C H A P T E R S E V E N T E E N
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"So this is it, huh, kid? You're going to fuck off to Nigeria for six entire weeks and leave me here, all by myself. Is this some form of revenge for last summer?" Anika said as she handed Normani's black tote bag to her.

"You're so fucking dramatic," Normani said, "you're going to be in Texas for four weeks with your girlfriend. You're doing the exact same thing I'm doing, I'm just going to another country."

"Yeah, a country that's like thousands of miles away with a six hour time difference. Had I known how much my actions would've upset you, I wouldn't have gone."

Normani gave her best friend a pointed look.

"Okay, maybe I would've left for like, two weeks."

"I'm going to miss you too," Normani said with a wistful smile.

They stood at the doorway of their apartment. Keith would be arriving in the Uber he'd ordered for them at any minute.

She stood ready and dressed, her luggage and ticket in tow. It was barely past 03:00, three hours before the flight to Abuja was set to take off.

The entire city was still bathed in complete darkness without even a hint of the rising sun.

Anika had woken up especially early to see her best friend off. Faye had already said her goodbyes the previous night as the girls had had dinner with wine in the apartment.

Normani was dressed for the fifteen hour flight: comfortable leggings, a loose shirt and sweater with loose pumps.

Her twenty-four inch lace-frontal wig was tied up into a sleek pony-tail, hidden under a black Addidas cap.

Keith was due to arrive at any moment in the Uber he'd ordered for the both of them to drive to the airport to.

"Has it kicked in yet?" Anika asked her friend with a knowing look in her eyes and the tenderest of smiles.

Normani shook her head in the negative.

"You have no idea how much I'm going to fucking miss you."

"Not as half as I'll miss you and my parents and the U.S."

"You need to text me every day okay? And at least schedule in a video call once a week, please?"

"I will," Normani said just as she saw the Uber pull up near her staircase.

"I have to go," she said and turned back to look at Anika.

Her best friend embraced her in a tight hug, wrapping her arms around Normani's waist and held on with a vice-like grip.

"And please, for the love of God, don't decide you like it there more and then choose to never come back. I wouldn't forgive you for it. You'd have to find someone else as your Maid of Honour."

Normani chuckled, a soft airy sound that was meant for Anika only.

"Noted."

"Okay, now go show those Nigerians how it's really done," Anika said through the sheen of salt water in her eyes. Normani saw how hard her friend fought at the tears.

"I love you so much," Normani said.

"Yeah, I can't really stand you," Anika said as the first tears ran down her face and her voice wobbled with the loaded emotion.

Normani leaned a bit closer to kiss her friend's cheek.

"Take care," she said. With one last smile she galloped down the stairs to face an expectant Uber driver who was ready to take her luggage.

Normani slipped into the back seat, where Keith was already seated. He was dressed in a similar fashion to hers: sweatpants and a tee shirt.

He'd allowed his two-day stubble to blossom on his face and Normani decided she quite liked it.

"Good Morning My Most Exceedingly Beautiful Woman."

Even after all this time, the words still sent a rush of heat to the small of her back and she couldn't help but lean over to her side to catch his lips in a chaste kiss.

"Hi," she said.

After another faux argument about who got the aux cable, (surprise, surprise, it was Normani) they spent the rest of the trip in a comfortable silence.

Normani had her head laid on her boyfriend's chest and drew patterns on his shirt with her index finger while he played with the hem of her sweater sleeve, rubbing over her arms in slow, gentle circles.

×

After a long and tedious procedure, Keith and Normani were finally seated on the plane and there were a few minutes left until take-off.

It was only when the automated emergency plan video began to play that Normani grabbed Keith's hand and faced him, her eyes alert and bright.

"It's finally hit me," she said, "wow, I'm actually going to Nigeria," she said.

"How are you feeling?"

"In a few hours, I'm going to be thousands of miles away from the only place I've ever known as home. I'm going to have to assimilate into the culture and ensure that I'm likeable to your family too, wow, goodness," Normani said hurriedly.

She took a deep breath and fanned herself, the severity of the situation hit her square in the chest and she felt chest cramp up with all the overwhelming nerves within.

"Hey, he baby, there's no need to get yourself worked up over this, ehn. You're the bravest girl I know. You left your family behind in Houston and you went all the way to New York all by yourself and you've managed to flourish there despite the terrible isolation you felt in your first year there.
As for assimilation, you started learning how to speak Yoruba long before we arranged to go on this trip and you speak it quite well. You know it's impossible for anyone to dislike you.
My family will love you, I especially know my little sister will. My brother will be enamoured of you, too. My parents have always wanted me to end up with a Christian girl with strong morals, one who is smart and respectful and you are all those things and more, Awelewa. Now stop with all this panic now, ehn."

He wrapped an arm around her torso and pulled her into a tight hug. It worked like a balm to her nerves and she instantly calmed down and breathed out against his chest.

"Thank you," she said.

"I love you," he replied and kissed her temple.

×

By the time the plane made its one pit stop in Accra, Ghana they were a little to halfway through the trip with six and half hours covered of their fifteen and a quarter.

Keith had fallen asleep during the time that the plane had flown over the Atlantic and remained fast asleep during the hour pit stop in Ghana.

Normani had only slept for a few hours, but had mostly kept herself entertained with the wide array of entertainment the plane provided on the little screens each passenger had.

She'd watched Two Broke Girls and Everybody Loves Raymond and had watched a few new movies she hadn't had the opportunity to watch back home and re-listened to Alicia Keys's "Girl on Fire" and "Here" albums at least fifty times.

Keith only woke when there were two hours left into the trip. Only then had the pull of exhaustion won over Normani and she'd dozed against his shoulders until the last possible minute, when the announcement for the preparation of the landing came through the intercom.

The plane finally descended from the sky and Normani watched as the land below them gained clarity and was no longer a morph of green and brown.

Tall, cemented buildings, tarred roads and slate-roofed houses came into view and at last, the sight of the international airport in the Abuja sun was the last thing Normani saw before the plane touched down on the ramp and after a full five minutes, it came to a halt.

The landing procedure was only half as tedious as the boarding one back in New York and Normani was relieved. She felt she'd had enough of airports to last her a few weeks.

It was only past 17:00 when she and Keith walked out into the parking lot and he navigated them towards the taxi that awaited them.

Normani held Keith's hand from the time the taxi left the airport and kept her eyes glued to the window so she could get a glimpse of the life beyond them.

There wasn't much to see except the tarred roads and the cars that drove on it for a while as the taxi manoeuvred through Airport Road.

It was a full forty minutes before the highway made way for the busy Wuse District and she began to see the intricacies of the Nigerian capital.

She marvelled at the buildings and the people she saw milling about, minding their own business and took note of the billboards mounted up above them.

Abuja really was no different from home in its looks but it felt different.

The taxi came to a stop in front of a large white building with a small black gate that barely hid the grandeur of the place.

The driver honked and the gate only opened widely enough for a young man to step through and approach them.

He was dressed in a yellow button up, dark blue trousers and brown sandals, all weary with age and and boasted dark, dark skin and a bold head.

Keith opened his window and waved at the young man.

" Greetings, Kalu," he said.

The young man smiled upon seeing him and bowed, "Master Keith, it is a pleasure to see you."

He scurried back to the gate and opened it manually. The taxi entered the compound and Normani's eyes widened at what she could already see: the compound was paved with brick. Beyond it was a large white structure that boasted a unique shape for it was neither completely rectangular or square.

Thee front exterior of the house melded together from two corners to form a triangle of some sorts, like an ambiguous nose of a ship and two pillars supported an oval arch that jutted out.

The taxi came to a stop and Keith thanked the driver just as the young man, Kalu, came to open the door for him. Keith got out and circled around the car to open the door for Normani while Kalu handled their bags.

"Welcome to the Ikande home, My Beloved."

Upon further inspection, Normani saw that there were trees and shrubs that lined the left wall of the house, near the main entrance.

"I... Wow, this house is beautiful," she said dazedly.

"All this belongs to one family? Wow."

Keith chuckled.

"I've gotten so used to this place that I've forgotten the effect it has on first-time visitors. Come, let's go inside," he said.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and steered her to the front door. Kalu was already ahead of them and he opened the door for them first and then only did he follow with their luggage.

There seemed to be no sign of life in the house but Keith could smell yams from the kitchen and knew that they weren't alone.

"Let's head to the Big Parlour, shall we?" he said to Kalu and the young man nodded and hurried there with their bags.

Keith walked slowly with Normani, with unhurried, relaxed strides. The entire house was painted with an off white paint and boasted of a large open plan set up. Sunlight streamed into all the rooms and bathed everything in a warm glow.

Normani was enchanted and intimidated all at once.

Kalu placed their bags against the right wall of the Big Parlour, a room that boasted expensive-looking couches and large windows that had the most splendid view of a little garden.

"Thank you Kalu," Keith said.

Kalu nodded his head, "you are most welcome, Master Keith."

"Are my parents home?"

"No Sir, they went out but they had Ayoola prepare refreshments for you and your guest. They send their apologies but they've been delayed in their errands."

Kalu spoke with a thick Yoruban accent and it was deeper than Keith's by a long mile.

"Are my siblings here?"

"Only Miss Matilda, Zechariah has just dropped her off from school. Mister Joseph has not returned for the day."

"Please do call her here."

"Yes, Sir," Kalu said and scurried out of the room once more.

Not a minute had passed until the door opened and a human torrent crashed into Keith's body with excited squeals.

"Keiiiiiiiith!" the little human squealed into his chest. Keith chuckled and hugged her back and slowly rocked their bodies to sustain the hug for a little while longer.

She disentangled herself from the embrace and stood to her full height. Only then did Normani see the young girl, a sweet-faced little thing with long legs and burst of thick, coiled black hair, blacker than midnight and clear brown skin.

She wore her school uniform: a short green plaited skirt, long white socks and navy blue blazer to tie it all together. Her eyes were dark and full of life and her lips were curved into a small smile.

"Matilda, this is my girlfriend, Normani. Mani, this is my baby sister, Matilda."

"Oh wow, she's so pretty," Matilda said to her brother and turned her attention to Normani.

"Hi," she said, "I never thought I'd ever see the day where my big brother brings a girl home. You have no idea how glad I am to meet you."

"Wow," Normani said, a little thrown off by the girl's enthusiastic yet genuine expression, "I'm really glad to meet you too, Matilda. I've heard so much about you and it sounds like we're going to get on great."

"Well, I unfortunately did not hear much about you because Keith wanted to keep you a secret for as long as he could, something about surprises and what not, but you seem really nice. I can't wait to get to know you. Keith said you guys will be here all summer right?"

Normani nodded.

"Sweet! We have a full six weeks to get to know each other. It really sucks that my summer break is only six weeks. Other Nigerian kids have close to two months off but I just had to attend a British academy school. I'll make the best of it though because next year is my last year of high school. It's all so terrifying and exciting all at once."

"But you're only fifteen," Normani said, a bewildered look crossed her face.

"Yep, I was in the ninth grade this year. Next year I write my GSC's and then I'm off to do my A Levels."

"Oh, wow, that sounds nice. American kids only finish with school in their eighteenth year."

"Yeah but you guys have twelve weeks of summer vacation so it balances out," Matilda said.

She then turned her attention to Keith, "Zechariah wanted to come and pick you up from the airport but it would've meant that I'd have to wait and Mama and Papa said no... I came straight home after school and waited for you guys."

"I can see that," Keith said with a chuckle, "you've haven't even taken off your uniform and what has Mama said about walking and running all over the house with socks on and no school shoes?"

"Ugh those things are terribly oppressive, especially in this heat. Mama can't even remember what it was like to have to wear school shoes so she doesn't get it. Either way, these socks are so thick and heavy duty that it would take some serious talent to slip in them. Anyway, I must go upstairs and change now that I've seen you, Big Brother and met your gorgeous, gorgeous girlfriend whom I can't wait to get to know. See you all at dinner!"

The girl left as quickly as she had arrived and left behind a bewildered Normani and an amused Keith.

"She certainly is talkative," Normani said, "I didn't think it was humanly possible to say that many sentences in such a short time span?" Normani said.

"It gets a while to get used to but she means well, she's a very friendly little girl with far too many people wrapped around her finger," Keith said with an endeared smile.

"Oh yes, she is certainly very, very friendly. I can't say I was exactly shy at her age but I definitely was not like that. She's right, her and I will have a lot of fun," Normani said with a self-assured smile.

She'd met the first Ikande outside of Keith and it had gone well.

A few minutes passed and the door opened again, this time, another girl came into the room. She wore a plain brown skirt and a black tee shirt and was barefoot.

"I heard you were back," the girl said.

"Ayoola," Keith said with a smile as the girl walked timidly over to them. She got onto both knees and bowed before the two of them, exposing a head-full of old, ratty cornrows, "it is such a pleasure to see you you've both arrived safely."

The girl looked up. She was a contradiction of appearances - with lovely dark skin and dark, tiny diamond eyes and soft plump lips and a modest line of freckles on her cheekbones.

But old , dirty, ill-fitting clothes covered her ashy body and her hair was untidy, as if she hadn't been able to wash it for weeks.

"Ayoola, this is my girlfriend, Normani, Normani, this is Ayoola, our housemaid."

"I am so honoured to meet you, Miss," Ayoola murmured and bowed her head again.

Her voice was soft and timid-sounding and Normani was a bit overwhelmed at the formalities. She'd never had anyone kneel to the ground and greet her before.

"I am determined to ensure that you have a pleasant stay here at the Ikande Household."

"Wow, uhm, thank you so much Ayoola. You don't have to look on the floor, you can look at me, I like your freckles by the way."

The other girl's eyes widened and she placed a palm over the supposed freckles, a look of pure surprise on her face.

"If a lady as lovely as you can compliment me so freely then I'll believe it, thank you Miss Normani."

"Ayoola, please bring Me and Mani some refreshments," Keith said.

"Of course, I prepared yams for you guys especially and other delicacies. Master Ikande brought some white wine over this morning and asked me to keep it chilled, I'll be right back with your treats," she said and retreated out of the room.

"Is she always like that?" Normani asked her boyfriend.

"Like what?" Keith said and leaned back into the couch and stretched like a cat out in the heat and grass on a lazy summer's day.

"So... submissive-y?"

"Well, housemaids are expected to act like that, it's all about respect. But I don't like formalities, especially with her. She's been with us since I was seven years old, she's more like a big sister to me. My siblings don't like the formalities either but my parents insist on it. Even with Kalu, I've tried to get him to drop the 'Master' but he won't budge."

Ayoola returned with the refreshments on a round grey tray before Normani could further comment on the topic and left as soon as she'd served them to start with dinner preparations.

×

Only half an hour had passed since Ayoola had left them and the couple enjoyed their snacks and wine. By then, Normani's nerves melted away and she no longer felt anxious about meeting Mr and Mrs Ikande.

The sun had begun to set and so the entire room was bathed in a handsome dark orange. It was only then that she Big Parlour room door opened and Keith's parents walked through.

Normani felt her nerves return in full force as she and Keith stood to greet them. These were the people she had to win over the most and she had to make sure she made a great first impression.

She wished she could've run a quick hand through her weave to make sure it was still straight and neat and resented the fact that she hadn't thought to freshen up before they'd returned.

A quick brush through her hair, a splash of warm water to her face, some lipstick and a few spritz's of perfume would've done wonders to her appearance but it was far too late for that now.

"Keith my son!" his mother cried and enveloped him in a large hug. She fawned and fussed over him for a few seconds while Normani stood a little ways from them and waited for them to notice her.

It seemed like ages before both parents realised that Keith was not the only person in the room.

"When you said you were bringing over a friend in the phone call I thought you were bringing Karibu, but this is not Karibu, this is a female," Mrs Ikande said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Normani could tell she was surprised at the sight of her and had little idea of what to do with her presence.

"Ma," Keith said in an almost reprimanding tone, although his beautiful, genuine smile was in place, "I merely said I was bringing a guest, I didn't specify on any friendship."

An understanding bloomed in his father's eyes and he set his eyes on Normani and studied her appearance. His mother, though, hadn't caught on to her son's insinuation.

"Yes, but the only person you associate with is Karibu, where is that boy? I miss him, it has been long," she turned her attention to Normani.

Mrs Ikande was an older replica of her daughter but with darker skin and a wider-set body.

She wore a simple dark green chiffon dress and silver sandals and had a matching green scarf wrapped around her head.

"Mama, this is my girlfriend, Normani Hamilton."

"Hello Mrs Ikande, it's very nice to meet you," Normani said and stuck out her hand.

Mrs Ikande looked down at it and then up at Normani and then finally shook it, although Normani could feel her reluctance.

Mr Ikande stepped in then, he - an older, darker replica of his son too and shook Normani's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Hamilton, welcome to our humble home. We hope you feel comfortable here and we are looking forward to get to know you better," he said with an easy smile and Normani felt her nerves melt a tiny bit.

"We will see you and the rest of our children at dinner, please do let Keith acquaint you to a room where you can lie down and get ready, I can only imagine how tired you must be from the long trip."

"Thank you, Sir," Normani said and watched as the Senior Mr Ikande steered his wife out of the room.

"Let's go get settled in," Keith said and sprung to action.

Normani wondered if he'd felt any of the awkwardness between her and his mother or if he was just that damned good at pretending.

this has been sitting in my drafts for an entire week and quite frankly i think its not quite up to my usual standard. i'm really not happy with it but i did not want to keep you guys hanging or to have this chapter taunt me any longer.

i'm only saying this because i know how nice you all are, but my health really is not at its best and most days writing makes me feel drained and sad - it shouldn't have to be that way.

i have a lot on my plate right now so updates are going to be slower. i hope you all understand.

i love this book too much and i value your experiences too much for me to keep forcing out updates that aren't at a standard i feel is good enough.

i value and appreciate every single one of you so much and i will never take your support for granted. thank you so much for an amazing 7K💛, thank you for interacting in the comments and all your votes. 💛

i'm already looking forward to when i'm better and can give you guys quality updates.

as always, leave me all your thoughts in the comments, i try my best to reply to all of you and as always leave me your stars if you liked this chapter.

-dzangie💛💛