The Second Wife – Episode 12

The Second Wife – Episode 12

© Onyinyechukwu Mbeledogu

12:17pm
Mundy Thursday
8th April 2004
Oroma Estate

Dienye was moving Nengi’s things from the master bedroom and its adjoining room to one of the guest rooms. It was one of the most difficult decisions he’d ever had to make, but he didn’t have any other choice. He was getting married the next weekend and his new wife would be moving in here.

He was clearing the bedrooms because of Soki.

He didn’t want their marriage to start with issues that could easily have been resolved before then. He would have had a lot of explaining to do as to why he couldn’t make use of the master bedroom. Belema had been on his case when he had come visiting. He had advised his elder brother to completely get rid of Nengi’s things since he was starting his life with another woman. However, Dienye saw no need for that. This was Nengi’s home. She had designed this building herself and done the landscaping. It was her dream home. It was so unfair that she didn’t get to live in her home more than a few months before she passed on at the young age of 30.

He stroked the wooden frame around one of the paintings Nengi had made of him. Besides her architectural skills, Nengi ventured into painting although her husband was her favourite model. Dienye smiled sadly as he recalled the moments he had to pose for her paintings.

‘These are my personal and very special possessions,’ she would tell him. ‘For my eyes only. I can’t have all those girls ogling my husband even in private.’

‘You know my heart beats only for you,’ he would respond with a twinkle in his eyes, lifting her into his arms.

‘Sure, but I don’t want to be responsible for their erotic thoughts.’

Once he had made the decision to move her things, he had placed an order for new beds for the master bedroom and the adjoining room. They should be arriving this morning. He had been up since 3:30am carefully putting Nengi’s things together, finding himself going down memory lane. The pain of her death had hit him the moment he stepped into the bedroom for the first time in almost four years. He had kept the room locked since he had moved his things from the room to a guest room just after her burial in Bonny.

There had been lots of cobwebs and dust in the two rooms and he had cleaned the rooms himself. He had lovingly moved Nengi’s clothes, shoes, cosmetics and jewelleries she had left in the bedroom before her death to one of the three other bedrooms in the house. It didn’t matter that her cosmetics had all expired. He couldn’t bear to throw anything away. Her uncompleted architectural designs lay on the bed in the guest room. She was so good at everything she set her mind to do!

He sighed deeply, bending to pick a large pink comb that had earlier fallen to the ground recalling the many times he had helped her comb her long very thick hair which she had inherited from her paternal grandmother.

‘You do know you can comb your hair yourself, right?’ he would ask her.

‘Yes, but I wouldn’t have you all over me now, would I?’ she would return with her signature smile, made even more beautiful by her gap tooth. ‘Tapping current.’

She wore her hair mostly in braids but every now and then she would let her natural hair have breathing space. The simple act of combing her long hair was in itself a really intimate act. And he had loved doing it.

Moving around the house constantly reminded him of her. Her touch was in every part of their home; from the architectural design to the furniture. Had it been a rented apartment he would have had a choice but this was their home. He could easily have engaged handymen to handle the move but he didn’t want anybody disrespecting her things and so did it himself. The men from the furniture company would be here soon.

He was giving the beds to charity.

Soki and Priye would be coming later in the day to bring over some of Soki’s things. He was dealing with the reality that he was getting married again. Even paying her bride price in February hadn’t brought out that reality as much as this move did. By this time next week, the court wedding would have been conducted and she would be in every sense his wife. The white wedding was just an addition.

He had imagined so many anniversaries with Nengi including their diamond anniversary. They had made great plans for the future. Now he had to share these anniversaries with another woman!

He thought of Nwasoka.

She wasn’t Nengi but having agreed to marry her he would take good care of her and not give her cause to want to leave the marriage. However he doubted if he had it in him to love her the way a man should love his wife. He cared a great deal about Soki but his heart had long belonged to Nengi.

He sighed deeply. He would have to move his things back to the master bedroom. His earlier intention was not to spend the night there until after his white wedding but having invited Soki over for the weekend, he couldn’t afford to have her wondering why he was running away from his bedroom. The only way he could deal with Nengi’s loss was by pushing her into the recesses of his mind. It wasn’t easy but it was something he had to do.

When he was done with moving Nengi’s things, he moved to the guest bedroom he had been occupying and began packing his things. They were neatly arranged, courtesy of his experience with Nengi. He hadn’t been this organised until a few years into his marriage. This was one of the numerous things knowing Nengi and being married to her had done for him.

He took down some of the clothes in the large wardrobe and returned to the master bedroom, opening the door to the walk-in-closet there. He had left the right side of the closet and half of the centre shelf for Soki. Hopefully, he would be done and gone before Soki and Priye arrived. He wasn’t presently in the emotional state to be with her. He would see her later in the evening.

His sister Ibinye Amachree was coming over on Friday morning with her children but she would be leaving his nephew and nieces with him until Sunday when she and her husband Sotari would pick them up and take them to Abonema to spend the Easter with his family. This would give Soki the opportunity to meet another member of his family before their white wedding.

Ibinye and her husband were based in Lagos. Except for Belema and Priye, the rest of his siblings were based outside Rivers State and Soki had only met his parents, a few uncles and aunts who had come with him to Onitsha for the introduction and payment of her bride price.

Soki.

She was so young and so naïve in a lot of things. He figured that it was her innocence that had drawn him to her from the beginning, bringing out that powerful need to protect her like some kind of dream hero. He hadn’t seen her since their pre-wedding photo sh00t last week but they talked on the phone. He had been very busy with work and was glad that B.B. was handling a lot of the wedding plans with a woman Soki’s mum had recommended. It made his job a lot easier. He would be taking a few days off from work and so had a lot to do so as not to have a lot of work waiting for him by the time he resumed fully.

When he had invited Soki to spend the weekend in his home starting from today, he had registered her unuttered fears, one of which was that they would end up in his bed. He had felt her hesitation to accept the invitation especially when he had informed her that it would give her the opportunity to meet his sister and her family. That had made it difficult for her to come up with a really good excuse. She had probably weighed her options. She was marrying into his family and so needed to meet his siblings before their wedding. She had spent Easter all her life with her family and so could forgo this one. However, she would be alone with him for the first night and then for an additional night with only three young children as chaperone.

Although traditionally they were husband and wife by virtue of the bride price he had paid, Dienye promised Soki that he wouldn’t have sex with her until she moved into his home after their white wedding and he intended to keep that promise. This promise was very important to Soki, given the circumstances under which they had decided to get married. He had no doubt that if he came unto her, Soki wouldn’t deny him but he wanted it her way. He had been celibate for four years, another 8 days wouldn’t make a difference.

So far they had shared nothing but short kisses. He smiled lightly as he recalled the first time he had kissed her. It was a week after Valentines’ day. He had dropped her off at school and just as he was about to give her a goodbye kiss on the cheek, she had turned and it ended up on her lips. Neither of them had moved and so an accidental light brush of his lips against hers had built into a short but deep kiss. He recalled touching his lips with his right index finger, a smile on his face.

He took two things out of that first kiss. One, he had missed kissing a woman. Two, they had each being curious about what a kiss from the other would feel like. And so the kisses came with every meeting.

3:26pm

Oroma Estate

Dienye had just started the engine of his car when a taxi drove into the premises. Although Priye had called to say they would be there by 4pm, he knew instinctively that Priye and Soki had arrived.

Turning off the ignition, he stepped out of the car and approached the taxi. The taxi driver lifted the boot of his car and took out the Soki’s luggage. Dienye asked him how much the fare was and paid him. As the older man drove off, Dienye gave his sister a hug before pulling Soki into his arms and kissing her lightly on the lips. She looked good in her black top and blue jean worn over pink sneakers. Her short hair wore fresh curls and her large channel O earrings dangled. That was her trade mark and he was used to it. It suited her.

‘How are you, babe?’ he asked her.

‘I’m fine, my darling,’ she responded shyly.

In the past, they traded endearments without the least bit of shyness on her part but since their first kiss, her skin flushed with each endearment she uttered.

He hefted one of her bags. Had he been in the best emotional frame he would have dropped it immediately, put both hands on his waist, and with a feigned look of shock. He would have teased her about having an adult human hiding inside her ‘box’. But he lifted the other travelling bag and led the way into the house. He dropped her bags in the hallway announcing that he had a meeting to catch up with. He escaped, shutting the door behind him.

Priye immediately led the way to the master bedroom, pulling one of Soki’s bags with her.

‘I don’t think there is any need unpacking my things,’ Soki told Priye even as she took in the sight of the large neatly arranged bedroom. It was massive and was en suite. It was like being in a mini suite you would find in a hotel but bigger. The décor of the room was evidence of a woman’s touch and Soki tried not to think of the woman who had being in occupation of this bedroom before her.

Her court wedding was on Tuesday and their white wedding that Saturday. By mutual agreement, she was to move in most of her things this weekend and the rest on Friday. It seemed so unreal. She was getting married to her friend but they hadn’t really talked since the proposal was made, at least not seriously with respect to their marriage. There were so many issues she had heard that couples discussed about before marriage, like the number of children, family finances etc. The only thing they had talked about was the wedding plans.

Her bride price had been paid in a little ceremony strictly for family. A lot of people she knew had been giving her unsolicited advises, telling her that her decision to wait until after the white wedding before moving in with her husband was a dangerous thing to do as she would be leaving room for some other woman to come into her life and have him return her bride price, but beyond Priye and Belema no one else knew the condition under which she had agreed to marry Dienye and frankly it wasn’t anybody’s business. What was important was that Dienye had agreed to her plan and she would forever be grateful for that.

Priye looked thoughtfully at her friend and sister-in-law. She was relieved that Dienye had finally decided to clear Nengi’s things out of the master bedroom and the adjoining room although she doubted if her brother had slept in this room or would have done so before next Saturday if Soki had not accepted his invitation to spend the weekend with him.

Priye missed Nengi whom she had known all her life, as a sister and as a big friend. Nengi’s sudden death had dealt a big blow on the Daniel-Hart family. Had she been sick it would have given everyone time to say their goodbyes and prepare to live in a world without her sunny smile and beauty.

To know Nengi was to love her. She never bore grudges and never had a bad word to say to or about anyone. She was that good and fitting into her shoes was something no woman wanted to find herself doing because she might never meet up. And that made her feel sorry for her good friend Soki. She would constantly be compared with Nengi whether intentionally or otherwise but Priye hoped her eldest brother would move past Nengi to embrace Soki and her differences.

Soki was good in her own right or Priye wouldn’t have easily welcomed the thought of her being her sister-in-law so easily. She would be good for her big brother. He had been alone for too long.

She followed Soki into the walk-in closet. The section Dienye had left for Soki was empty with lots of hangers, shelves and drawers for clothes, undies, shoes. His expensive shirts, suits and tuxedos hung in his own section and Soki looked at the number of shoes, mainly brown and black, and different pairs of sneakers. She was tempted to look into his drawers but didn’t give in to the temptation.

‘Don’t forget that Ibinye would be bringing her children over here tomorrow,’ Priye told Soki. ‘You would get to meet Ibinye and her family and spend time with Mina, Deipriye and Abiye. The children adore their Uncle Dienye.’

‘And you won’t be here,’ Soki surmised.

‘I’m spending the holiday with my parents.’ Priye replied.

‘You want me to spend the weekend here alone with Dienye,’ Soki looked at her friend, arms at akimbo.

‘What did you expect?’

‘I thought when you agreed to come here with me that you would be staying the weekend.’

‘And I’m sure you also noticed that I didn’t have any bags packed.’

‘We both know that you have some of your clothes already here as a constant visitor.’

Priye laughed. ‘You’re on your own, girlfriend.’

‘Who keeps a goat and a tuber of yam together?’ Soki complained.

‘What-’ Priye almost choked on her laughter. ‘Oh my God. No be small goat and tuber of yam. My brother is a highly disciplined man unless you fear that you would take advantage of him if left here alone with him.’

Soki arched her eyebrow but Priye only laughed.

‘Is that why you looked at everything in the bedroom deliberately averting your eyes from the bed? Don’t be such a prude, sister dearest. That is where my additional nephews and nieces will be conceived, so get used to the idea.’

‘Did you really have to go there?’

Not for the first time did Soki appreciate the fact that she wasn’t fair skinned. Geez, the thoughts that immediately came to her mind were far from ‘innocent’. Priye’s reaction was to laugh and unzip the large black and red bag. Shaking her head, Soki began to arrange her things with Priye’s help. She folded four tops and two pairs of jeans and separated them.

Wicked Priye laughed as her friend took the folded clothes to the adjoining room, placing them on the bed. She may have fantasised so many nights spent beneath the sheets with Dienye but she wasn’t in a hurry to act out that fantasy. Next week Saturday she would be completely his and they would share the master bedroom. Thank God she had the option of the adjoining room. How could she possibly spend three nights in the same bed with him without something happening? That would be tempting fate considering how she felt about him. Even something as simple as a good night kiss would put her in trouble. After all, body no be firewood.

She noted with pleasure and relief that the adjoining bedroom had its own bathroom too and she wouldn’t have to share one with him. It also had another door which took her straight into the hallway without having to go through the master bedroom.

Talk about privacy!

She was hungry by the time they were done unpacking and exploring the house except for the locked bedrooms. She called Dienye to ask him what he wanted for supper.

‘Just make yourself at home, babe,’ he told her. ‘Don’t worry about me.’

‘I’m hungry,’ she told him, smiling shyly although he was miles away. ‘I was about to make supper.’

‘Anything you make will be okay for me,’ he assured her.

‘Okay.’

‘I’m out of here,’ Priye announced once Soki was done with the call.

‘Out of where? You better follow me to the kitchen,’ Soki told her.

‘I hear. Even if I spend the night here, remember that you would be sharing an adjoining room with Dienye and what would happen would still happen with me adjacent to you two.’

‘Really?’ Soki snorted.

‘Yes. I have to get back to school before it’s late. I need to sort out a few things before I go to Borokiri tomorrow morning.’

Soki thought Priye was joking until the other girl asked her to see her off and the moment they were out of the estate, got a taxi and headed right for school.

Na so dem dey take disown friends o, Soki thought as she walked back to Dienye’s home. Priye should have at least spent that first night before the children arrived with them!

Dropping her phone on a work table in the kitchen, she walked into the store to see what was available. She opened the large freezer and quickly located the frozen red tomatoes, already cut chicken parts and pepper. There was a recently opened bag of rice and she noted this as she returned to the large kitchen. In the shelves she found the rest of the ingredients she required to fix a pot of jollof rice. She would make pancakes in the morning.

To be continued

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