Page 103 of Cursed Daughters
It was as if the old house itself mourned. Every time she left her bedroom, she heard whispers in the corners of the rooms. What else could it be but the voices of all the women who had grieved here? And who could explain how cold and wet the house felt, even though the sun blazed above them, or how quiet it was, though they should have been able to make out the sounds of traffic from the next street?
She expected that her mother would tell her she needed to get up and be practical, she craved it even; but Ebun did not remark on her behaviour at all. In the evening, she knocked on Eniiyi’s door and asked her if she would eat.
“I am not really hungry.”
“Well, the dog has to eat. So come down anyway.”
She looked at Sango. She had lifted him onto the bed—it had been ten years since he had had the strength to jump on—and he had stayed with her all this time, even though he hadn’t eaten allday.
Grandma East did not come down for dinner. Ebun explainedthat the sisters would stay locked in the room together overnight whilst Grandma East cleansed her older sister’s body. Eniiyi could not think of anything more traumatic.
“Shouldn’t…umm…wouldn’t the…mortician do that?”
Ebun put another piece of meat in her mouth and did not respond.
Her uncle Tolu showed up as they were clearing away the dishes. He didn’t say anything, but his lips were tight. Aunt Ashley was behind him, her eyes red and puffy. She hugged Eniiyi and then Ebun. Ebun gave her a stiff pat on the back.
“I can’t believe this,” Ashley said over and over.
“Where is she?” Tolu asked.
“Still in her room. Mummy is with her. She plans to bathe her.”
“What? Why? I didn’t give my permission for that!”
Ebun rubbed her forehead with her fingers. She looked weary. “Tolu, I don’t think she needs your permission.”
He walked off towards the west wing, and Ashley began to follow him. Ebun grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop.
“Help him keep his cool, Ashley, because I swear to God if he rattles my mother today, I will make him regret it.”
Ashley’s eyes were wide, but she simply nodded. When Ebun released her arm, Eniiyi could see the imprint on Ashley’s fair skin. She thought her mother might say something, apologise, but Ashley was already walking down the corridor.
VI
The next day, the Falodun house was full to the brim with well-wishers. She hadn’t seen her mother or grandmother make a single call, and yet mourner after mourner showed up at the door. She had known family members would come and pay their respects, but she hadn’t thought of the teachers, the parents, the students who had had their lives touched by Grandma West. And she was moved when Funsho, Kunle and Tobias showed up to express their condolences. There were many mourners, and they left her with little room to hide away and grieve herself. Whilst her grand-aunt’s body remained in an air-conditioned room, Eniiyi ran from one end of the house to the other, trying to serve food and keep drinks topped up, whilst tolerating questions and comments about her shaved head. Ordinarily she would have hated this kind of intrusion, but this time she considered it all a welcome distraction.
They divided the tasks up between them. Ebun greeted the guests at the door. As the youngest, Eniiyi was responsible for making sure everyone was comfortable. Ashley was given the task of holding on to money given by the guests or anything else that they might show up with.
Some came empty-handed, offering long, complicated prayers, reminding them that they should not mourn because Grandma West had lived a long life. Others arrived with trays of food so the remaining inhabitants did not have to worry about cooking, and some came with baskets of fruit. One such guest was the famed Mama G, who was carrying a foiled tray as well as two enormous pendulous breasts. She was across the room greeting Ebun, who didnot look pleased that she had shown up but was too polite to turn the old woman away. Eniiyi wondered who had invited her. She certainly seemed familiar with their home; she was loudly noting the changes that had taken place over the years.
Eniiyi was pleased to see Osagie come into the kitchen with two trays of jollof rice and chicken. He handed them over to her.
“This is a lot of food.”
“Thank God jollof keeps,” he replied.
“Right.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Eniiyi. I know how close you were to your grand-aunt.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you need any help?” He unbuttoned his cuffs and rolled his sleeves up, revealing chocolate forearms, marbled with white. “I am at your service.”
Eniiyi couldn’t tear her eyes away from his arms. She was going to ask him about them when Mama G walked in. She heard the old woman gasp and braced herself.
“Blood of Jesus! Monife?”
