Chapter 13

Several weeks had passed after the major misunderstanding which was caused by no one other than Mama.

Mama suddenly reduced the way she visited Fikayo and his wife and they hardly saw her like before. When they did visit her or she did, she never even paid any attention to Ifeoma. She ignored her totally as if expecting that to make her unhappy or something but then Ifeoma was just so thrilled about the new changes, to her, it was very better for mama to ignore her than make her life a living hell.

She was enjoying the new freedom and happiness until her husband announced a news that sounded like a death sentence to her one night.

"The heavy rain and storm that the news carried also happened in Mama's area, it was so bad and destructive. Many houses collapsed and roofs were removed by the storm." Fikayo started.

"Oh really! Only God can save us from this rainy season. It's too much, I hope no lives were lost?" Ifeoma replied, although she was still focused on her iPhone.

"No, but there were minor injuries. So the thing is that Mama's roof was also removed in that storm, and a part of the house collapsed too."

"Wow! What the... How did that happen? Is she okay though?" She asked sincerely worried.

"Yes, she is. Thankfully, she wasn't in the house at the moment when it happened, she was at her friend's place then only for her to come back to meet all her properties destroyed by the rain. She was so sad when I went to see her this evening." Fikayo explained further.

"Oh my God. I can imagine how she feels. You should really get an apartment for her to stay for a while before you finish the reconstruction."

"Yes, that's the thing. She's going to stay with a friend for a couple of days and I'm thinking of bringing her to this house to stay with us till we get hers back."

"Which house?" Ifeoma asked now focusing all her attention on her husband.

"This house, baby. I ought to bring her this evening but I just didn't because I wanted to talk to you about it first."

"You want to bring mama into our house to live with us? The same mama I know? Are you even listening to yourself? She is not even living with us and she's causing chaos among both of us, what's to say that when she now moves in, she won't even kill me."

Ifeoma raises her voice as she stood up.

"Calm down baby. I told you she'll change and she did, didn't you see the difference these few weeks?"

"What difference? She ignores me and my existence! She doesn't allow me to touch her, doesn't respond to my greetings and refuses to eat anything I cook. Not that I'm complaining or anything, I actually like it that way than her terrorizing me but is that what you call change? Fikayo, your mother can't stay with us, she just can't!" Ifeoma refuses.

"Aren't you been so insensitive and unnecessarily wicked right now? Am I supposed to just let my mom suffer? What do you think people will say? Her house is not in a good condition right now and her only son couldn't take her in for a while! It's not even forever." Fikayo explained trying to knock some sense into his wife Who isn't even seeing his point.

"It sounds like forever to me if you don't know! Like a very long forever. And she's not suffering, stop putting it that way. All you have to do is just get her an apartment for a while, this isn't even a big deal."

"She can't stay in an apartment when she has her son nearby, she's not even feeling too well to stay alone. Oma dear, can't you just see my point? Please." He pleaded when he saw that reasoning with her is not helping.

"It won't work o! It won't! Mama staying with us won't work. I don't care how people see it, were they blind when she's terrorizing me? People choose to see what they want to see!"

Fed up with her adamant responses, Fikayo raises his voice at her, "Shut up, Oma! Just shut it! My mother will come into this house and you will cohabit with her whether you like it or not! Put yourself in her shoes and stop been unreasonable!"

"Did you just raise your voice at me? See ehn! If you choose not to listen to me, this house will become hot for you to live in! I promise!" Ifeoma said as she put on her slippers and walked out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Her husband shouted after her.

"Somewhere that has sanity!!"