Samba Lives with Mr. And Mrs. Williams

Chapter 13: Samba Lives With Mr. and Mrs. Williams

When Samba stepped into Mr. Williams' living room, she admired the beauty of the house and felt grateful for her new job.

"Thank God for this new job. From today, I will become a salary earner," she thought, feeling happy.

Mr. Williams asked her name again.

"My name is Samba," she replied.

He then inquired if she had been informed about her pay.

"No, sir, I haven't been informed."

He explained that if she worked hard, she would earn 100,000 at the end of the year.

"Okay, sir, I will make sure to work hard," she said.

"Follow me; let me show you the room where you will be sleeping."

He showed her to the room designated for her.

The Williams' house was a four-bedroom flat: one room was for Mr. and Mrs. Williams, another for their sons, another for their daughters, and the last room was for Samba.

After the tour, Mr. Williams informed Samba that he would be leaving and that she should introduce herself to the children when they returned from school.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Mrs. Williams left her shop in her white Toyota Corolla to pick up her children from school. When she got home, she found Samba sitting on a single chair in the living room.

Seeing her, Samba knelt down to greet Mrs. Williams as a sign of respect.

Mrs. Williams had already been informed about Samba's arrival and welcomed her warmly.

"My husband has already informed me about you," she said. "There isn't much work today, just cooking. Do you know how to cook? What kinds of food can you prepare?"

Samba listed the dishes she could confidently make: rice, beans, yam, semolina, wheat, and pounded yam.

Mrs. Williams led her to the kitchen, showed her where everything was, and instructed her on the amount of rice to cook for herself and the children. Samba followed the instructions diligently.

Later that evening, Mrs. Williams returned from work and asked Samba to prepare wheat for supper. As they cooked together, Mr. Williams entered and found his children in the sitting room.

"Has your mum arrived back from her shop?" he asked.

His elder son replied, "Yes, she's back. She's in the kitchen with the new girl," referring to Samba.

Mr. Williams went to the kitchen and greeted his wife and Samba.

"Welcome, my dear. How was work?" asked Mrs. Williams.

"I thank God," he replied.

"Welcome, sir," Samba greeted him respectfully.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

"Fine, sir," she responded.

Mr. Williams informed Samba that her mother had called him earlier and said she would bring her remaining belongings the following day.

After their conversation, Mr. Williams went to his room to change and relax while Samba and Mrs. Williams continued cooking.

Eager to make a good impression, Samba was determined to prove her worth in her new position.

On the second day of her new job, Samba was tasked with sweeping the floors, mopping, cooking for the family, and bathing the two younger children.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams had three children: Ada and Chinere, their daughters, and Chika, their son. Ada was in primary 1, Chinere was in primary 3, and Chika was in JSS1.

After the children left for school with Mr. Williams and Mrs. Williams went to work, Samba was left alone at home.

Around 2 o'clock in the afternoon, Samba heard a knock on the door. Recognizing Mrs. Laughter's voice, she eagerly opened the door and was delighted to see her with a small bag containing her clothes.

As they sat in the living room, Mrs. Laughter asked about Samba's new employers and advised her to be hardworking and faithful to them. She also inquired about her salary and reminded Samba to spend it wisely when she received her annual payment of 100,000.

Before leaving, Mrs. Laughter called Mr. Williams to inform him of her visit and that she would soon depart to attend to her customers.

Mr. Williams mentioned that he would be home by 4:30. Mrs. Laughter asked Samba to pass along her greetings to Mr. and Mrs. Williams and then left.

Samba returned to her duties, feeling fortunate to have found a new job and grateful for Mrs. Laughter's support and advice.

As she settled into her new home, Samba was determined to make the most of her new opportunities and live up to the expectations of her employers.

A month after Samba's arrival, she was asked to wash all the clothes and clean the entire house.

Samba began by sweeping and mopping the floors. Mrs. Williams didn't leave all the work to her alone; she assisted with the cooking.

After Samba finished cleaning, she felt tired. Mrs. Williams, noticing her exhaustion, asked her to eat and rest before starting the laundry.

Samba went to her bedroom to rest and fell asleep.

She woke up around 11:00 AM. Mr. and Mrs. Williams had gone to work, and the children were at school.

Samba went to the living room and said, "Thank God I'm okay now. If it were my stepmother who asked me to do all this housework, she wouldn't have let me rest or help me with any of it.

"Thank God for giving me the opportunity to escape from her and bringing me here. I will go wash the clothes now," she said to herself, and gathered all the clothes to take to the well.

She then went to buy laundry detergent with the money Mrs. Williams had given her.

While washing the clothes, she discovered $500 in one of Mr. Williams' trousers.

Samba kept the money in her room, intending to return it later, and went back to continue her duties.

After finishing the laundry, she went to rest in the living room. As she was resting, a stranger with a gun knocked on the door.