Good

Lanre’s spoon dropped immediately she heard what her mom said. “Maami!” She yelled.

“What? Your friend is in Lagos and you refused to bring her to your new place”. Mrs. Olayinka said. She eyes Lanre disapprovingly and tells her that she should send the house address to Ify so Ify could find her way to the house later that evening. Lanre immediately stood up from her chair.

“I should get ready for work now. I’m yet to take my bath, and I’m late already”. Lanre said. The eyes her mother gave her at that instant made her sit back down.

“African mother’s and their belief that they control their children till death, huh!” Lanre said in her head.

Mrs. Olayinka told Lanre she was not going to work because she was yet to get better. And she should forget about her work for the rest of the week. At least two days of not going will not kill you. Or don’t you have workers?” The mother asked.

Lanre forced a smile at her mother after telling her she would stay at home. And because her mother would not let her be, she ended up texting her address to Ify. It was something she hated doing. But she had to do it to please her mother.

“What a good day to act Ify. You better have enough acting skills as well because this woman wants to still believe we are good friends”. Lanre muttered as she went into her room. She vowed not to come out through out that day. But there was no way she could do that.

Lanre’s mother had kept her word. She prepared herbs for Lanre to treat her. “This one is for headache, this one is to drive cold away and to stop the pain in your chest. Then this one will make you fat, girls take after their mother’s not their father. You even look slimmer than your father”. Mrs. Olayinka had said to Lanre.

Lanre asked her mother for the names of the herbs she used. Her mom hits her head. Lanre wondered if the woman forgot she was suffering from headache.

“Ouch! Mama I’m not a kid anymore na. Why are you still beating me?” Lanre said. The mother told her to shut up and drink the medicines she had prepared for her. Lanre frowned as she took the medicine her mother had poured inside a cup and gulped them all down her throat.

“O dara!” The mother said to her which is “good”. Lanre forced a smile on her lips trying to hide how much yelling was in her mouth because of the bitter taste. She dared not squeeze her face in front of her mom lest she will get scolded for acting like a child that can’t take bitter things. She felt mother’s were controversial. Sometimes they make you think they hate you or they do not care. But whatsoever they do, it is because they care. Even if it turns out bad, it is always with a good motive.