A Story Of Deceit

Episode 27

‘Uwanah, have you gone deaf?’, Mrs. Martins asked, ‘no, no, ma’, I replied stammering ‘why did you lie that my husband is calling her?’, she questioned’, ‘errrm, ma, I’m sorry ma’, I pleaded, ‘do you think it’s about sorry?, you just made my daughter look like a fool in front of her father’, she yelled, ‘I’m sorry ma, I’m really sorry, it won’t happen again’, I apologized, ‘No, sorry isn’t going to solve this problem, you’ll do it again and I’ve been noticing your incompetence and freelance attitude these days at work’, she said, ‘I’m sorry ma, I’m really sorry Stella’, I begged. She faced Ngozi and ordered, ‘Ngozi, tell all the workers in this house to look for any maid for me, before the end of tomorrow and next’. Yes, yes ma’, Ngozi answered. ‘Uwa, you’re fired’, she announced. I was shocked, ‘how could such a small mistake make her sack me?’, I asked myself. I noticed the hideous smile on Stella’s face when her mum fired me but, she tried to conceal it with pity when she saw me looking at her. ‘Mum, it’s not necessary’, she said, like she really cared for me’. She did it, in order to make me tell David, about how she had tried to support me but, her acting wasn’t selling it at all. After begging doggedly for a while, my pleas fell on deaf ears, ‘my words are final’, she said and left the kitchen dragging Stella along. Ngozi tried to console me but I assured her, I was okay. As far as I was concerned, that call for Mr. Martins was going through that night, after all, it was getting his phone number that cost me my job.

‘Uwa, you’re joking abi, what do you mean by you lost your job?’, David asked after we had dinner . ‘I don’t have job again ooo’, I said again for the fifth time. ‘Why?, what happened?’, he asked.

I wasn’t ready to start explaining that I lied to Stella to collect her father’s number because of the strong notion of Mr. Martins, being my uncle to him just yet. Instead, I said, ‘I think, it’s because she doesn’t like me’, I said, ‘come on, Uwa, Stella’s mum doesn’t like anyone apart from herself and family, so that can’t just be the reason’, David said, ‘David, that’s the reason, maybe, she dislikes me specially’, I said angrily, ‘I don’t want to talk about it’, I said abruptly and lay down to sleep leaving David perplexed. ‘okay, just relax, we’ll talk better tomorrow’, he said. I couldn’t wait for David to leave for work, the next day in order to have all the time alone to comfortably explain things to Mr. Martins.

All through the night, I rolled from one end of the bed to the another, I was like a kid who was waiting for Christmas morning to try on her new dress. I anticipated the call with Mr. Martins, I even made up conversations in my head. I didn’t have any pessimistic thoughts, I was certain that things would go smoothly.

At long last, the long night was over and, it was time for David to leave for work. I would have seen him off but for fear of the prying eyes of some neighbours, I decided to remain inside. ‘Okay, dear, I’m going’, David said, ‘okay, see you in the evening, take care’, I said, ‘I’ll miss coming home with you today after work ooo’, he informed, ‘Okay, thanks’, I said. While he left the house, I felt like a jobless housewife. One of the these were true, the other wasn’t. The untrue one, was being a housewife. The true one was being jobless. I sat on the bed staring at the change Dayo dropped for my breakfast and lunch. I was really touched, despite my rude attitude the previous night, that still didn’t stop him from keeping money for my lunch. I wanted to wait till noon before calling Mr. Martins but, I guess, my impatience got the better part of me. I took in a deep breath before I dialled Mr. Martins’ number. ‘Hello’, he said, ‘yes, who am I talking to?’, he asked, ‘uhm, good morning sir, it’s me Uwanah’, I answered, ‘Uwanah from where?’, he asked, ‘nawa, how many times will I tell this man my name?’, I asked myself. ‘The maid sir’, I replied, ‘okay, I haven’t seen you at work this morning, should I give your madam the phone?,

[b]so that you can explain, that you won’t be at work?’, he asked. ‘No, no, sir, I’m not at work because madam sacked me’, I informed , ‘I’m so sorry but if my wife sacks anyone, I don’t have a say, she probably has a good reason’, he explained, ‘No, sir, that’s not why I called’, I said, ‘then why did you call?’, he asked. I took another deep breath, before answering, ‘I called because’, I stopped again and took another deep breath, ‘because?, speak up, I’m on my way to work’, he said in a raised tone. ‘Sir, the Ekaete you were talking about, the other day, I know her’, I said, ‘you know Ekaete?’, he asked, ‘yes, sir’, I replied, ‘but the other day, you said, you didn’t know’, he said. ‘I’m sorry sir, you should have told me the truth instead, there’s no benefit in telling lies’, he advised. He was right, I was telling too much lies recently. ‘I’m really sorry sir’, I apologized again, ‘okay, so, how do you know her?, who is she to you?’, he asked, ‘she is my mother sir’, I answered. Mr. Martins said nothing for a few minutes which got me nervous. ‘Sir, are you still there?’, I asked, ‘Yes, yes, I’m here, is your mum here in Lagos?’, he asked, ‘no sir, she is our village’, I replied, ‘which village?’, he questioned, ‘Boma sir’, I answered. ‘Uwa, start coming to the house right now’, he ordered and ended the call, I guess my hunch was right, considering his reactions to the name, “Boma”, he was undoubtedly my uncle.

I dressed up in a haste and left the house like something was chasing me. However, my footsteps slowed down a little when I reached the gate. Knowing Mr. Martins asked my uncle, was one thing, him accepting me as his niece was another thing. I hoped for the best, if things turned out well, my life and that of my mum’s would be changed forever. I thought Ngozi would have announced to all the workers as she was being instructed but obviously she didn’t because, the gateman still didn’t know, I was fired, therefore he was worried about my late arrival. ‘Uwa, wetin happen?, why you come late?’, he inquired, ‘Nothing jahre, good morning sir’, I greeted, ‘good morning’, he responded, ‘you sure sey, nothing happen?’, he asked, ‘yes sir, thank you for asking, nothing happened sir’, I said and moved towards the entrance of the house. I opened the door and refused to move any further than the sitting room or where I stood. I brought out my phone and dialled Mr. Martins’ number quickly. ‘Yes, Uwanah, are you here?’, he said, ‘yes, I’m here’, I replied, ‘where are you?’, he asked, ‘in the parlour sir’, I answered, ‘okay, I’m coming right now’, he said and ended the call. In less than five minutes, Mr. Martins joined me in the living room, ‘good morning sir’, I greeted, ‘morning Uwanah’, he responded, ‘so, do you have your mother’s picture?’, he asked, ‘no sir’, I replied. ‘what is your surname?’, he asked, ‘Ekong, Uwanah Ekong’, I said, ‘it is true, it’s really true’, he yelled smiling’. ‘What is true?’,[/b]

asked his wife coming from the stairs, ‘See, dear, you know that my sister I told you about, this is her child’, he said pointing at me. ‘If you have always talked about your sister, how come, you never remembered her?’, I murmured. Mrs. Martins asked with a frenzied look on her face, ‘Who?, this useless girl, I fired yesterday?’. ‘No, dear, stop it, I just told you, she’s the child of my sister’, Mr. Martins said, ‘Uwanah, do you have her phone number here?’, he questioned, ‘why wouldn’t I have my mother’s number?’, I mocked in my thoughts. ‘Yes sir, I have it here’, I replied, ‘oya, give it to me’, he said. I thought of the shock it would bring my mother to hear from her long lost brother, so, I asked him to wait for a bit to allow me call her and prepare her mind.

‘Hello, mama, good morning ma’, I greeted, ‘good morning Uwanah, how were you?’, she asked, ‘I’m fine ma and you’, I asked, ‘I do fine, it’s just that I missered you ooo’, she said, ‘I miss you too ma’, I said, ‘okay how are working doing?’, she asked, ‘work is fine ma, ehen mama, you know that Mr. Martins, I told you about, that asked of you?’, I asked, ‘yes, Mr. Martisse, I remember ‘, she said, ‘mama, I just discovered that he is your brother Bassey’, I informed, ‘come, Uwa, if you’re called me this hours that are early this morning to tell me that kind of play, stopped it’, she said yelling, ‘no, mama, I’m not joking’, I said, ‘wait Uwa, you’re talk that Mr. Martisse is Bassey?’, she asked, ‘yes ma’, ‘how are you take and know?’, she questioned, ‘it’s a long story ma’, I said. ‘Where was you now?, have you telled him?’, she asked. ‘I’m in his house ma and he wants to talk to you’, I informed, she screamed, probably out of joy and surprise, then she warned, ‘Uwanah, listening to me, don’t left side of your uncle, gum his body, do you hear?, just stay in him, I’m coming to over there, in the first thing of the morning, don’t leave in him ooo’, she warned. Mr Martins had an inquisitive look on his face, all the while, I spoke to my mother. I called out my mother’s number to him, he hurriedly typed it on his phone and dialled her phone number, ‘they spoke for a long while, I couldn’t hear my mum but Mr. Martins apologized severally and encouraged her coming to the city. The spiteful look on Mrs. Martins’ face couldn’t scare me anymore, with the way Mr. Martins enthusiastically spoke and apologized to my mum, I already started picturing myself as a member of that house hold not to be intimidated by anybody. Mr. Martins ended the call, with a note of, ‘that’s my sister, I still remember her spoken English’, he said and laughed, ‘Uwanah, your mum will be here tomorrow’, he said, ‘okay, sir’, I answered, ‘and get your things here by the end of today, I take it that you live alone, since your mother is not here’, he said, ‘yes’, I replied, there was no way I would say I lived with a boy. ‘Okay, I’ll be off to work now’, he said.

‘Wait!, is she really coming to stay here?’, Mrs. Martins asked. ‘Yes, of course, the house is more than enough to contain both my sister and my niece, so yes, she’s coming to stay here’, he said. ‘Who is coming to stay here?’, Stella asked resting on the pillar of the staircase, ‘your niece Stella, your niece, that’s what your father said’, Mrs. Martins said scornfully, ‘Who is the niece?, where is the niece?’, Stella asked scanning the living room with her eyes, ‘are you blind?, her mother asked, ‘See the niece here na’, her mother said pointing to my direction. The look on Stella’s face didn’t depict any sign of happiness at all, surprise and contempt was written all over her face. ‘Uwanah, don’t just worry about anything, get your things here by the end of today’, Mr. Martins said and left the house. I chuckled because, Stella and her mum were ignorant of the kind of mother I had, there was nothing like fear or intimidation in my mother’s dictionary, if they wouldn’t accept my mother, which was very far from their minds, ‘then, they should be ready for her wahala’, I said to myself, I headed towards the door, I would look for Dayo, explain things to him, before moving my things out of the house. In the meantime, Stella and her mother would have to get used to having me around the house.