The next morning, Cheta and I were up really early. We got ready to go see my Mum. We went downstairs and the driver and security officer were already in the car waiting for us. We got in the car and drove to my family's house but Cheta insisted we stopped by the mall to get some things for my mum. In his words, "My Mum taught me never to show up to anyone's house empty-handed"
We picked up a few things which were mostly non-alcoholic wine, my Mum doesn't drink alcohol. By the time we got to the house, my younger sister was already setting the table for breakfast. I forget to tell you all about my family, so I'll just do that now. My parents got married in the early 1990s, their marriage was not the typical boy meets girl, it was sort of arranged, my Uncle (my dad's younger sister's husband) was friends with my Mum, so an introduction was made and my parents went straight to courting (getting to know themselves and preparing for the wedding). Well, they got married a few months later (late December actually) and 10 months later, they had me(yes I'm the first child). After they had me, they decided they wanted more kids so they had my 5 siblings, I have a brother and 4 sisters. You have already met Glory and Miracle but you haven't met Ella, Esther, and my brother, Joshua. Well, let's go back to the story, it was Ella, the baby of the house who was setting the table when we walked into the house.
"Good morning Nma", she said and hurried over and hugged me.
Good morning Ella", then I turned to Cheta, "This is Cheta, remember I've been telling you about him. Cheta, this is Ella, my baby sister"
"Good morning Cheta and don't mind her, I'm not a baby anymore"
Cheta laughed.
"Good morning Cheta...don't mind Dinma, you are not a baby"
"You call her Dinma? Why not Nma?", Ella asked,
"Ella that's enough...where is Mum?", I asked her.
"She is in her room, getting dressed"
"Okay. Baby, can you please sit here, I'll be back"
"That's fine. I'm sure Ella will keep me company"
"Of course, she will...she is talkative", I said and laughed. I walked out of the living room, to my Mum's room. I got to her room and knocked on the door.
"Come in"
I opened the door and walked into the room. My mum was standing in front of the mirror, trying to zip her dress. I hurried over to her and hugged her, I had not seen my Mum in such a long time and I didn't know I missed her this much. My Mum is a very beautiful woman, sometimes I don't even think I took half of her beauty, she is not tall, I got my Dad's height but my Mum is light-skinned, I mean she has the smoothest and softest skin, when she was younger, she had a long, thick black hair that she mostly just curled but after we lost my dad, she cut her hair short and kept it that way. I have gotten lost talking about my Mum's beauty, so let's go back to the story.
"Good morning Mum", I greeted her and hugged her
"Good morning my baby", she said and hugged me back
"Is Cheta with you?"
"Yes, he is in the living room with Ella"
"Okay, please help me with my zipper"
She turned around and I zipped up her dress.
"I'll join you both in the living room, let me finish up here", she said.
"Okay Mum"
"I'm so happy you are here", she said, looking at me.
I walked out of her bedroom and shut the door behind me. I walked into the living room and Cheta and Ella were still talking.
"So you think you are ready for the judiciary system in this country?", Cheta asked her
"I don't know if I want to practice here yet. I've been thinking of leaving the country after my B.sc"
"You are already telling Cheta everything?", I asked her as I walked into the living room.
"I mean it's not like it was a secret"
"I know, I'm just joking", I said to her, I walked over and sat down next to Cheta on the couch.
A few minutes later, while we were still talking, my Mum walked into the living room, and Cheta greeted her.
"Good morning Ma'am",
"Good morning Cheta. How are you?"
"I'm fine ma'am"
"Please come over to the table. I'm sure you are very hungry", my mum said
"I am hungry", Cheta said. Another thing I like about Cheta is he didn't know how to pretend or as they say it here in Nigeria, he doesn't form.
"Then let's have breakfast", I said.
We walked over to the dining table and sat down. We ate breakfast almost quietly, my mum is not a woman of a lot of words, but she asked a few questions,
"So how is your mum?", she asked
"My mum is fine. She sent her regards. She gave me some things for you", he said
"She did?", I asked him.
"She didn't have to, but thank you", my mum said,
"I'll tell her", he said.
"Maybe I should thank her myself... I heard you have been in Nigeria a year now?", she asked him,
"Yes, I have... I had to move back to take over the family business"
"That's good. And you are from Anambra State? where exactly?", she asked him again
"I'm from Nnewi", he answered.
Let me give you a little explanation about where Cheta is from; Anambra is a State in the eastern part of Nigeria. Nnewi is one of the villages in one of the local governments in Anambra state.
We finished breakfast, moved back to the living room, and continued talking. We talked for a while, and then my mum asked me to help her get something, so I walked out of the living room, leaving her alone with Cheta. I walked into my mum's bedroom and my sister was sitting there, watching a movie on her phone.
"Do you know where Mum's bag of files is?", I asked Ella
"I don't know, it should be in her wardrobe"
"Will you help me please?", I asked her
"Okay. So, do you like Cheta?"
"I mean I brought him to meet Mum, that's your answer"
"I like him, he is cool and very interesting", she said
"Can we look for this thing so that I can go back to the living room?"
"I'm helping you", she said, then she pulls out a bag and gives it to me, "This is it"
"Thank you", I said and took the bag from her. I searched the bag and took out a file, then put the bag back and walked out of the room, after saying thank you to Ella again.
I walked into the living room and Cheta and my mum were still talking, talking about me, I think. They turned to me when I walked in,
"Why did it take you so long?", my mum asked
"It was just difficult to find"
I gave her the file and sat back down.
"So Cheta was telling me that you are going to Abuja in 3 days?", my Mum asked me
"Yes, his friend is getting married, so we are traveling for the wedding"
"Okay, have you told your brother you are coming?"
"Yes, I did", I said,
"I didn't know your brother stayed in Abuja", Cheta said
"That's not true, I know I have told you that before."
"Okay, I probably have forgotten", Cheta said
"How long will you be in Abuja?", my Mum asked us,
"It should be a week, I have a business to take care of there too", Cheta answered
"Okay"
We spent another 3 hours with my mum, and even Ella joined us at some point, it was fun, we talked about almost everything. There was something I loved that happened that day, it was the way my Mum and Cheta were talking and vibing like they had known each other for a long time. Cheta had that gift, he had a warmth around him that just made everyone that came around him, very comfortable. I was lost looking at him, I didn't hear my Mum asking me a question, she had to call my name to get my attention.
"Yes... yes Mum", I answered, jolting back to reality.
"Are you okay? You looked lost in thoughts", she said
Ella and Cheta turned and looked at me, they had inquisitive looks on their faces.
"I'm fine Mum, guys I'm fine", I said
"A penny for your thoughts? I'm sure we all want to know what you were thinking about", Cheta said
"I'm sorry but this is for me alone", I said and laughed.
"Okay. So I was asking how the writing was going, I mean the one with the writing web?", my Mum asked me
"It's going well. The story is coming along together"
"That's good."
"Cheta's mum helped me get someone who is going to invest in my film and Cheta is also interested in investing", I said to her
"Really? That's good news.", "Thank you Cheta", my Mum said to Cheta
"It's fine Mum, it's Dinma, I'll do anything to make her happy and that includes helping her advance her career", he said to my Mum, while he smiled at me. Then it was time to go, it was already mid-afternoon and my Mum had a meeting to attend in an hour. Cheta then thanked my Mum for having him over at the house and promised to come and back and see her before we traveled to Abuja.
"I'll be expecting you", she said to him.
"Mum, I'll be back tomorrow to come and spend the day with you", I said to my Mum.
"Okay, that's fine", she answered.
I hugged my Mum and we got into the car and left the compound. Cheta was so happy about the time he spent with my Mum and my sister, he couldn't stop talking in the car about it and that made me happy. Just knowing that the man I love and my family were getting along was something I always prayed for and now it was coming to pass and I couldn't help but be very happy.