by Aluta Nite
There was a hue and cry from businesspeople and citizens at large and the police had to conduct surveillance around banks to catch the thugs. Investigations confirmed how the rackets were organized and as a result, several cashiers lost their jobs.
Bold Infidelity
Eunice was a high school student. During one school vacation period, her elder sister, Janice, who was on leave, asked their father to let Eunice stay at her home with her three children ages two, four and six. Janice needed to go to her countryside home for a week, to attend to some urgent matter, and was taking her youngest child with her, as she was less than a year old. The housekeeper was also going with Janice.
Janice’s house was a two-bedroom bungalow with a living room, kitchen, dining room, two bathrooms and separate quarters for the housekeeper and two large verandas. Her husband, Mark, worked a rotating shift at his job. Therefore, he worked various shifts for a specified number of days or weeks per shift.
He did not travel with Janice because he was not on leave. During the week that his wife was gone, he worked the day shift. He always returned home late at night when Eunice and the children were asleep. However, Eunice always managed to hear him open the main door on arrival and proceed to his bedroom, bathroom, kitchen or lounge.
Eunice slept in the second bedroom with the children. There were two bunk beds for the four children and Eunice slept on the baby’s bottom bunk. Eunice always locked the bedroom door and left the key in the lock before going to sleep. She did this as a security measure, because she was the only adult in the house before her brother-in-law returned home from work.
On the fifth night of Janice’s absence, her husband returned late as usual. Eunice did not hear him go to any of the other rooms as he usually would. Instead, she heard a key inserted from outside, into the bedroom door in which she slept with the children. The key in the lock inside the door then fell down. These occurrences scared the life out of her.
Firstly, she was not sure who it was. Secondly, how, she wondered could another key unlock the door from outside, while the key on the inside was still in place? Eunice now got up quickly, put on the light and checked the clock on the wall. It was well past midnight, and just then, her brother-in-law stepped into the room.
She sat on the bed baffled and asked him what he wanted. He usually went about his business after getting home from work, without ever disturbing anyone and eventually went to sleep.
He appeared to be tipsy, and said to her, “Go to my bedroom.”
In consternation, she said, “What?”
He then repeated, “Go to my bedroom!”
In disbelief at what was transpiring, she asked, “Why?”
He responded, “Because I say so! And move quickly before you wake the children.”
“I will not go!” she asserted.
He was standing in the middle of the room. She stood up, walked past him to the bathroom, relieved herself though she felt no need to, came back and found him standing near the doorway.
He then said, “I am telling you to head to my bedroom!”
She said, “No!” and headed to her bed.
He again ordered her, “Hey you! Do as I said!”
She replied again, “I will not go, but I will shout and let everybody in the neighbourhood know what you are up to! I will also report this to my father tomorrow!”
He got very annoyed, called her names like “bitch”, “prostitute”, “good-for-nothing”, slammed the door shut and retreated to his bedroom while cursing. She did not fall asleep again that night. Apparently, the children did not wake up and witness the scene and if they had, she would not have known what to say to them.
As soon as her brother-in-law left for work early the following morning, she ran to her father’s house to report what had ensued the night before. He was about to leave for work and begged her to go back, because the children were alone. He reassured her that Mark would not dare make another move after that debacle and was aware that she had reported him to her father.
Her father also requested that any one of Eunice’s younger siblings go and stay with her, but they all refused. She therefore reluctantly went back for the sake of the children, who were, after all, very innocent in the matter. She and Mark never talked again. Eunice was done with him.
Janice returned promptly on the seventh day, and Eunice left the same day without revealing anything to her, because she had agreed with their father that he would be the one to fill her in. Their father later sent for Janice who went to see him two days later.
She did not believe that the encounter had happened, but instead believed that Eunice was lying to ruin Mark’s reputation. She also concluded that Eunice did not want to help with babysitting in future and was therefore making excuses as a way out.
Eunice was pained by her sister’s attitude and isolated herself from her and her family. If indeed the children had slept through the ordeal, she thought to herself, it might have been better for them to have woken up and seen for themselves who their father was in relation to their mother and aunt.
All in all, Eunice learned that a door locked from inside with the key left in the lock, could be opened from outside with a similar key, causing the key on the inside to fall out. Through trial and error, she also realized that turning the key on the inside all the way until it could not turn anymore after locking, prevented an intruder from inserting a similar key from the outside, causing the key inside to fall out.
Bad Blood
Juliet went to visit her mother who had come to the city from her home in the countryside. Her mother was staying with her other daughter, Juliet’s sister, Paula. Juliet went to have lunch with them before returning to work in the afternoon. They usually met for lunch at Paula’s when her mother was in town.
After eating and resting a little, Juliet’s and Paula’s niece, Elaine, their elder sister’s firstborn, dropped in. As she was on vacation from high school, she had leisure time to spend with her relatives.
After exchanging pleasantries with them, Juliet asked Elaine, “Why haven’t you visited me as you promised last time we met?
Elaine felt guilty and was visibly uncomfortable. She did not know what to say initially. She then boldly responded, “I was told not to.”
Juliet understood immediately, grasped the scope of the matter and said to her niece, “It is okay. Just relax about it.”
This gave Elaine some relief. However, her grandmother did not take it lightly and asked her to repeat what she had just said.
“I was told not to visit her,” Elaine elaborated.
Her grandmother then stopped what she was doing and asked her in a concerned voice,
“Can you explain why?”
To stop pressuring her further, Juliet said to her mother, Elaine’s grandmother, “Stop it, Mom. Elaine is merely a child who is being fed, housed, clothed, schooled and instructed. She is, therefore, simply following orders.”
She also added, “If you have issues with her answer, then you should approach Elaine’s parents. Elaine is not guilty of anything. She will be when she becomes an adult, independent and on her own. As of now, she is not in control of anything.”
Elaine, therefore, relaxed again and was able to enjoy the food that had been served to her. Her grandmother, however, was still uneasy and aired her thoughts loudly in a monologue. Juliet did not say anything else, in order to further diminish the tension, and enable her niece to be comfortable in the company of her grandmother and aunts.
Juliet soon left for work, and wondered what was going on between herself and Elaine’s parents. Her mother was also left with a heavy heart and unable to eat.
What transpired between Elaine and her grandma after Juliet left was never known to Juliet, because she decided not to pursue the matter with her mother, the following day or ever again.
&nb
sp; After several years, Juliet got a job in another city and moved there with her husband who also accepted a job in that city. Meanwhile, their children were in boarding schools. Juliet, therefore, did not have as close contact with her siblings, nieces and nephews as she had had previously.
Meanwhile, Elaine’s younger brother, Jerry, graduated from college and got a job with an oil distribution company, as an engineer. He traversed the country working at specific locations for two weeks at a time. Moreover, roughly every four to six months, he was stationed in the city where Juliet and her family had moved to.
However, he did not bother to contact his aunt, Juliet, and her family, though he had a car and moved around with relative ease. He also knew their telephone number and was in contact with his former colleague who knew and saw them often. In addition, Juliet’s brother, Gideon, visited her when he was in town for work-related training.
While engaged in jovial conversation he asked Juliet and her husband, Alois, “Does Jerry pass by to say hello whenever he is in town?”
Juliet answered, “Never.”
Gideon was shocked, because Jerry always informed him when he would be going to their city and when he would be returning.
He then asked, “Why?”
Juliet explained to him reluctantly, “I was informed that Jerry was told not to venture where my family and I reside because we might ask him for financial assistance.”
Gideon was left completely dumbfounded and flabbergasted. He knew that Juliet and her husband, Alois were working, financially secure and thrifty.
He also knew them to be independent people who would not allow themselves to seek any type of help, let alone financial help, even in their times of need. Moreover, they had never approached him for any assistance all his working life. The explanation given to Jerry, as reported by Juliet, sounded sinister to Gideon.
Juliet then recounted her realization that Morris, Elaine and Jerry’s father, had many years ago seemed to be competing with her for social status or prestige. When she was about to graduate from college, he made haste to take driving lessons and buy a car, in fear that Juliet would do so before he did, which would have been unacceptable to him and his wife.
Salacious Solicitations
Aretha left home one morning going to the college campus nearby in order to run errands. After walking half a block on the sidewalk heading south, she had to cross a road to continue to the next block. As she crossed the road, cars coming from downtown heading east were waiting on her right-hand side.
There were three lanes of traffic among the cars facing east, and on the outermost lane, a white pick- up truck was the second vehicle behind a saloon. If there had been no southbound vehicles coming from Aretha’s direction, the cars on the outermost lane would have been able to safely turn right and head south, after she had crossed. However, there were cars heading south from the direction Aretha had come, so the cars on the outermost lane, on her right-hand side, had to wait.
The driver in the white pick-up truck, a middle-aged white man, had seen what he eagerly wanted or aspired to have, and was therefore getting impatient. He was rearing and ready to go by the sound of his engine, but actually going nowhere. His target was Aretha, who he did not know, just as she did not know him.
As he eventually turned right going south, he began to honk his horn softly to draw her attention, as she walked south. Because she did not look to her left, in his direction, he slowed down completely and called out to her, with total disregard for the cars behind him.
He said, “Hi! Come on for a lift to wherever you are headed.”
She shook her head to indicate a negative response while walking.
He then said, “Okay, next time,” and drove off slowly, disappointed.
The following day, Aretha left home again to go shopping. Going south again, she reached the intersection and began to cross the road with three lanes of cars on her right-hand side waiting to go east. The first car in the middle lane, a white saloon car, was driven by a black man. As Aretha crossed the road, he seemed ready to take off like a rocket, by the sound of his engine.
After Aretha had crossed, the lights turned green, and he nearly smashed into several cars on the outermost lane, because he had suddenly decided to change course and turn right heading south. She neither knew him nor he her.
Aretha was not heading south this time, but waiting at the intersection to cross the road again and go east, the direction his vehicle was originally heading. The driver, however, assumed she was heading south. He was so disappointed, cursed loudly, mumbled something at her and continued south, disregarding the other drivers he had nearly stuck or inconvenienced.
Aretha crossed the road and headed east. At the next intersection, after walking one block, she started to cross the road still heading east. However, she intended to get to the sidewalk, turn right and walk south.
As she was crossing and heading east, there came the same aggressive driver heading north on the outermost lane! He, therefore, came to a stop on her right-hand side, waiting for Aretha to finish crossing, and for traffic going east to dissipate, in order to turn right and go east.
When she turned right and began to walk south, he again mumbled something and showed disgust over his second missed opportunity with Aretha. She went her way and got her shopping done, but was a bit shaken. In other words, when he headed south, he did not go far but turned at the nearest junction, a block away in order to go north and meet Aretha as she headed east.
On the third day, Aretha left home heading to the library near her home. After crossing the well-known First South Road, she encountered a strange-looking man sitting on a bench. The bench was situated outside college apartments by a bus stop. The man’s clothing was excessively heavy, his hair unkempt and his beard, long and wild. She did not know him and he did not know her.
His eyes scanned her lasciviously and then he forced a peculiar cough to draw her attention, when he realized that she was deliberately averting her gaze. He then beckoned her to join him on the bench. She neither made a move towards him nor uttered a word and instead continued on her way. He then struggled to his feet as if to follow her, but she ignored him and kept her pace.
Aretha’s mind raced with questions. What was all this about? Had the world gone suddenly mad? Where is the world heading?
Beware, womenfolk, beware!
Conjugal Coaching and Culture
Traveling to and fro in various parts of the world took Vivian to places where she encountered all sorts of cultural attitudes towards womanhood. Sometimes, she did not know whether to believe what she saw or heard and was tempted to leave. However, because she was on a fact-finding mission, she stayed her course.
In one locality where she stayed for two weeks, she met a young girl of sixteen, who did not have the chance to go to school, because her parents and their community as a whole; did not believe in educating girls. She was a beautiful girl who seemed decent in her manners.
The best anybody had done for her was taking her to a tailoring shop, one hour a day for three months. She learned to operate a treadle sewing machine on the shopkeeper’s veranda and mend clothes for the villagers. She did not acquire any skills cutting or using patterns, but if new fabrics were cut for her, she could join the seams and hem them without doing the finishing touches.
Anyhow, she was being forced to marry a man more than three times her age. The man had been divorced several times and had several children.
Perhaps she would have preferred a young man who had never married, so as to start afresh with him in all aspects. Maybe, she would have liked to fall in love with someone before getting married to him. Maybe, she would have liked to find her own man of whatever status and in whatever manner. Maybe, she was waiting for her type of Mister. Right to come along and find her.
Unfortunately, she was not given any c
hance to decide. Under the circumstances, someone had already been paid the bride price, and her only option was to comply with the decisions made for her against her will. The worst of it was that she had to undergo some detestable training session about how best to gratify her husband. Basically, she was to learn how to gyrate suggestively.
A woman in her seventies came for the young girl every evening at about seven o’clock, to take her to the ‘gyration school’. She cried miserably every day because she hated this ordeal, in addition to despising her husband-to-be. She went without dinner every day because of her disgust with the whole affair.
The old lady knew of her aversion to the issue and to her husband-to-be, so she treated her harshly. She was all but dragged out of the door to go to the training sessions. She usually came back after midnight, as miserable as when she left. Sometimes, she went crying and came back crying.
She did, however, get married to the man, but it never lasted. That had been her plan. The marriage was for him and them, not for her. She ran away within two months. Her life was ruined and her youth tarnished. She concentrated on her tailoring career and supported herself with the little she earned from it.
The idea of marriage could not settle in her mind again, because of the bad taste her first experience had left. She had not been ready when it happened. It was their greed for money that counted, not her plans for a successful marriage some-day. Maybe in the future, she would find her own man or he would find her.
The next part of her journey took Vivian to a place where schoolgirls, at a tender age of early teenage, were looking forward to learning adult sexual games from old aunts and grandmothers. Schools would close and girls would be shipped, for about two weeks, to places where they would be shown the tips and tricks to satisfying men.