Unforgivable 8

Mickey was insistent I invite Mother. I was equally insistent on not having her in my house. I felt his mother was worthy of the position of Grandmother and not my Mother. Father had to intervene, and I had no choice but to back down. My twins were named Peter Aniedi Oluwajomiloju and Paul Anietie Oluwarantimisirere. Mother was invited, she was so happy and proud, I did my best to ignore her.
She came with a box of clothes and stayed put after the naming. A week passed and I had to confront Mickey who told me he had told her to stay,to take care of the twins! I was hopping mad. I decided to give her attitude, anything to get her out of my house. She ignored me and blithely continued with her baby caring chores!
What to do oooo? I thought day and night of how to get her out of my house.
One afternoon, two months down the line, Wole came to pay me a visit. He was into IT and was doing quite well. After getting him something to eat, we started discussing how to finance Oyin' s school fees  abroad. She had just gained admission to study Robotics.
Mother came in then, after putting the twins to sleep and joined in the convo
‘ Why must she study abroad? It's too expensive!’
We both looked at her
‘ What gives you the moral justification to butt into our discussion? We are talking about the daughter you abandoned when she was barely three. Don’t be fooled, we call you Mother as a title only. In the real sense of the word you are no mother!’ Wole shouted at her.
I hid a smirk.
She looked at her hands, subdued. Eventually, she went into her room, closing the door quietly
‘ By the way, why is she still here?’
‘ Search me ooo…it’s my hubby, Mr. Goody Two Shoes that has been encouraging her to stay'
‘Sis, get her out of this house. Let your mother in law come and stay. She alone deserves to do Omugwo (Child care by a Grandmother), not this woman!’
At dinner, when Mickey got back, Mother told him she had to travel to the village urgently to attend to a matter. Mickey tried to persuade her to stay for a bit, but she was resolute. Hurray! I was ….ecstatic!
Good riddance to bad rubbish!
He had to call his mother to please come stay as the babies were a handful. Me, I had made up my mind that I would gladly cope with the stress. His mother eventually came a week after.
I had another set of twins two years later and immediately after the naming ceremony, Mother left. At least I thought, she has finally gotten the message.
I have had ups and downs in my marriage. There was a time business was so bad for Mickey, we had to rely on my salary as a newly confirmed banker. All six of us. We had to sell the cars. Life was really hard at that time.
To my greatest surprise, Mother stepped in, she started sending  money to my account from her pension, she also came by with foodstuffs, on a day I was convinced we’d all go to bed, hungry. She really stood by me, by us.
Unconsciously, i started growing fond of her. She took over house chores( as we could no longer afford the maid and the nanny) the cleaning, cooking and the management of my home especially as I was hardly ever around. I would leave in the morning and come back late at night, Monday to Friday and sometimes I worked Saturdays.
I would come home to see my kids fed, bathed and cared for, the house spic and span and a hot dinner waiting for me and  feel so relieved.
I saw another side of my hubby with the financial challenge. He became so withdrawn and depressed, like a shadow of himself. His parents talked to him, counselled him, severally. I was worried sick for him and for my marriage.
Mother surprisingly was the only one that could reach him and for this, I remain eternally grateful. Everyday she would tell him ‘ When there’s life, there is hope'
After about four years of the financial strain, things became better, he got a contract from the Federal Government and we started smiling to the bank.
I learnt a valuable lesson, no one is useless, never write anyone off. That person you’ve written off, just might be your saviour someday.
It's been fifteen years of marriage to the man I love, it's been ten years of learning to forgive my mother totally, of wholeness, of healing.
She lives with us now after suffering a massive stroke which has made any movement for her, impossible. We have a nurse who attends to her needs. She can no longer talk as well, as her vocal chord was affected, but her eyes are expressive. The faded gray rheumy eyes wrap me to her heart when she looks at me with a wealth of love shinning through them.
When I look at her now, I do not see a Mother who abandoned us, I see a Mother who eventually learnt to stand by me, by us when I had started going bananas with worry and anxiety. I see the Mother I had loved fervently as a twelve year old girl.



The end.