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Fathers are not for a season [part iii] Ugomma's Regrets

“You promised that man you will marry him after you are done with your secondary school. You cannot change your mind now. It is too late. You must marry him.”

There are few things that Ugomma regrets in her life. One of them was her family background.

Cathy's Pride.

Her mother Cathy was an obstinate woman who ended up marrying a sailor with two wives. The only child of her mother, Cathy was a short dark-skinned beautiful girl. Her step-siblings mocked her 4ft height at the slightest opportunity, thus when her father enrolled her at the village's only primary school, Cathy blatantly refused to attend to the fury of her father.

None of her father's disciplinary actions changed Cathy's mind. She disliked her siblings so much out of their allegiance to Papa's rules such that she could not fathom the idea of spending long torturous hours with them at St Thomas Missionary School where Father Francis taught under the heat kissed rusty zinc roof. She would rather steal their notebooks and study at night when they are all asleep.

Quite a few attributed Cathy’s recalcitrance to her height, even if some thought that it was a waste of time and money to  send a female child to school. But Pa Ukoha was determined to send Cathy to school. Indeed, she was the most intelligent among his other children. She was quick in sums and knew dates and times like a historian.

Moreover, he loved her mother most. His heart broke each time Cathy ran away from home because of his insistence that she must attend school. At a time, he was inclined to believe that Cathy must be a very proud girl.   This sudden realisation stemmed from a  popular saying among Achi villagers that short people are too proud. "Perhaps, it holds true for her daughter," he would often conclude.

Read Also: Fathers are not for a season.[Part i]

If their inflammatory remarks or jest bothered Cathy, nobody could tell because she hardly talked to anyone. Although most of the village young men secretly lusted after her succulent breasts which swayed seductively each time she went to the stream to fetch water, they were too afraid to approach her or were easily discouraged by her height.

The Lesser of Two Evils

Cathy’s life turned into hell when her mother died. She was just 13. Her father thought the only way to punish her for disobeying him was to marry her off. However, the moment Cathy learnt of her father's intentions, she ran away to her mothers younger sister place in Nkwe, a neighbouring village. She loved Aunt Patience whom everyone called Da Pishi. How they were able to come up with such a ridiculous nickname was a mystery to Cathy.

Her stay at Da Pishi’s place was short-lived as her husband was a drunk who usually sneaked into her room to touch her breasts. She didn’t know if to report his sexual advances to her aunt or not. Confused, she decided to use a big iron pail to secure the door after bolting it. That way, he will never gain access to her room.

It wasn’t until she caught him peeping at her in the bathroom on a sunny day did she decide to return to her father’s home. Within a matter of days, Cathy was on her way to Ibiri town to live with her husband. She had no idea what he looked like;  whether he was tall, thin, fat or short like her. She prayed he was very tall. The only information she had of him was that he was a sailor and with two wives. Why then did he want a third wife? And why did her father give her out to a man with two wives? She nearly objected to the arrangement but the other option was to go to school.

An Unfair Union

Marriage has never crossed Cathy’s mind. To her, it was an unfair union that relegates the woman to servanthood. They are the ones who go to the farm, fetch firewood, fetch water, cook, satisfy their husband’s sexual appetite, carry a baby for nine months and still go through a painful process to bring a child to the world. Being a wife was indeed very laborious. She imagined that the sailor would travel quite often and never invite her to his bed.

Unfortunately, fate had a different plan for her. Her husband did not live in a mansion like her father said. Instead it was a tiny thatched house with just two small rooms that were the size of the goat pen in her father’s house. Is this were the sailor lived? The question ran through her mind as they sat on a very fine velvet chair. She loved the feel of it. The room which served as the parlour was very decorated. A huge wall clock adorn one side of the plastered wall. On another side was a painting of a woman.

The woman had long hair and her skin was very white  like that of a goddess. Cathy’s eyes followed the woman’s back which was bare until they reached her buttocks which to Cathy’s surprise was also bare. She hissed in utter disgust and quickly looked away. How could her husband have such an immoral picture blatantly displayed on the wall? Aren’t his wives concerned about his lack of morality?

She gave a sweeping gaze to other furniture in the room which were very sparse: a wooden centre table, a rocking chair and a shelf full of books.

Cathy felt her breath cut short when Ikechukwu her new husband walked in. His towering figure immediately filled the room. However it was his complexion that captured Cathy. He was so fair that Cathy believed he must be sunshine. He wasn’t as handsome but his 6ft height and fair skin was adequate enough.

She quickly stood up as her step-mothers advised her to do.

“Is this the short thing that I paid a handsome shilling for?” Ikechukwu asked in anger.

Those words pierced into Cathy’s soul that she nearly bolted for the door if not for De China that held her hand tightly. He was the only relative who offered to accompany her on this trip.

For the next nine months Cathy and her husband barely exchanged words except the first night he took away her purity. She cried all through the ordeal and was more humiliated when she saw the blood. Childbirth proved to be more painful as the midwife, a very old woman left some painful lacerations on her cervix. The birth of her child was well celebrated as she was the first daughter to be born in the family. The second wife Esther had a son, while the first wife, Eliza was barren. However, the gods opened her womb and she gave birth to a baby boy a year later.

Ikechukwu barely provided for Cathy. Determined not to be ridiculed, Cathy engaged in all manner of trades to support herself and her child. She managed to convince her father to build a hut for her in her husband’s land since the area was very spacious. Her new home provided her some privacy and shielded her from the evil attacks of Eliza who hated her so much for being so beautiful and also fruitful.

The next time Ikechukwu spoke to Cathy was to ask her to open her legs on one cold night. He was so drunk and smelled like a tobacco house that Cathy nearly choked as he laid on top of her, thrusting in and out of her, rubbing her breasts painfully.

As the spasms rocked his body, he made a hissing sound like one in pain and clutched to Cathy so tightly that she feared he might squeeze the life out of her. That night, Ugomma’s seed was planted.

When she was finally born, Cathy was elated to see such a beautiful fair-skin girl come out of her womb. She was as fair as her father and had longer limbs.  She was so happy that the child took her beauty but not her short height. Everyone sang of her daughter’s beauty to the chagrin of Eliza. Even Ikechukwu brought back an expensive cradle for the child, a gift from one of his mistresses.

Despite the love and care showered on Ugomma, Cathy was worried each time she fell sick and as the child grew, native doctors houses became  a frequent place for Cathy who believed the child was haunted by a river goddess. Sacrifices were made each first day of the month to appease this mmiri oma.

Read Also:Fathers are not for a season. [Part ii]

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Ugomma grew to be a very beautiful girl whom Cathy was so proud of. She was the apple of her eyes. Men trooped in and out of her house begging for her daughter’s hand in marriage. But she refused and insisted that Ugomma attain formal education. Unlike her, Ugomma loved school and was very intelligent. She always took the first position and was the envy of her classmates. Cathy envisioned that her daughter will be a doctor or a nurse and will marry a very rich man who will take care of her.

All that changed when Ugomma spent one of her holidays at her grandfather's house. An old friend of Pa Ukoha was visiting with his 24 year old son. Ugomma who was unaware of her rounded full breasts and the glitter of her light skin under the sunlight played with her other cousins half-naked in the compound. Obidiegwu had never seen such a lovely girl before and swore to marry her. Cathy initially rejected his request but when she saw that her daughter also liked him, she pleaded with him to wait till she completed her secondary school education.

Obidiegwu showered Ugomma with expensive gifts but was disappointed when she changed her mind.

Ugomma who had just turned 17 and completed her secondary school education felt Obidiegwu was not good enough for her. Men with higher standards and who travelled abroad to study had already caught her attention. She was also interested in getting a scholarship to study abroad. Maybe she will become a president someday and elevate her mother from this life of penury. Her mother on the other hand would not hear of it.

“You promised that man you will marry him after you are done with your secondary school. You cannot change your mind now. It is too late. You must marry him.”

She escaped to her grandfather’s house  but Obidiegwu tracked her down.

“Ugo, why are you doing this to me? Do you know the number of people that will mock me if i return to the city without a wife. Ask me of anything i will give to you.” he pleaded but it fell on deaf ears.

It took Cathy’s threat to disown her before Ugomma finally accepted Obidiegwu under the condition that he will allow her to further her education.

Three years later, he is yet to fulfill his promise. His excuse was that other men will steal her away from him. How Ugomma wished that would happen. She was tired of this life. This wasn’t how she mapped her future.

Back to Reality

Now, he refused to talk to her or even look at the most beautiful child of hers yet since they returned from the hospital a week ago. Was she the maker of children? She was still brooding on this when Chisa ran into her room panting belligerently.

“What is it Chisa? How many times have I told you not to enter this room without knocking?”

“Sorry aunty. It is mama Charity. She has started her troubles.”

Ha! Mama Charity. That was another regret.

“What did she do?”

“She threw away tata’s clothes that i hung on the wire.”

With all the pent up anger inside of her, she dashed outside to confront her cantankerous neighbour once and for all.

Written by Vay Sylver.

Vay is a journalist and a writer. Nothing excites her more than great stories that inspire and capture the heart. She believes that the art of storytelling is life itself. She is also a feisty lover of arts, culture and lifestyle.

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