Months before the acrimony.
NENE
Family. I remember when I was in junior class, I was asked by our social science teacher to define Family. I had replied that family was a bunch of people forcefully grouped together in a house of heirachy called a home and made to live together with responsibilities and duties towards each other in other to survive.
That was the not the first time every one looked at me like I had grown two heads. Shock was evident on the face of our Social studies teacher and she called me to her office after the class to talk about how worried she was about my weird answers about relationships with people in the social circle because that wasn't the first instance. She did not continue the boring guidance and counselling section anymore when she gradually got used it while everyone in class had another thing to put on their list of the rare deeds of weird and overly serious Kainene Hazel Coker.
Every one thought I was too straight forward and harsh when I finally managed to talk; I rarely talked and I heard it was a huge turn off.
I had only simplified that definition back at Junior class. I meant every single word I said, it wasn't ignorance or anything. It was what it was.
"Nene!"Toby's voice dragged me out of my reverie.
"Earth to Nens?" He waved his hand over my face, his face looming over my head.
"You zoned out for the nth time, like why do you like to overthink?" He scowled but his eyes held doting and soft emotions.
"No, I wasn't zoning out, you were to busy drawing,so I just ... You know" I shrugged my shoulders, a sheepish smile slit across my face.
I zoned out a lot and Toby, my elder brother knew I did that all the time.
"Come and see my work" he dragged me off the bench. We were sitting at the verandah and he was drawing something I didn't care to see.
"Can't you just bring it here?"I groaned as he dragged me towards the recliner he was sitting on,the sketch book was turned over on the chair.
He grabbed the sketchbook turning it over to the newest drawing. "Here"
I collected the sketchbook from his hand gently even though I had disdain plastered on my face; I swore to bash his work,even though I knew he was a very good artist
I just had to put my self to shame when I gawked at the beautiful art piece I had seen. All the 'it's not even fine sef' i had prepared died in my throat rather, still transfixed on the drawing, I blurted:
"Omaka!" It's very beautiful.
Toby was a gifted artist, he could draw everything and anything to look so heavenly and breathtaking. Unlike my drawings, his works had Serene and good feelings to them.
"Chai" I sighed. He had drawn Mum's garden. The back verandah was facing the garden, and the view was very clear from where he sat. Today the flowers bloomed and Aunt Risifat was very happy this morning that at least her hard work of watering the flowers and checking on them regularly had paid off.
The garden was actually cultivated and taken care of by Aunt Risifat but we still called it Mum's garden. The drawing was so realistic and too real, I felt I could walk into the painting. My breath hitched as I looked with awe at the strong yet gentle strokes on the drawing.
"How can someone be this good? " I sighed defeated. "You are getting better and better Toby"
"Of course, what do you expect from a whole Coker like me!" He grinned from ear to ear. His cocky grin.
"Mtchew! Be feeling yourself too much, that's why I hate complimenting you, because your head will just swell"
"Sister mi,ejoor,take easy because this ugly odor of jealousy that I perceive is very very dangerous" he took the sketchbook away from me, stepping back in mock fear.
" I don't blame you!" I snotted sinking into the recliner "Na you Sabi"
"Nens why are you like this, you took my cake during lunch, now you are snatching my chair" Toby whined like a kid while quirking his eye brows in a funny way.
I knew what he was doing. Toby knew I was having a mood swing and he was trying to lift my spirit up.
"You can't do anything about it" I stuck my tongue out at him, ignoring the pain that shot through my lower abdomen. Yeah, my great aunt came to visit today and I was having some hell of a cramp.
"You know I can" He smirked. "Oya! Stand up, stand up! you are such a bully, see the bench there naa"
"Make me!" I deadpanned while shutting my eyes. I eased a little on the chair to make myself comfortable.
" gaahhhhhhhh" That was my voice. I shrieked loudly as I beat the air and kicked my legs. Toby had carried me over his shoulders.
Toby and I were very close, as close as five to six which was not surprising since we were just a year apart. People who didn't know us very well always mistook us as twins because we looked alike so much and we were very close.
" Bro T, you guys are disturbing !" Junior our Younger brother whined . Toby had literarily hung me on his shoulders despite my struggles to break free, I was screaming profanities at him as he dragged me to the lounge where Junior was playing games with my phone.
"Junior, tell your Brother T put me down" I winced.
Junior legit ignored me!
"Oya, Toby put down your sister" A soothing voice came from the doorway making us halt our laughter.
Aunt Risifat walked in. She was our housekeeper,more like our second mum. Aunt Risifat had been in the house before we got back from England when we were kids and since then she was everything our parents weren't. She took me on the girl's talk that mum didn't have time to talk about and she'd been the one who thought me about my menstruation and how to deal with a whole lot of shit that had been going on in my life, same goes for Toby and Junior. She did more than she was being payed for, because Mum was always away.
"Your father is coming back today and he will be around for dinner" She almost whispered.
Silence.
The joyous air became so stuffy and suffocating. This was exactly how family felt like to me. That moment when I and Toby laughed and played around like we had always done back at England was just as fleeting as a passing cloud. Junior let go of my phone carefully, subconsciously sitting erect.
We feared the man who birthed us.
"Oh" Toby grimaced as he slowly let me down his shoulders, till my legs reached the ground. His hand was still tightly holding mine.
"What time?" I deadpanned, back to being the usual me.
"He didn't specifically say, but he should be here soon enough, don't worry he must be in a very good mood, the deal he had to seal back at Paris must have gone through" She gently walked towards us.
Aunt Risifat was educated. She didn't have a very thick accent but I could still hear the accent roll off her tongue subtly, not many would notice it though, but I knew for one that she grew up in ibadan and she was a grandmother.
"Come" she grabbed my hand and Toby's
" I prepared your favorites today for lunch, so go into your rooms get yourselves together and come down for lunch hmm? what do you say?" She smiled. She patted our shoulders when we nodded.
She darted her eyes towards Junior who had been sitting rigid since the news was broken and a sigh escaped her lips.
"Omo mi" my child. "Come here" she beckoned on him.
"Is it true?" Junior was literarily shaking with trepidation. " I didn't get the first position last term, and even though I was just a mark away, dad is going to trash me".
"Child, you are your father's son and he wouldn't deliberately harm you, I'll try to stop him while I can but first off, you have to eat lunch so come and help me prepare the table while your elder siblings go in, hmm?" She patted his hands.
This house was like this. There where so many things we could have said or tried to explain or figure out,but we didn't. We rather shared our thoughts through our eyes and actions; Mother taught us that some things were better left unsaid. Probably one of the very few things she taught us.
I was sure Aunt Risifat took Junior to help her because she wanted to give him the talk, how to evade the topic in other to get away from a heavy trashing and extra punishments, talk about not letting his fears take control,he was a bright kid no matter what anyone said and being number one wasn't his duty.
Well, tell that to dad.
Family.
I believe that I,Toby and Junior were caged here in this house called a home because we were related by blood and we were made to bear responsibilities and duties towards our parents. Dad made sure to let his words sink in our heads all the time.
It was all about Responsibilities and duties. Filial piety, that was all Family was about.
I prayed Junior would make it through today successfully without breaking a bone or having a concussion to add to the mental injuries being created.
We were all broken.