"Marry her her! Or better still, bury her to the ground just because she a girl with full tities!"

.....

"Nebechi. What is that?"

"A were wolf story." She crossed her legs and bent to stay as comfortable as she could and read her book.

" Is that what you suppose to be reading? That's why you children fail exams all the time. "

" Mom, this is the reason why my vocabulary improves. And this is the reason why I excel in English." Her eyes stared hard at mine, wanted to make me stutter while defending herself vehemently.

"But you are not even a little bit good at maths." I said noticing she rolled her eyes as if she knew I was going to bore her and continued, "that makes me worried. You know you can't go to University without acing Maths and English."

" Mommy. Please!" She groaned, taking her book and bolting away from my sight. I chuckled slightly. My daughter, Nebechi. She was the first of my three children, Adaobi, ikechukwu and Olisaemeka respectively. I adored my children despite the odds because they came from me and I had no choice.

I married my husband when I was 22. My parents' insults and chaos pushed me into marrying hurriedly. They felt that a girl should be living in her husband's house at the certified age of 20 and any girl who married late just had bad luck. My Husband, Ikekwere was a very nice man who was 12 years older than me but people who met him would think I was older than him now.

After six months of our marriage, Ikekwere became passive and more demanding. He would want this when I was too tired to do it and he wouldn't allow helps to our house admist the piling chores and yet he did nothing to help me. I had to give him my all because I thought being submissive was a mutual respect and unconditional love to my husband but I envied my fellow women who their husbands had their back at every day Life.

When I had Nebechi, I thought I had lost my world. I had nothing to live for. I contemplated in my early marriage for good luck and wondered why a baby girl would be my first. Ikekwere consoled me and told me I could still get pregnant; I could have a boy at any time. I had Adaobi the second and Ikekwere left me alone at the hospital with some sort of excuse that he had with his job. I had to pay my bills admist the pains and go home to look for something to eat and feed my child. But he still came to force himself on me when I was still a lactating mother. I had Twins a year after Adaobi. Boys. There was joy in the house. My husband and his family started looking at me;calling me pet wife names and I wondered if God was still in control or Man just kept messing with their power.

"Mm." The wedding photo of me and my husband hung at the parlour as I cleaned my home. My second daughter and the twins were in boarding schools respectively. My first daughter stayed behind because she had to rewrite her Waec exams. She had failed woefully at first sitting because the school wasn't keen on their exams students. Her father had argued with me a lot concerning Nebechi's failure and refused to pay for her next sitting. He was only concerned about his twin boys than the girls. I was working as a banker, I was paid well. Paying my children's fees wasn't a stress to me. I did most of the men's job but yet my husband wanted me to quit working because he thought I got stress for the work and should focus fully on being a full time house wife. I didn't like the idea. I tried to prolong the matter and told him to give me time to find a more secure and stress free job since he wouldn't let me have any idea to bring a house help and cut out some work for me. He seemed focus on his business that even I myself didn't complain.

"Nebechi. When you're done reading that useless book, come help me make dinner. "

" Ooh. "Her voice rang from outside. I was satisfied and went back to my chores. Thank God I have some one like Nebechi to help me.

After dinner was done, My Husband arrived with his Toyota Camry car. I guess with how the food aroma had been going about, it also brought him home. Ikekwere never joke with his food, come what may.

"What's that beautiful scent I'm percieving? Mama Nebechi. "

" Papa Nebechi. " I smiled and spread my arms for a hug but he seemed embarrassed in front of his child and gruffly said he was hungry. My fists clenched subconsciously. "Oh. Go freshen up first. Then come down and join us for night meal." I replied. He dashed into our room while I and Nebechi waited for him to join us at the dinning table. It was a rule in my home. The family had to wait for the head of the house before they could eat. That's the pace of a family's togetherness. After spending most of the time inside, the food was cold when he joined us. We settled for Nsala soup and fermented garri.

"Mpa Nebechi." I softly called him, glancing at my daughter whose whole attention was into stuffing her little stomach but won't add any weight.

"Eh?" He replied admist mouthfuls.

"Em... About Nebechi's school PTA meeting. "I knew he was going to refuse it. But I had to try convince him the way I could. " Since you get to have a day off for two days, please would you mind I beg you to go to her school in my place? I have so many works tied to me and if I focus on my job than before, I may even be paid more than before."

" Ngozi. " He called my name gruffly, I felt my skin crawl. " Why is it that you always ruin my mood when I'm eating? Eh? Is that what they have taught you now? To deprive your husband the pleasure of having his food, abi?"

" Who's the they? Mpa Nebechi, I was trying to cut out work for me. Please cut me some slack. By the way, you haven't gone to the PTA meeting of any of these kids since their life. Did I commit a crime that I begged you to go for your first daughter's PTA meeting? "I was aggrieved. Totally aggrieved. He wouldn't listen to my explanations before jumping on to his judgment. Everytime, he would keep repeating "they" as if I had made friends from the den.

"Mma Nebechi. We should continue from where we stopped when I'm done eating. " He hissed.

Nebchi drawed her seat and carried her plates. Her face was clouded in melancholy. Having to watch her parents fight in her presence because of nonsensical things upset her. I saw it. "Mama thank ma. Papa thank sir."

"Thank God." We both chorused.

"Wetaram mmiri." He ordered Nebechi who left with her plates and later returned with a bottle of water and cup. She placed it on the table. Ikekwere nodded affirmatively and Nebechi disappeared.

…

He turned over to sleep in the empty dark room minutes after there was a power outage. I could hear Nebechi groaning and cursing the NEPA officials. The sounds of the night crawlers kept ringing in my ear as I stared at the dark, my eyes stuck at a ceiling I couldn't see. Images clouded my head and I was already embarrassed. I remembered I had a husband. I could just tap him and nibble on his lip then savagely push him and let nature take its course.

I could still make out the outline of Ikekwere's broad back in the darkness. Pushing myself forward in an embrace, I let my hand stroke his lips, beard, hairy chest, down to his pubic hair. Our hard breathing collided with each other. I thought Ikekwere was enjoying it and I reached further to stroke his manhood when he turned and pushed me like I was a bag of leech preparing to stick on him. His attitude surprised me. I mean, he was not like that before...

"Can't you understand when somebody is tired? Are you ok?"

"Ike..."

"Please don't do that again when I'm not in the mood. You are behaving alike an ashewo

Prostitute

and I don't like it. Ehhh... Is that what your friends had been teaching you?"

" Ikekwere. Why are you doing this to me now? I'm your wife. I need you now. Is it a sin that a wife had to seduce her husband now? "

" A wife shouldn't be the one to lead a man on. Stop acting like these slay queen girls that only need a stick inside them. Your mates are in their husbands home doing all the works and involve their children without complaining but here you are. Mtchwww. Idiot."

" Ike... "My eyes were filled to the brim. What was happening? But he would always come with his unending romance when I was mostly tired. The bed ruffled beneath us as he went back to sleep.

"And for your information. Mama and my sister are coming tomorrow to stay for a month. Be prepared to welcome them as sweetly as you can. "

It struck in my head once. Twice. I spun my head to glare at his outline. "Ikekwere, why are you telling me this now?"

"What do you mean? I have now told you. So stop trying to cause a scene."

" Ikekwere, why are you doing this to me? " My tears fell like tap. I tried hard not to choke of my sobs because he would shush me if he discovered. "Why are you bent on killing me with troubles everyday? Ikekwere, I'm your wife! Not a personal slave. I'm stressed by you and your tantrums. You wouldn't even raise a single hand to help me. You wouldn't even let me your wife express my feelings and now that you're just telling me that.... Ike, why? "

" I give you stress? How many times have I asked you to quit your job and become a housewife so that the tasks at home won't bother you, how many times?"

" You know I can't resign from my job, Ike. It has been my dream to work as a banker and the money I get paid every month isn't something I should throw away just like that... "

" Is it money? I will give you money. I will give you money to take care of my home and family. "

" What about me? "

" You? You should quit winning, quit that job of yours and start being a wife and mother. As a woman you shouldn't be complaining about these tasks. Is that how your mother had raised you. Does she fight with your father? Is that what you decide to do to? To fight me in my own house?... "

" Ikekwere Osita, please don't bring my parents into this, I beg of you. Ejim chineke j'ayo gi."

" My decision are final. Quit your job and become a wife. If you think staying at home will make you too idle, I will open a kiosk for you to sell few things as money for upkeep." He said and everywhere was silent except for a few cricket noise outside the open window covered with net and the soft tap of my tears falling on the blanket on me.

As early as 4:30 AM, I woke up drowsily from sleep to make food for my mother-in-law and her daughter. I was already tired. It was as if last night, my life was sucked out of me. My eyes felt heavy that when I look down, I worried they would roll inside my cheeks like a ball inside the roll-on deodorant.

"Ah... My eyes are even swollen. I hope they minimise before 5:30 o" my reflection on the dark window admist the illuminating lights replied back at me. I pondered on what I would make for them as per Ikekwere's taste then I came up with jellof rice with the fried meat in the freezer that I had been saving for Sunday rice. Then Egusi soup with ugu leaves for Mama. So, I started working on them. I had three gas cookers. Two were bought by me, one was Ikekwere's. So I washed the meats from the freezer and seasoned them with slices of onions and salt, then placed it under the first heat. Then I washed rice and added them into the already boiling water on the second heat. While those two were beginning to cook, I settled to cut Ugu leaves for the Egusi. I thought of preparing it Enugu style from where I came from because of course everyone loved it. So I used the seasoned water from the meat after they were soft, divided the meats and added the other to the pot meant for soup and other meant for rice.

I made the crushed Egusi seeds into tiny balls with little water, then added it into the boiling meat water like I was frying akara; that was after I had added crayfish, stockfish and oil. Done. I covered the pot and brought down the parboiled rice to rinse them and prepare jollof stew. I was still engrossed on my cooking and checking the time and don't know when my husband came in. His slippers consistent slapping against the tiled floor alerted me.

"Good morning, sir. Hope you slept well, Honey?"

There was a small smile on his face as he gazed at me like a predator. " Do you know how beautiful you are? You are the best wife the world. Just now I woke up, I didn't see you but my ironed clothes said better. What are you making? I perceive multiple aromas. "

I chose to ignore him. Who was he kidding? Was he trying to "act" like nothing happened? If so, then he is just a great actor. One of a kind. "Ike. I'm not in the mood for stories now. I'm busy as you can see." The tomato paste inside the hot oil mixed with onions simmered as I stirred them to cook.

"I know you are busy. Ehen. K'odi kwa ka neme." He guffawed. " By the way, would like to bath with me? At least to compensate you for cooking good meals this early. What do you say, mmh?"

" You're a dirty man, Ikekwere. Leave me alone o! " I warned, pointing a knife at him and he dashed away, laughing. I too laughed. He was funny and he is my husband. I couldn't stay angry at him for too long. It was suffocating.