Page 81 of Cursed Daughters
“I am not following. What is it about Z that you have a problem with?”
“It isn’t personal…”
“No. There’s something you aren’t telling me. You freaked out when you saw him.”
“That’s a gross exaggeration. I…I was just tired.”
“?` p?`l?´,” Eniiyi said drily. There was something else at play here. She should have followed her instincts and kept Zubby away from her family for as long as humanly possible.
“There are other guys out there, Eniiyi.”
“I like the one I’ve got.”
“You’ve barely…I don’t even think you have dated before. It’s too soon for you to zero in on anyone…”
“That’s too bad, because I have zeroed in.”
They stared at one another. Her mother hissed, “I thought I taught you better than to surrender yourself to any man. Despite what you may think, he is not perfect.”
Eniiyi stood up. “Mum, if you are not going to say what is really bothering you, then I don’t know what you want me to do. But I am not breaking up with Zubby because you think I should play the field.”
“You’d…you’d be better off with a Yoruba guy, Eniiyi. You don’t know anything about the Igbo culture; you don’t understand the language…”
Eniiyi shook her head. “No. That can’t be it. You knew he was Igbo as soon as I told you his name. That’s not what surprised you just now.”
“I…I know a bit about his family, and it is best you steer clear of them.”
“What about his family?”
“They are not good people.”
“Because…?”
“I need you to trust me, Eniiyi. I am your mother.” Ebun reached out to her with her hand, but Eniiyi stepped away from her. She felt hot and irritable. Her mother was doing what she always did, hiding things, never being forthright, and Eniiyi wanted to shake her till all her little secrets fell loose.
“I want you to promise me you’ll stop seeing him.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“No. He is mine and I am his.”
Her mother drew in a sharp breath. “That sounds like something…”
“Like something what?” Her mother didn’t respond. She looked away, and Eniiyi knew exactly what she had left unsaid. “Like something Aunt Monife would say?”
Still no response. Eniiyi walked out.
VI
They were lying on his bed together, the low sun slanting through the window. She propped herself up on her elbow.
“Do you know how much I love you?”
“How much?”
“So much that if I had my way, I’d peel off your skin and wear it, just to be close to you.”
