Life before Calah

Chapter 6 : The Mutwiris.

The Americans have their MET gala , Europe has Le Bal des débutants and UK has the Ghillies ball hosted in Balmoral. In East Africa we have Ngoma ya Ubalehe and believe me it was not a small affair.
Ngoma ya Ubalehe was not just any African dance that one pulls up from the Internet. This was a grand ball which lasted two wholesome days and nights after months of preparation. Only the crème de la crème of Africa were invited to this luxurious event. It served as a coming of age ceremony for both boys and girls hailing from 15 different families. 10 families would be chosen from East Africa with the remaining 5 coming from other parts of Africa. The debutants had to perform 10 iconic distinct dances from the 10 East African countries, and a proper British waltz as the last dance of the last night. A coming of age ceremony was taken very seriously in pre-colonial times having a whole festive week to celebrate the initiates. The First President of Kenya saw the need to preserve this tradition and so he started this jubilant extravaganza. Ever since then, the Mutwiris have been custodians of Ngoma ya Ubalehe holding it in a different E.A. country each year. This year it was in Kenya hosted at the Mutwiri Grounds which served as a symbol for their ancestral grounds, and, no one was as excited as the two cousins Arthur and Naseem. For Naseem, this was her coming out party but Arthur had ulterior motives.
         " You're grinning. Should I be worried? ", said Felicia Mwangi after noticing Arthur's smile.
         " Ah ! Babe you hurt my feelings. Can't we just enjoy a night of bliss without you doubting me? ", Arthur asked.
         " Arthur we are to be wed in two months. You think I don't know the difference in your smiles. Whenever you grin it usually doesn't end up well for one family member."
         " Don't worry , my love , tonight I'm playing nice."

Now Felicia was worried. Felicia Mwangi  was not easy lady to intimidate but the Andrews somehow managed to send shivers down her back. It was one thing or the other with this family. If it wasn't Daniel's intimidating gaze, it was Arlo's cold stare. If either Bhavni or Arthur was too happy, someone's downfall was bound to follow. And as for Nina, well, she'd inherited both qualities so you never really could tell with her until the last moment. She took one look at Arthur and knew better than to press him on that matter. She would simply have to accept that this time around he was sincere.
Arthur Nathaniel Andrews was the prince charming that Felicia had always read about in those huge pink picture-portrayed books. He was white, tall, a natural blonde  and blue-eyed. He had a square face with his jaw well stuck out. He had almond shaped eyes like his brother and dark pink lips like his mother. He had a small, straight, nose. He was cute with a flash of the devil in his eyes. He wasn't anything like his twin sister. Nina was not as tall as her brothers but she was still taller than Felicia. She was the spitting image of her mother. They were both brown women with brown hair, brown doe eyes, dark pink lips, round faces with chubby cheeks.
Nina was not present today seeing as how she was in Monaco to seal off a deal with a casino that had refused Arthur's offer. Three others had signed with her brother but this one did not. There was a saying in the business world in regards to the Andrews. If the serious ones didn't close it the cheeky ones probably did. If they both failed, the atomic one would raise hell to get it. The serious ones were Arlo, his father Daniel. The cheeky ones were Arthur and his mother Bhavni. And, well you can guess who the atomic one was.
         " Well Arlo looks like he's ready to ditch this party ", Felicia noted.
        "Oh please when is Arlo never looking like he's about to ditch the party. HEY, ARLO, STOP LOOKING LIKE A SICK BORE. IT'S A PARTY ", Arthur shouted to his brother so as to tease him.
All he got as a reply from his brother was a flute filled with champagne raised high in the air. Across the ball room, closer to the entrance stood Daniel, his wife, his cousin Akoth and  her husband Sanjay Shah. Daniel resting face was just as bad as Arlo's only less bored yet still hardened owing to his intense gaze. Daniel was in his late fifties but he still held a fair share of his good looks. He's chisel shaped face had not given in to saggy skin, nor his voluminous golden blonde hair to baldness. He had freckles on his fore head and wrinkles on his pale white skin. Daniel's eyes were siren-shaped with their iris being crystalline ice-blue, which at times seemed grey in certain lighting. His eyes complimented his small, straight nose, and his light pink lips. He was still tall, a 6'4, and still built. Daniel looked around the ballroom taking account of everyone present. He noticed that the Deputy President of Kenya was present and so was his family. There was also the Treasury minister of Tanzania and the grandson of the President of Uganda. He also spotted the British High commissioner to Kenya speaking to the Chinese ambassador across the ballroom. Aliko Dangote was also present. Now there was a person he looked forward to having a conversation with. He figured most if not all of the guests were already here seeing as how he'd stopped hearing the sound of helicopter blades in the air. He knew there was one face that he had not seen the entire evening ,and he wondered whether he'd actually sent the invite or whether he'd forgot.
        " Daniel Foster Andrews, you have been away from me for a long time ", came the booming voice that he knew all too well.
      " Themba Mbeki, as I Iive and breathe. Aah, it's been long my friend ", said Daniel.
     " I have the viable excuse of lung cancer treatment. You only have diabetes and that's not good enough ", said Themba jestfully.
     " That is true " said Daniel smiling. That was the first time Bhavni had seen him smile the entire evening.
    " Akoth, how are you? Why did you stop coming to South Africa? We still had one club to go " said Themba.
    " Oh Themba! Our kids are going to these clubs nowadays. What are you doing there with them? " Akoth replied .
    " I'm showing them how it's supposed to be done. You know this young people think they know it all. Their music doesn't even have taste anymore " Themba replied.
   " Hmm. If you say so " Akoth replied.
   " Now, Themba, let's go and have a chat with Dangote. I hear he wants to buy off the Germans from his company " , Daniel said.
    " You Andrews and business. I can't even have a drink before we go " grumbled Themba.
    " The drinks we'll catch up with us " came Daniel's final reply.
With that, the final guest had arrived and the doors of the ball room were closed. The ceremony would begin shortly.