My parents are in their late 60s; they have been together for more than 50 years and to the best of my knowledge, have always been very close.
My siblings and I, over the years always said, ‘If you don’t want daddy to know about something, don’t tell mummy; if you don’t want mummy to hear about a matter, don’t let daddy near it.”
https://youtu.be/UJlHChp9XNUThey are that close. And it’s not like they didn’t have their issues, they did, still do quarrel but, even when they quarreled; mum would cook and wait for dad to show up before she ate. They may not have been on speaking terms but they would wait for one another to eat before going to bed together, you know that sort of thing?
Sometime ago, I had course to go spend some time with both of them; I was doing this training on the island and commuting from my house in Ojodu to the training school was proving difficult.
I always got to class very late, so I decided to move to go stay with my parents, who live in Surulere; it would be easier getting to the island from Surulere than from Ojodu.
Over one weekend, my parents received a female visitor; the woman would be in her mid to late forties. She was pretty and you could say somewhat sexy; nice makeup, nice hair, painted nails…you know, the whole works.
When she came, my mother greeted her and got up to leave, before she did, she pulled me up to follow her. I didn’t understand what that meant. We went into my room and there I asked my mum, “Who is that woman?”
My mother said, “she is a friend.”
“A friend? A friend of yours? Or a friend of Daddy’s? Why did you leave the sitting room? Why did you leave her alone with dad?”
She made some excuses and switched the topic to some other discussion. My mother’s response was weird. She kept trying to engage me in some other convo but I kept asking her about the lady. I got no satisfactory answers and my mother just got up to go downstairs.
I was already very curious about the mysterious woman. I snuck back into the sitting room and found my father in an uncompromising position with the woman; his arms were draped around her and it was as if he had just kissed her!
Ewo! Taboo! In this house! With my mother just a few meters away? Was my dad having an affair with this lady? I was shocked and even angry; I coughed, so they could know I had seen them.
My father disengaged himself from the woman and pretended like nothing had happened. A few hours later, my mother still didn’t show up at the sitting room, by now, it was quite obvious to me her absence was deliberate. The strange lady left and I confronted my father.
“Who is that woman, really? What is she doing here?”
My father didn’t answer me, he just looked at me for a long time, like he was going to say something but decided against it. He went into his room.
The following day, after service, the lady was at our house again; and again, my mother left my father and her alone in the sitting room; she asked me to follow her out.
Out of respect for my parents, I got up.
After a few minutes, I heard my father and the lady get up.
I was beyond shock! What’s going on!
I went downstairs to my mother who was busy playing the ostrich, “Your house is on fire and you are acting as if a Jehovah’s witness is the one with your husband upstairs.” My mother did not answer me, she just said I should leave things the way they were.
I stormed back upstairs to confront my father, he wasn’t in the sitting room, neither was the lady, my heart was pounding as I tried not to think of what was going on. If they weren’t in the sitting room, they were definitely in the bedroom because I knew the only other place would be that place.
What were they doing with my mother just a few meters away…I was going to tell my father my mind when I barged into their room…
Lo and behold, there was my 60 plus year old father, romping with the lady; the sheets had fallen off and my father’s buttocks were in the air!
Where I come from, this is an abomination! But one cannot unsee what the eyes have seen. Till today, I wish that I could unsee the sight I saw that day.
I couldn’t shout, I just retreated and shut the door and went downstairs where my mother had earlier begged me to stay before.
My mother knew I had seen a sight I shouldn’t have seen, she shook her head and said to me; “Now your eyes have seen what you should never have seen, are you happy now?”
When did I become the victim?
What was wrong with my parents?
What on earth is going on with these people?
Are they for real? Have they been taken over by some aliens from some cosmic realm?
It didn’t make sense. I was now the intruder; I was now the one they are angry with! I had decided to leave their house; I couldn’t continue to see this madness going on.
I was going to inform the rest of our family; maybe I was not the one who was mad after all. If my parents refused to talk to me, maybe they would talk to the other members of our family, my siblings for one and my uncles and aunties. That’s how I left them.
Right now, I haven’t spoken to them in weeks since the lockdown.
Truth is what will I even say to them?
(series written and edited by Peju Akande and based on true stories)