Tamarind (E09)

[Welcome back! The story continues…]

Emefa slammed the door of the Uber as she got in, startling the Uber driver.

“Sorry.” She muttered, rolling her eyes as though the Uber driver had had something to do with the meeting Emefa had just had Aunty Menaye.

“Where to please?”

“I selected my location on the map.” Emefa retorted.

“Okay Madam Emefa. Please I hope the location on the map is correct…?”

“What do you want me to say? Do I look like I work with Google maps?”

“Oh. I didn’t mean it like that. You…. it’s okay.”

Emefa ignored him, scrolling busily on her phone. She would not let Aunty Menaye win this battle. Getting married to Jamal was now more about proving a point to his aunt, than it was about her love for him. She could not believe she had actually moved her plans for the day around just to make it for this meeting. She had rushed her final dress-fitting, moved her manicure and pedicure to the evening, and rescheduled her hair appointment, all for what?

The car hit a pothole, jolting Emefa out of her thoughts. She looked sharply at the driver. He looked at her through the rearview mirror, “Madam Emefa, sorry.”

“Please stop calling me that. Just Emefa is fine.”

The driver nodded, finally realizing his passenger may not be in the best of moods. Emefa’s phone began to vibrate. It was Jamal. Emefa answered the call, but sat listening, without saying a word

“Emefs Estate.” Jamal called out on the other end of the line, teasing her as usual.

“Ji.” Emefa replied dryly.

“My almost-wife. How’s it going at the spa?”

“I’m now heading there.”

“Oh okay. Is everything okay? Did something go wrong at the fitting?”

“Not really. Just a few alterations. They’ll work on it and deliver this evening.” Emefa said, still with no emotion in her voice.

“Is that why you sound so down? Don’t worry about it. You will look beautiful tomorrow regardless, okay?”

Emefa paused. “So is that the best thing you can say to me right now?”

“Did I say something wrong?” Jamal asked confused. Silence. He quickly added, “Emefa. Babes, I was only trying to make you feel better. I’m sorry if I said something wrong.”

“You should be. ‘Cause this is the last thing I need right now with the stunt your aunt just pulled. Why does she insist on being such a pain in my life?”

“Whoa! What stunt? Did Aunty Menaye say something to you?”

Emefa went quiet. Aunty Menaye had explicitly stated that it would be in her, Emefa’s, own interest to keep their conversation between them.

“Emefa, I need to know. What did she say to you?”

“Ji, just forget I said anything about it.”

“Nope. Can’t do that. Tell me what she said.”

Emefa paused, then said, “Oh she has said many things to me.”

“Babes, were are you now?”

“In an Uber to my next appointment, I already told you.”

“Yes, but were exactly are you?”

“I just left Aunty Menaye’s a few minutes ago.”

“Wait. So you were at her end today?”

“Yes. That’s where it all happened”

Jamal went quiet for a while. Then he asked, “Where is your next appointment?”

“Dzorwulu.” Emefa replied, reluctantly. She knew Jamal and could tell what he would say next.

“Share the location. I’ll meet you there.”

“Ji, you’re not supposed to see me before the wedding. We talked about this. It’s important.”

“This is even more important. I’ll be there soon. See you.” Then Jamal hang up.

Emefa sighed. The last thing she wanted before her big day, was any form of drama.

The Uber driver looked at Emefa again through the rearview mirror. “As for in-laws, they can be very troublesome. You just need to exercise a lot of patience.”

Emefa ignored him. The driver, not taking a cue from Emefa’s silence, continued, “My advice to you is that you try to be very patient with them. As a woman, you must be humble and respect them, that is what your husband expects. If I marry and my wife tries to fight my family, divorce straight. You, the woman, are not even my blood. It is the children you will give birth to, that will be my blood. That is what my uncle taught me before I left my hometown for Accra.”

Emefa rolled her eyes in the backseat. They were only a few metres from her destination but she felt like the ride could not end soon enough. The Uber driver took a cue from Emefa’s silence, and kept quiet. At least so Emefa thought, until he looked at her in the rearview mirror again and asked, “So, am I invited to the wedding or…?”

“Could just drive please?” Emefa snapped.

“Okay. Sorry Madam.”

This time, Emefa did not bother to correct him on what to call her. About two minutes later, they pulled up in front of the spa. Emefa heaved a sigh of relief. Her Uber-ride-from-hell was finally over. She paid the driver and stepped out of the vehicle. Just as she closed the door, the driver turned towards her and said, “Madam, please don’t forget to give me five stars. I am giving you five stars too. We can help each other.” Then he winked and drove off.

Emefa shook her head in disbelief and headed for the reception of the spa. To her surprise Jamal was already seated at the reception, when she walked in. He rose to meet her.

“Ji.”

Jamal hugged her and planted a peck on her cheek. “My Mrs Asare-Menako.” Then he took her hand and led her towards the exit, “Come with me.”

Emefa’s knees got weak. Jamal knew the effect he had on her whenever he called her that name. She followed Jamal to his car. Jamal opened the driver’s door and asked her to get into the driver’s seat. Then he went round and sat in the front passenger seat.

Jamal turned towards Emefa the moment he got into the car. “Tell me everything that happened.”

“Ji. I am already running late for my appointment. I had to reschedule from my original time. These people close early.” Emefa said, trying once more to avoid the conversation about Aunty Menaye.

“Emefa, this is important to me.”

Emefa replied in a small voice, “I know…it’s just….” Her words trailed off.

“Just tell me everything. Why you went to see her. What she said. Everything.”

Emefa reluctantly began to recount everything that had led up to her visit to Aunty Menaye’s house, as well as her conversation with Aunty Menaye.

Emefa had arrived at Aunty Menaye’s house at about 3pm to meet an angry Aunty Menaye who stated, without mincing words, that she found Emefa’s tardiness rude and disrespectful. Emefa had apologized and explained to Aunty Menaye that, she, Emefa, had been delayed at an appointment she had made prior to Aunty Menaye’s request for a meeting. Aunty Menaye had then asked her to sit and proceeded to ask questions about the wedding. Emefa was confused. Her traditional wedding was in less than 24 hours and the blessing was in 72 hours. Why was Aunty Menaye asking for details she already knew, now? Was this some way of bonding with Emefa for Aunty Menaye?.

“Jamal gave me directions to some event centre but I want to know which church the wedding is at.” Aunty Menaye said looking Emefa dead in the eye.

Emefa was confused. “It’s called Eden.”

“Is that the name of your church?”

“No. It is an event centre. We’re having a garden wedding. I thought you knew this already.”

“Well, Jamal mentioned it and I had been telling him you need to change it but he seems not to be listening. My grandfather was one of the founding fathers of our church. It is unheard of for any of us to be marrying any other way than in a church wedding.”

“But a lot of people are embracing having a wedding outside the church these days. It is really not a big deal. There will be pastors there to pray with us and all. Besides, we have really compromised. We were supposed to have a destination wedding but…”

“Oh what nonsense desti-what wedding? Jamal should be getting married in a church!”

Emefa had had it with Aunty Menaye. It was high time someone stood up to this woman. “Aunty Menaye, this wedding is not just Jamal’s wedding. It’s mine too. It is our wedding. And we both decided we wanted to do things this way – a garden wedding is what we have decided to go with.”

“So, are we Christians or are we gardeners?”

“Does going to the beach make one a fisherman?” Emefa retorted angrily

Aunty Menaye looked over Emefa’s shoulder and called “You see what I was telling you about her? No regard for our family and our beliefs.”

Emefa span her head around to see Jamal’s father standing in the doorway. She had no idea he was there. How long had he been standing there for? Emefa felt ambushed. Jamal’s father looked at Emefa in disappointment. Emefa felt extremely uneasy. “I will ask if things can be moved to the church.”

“Now you’re talking.” Aunty Menaye said with a grin. “I hope I can trust you to keep this discussion between us. Find some other reason to give Jamal for changing the venue.”

 To Emefa, that grin was the most sinister thing she had ever seen. Emefa feigned a smile back. 24 to 72 hours and all this would be over. “If that is all, I should be going now.”

Emefa rose to leave but Jamal’s father stopped her, “Wait”. Emefa sat back down. What now?

Jamal’s father continued, “I think you should be apologizing to your mother-in-law.”

Actually, she’s not my mother-in-law! Emefa wanted to scream. But she decided to take the high way and apologize anyway. “Aunty Menaye, I’m sorry about earlier.”

Again that dark grin, “Oh, call me ‘Ma’. You know you are my daughter, just like Jamal is my son. I cannot hold any grudge against you.”

Nephew. Jamal is your nephew. He already has a mother and she is nothing like you! Emefa gritted her teeth. “Okay Ma. I would like to take my leave now.” Emefa had to control herself not to stomp out of the hall. She could not believe she had called that woman ‘Ma’. She felt violated, and vowed never to repeat it.

Jamal, who had been listening to Emefa quietly, shook his head and muttered under his breath, “These people.”

Emefa looked at him. “So we need to move the wedding ASAP.

Jamal laughed. “Are you scared?”

“No, but I don’t want to start off with them on the wrong foot.”

“It’s our wedding. Not theirs. We wanted a garden wedding. We chose Eden. Eden it is.”

“Jamal, let’s just give them what they want.”

“No. It’s high time they realized we have our own lives to live too.”

“But Ji, your aunt raised you. I would not want to be the reason both of you fight. Besides, she’s your blood. I am not. Only our future kids will be your blood. As a wif-…”

“Hey, hey! What are you saying? You are going to be my family now. Is that what you think? That you are not my family?”

Emefa shrugged, embarrassed by her own words. “The Uber driver that dropped me here was sayi-…”

“And if you listen to what he said, then you would not be the woman I thought you were. That’s some weird thinking right there.” Jamal laughed.

Jamal cupped Emefa’s face in his hands, looked into her eyes and said, “I want you to be very comfortable about this…about us. You and I are already one. Tomorrow is just so everyone else will know this too.” Jamal hesitated, then continued, “Listen, I love you, and I mean it. Even what happened between you and Eben can’t stop us. I was a bi-“

Emefa stiffened in her seat, “Wait! You saw that? You were there that night?”

“I was the lookout for the bridal shower. I was actually supposed to meet you and take you in, but you were late. Then , after witnessing that…..” Jamal paused and looked out the window, away from Emefa.

Emefa felt her ears suddenly turn hot. In that moment, she was appreciative that Africans did not blush visibly. “Oh Ji,” she started weakly, “It meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. I am sorry, so sorry. Really, really sorry.”

[Thanks for reading! Tamarind continues next week. Till then, stay safe]