Her Father's Wife

Chapter 32

Nkechi was delivered of a bouncing baby boy, exactly nine months and two weeks after going back to her husband's house. Her first son, the other two she had earlier were girls. They invited Obidiye to come for Omugwo. Obidiye was ecstatic. She was going to her very first Omugwo ever. Other women had been going. They come back bringing tales of how well they were treated. The days of complete rest and entertainment. She could not wait to leave. Moreover, Ona will surely miss her. It will help to bring home to her how important she, Obidiye is to her. Nkechi was not just an escape for her, it will also register to Ona, that she has another child that can take care of her. That will surely make Ona to lower her ego which had gotten out of hand in recent time. Obidiye was telling all and sundary about her intended journey. She took a special joy in telling it when Ona is around. It got so that the stories started getting on Ona's  nerves. She took to walking away from the scene anytime her mother started on the topic. In a way , she started wishing her mother will go, though she will miss her, but anything rather than listen to her tales about her son in law, his family, his kindness 'ad infinitum'. For the umpteen time, she was envious of Nkechi. She remembered Ofiaju and once more, she wondered what life would have been with him. How her mother would have felt going to Omugwo at Onitsha. What she would have said about Ofiaju's house. The houses sitting comfortably on top one another, not to talk about the caged moonlight in Ofiaju's house. Ona hissed with regret. At last it was time to go. Ona bought dry fish, crayfish, uziza and uda (traditional spices). She added yams to them from her barn. She parceled the lot for Obidiye to give Nkechi. Going for Omugwo is not easy. You don't go to see a new born baby and the mother empty handed. Obidiye will need the fish, yam and spices  to prepare pepper soup  for the new mother when she gets there. Two hired bicycles ridders  came to pick Obidiye. One carried her load and she mounted on the second one. Off they went. She left in the morning just after break fast, she got to Eziama in the afternoon. Her son in law was around to welcome her. Nkechi was very happy to see her mother. She had been longing to see her. She had missed her and her elder sister. They ran to bring in the things she brought. Nkechi asked about Ona and Nnanna. Obidiye reached out and took the baby from Nkechi. She held him to her bossom and gave him a name, Obiajulu. This means her heart is now at peace. This shows the high esteem male children are regarded in Igbo land. It took Obidiye a while to adjust. Obidiye soon discovered that contrary to what she heard Omugwo was not a thing of rest and entertainment. It envolves work, serious work. For one, Nkechi's baby was having colic. This made the baby cranky and he cries all night. Obidiye and Nkechi were keeping vigil at night. They took turns rocking the baby to sooth him to sleep. In the morning, despite the sleepless night, there were baby pieces to be washed, meals to prepare and also Nkechi two little girls to cater for. It did not take long for the euphoria of Omugwo to fade away. Obidiye was getting slowly and gradually tired of the whole thing. She never got to go out or really relax. The only consolation was that she was constantly swamped by her grand children. She loved to be called nnenne, meaning grand mother. She also missed Nnanna and Ona. She could not wait for the three months to be up so that she can hurry home. Though she will not allowed Ona to know. It will further add to her ego and make her more over bearing.