor while cupboards and cabinets lay open. Daisy
didn’t care, she remembered then that she had searched before so she
just walked like a zombie to her room, half noticing Jide who was
snoring away, oblivious of the noise she had made.


When she got back to the room, her trouble doubled, for minutes later,
she started sweating profusely, her body shaking uncontrollably, the
worms gnawed at her intestine and she felt a sickening s£nsat!on, she
was a pile of wreck, more like a drug addict who didn’t get a dose of
drug. She was deeply addicted to juice, her hungry stomach compounded
the problem and she found herself visiting the toilet to vomit now and
then, nothing came out for her stomach was more or less empty, but she
went back again nevertheless.



She couldn’t sleep, for hours she just sat on the floor, her back
resting on the bed and her hands on her head. It was hours later that
sleep came knocking and slowly she had dragged herself to bed. The
reason she woke up late this morning.
Daisy now rolled to the other side of the bed, she was still queasy. She
suddenly remembered what Today was. Sunday! and it was their wedding
thanksgiving service, still she made no move to stand.
It wasn’t as if there was anything to wear, and her phone wasn’t with
her, in all of yesterday activities, she didn’t know who she had given
it, and she was sure Jide wouldn’t bother calling the family house.
Well, she wasn’t feeling any better herself.
Soon she heard noises. She attuned her ears to it, it was coming from
the parlour.
‘Kilonshe gbogbo awon omode yi!’ someone had shouted.



She guessed it to be that of Jide’s father, that must mean the family
were here she reasoned. Slowly she started rising up, but stopped when
the door flung open, and in came Mama.
‘Daisy, what are you still doing in bed by now? It’s almost eight, i
don’t know you to be a late riser, first service will end by nine and we
are booked for then!…’ Mama said, her voice rising with every
sentence, she was now by the bed.
Daisy was sitting down now, no movement, her expression blank. She
didn’t reply either.
Mama felt her temper rising, if Jide was adamant, atleast not Daisy too.
Noone seem to care.
‘kilo de?’ she asked in yoruba.
Daisy said nothing, she just pulled the blanket up to her folded knee.
Mama pulled down the blanket and fuming still, said:
‘O fe dami lo hun ni? See the time, its sharp eight, you nor Jide is
prepared, are you children bent on causing scandals?
‘Daisy!’ she shouted when Daisy still made no move to stand or reply
her.

Mama continued complaining in yoruba language, she did so, mostly when
she was angry, Daisy understood all she was saying, her 10 years stay in
the States hadn’t eroded her knack for the language. she couldn’t speak
it fluently but she understood it quite all right, she had been perfect
in the language due to her long stay in Ijebu-Ode with her grandmother
before she left for Boston to stay with her mother, though the years
took away her ability to speak yoruba fluently, Mama had made sure she
never lost the language totally. She often than not converse in yoruba
with her.
Mama was ranting on about how Jide was so ungrateful, how children of
nowadays were spoilt and disrespectful, how nobody seem to appreciate
her one bit, how Daisy seem to have joined in frustrating her and so
on…’
Inbetween all of mama’s ranting, Daisy had slide down into the blanket
drawing it up to cover her face. You don’t try arguing with Mama when
she was this way.
Having said her piece, mama sighed, her anger seem to have dissolved.
She now sat calmly on the bed.

When Daisy noticed Mama was no more talking, she stole a glance at her, peeping from beneath the blanket.
‘coast clear’ she said quietly to herself and pulled off the blanket.
Standing up she said ‘Mama don’t overwork yourself already, i was feeling sick then’
Mama immediately looked up from where she had bent her head wondering whether she didn’t deserve how she was being treated.
‘Sick! How? when? Why didn’t you tell me…’ she was now at Daisy side and touching her body.
Mama and her fussing, Daisy thought resignedly.
‘It’s gone now, am okay. Twas because i missed my nightly dose of juice’
she said in truth, maybe all of Mama’s rant had somehow paid off afterall.
‘juice? but they was more than enough at the wedding and You should have
told Jide to get you some…’
‘yeah right’ Daisy snorted cutting into Mama speech. she wont be surprise if she got acid instead.



Mama was still looking her over, she’s like a mother hen when it
concerns Daisy’.
‘Mo wa pa!’ Daisy exclaimed in a funny Yoruba accent and hugged Mama.
‘you should worry about the clothes i will wear when i take my bath, all my…’
‘oh, that has been taken care of, Jumoke is with it in the parlor, just get prepared’
‘okay’ Daisy said, blew Mama a kiss and bounded off into the bathroom.



Mama smiled inspite of her initial anger, this was another reason why she so loved Daisy.
*************
Down in the parlour, Jide hadn’t found it easier either.


A loud knock on his door earlier had jolted him from his slumber,
opening it, he was surprised to see his dad, grandmother, Yemi, his
immediate younger brother and Jumoke, his sister at the door.
He had totally forgotten that it was Sunday and his supposed
thanksgiving service. But then what’s there to thank God about, he
thought drily.
His family were not smiling one bit, well, so wasn’t he.
Shaking his head and with a disgusted look he said:
‘Hail the pack of trouble’ and walked away to go lie back on the settee.
‘Is that supposed to be a greeting or what?’ his father asked
‘or what’ he muttered
‘Omo de yi ti baje tan’ put in mama almost shouting. She was also
clapping her hands.


Yemi and Jumoke left the bickering ‘grown ups’ to go sit down.
‘Really Mama, keep your voice down, you don’t wanna wake the whole damn
neighbourhood’ Jide said angrily, mother and son were at it again. He
thought
‘what kind of lazy neighbours sleep till this time and on a Sunday too?
Mama retorted. no more clapping.
‘My friend, just quietly go inside, take your bath and prepare, time is
not on our side’ his father said, he was sitting now.
‘prepare for what?’ came Jide’s curt reply
‘its your wedding thanksgiving service for God’s sake!’ his father
replied, his voice high.
Jide laughed briefly, this family of his were really something. He’d be
darned if he moved an inch or dance to their tune, not this time around.
Thanksgiving Ko, praisegiving ni.
‘What am i going to thank God for? For a wedding that was forced on me?

Or for a family that is driving me insane?’ his voice had risen.
‘I don’t have your time, Nibo ni Daisy wa na?’ mama had said angrily and
walked off to go find Daisy.
‘Kilonshe gbogbo awon omode yi?’ his dad thundered.
‘look Dad, am a grown man, you don’t just come to my house to tell me
what to do, havnt you done enough already?’ he asked, really pissed.
‘Yemi give him his cloth, look at the time, we are supposed to have been
in church by now, in an hour time, the service would end, will they
wait for us specially’. Jide’s dad said, as if Jide had not spoken. He
was middle aged, bulky and almost as tall as Jide who stood on 5’7.
‘Its okay! if you think you can order me around like a child, we shall
see where it ends!’ Jide said shouting.
Yemi tossed the bag he had been holding at Jide, he really didn’t envy
Jide now with father at his back, they were both stubborn and he
wondered whose turf would hold.





Jide, out of curiosity, opened the bag that was tossed at him. Soon His
face held a deriding smile, inside was a cloth exactly the same material
with that which his family were wearing, he guessed Daisy would wear
just the same Ankara material, he never doubted that she would gladly
without resistance adorn it, well that was her business, his was making
sure he was not caught dead on this uniformed cloth with his annoying
family trotting like an i.diot in front of a large congregation to go
thank God for nothing spectacular he could name. No sir, he won’t!
‘you guys got all the bloody nerves’ he said rather calmly and tossed
the bag back to Yemi.
‘did you actually expect me to wear that? Jide, wear the Ankara with…’
He stopped midway, it was really not worth the trouble to keep the word
exchange, he would just stay and watch who was gonna force the cloth on
him and he would show that person a piece of his mind.



His mind set, he picked up his remote to switch on his television.


Noone pushed further, even his dad rested resignedly on the chair while
jumoke rose to go meet Daisy and Mama in the room. The guys could tear
themselves up for all she cared.