I cried the first time I left home, and I cried the last time I came home.
Dusty boys ran after a round object that loosely resembled a ball. Laughing girls clapped their hands and tapped their feet, as they invented games and rules, known only to themselves. When the car blew its horn though, most activities ceased and cries of welcome rented the air from the now distracted children.
Femi smiled indulgently, as he slowly eased the car through the rough terrains of our Clan’s quarters. Shouting and sweaty children raced after the car raising a cloud of dust, but they did not seem to mind.
When the car finally came to a halt in front of the big imposing building I grew up in, the squeals of adults mingled with the children’s cacophony. Femi squeezed my hand, before unlocking the doors, and stepping out of the car. Silence followed his appearance. I could imagine what struck them.
Femi was a very tall man, and his fierce dreadlocks accompanied by a face that always held a smile, would make anyone stop short and admire the fine specimen of a man he was. I heaved a huge sigh, opened the car door and stepped out of the car.
Shouts and swarming children enveloped me, and everything became a blur of activities. Femi popped the trunk and everyone started grabbing and lifting my suitcases; whatever they could lay their hands on, to transport inside the Adelaja family house.
“Fayokemi, Welcome.”
“Omo ọlá ti dé oh”
The women and my aunts greeted all at once, as they rushed out of the house.
“Mama Deaconess oh.” Mummy Tobi shouted, making me wince visibly. “Mama Deaconess. Haha, where is that woman? Mama Deaconess. Your daughter is back from America oh. Fayoke ti dé oh.”
In a heartbeat, just like the last time I saw her, my mother stepped out of the house, tears running down her face, untying and re-tying her wrapper, she ran towards me with arms wide open.
When she got to me though, she stopped short, the smile falling from her face, as she assessed Femi’s protective arm around my waist and my ensemble. Her lips twisted in displeasure, and like a miniature coven, my aunts and my uncles’ wives formed a semicircle of displeased women behind her.
“Fay, is this your mum?” Femi asked.
I nodded before bending to hug my mother. She sidestepped me instead, while her bodyguards started clucking.
“Is that how to greet your mother?”
“Leave her, she’s from America”
“Kneel down.”
“Yes, go down on your two knees and greet me like the proper Yoruba child I raised you to be.” My mum gave her assent. “And why is this boy with the mopstick on his head calling you Fay?”
I winced, for the second time that day. “Mummy. That’s the trending haircut now. And Fay is the name my American friends call me because they can’t pronounce my full name.”
“Then you should have taught them. You pronounce ridiculous names like Alexander, why is Fayokemi so difficult for them?” Mum continued.
Femi cleared his throat, temporarily halting Mum’s tirade. He offered his hand, giving his megawatt smile as an accompaniment. “Good evening ma’am. My name is Femi.”
Mum did not take the proffered hand, as she stared at it with a blatant display of disapproval. “I can see you now mingle with children with no respect.” She said to me before facing Femi. “And you, young man. Take your hand off my daughter’s waist this instant. Have you paid her bride price? What gives you the right to touch her naked waist like that? And you, Fayokemi, why is your waist visible to the public?”
Femi released my waist, and stared at the now-gathering crowd before his pleasant face hardened into an expression I was very familiar with firsthand. He pulled me aside, his hand closing around my arm in a tight and painful grip. “This is what I get for bringing you home? A bunch of uncultured people insulting me in public?”
His voice was very low, so no one but myself could hear him. “Femi, please let my arm go. You’re hurting me.”
Something flared in his eyes, but regarding the onlookers with a hardened gaze, he released my arm and brokered a smile for them. “You know where to find me when you’re ready to grovel for my forgiveness.”
He never said goodbye to my mother and family members. He simply got into his car and drove off, raising another cloud of dust as a farewell present for us.
I turned my glare on my mother, but she returned it with an even stronger version. “How could you embarrass my guest like that? Gosh, what century is this? 13BC? I can’t deal with this shit right now.”
I raised my hands in frustration and started stomping my way inside the house, with my mother and the women hot on my tail.
Before I could walk to our wing though, my mum grabbed my arm and stopped me in the sitting room. “Who do you think you’re talking to? If I woos you slap, your brain will go back to its default settings. Fayokemi look at you, dressed like one of those cheap harlots working for Chief Obayanju.”
I looked at my shorts, crop top, and denim jacket. It was summer and that was the perfect choice of clothing at my previous location.
“And you’re a Deaconess oh. Ha, Èṣù likes attacking children of spiritual women like you.” Mummy Tobi contributed.
Aunty Anike craned her neck forward also. “Pastor Jamiu can withdraw the marine spirit from her. I heard those oyinbo people have strong witchcraft.”
The rest of their droning became inaudible to me as I suddenly broke down in tears. My loud sobs stopped their loud voices, and they all stopped to look at me.
“He beats me.” I hiccupped. “I tried to leave but he just wouldn’t. No one believes me because he’s so pleasant, but he beats me and tells me to dress like this to please him.”
No one said anything. They kept staring at me and I didn’t know what to expect. After a heartbeat though, a flurry of activities suddenly resumed.
“I’ll prepare warm water for her to bathe.”
“I’ll quickly turn small eba and ila asepo for her.”
“I have some clothes that will size her.”
“Where’s his house? A máa lọ na iyalaya ẹ̀ ni” Mummy Tobi ended.
I cried when I came home the last time, not because I was sad, but because I could finally remember what it felt like to have a family.
