My parents never married. I am a product of a fling they never knew would result into a human being. My paternal grandma raised me. When my maternal grandma threw my mother out for getting pregnant just out of secondary school. My father was in his third year at the university. Like they say in Africa, no child is a bastard. I turned out to be the only son my father also has.
So let’s talk about my father.
I had no idea he was my father until I turned 15 or so. I thought he was an uncle…you know, I said I grew up with his mum. He was mostly at the university when I born and when I became old enough to know anything, he was first in Ghana for a while, then moved to the US for further studies. By the time he went abroad, he wasn’t so much of a regular feature. He wasn’t interested in me. I wasn’t keen on him until my grandma, whom I had called Maami for years, meaning my mother, as that is what her children called her, told me my father, “Broda Timo,” was my father.
Well, it was a difficult period for me because, I mean, I reflected back to find when he had shown me something special by way of care, love as I grew up. I tired to locate when he had done something to me to make me feel that, maybe he cared for me a little more than the rest of our family…I couldn’t find any.
When I had an opportunity to mail him, asking why he never told me I was his son, why he never even told me he loved me or that he would do something for me…as a father, he replied, that he didn’t know my mother was pregnant and he wasn’t ready to be a father.
…but that was then, now, why won’t you do something, say something to let me know you care for me, I am your child your son?
Anyway. I resolved to let him be. I am glad Maami loves me to bits and would always be my mother and father and grandparents.
As for my real mother, she is long gone. I was told that when I turned six months, she went to “see her friend” and never returned for me.
I do not mourn her.
When I finished uni, I told Maami I would like to go live with my father abroad. At this time, the relationship between my father and I hadn’t improved much. He was a ticket I used out of naija and I was going to use him.
All papers done, he agreed for me to come do my masters and from there…
I moved over and spent most of my time away from him, meeting new people and generally living my life. A few years after, he got married.
Now, you wonder why he never got married or had children.
He was odd!
He was always about his work…
Finally one small Asian lady got pregnant and said he was he father. He married her. I didn’t show up for their wedding.
He married someone way younger than him. That’s his business. He was doing pretty well being in IT so after they had their first daughter, he bought a huge five bedroom in the subs and I think they may have been happy because less than one year after, Maami informed me a second baby was on the way.
Like I said, Uncle Timo, I still called him uncle, I can’t bring myself to call him dad, was just odd. His wife soon found out he preferred to be working than be at home with her and the kids.
Then Covid happened, I lost my job.
Almost a year later, I lost my home, as well…things were tough.
That’s how come Maami, who was in the know of happenings in my life spoke to Uncle Timo to take me in, until at least I was able to find my feet again.
I moved into his five bedroom home…at that time his wife had just had third daughter.
Mia, as we called her had somehow determine I was going to be the father of her next child because I do not understand her fixation on me.
Uncle Timo like I said is a workaholic. Half the time, I have no idea where he is at. I was in the kitchen one day when his wife, Mia came in. Went on to complain about her husband neglecting her. She was tired. The children were a handful. She was taking things from the refrigerator, showing so much skin, leaning over with her boobs dangling in my face…
My first thought was, “Egbami, ki lele yi, o”!
I offered to help babysit. After all, these were my little sisters. I thought, maybe she thought seducing me would get me to help her with the kids. But she didn’t need to. I loved the girls.
Like we say in naija, that’s how we started o. For the sake of my half siblings, certain info must be kept hidden.
I would baby sit and she would come and sit with me in flimsy wear. You know, at first, I thought she wanted to go see her friends, maybe family…I didn’t mind watching the girls. But madam would be parading up and down in front of me and her daughters. She knew I was her husband’s son, so I really didn’t understand at first what her motive was. Then she became more brazen…more in my face, like what is wrong with you black man…
Then she asked me if I found her attractive. I said, “yes, you are,” she said, “why your fxxkin daddy no fxxking find me attractive? Three times he fxxking banged me three times, I have children…”
This is too much info, please
Mia is attractive. She has a small waist, you know, many Asian women are like that.
She is pretty enough, she had huge breasts and I must have been staring at it a lot because one day, asked me if I wanted to taste her breast milk?
I admit I was curious enough to know what it tasted like.
I smiled and before I knew what was going on, I was tasting breast milk…warm milk…
It soon became “our thing”…right under Uncle Timo’s nose. We would kiss, rub against one another but I never had the guts to carry it through!
I knew it would only become a matter of time before we moved dangerous play to fire. There was a growing familiarity between us and while I didn’t care two bits about Uncle Timo, I felt Maami would curse me if she found out…this kind of thing have ways of rearing their ugly heads.
see, if iI had began to have sex with that woman, everyday of the three months I spent with them, Uncle Timo and his big head would never know! So one day, just before Easter, I moved out of their home. My father’s wife would stray…e dey her eyes but let it not be with me.
(Series written and edited by Peju Akande and based on true stories)