Changes (20 page)

Kubi knew that he was not really expected to say anything, and so he said nothing, except something very polite like, ‘Mama, all will be well in the end,' and ‘perhaps things might be better in the New Year.' Then he said his farewells with a promise to come the next day to see Oko. They wished one another A Happy Meeting of the Years, and Kubi drove away.

Esi and her daughter Ogyaanowa spent the rest of that night with Opokuya and her family. For Ogyaanowa, and Opokuya's children, the whole episode seemed to have added something unexpected and therefore exciting. Before the young people went to bed, they had made more chips than the bowlful Opokuya had asked them to. Their lot was not anywhere as fine as the lot Opokuya had made earlier. But then, only ‘Mama' could tell the difference.

For Opokuya herself, Esi's invasion had been a real boon. Each time Kubi had left, they had stayed in the bedroom talking for a little while longer; then they had moved to the kitchen where, chatting and laughing as the two of them continuously did whenever they were together, Opokuya not only made an equally huge pot of
jolof
rice, but Esi too fried lots of fish and prawns. Indeed, by midnight, Opokuya was convinced that she could feed all of the king's workmen if necessary. At midnight they had joined Kubi in the sitting room and wished one another a Happy New Year and had a drink. The kids were already in bed. Then the grown-ups stayed up for a while chatting about this and that. Finally, it was agreed that Kubi would find himself somewhere to sleep and therefore Esi could share the bedroom with Opokuya for the rest of the night.

It was already two o'clock in the morning. Plainly for Opokuya there wasn't much of the night left. She had to wake up at five — exactly three hours later — to get ready for the hospital. When she stepped down from the bed, she could hardly walk for fatigue. One consolation was that at least there was food for everyone in the house, and more.

Esi spent the rest of the New Year holidays at Opokuya's. She had wanted to return to her place the next day, although she had waited for Opokuya to come home from the hospital before doing so. But both Opokuya and Kubi cautioned her against returning
so soon. They all knew that Oko was not a violent man, but then they also agreed that you never knew what anybody can do when he is feeling angry and hurt. Besides, said Opokuya, why leave the house where there were quite a few children for Ogyaanowa to play with and return her where there wasn't a single other child? So, with her mind's eye Esi looked at her bungalow and surveyed the entire neighbourhood. Most families would have gone away anyway, and the whole place would be silent in a way which she would not mind but which she also had to admit could be oppressive for a child. So she agreed they would stay, although she insisted that she should dash back to the place to double-check on the doors and the windows and also bring more clothes for herself and Ogyaanowa.

From Esi's house, Ali had driven back to his office to sit there and calm his nerves. He told himself that it just wouldn't do for him to get back to Fusena and the children looking visibly shaken or in any shape that would prompt them to ask questions. Once in the office, he had taken a bottle of mineral water from the fridge and had had a good drink. A few minutes later, and feeling somewhat collected, he had phoned home. Fusena was almost incoherent with concern. Where was he? Was he all right? He had assured her repeatedly. When she mentioned that they had been waiting for him to come home so that they could all eat supper together, he felt really bad. But he asked her to eat with the children. She would not agree. How could he expect her to? Eventually, he persuaded her to let the children eat so that they could go to bed. She agreed to that, but she would wait for him, of course …

Having sorted that out for the meantime — and he was aware it was only for the meantime — he turned his attention back to Esi. Because he had no doubt that that was where they would go, he phoned the Dakwas' to make sure that she and Ogyaanowa were safe. Of course they were there. He had been passed on to Esi almost immediately, and he had virtually crooned to her, apologising for his contribution to the embarrassment she had suffered. Esi had in turn said that frankly she did not know what he was talking about. It was she who had to apologise. After all, it was her ex-husband who had come to embarrass them all. Wasn't it?

Okay, okay, but I am feeling bad all the same.'

‘Were you hurt, Ali?'

‘No … no,' said Ali, making clicking noises to show his disapproval for the way she seemed to be so concerned about him.
Although deep down he could not help feeling pleased too. It was at the end of the telephone conversation that he also suggested to Esi that she stay away from her bungalow for a day or two.

On the second day of January, which was a Friday, Ali drove to the Dakwa house with a bottle of whisky and one of gin for Kubi and Opokuya, and a carload of goodies calculated to win young hearts forever. They were meant for Ogyaanowa and the two youngest Dakwa children. Toffees, other sweets, cakes, balloons, sodas. Even toys. The kids were very happy with everything. The grown-ups not so much. Kubi hardly looked at him although he managed to do what was expected, including offering Ali a drink. Ali declined alcohol in favour of some fruit juice. As for the children, they destroyed the ears of the grown-ups with non-stop choruses of how very very nice they thought ‘Uncle Ali' was.

In the meantime, Oko had decided that behaving the way he had just done wouldn't do. It was a definite lowering of standards. Why make that bitch think she was the only woman in the world? He was going to leave her and get on with his life. Before he returned to his secondary school, he took one male relative with him and they went to Esi's house to collect the child. Ogyaanowa was thoroughly fed up with having no one else around apart from the housekeeper when her mother went to work. So when she saw her father, she showed such an eagerness to go with him, Esi really felt rejected. But she let the child go anyway.

       
18

Half way through the new year, Ali took Esi to Bamako; but not before he had sent messages ahead to warn his people. That is, Mma, Baba Danjuma, and his natural father, Musa Musa. This was his ‘real' family and separate from the ‘Nima' family. The latter, was, in reality, only a support system in an alien environment. He had been very careful with the message. It contained among others an apology for the fact that he had not been able to obtain their permission before taking up a second wife.

Ali knew very well that in the old days, his behaviour would have been unthinkable, and definitely unforgivable. For no matter how old you were or felt, you could not get married without your parents knowledge. And your parents were

               
the father who helped your mother to conceive you, the mother who gave birth to you,

               
and all those who claimed to be brothers and sisters to those two.

Like all ‘modern Western-educated Africans', Ali couldn't help it if he regularly bruised traditions and hurt people. But at least he was one of the few really sensitive ones. So he went home to Bamako, armed with plenty of real and symbolic kolas to say he was sorry.

It was already sundown when Ali and Esi arrived in Bamako, so there was very little talk. What there was, was not serious. Mma just saw to it that the travellers were comfortable for the night, so they got water to wash, a very light meal, a place to sleep. Ali had asked his office to book them into the most modern hotel in town for the duration of their stay. But he realised that at least for that night he was in no position to insist on not staying at Mma's. It would not have been right at all. There was plenty of time to sort out the question of independent accommodation as well as other matters the next day. So for that night they slept at Mma's.

In the light of an open day, Mma looked Esi over. She found her beautiful. But she also decided that Esi was not someone she would ever be able to warm to. She knew Fusena, liked her very much and approved enormously of her as a wife for her son. Besides, she would always remember the trouble she had had to go to in order to get
Fusena as a wife for Ali. That sort of situation inevitably got you attached to people even if the lines of your lives never really allow you to get ever very close to them.

On the other hand, she told herself, her son Ali was not a fool. He had worked well and made something of himself. He had prospered. And as a son, he showed in every way that he cared for his family and for her in particular. Not only had he been helping her and Baba Danjuma to educate the younger children as if there were no difference between him and the others; in fact, it was clear that his office in Bamako had been given permanent instructions to make regular remittances to them. Yes, Ali had not forgotten his beginnings … So, if he found a woman like Esi attractive enough to want to marry her, then that should be good enough for her. He could have organised the matter of the permission better. But then, the joy of having children is also sometimes having to forgive them when, after they had done wrong, they come back to say sorry.

Musa Musa put up a different show altogether. He ranted and raved openly against the couple, telling Ali that he should be ashamed of himself. And that, as far as he was concerned, Esi was still just a concubine.

‘Because you had not bothered either to bring her to introduce her to us, or to get our approval before entering into this so-called marriage. It was not enough to ask your relatives from Nima along to your new in-laws. Besides, Allah is our witness, what else is the daughter of an infidel good for besides concubinage? Eh?

… Are good Muslim women finished from the earth?… And talking of good Muslim women, by the way, where is Fusena? Why don't you make it possible for me to see my grandchildren more often? Eh, Ali? I have only seen them once since you all arrived from the white man's land … And my last grandchild, never. Allah, what tribulations people expect me to suffer!—'

Ali tried to stop his father and refresh his memory about how only recently he had been with them in Accra. But Musa Musa was not going to allow any such interruption.

‘—Yes, so w-h-e-r-e is Fusena? Eh, Ali? And what does taking a second wife mean? What tasks had you given her to perform for which her energies had seemed inadequate? Eh, Ali? And how has she felt about all this?'

Eventually, Mma found herself helping Ali to beg for forgiveness. When Musa Musa was somewhat mollified, he chatted easily to Esi
and openly flirted with her.

               
This was traditionally permitted and sometimes even expected, when the relationship between a woman and her father-in-law was good. As long as it did not go beyond the level of a harmless game.

For an incurable womaniser like Musa Musa, there was always a threat of any harmless flirtations becoming serious. But after his eyes had raked Esi's body and he had in fact concluded that he could sleep with her, he had made a decision not to do anything ‘disgraceful'. He had told himself that he didn't believe in older men like him acting as though their sons were their procurers, hiding behind bushes to steal their children's prey. As he grew older, his motto had been that the day he stopped attracting women for himself, that was also the day he gave up women! Therefore, he decisively instructed himself that Esi was forbidden territory.

After the initial difficulties with All's family, Esi had had a lovely time in Bamako. She liked All's people. She liked Mma, although she also found her a little intimidating. On the other hand, from the first moment of encounter she had found Musa Musa charming and had not allowed herself to be remotely deceived by his earlier show of disapproval. She couldn't get close enough to Baba Danjuma even to form an opinion about him. But that too was all right. It is known and accepted that some relationships by marriage are really too distant to grow much. Like anyone from the coast, meat had always been a luxury for Esi. In Bamako she ate enough during those two weeks to last her a very long time. What she couldn't get over though, were the chickens and guinea fowls, succulently smoked with wild mint and other bewitchingly subtle flavours. It occurred to her then that perhaps when the best of African pastoral and campsite cooking met French cooking, you got
pintade fumée avec vin blanc sec. Trop sec.
She indulged.

Ali had been fascinated, watching Esi as she made some genuine efforts to operate in his other environment. For, apart from creating situations in which she could use the few words and phrases of French she knew, she had also started to learn Hausa, which is the
lingua franca
of the Sub-Sahel. At the end of the two weeks they turned their eyes southwards, loaded with all manner of goodies: Sub-Sahelian African as well as French, as well as nearly five kilos of extra body weight on Esi. And with all that was a conviction shared by both that they had had a wonderful holiday.

Part III

       
19

‘Okay, if you can wait for a couple of minutes I could drop you home.

‘Hello, yes... hello, yes, yes, yes, it's Ali... Hi... yes. Oh, but I have missed you! Fine, fine. And how are you?

‘Yes, oh yes. About four o'clock this afternoon.

‘Yes, fine.

‘Okay. But exhausting as usual …

‘Yes, this time, properly worn out…