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Chapter Six Little Beginnings – It’s been a while since the Alarade heard from their daughter, particularly since they left Okesuna for Surulere.
Though the address was sent to Temitope, nonetheless, they insisted their neighbors inform them of any letter received. Receiving a letter from abroad then was like receiving a solution to one’s problems. This means that anything from overseas is always appreciated, no matter how little it appears to be.
The same way their neighbors celebrated Temitope’s departure to America was the same way they gathered to rejoice over the new apartment built for the family at Surulere by Temidun. There wasn’t just zobo and tuwo shinkafa to celebrate, but also akpu and egusi soup.
The new tenant, who moved in with his wife and children, decided to give a treat to everyone since they never got the opportunity to celebrate Temitope’s departure to America. If not for the absence of palm wine, they would have formed a coalition between the Northerners and the Easterners that night.
All the same, everyone had a fill of bellies that night. Iya Ibeji was especially grateful to the women in the compound and made sure she gave some of the children’s clothes in her stall to the women and also to Zainab, who had just given birth to twins.
The letter finally arrived at the house as anticipated. Upon the receival of the letter, the landlord dispatched Baba Ibeji through a colleague who lived nearby. Baba Ibeji was glad to visit the people of Okesuna, especially the people who lived at Lewis.
Also Read CHAPTER FIVE Little Beginnings
The Togolese food vendor on the street packed beans for his wife and the twins. The beans prepared by the Togolese, popularly called agoyin, were worth traveling with even to a distant place. Agoyin beans are always appreciated, especially when they are made for twins.
The letter was received with joy, and they were all relieved to know that Temitope was faring well. Temidun also informed the parents of the letter she received.
‘’I should be the proudest among you.’’ Temidun firmly said this to Iya Ibeji. Without waiting for approval, Iya Ibeji replied to her with a proverb. ‘’When a child is good, it is the father’s. But when the child turns wayward, it is the mother’s.’’ ‘’If you are claiming to be proud of her, what should her father say?’’ Iya Ibeji said.
‘’This is only a sign that all will be well,’’ Temidun further replied.
While the discussion was going on, Baba Ibeji remained quiet but kept reassuring himself that the child deserved the very attention she was receiving from them.
He was very convinced that the name given to his daughter was never a mistake. After all, our elders would say, ‘’Ile la n wo ki a to so omo loruko.”
By the time the letter was to be replied to, he had made sure Temitope’s oriki was included. This elated father made sure he included his expectations as a father and how the people of Okesuna anticipated her return. Taiye read the letter to everyone over and over again until Iya Ibeji insisted they take it to the post office early.
The house they had moved into was a duplex with extra quarters. Since there were enough rooms for the family and some unoccupied rooms, Baba Ibeji decided to rent some of the rooms out.
Iya Ibeji succumbed to his idea after much persuasion from him. Since Surulere was booming with businesses, anyone given the opportunity to share an apartment in the newly constructed house would consider it a rare opportunity.
Iya Ibeji did the task of interviewing prospective tenants, while Baba Ibeji, like the security personnel he truly was, nodded his head to his wife’s questions. Due care was needed, especially because it was a new house.
No matter how strict his wife intended to be, it was never a match for their Okesuna’s landlord. The man had once asked them if they had the intention of stealing his house someday.
A student from the University of Lagos was the first to indicate interest, but Iya Ibeji dismissed the offer with the cogent reason that the student might lure her husband into doing what he never intended to do.
‘’I only asked an innocent question,’’ she told Temidun. A question of ‘’do you have any intent on snatching my husband?” ‘Her response wasn’t a convincing one, so I rejected her,’’ Iya Ibeji explained after bursting into a long laugh.
‘’This really means a lot to me,’’ she explained. ‘’Never in my life would I have thought of owning a house, not to mention having a tenant.’’
The next person who came to inquire about the apartment was a single, smart-looking banker and a mother of one. Her appearance alone threw Iya Ibeji off her feet, and she hurriedly concluded that accepting her was not good enough for her husband as well.
Finally, they got a man whom the family thought was the best choice they could ever make. A tall and handsome man in his early forties with two daughters also came to inquire. The wife, according to him, was late, and being a widower, he is saddled with the responsibility of raising two girls alone.
‘’What a father!’’ they concluded. They gladly welcomed the man and his children to the apartment.
