Out the window, the sky was pitch-black except for a few twinkling stars. The security lights that defined the homes in the valley were in full glow. Okem was seated silently when I got into the living room. Ifedi was standing near the door, and my grandmother was looking rather agitated, bobbing her leg, and sighing at intervals as she asked a barrage of questions: “Okem, where have you been? Why did you run away? Were you that angry with us?”
“Something was happening in my head. I just needed to get away,” Okem responded.
“Something that bad?”
As I got closer, the room seemed to be getting smaller, about to crush me. I collapsed into a chair and reminded myself to breathe.
“I was just briefing Mama,” Okem said.
“Ona, your face,” Ifedi shrieked. “I didn’t notice how bad it was earlier.”
“Let me see,” my grandmother said, edging her seat closer to mine.
“Heavenly Father!” she screamed. “What happened to you?”
I was hoping she wouldn’t notice my face in the dimly lit room. Now that Ifedi had called her attention to it, I would have to go into more detail than I needed to. But all I wanted to do was retire for the night.
“I can’t believe you allowed things to get to this point,” my grandmother continued, glaring at me. “Albert is your fiancé. What were you doing in that hotel room with Okem, and why are you not by Albert’s side?”
“Grandma. Hasn’t Okem told you?”
“Told me what?”
“I was just about to tell her the whole story before you came in,” Okem said.
“Okay. I’m listening,” my grandmother sighed, pausing halfway to grab the hem of her wrapper. “What you’re about to tell me had better explain this mess or someone will pay. Ifedi, thank you so much for everything. You can go to bed now. Close that door behind you. I’ll turn off the lights when we’re done.”
“Okay Ma, goodnight.”
“Okay, my dear. Do you know Ifedi has been running around the whole city trying to find out where you were, Ona?” my grandmother said, turning abruptly to face me after Ifedi had left. “First, she ran to the hotel, then to the police station and then to the hospital where she was refused entry because a crowd had gathered there. Albert was taken to the same hospital and the masses had kept a vigil for him. I was about to run there myself before a nurse at the hospital called me to confirm that you had been discharged and were on your way home. Have you seen the kind of trouble you put me through?”
“I’m sorry Grandma.”
“Ngwa, okay, begin. Tell me what happened.”
I had never seen my grandmother so angry. I believed her threats, so I garnered the last ounce of strength in me to remain there. Okem and I took turns and explained everything to her. We started from Albert’s initial assault and all the things that happened afterwards and ended with the incident at the hotel. Next, we told her Okem’s story, starting from when Okem was exchanged at birth until his return. We carefully left out Luenah. My grandmother was already in so much shock. Luenah would have tipped the scale. As I spoke, she grabbed hold of me and pulled me close.
“I thought Albert was going to kill me,” I concluded, holding her shoulders to calm her down.
“God forbid.” She said, snapping her fingers before she placed both hands on her head and crashed to the floor. “Chai! Uwammebioo, this world is coming to an end.”
I took her hand and pleaded with her to get up. She finally budged and sat on the chair.
“What do we do now?” she said, looking at Okem.
“Certain moves will need to be made to right old wrongs, but until we’ve concluded the steps I need to carry out with the kingmakers, we cannot breathe a word about this to anybody.”
“No problem,” she said, hissing and shaking her head. “I’m too tired. I need to go to bed.”
“Okay, Ma,” Okem replied and helped her upstairs to her bedroom. On the way, he consoled her and wiped her tears.
“Ona, I’m so sorry,” Okem said after he returned to the parlor.
“Why?”
“I feel responsible for all this pain.”
“You’re not to blame, Okem. Albert is responsible for this evening.”
“I don’t know.”
“Okem, I’m so scared.”
“There’s no need to be scared,” he assured me, reaching out for a hug.
“We could have died tonight. Our lives could have ended.”
“Let me take you to your room. You need your rest.”
* * *
Safely in my room, I sat on the bed, and Okem walked to the balcony. He spread a mat on the floor and invited me to lie beside him. The light outside had since disappeared, so we lay down silently, gazing at the star-lit sky.
“This reminds me of those days we used to sleep out here on hot evenings,” Okem said to break the silence. “Those were the good old days.”
“Before my grandma thought it was dangerous for us to be so close to each other.”
He laughed.
I turned to look at his face. His silhouette and the mere fact that he was right there caused my heart to skip a beat. He turned and smiled before grabbing my chin and kissing me tenderly on the lips.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too.”
We lay face to face in the dark, listening to the sound of each other’s breathing and taking in each aspect as though the world could end right then.
“Do you think your grandmother will be okay?” Okem asked after a while.
“She will be,” I said, after pondering for a second. She’s been the head of this family for a while, so she knows how to handle tough situations.”
“I hope she understands that
