NUNYA

3

Aunty Pauli's P.O.V

The anonymous person who called me this afternoon asked me to meet him at Roliz, that fancy restaurant downtown.  I informed the person that such a restaurant was going to drain me financially, but he insisted on paying the bills.

To him, this was supposed to be a dinner date, but I had made up my mind to eat some of the akplɛ in the house before I went there. No way was I becoming a burden to a total stranger.

I had just finished washing my bowl after eating when I heard the hum of a car's engine. I quickly walked into the living room and opened the living room window that faced the street.

It was the same Honda Accord that brought my niece, Nunya, home a couple of weeks ago. I honestly had no idea why she wouldn't listen. Young men in this day and age were up to no good. But she wouldn't understand. She would quickly get defensive and say, "He's just a friend."

It's funny how her mother said the same thing. See where it got her.

I shut the window and went back inside. That way, she'd think that I didn't recognise the vehicle. I sat on the couch, waiting patiently for the door to open.

As soon as the door opened, she stepped inside, looking straight at my face. Evidently, she was going to greet me cheerily, but the look on my face must have cautioned her not to.

"You came home in that car again," I stated matter-of-factly.

She didn't reply, but deep down, I knew she saw this coming.

"Is he your boyfriend?" I asked.

She shook her head.

Pretty little liar, isn't she?

"Is it his car that attracts you? Stay away from him!" I barked angrily.

She looked at me in exasperation and yelled, "That's Janet's brother,  Jake! I keep telling you this!"

Oops, my bad. No wonder he seemed to resemble someone I had seen before. But he was a young man, nevertheless, and I wasn't going to let Nunya get too comfortable with him, so I decided to play the guilt card.

"Are you raising your voice at me?" I asked in a low tone, staring straight into  her eyes.

This definitely had to work.

"I'm sorry, Aunty —" Yes, it did "—but you have to believe me. Janet was sick the other day. That's why —"

"Save your explanations for someone who'll listen to them. You can't raise your voice at me and expect me to listen to you."

She stared at me without a word. I was pleased. She definitely wasn't lowering her guard around this Jake guy.

With a tone of finality, I said, "I'm going out in an hour.There's akplɛ in the fridge. If you want to grind pepper, you can use the sardine."

I left her standing there and went into my room to change my clothes and go to Roliz to meet this person. I wondered if it was my soulmate and quickly dismissed the idea. The same man my sister, Sedinam thought was her soulmate abandoned her when she needed him the most, so to me, such a thing did not exist.

I wore a simple short sleeved floral dress with a V-neckline and a pair of black flats and bound all my kinky black hair behind my head with a rubber band. I looked in the mirror and felt pleased with what I saw.

"You're the finest of mommy's children," Sedinam would have said. And I know from heaven, she was pleased with me.

"Modest little thing," she used to call me.