Free Hidden Currents (Lagos Romance Series) by Somi Ekhasomhi Page B

poor wife. What a vile
disgusting man.
    At least there were still decent men in the
world, she thought as she continued her packing.
    Like Eddie. The thought came out of
nowhere.
    She sighed. Whom am I fooling? She thought,
with a sense of both resignation and pleasure. I am falling in love with Eddie
Bakare.

Chapter Seven
    Ada was on the phone with Eddie for most of
the weekend. Granny couldn’t hide her surprise.
    “Who is this person my Adanma cannot stop
talking with?” She remarked again and again in-between spoiling Ada silly with
home cooked dishes. She was a slim, small woman, long past middle age, with
numerous grey hairs adding character to the bun that was a permanent fixture on
her head. She had been a schoolteacher, before she retired to run a provisions
store. Like many women of her time, she prided herself on the fact that she had
been educated during colonial times, before the corruption came and ruined the
educational system, and like most of the women of that era, she carried herself
with an inimitable elegance, that was obvious even when she was doing mundane
things, like housework or cooking.
    “I hope it is a man,” She teased Ada after
every phone conversation, “and not just any one of those, the best of the best
for my baby.” Her comments always caused Ada to roll her eyes and pretend not
to hear. She didn’t bother to deny anything. There would have been no use anyway.
Granny had always been able to see straight through her.
    It was a peaceful weekend. From the moment
she arrived at the little bungalow her father had built for Granny in a quiet
neighborhood in Owerri, Granny had done nothing but urge her to rest, eat and
rest again. “You are too thin.” She scolded. “Are you no longer eating because
I am not in Lagos to cook for you?” At Ada’s lack of response, she had added.
“A woman must cook you know, food is still the best way to a man’s heart.”
    Ada sighed. She had heard it all before,
while she knew she was a good cook, she did not intend to travel to anybody’s
heart through his stomach. Well maybe Eddie. She’d cook for Eddie. The thought
embarrassed her, so she pushed it away.
    Eddie called so often she wondered if he
was bothering to pay attention at the wedding he was attending in Abuja. He
entertained her with details, like how the ring bearer had refused to give up
the ring when it was time for the pronouncement, and had burst into tears when
it was forcefully taken from him, and how the bride and the groom seemed to be
doing a dance-off at the reception. Many of his friends were also there, his
kind of people, Ada found herself wondering jealously if any of the girls were
pretty, and if anyone would catch his eye.
    Throughout the weekend, Granny avoided the
topic of Ada’s Dad. It was not a topic Ada or her brother ever cared to
discuss, and Granny knew that more than anyone did. Ada was aware that now that
Granny was living in Owerri, she saw her son more often than before, but she
didn’t really care. Her father had abandoned them emotionally too long ago for
her to care about him at all.
    Too soon, the weekend was over. On Sunday
afternoon Granny hugged her teary eyed as the taxi driver waited to take her to
the airport.
    “Try to call often.” She chided. “Your
brother’s wife Ify calls me almost every day,” She added, with a slight note of
accusation. “She has even invited me to Lagos many times to visit, and she
wants to come here this Christmas. Eh! Meanwhile my own baby is too busy to
call me.”
    “I call you, Granny.” Ada protested weakly.
    “Not enough.” The older woman replied
sternly. Then she added more softly. “Give that young man who keeps calling a
chance,” She said. “I want more great-grandchildren now that I’m still strong
enough to enjoy them.”
    Ada couldn’t help laughing at that.
“Granny! He’s just my friend!” She said.
    “Ha!” Granny said, unconvinced. “At least
you have accepted that it is a young