Life Of Jiji

All Rights Reserved

2021 ©Tena Ifiemi

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hot tub dream machine - tobi lou

deja vu - olivia rodrigo

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"Guys meet Muna and Grace. Muna, meet my family. That's Jiji, that's my husband; your Uncle Dafe and that's Reya." My mom said, gesturing to each of us as she made the introductions.

I was still in shock from the weight and suddenness of the whole situation. Mom goes to US for her sister's funeral and comes back with two kids I've never heard about until this day. Apparently, Aunty Nnenna had left her kids in mom's custody should anything ever happen to her and so here they were, about to start living with us. The whole thing seemed so...surreal and I couldn't decide whether it was happening or not.

My eyes darted to Reya and thankfully, I wasn't the only one who was a bit unnerved. Dad didn't look surprised, so I take it he had already been warned prior to their arrival. For sure, she had to check in with her husband before making such a big decision.

"Reya, Jiji? Say hi." Mom sang and I was reminded that she was expecting an answer.

I bit my lip, feeling guilty for questioning her actions. She looked pretty stressed and I started to imagine how crazy this must be for her as well. It sure isn't everyday that you acquire two extra kids and have to deal with your sister's sudden death as well.

"Hi." Reya and I chorused. Muna, the boy just lifted the corner of his mouth in silent acknowledgement but that was it.

Mom surveyed our faces for a few more seconds before she sighed. Grabbing the message, Dad moved towards her, collecting some bags while she pushed Grace's pram forward asking him where the car was parked. The car ride was very quiet and the fact that it was night made it even more obvious. You could literally smell the tension in the air and I was waiting for Reya to burst out one uncomfortable question or the other but fortunately, she never did.

At home, mom helped Muna settle into the guest room while Reya cooked spaghetti for dinner. Mom thought it would be best if Grace stayed in her and Daddy's room but immediately she voiced out the idea, I heard Muna speak for the first time. I was in the kitchen being very unhelpful when I heard his soft voice as he argued with mom.

"Actually, I'd rather Gracie stay with me." He states calmly and with a tone of finality. He had a very strong American accent, but then considering he lived there all his life, I don't really know what else I was expecting.

"Oh..." My mom started and I could imagine the look on her face. "Well, I just thought... Um, you don't think she'd be too much work?"

"No." He said simply. I slipped out of the kitchen just a little bit to watch their conversation in the hallway.

"She's my sister, she's cannot be too much work." He added and I mirrored my mom's appalled look. He was misunderstanding her.

Muna seemed to realize that this might have not been the best choice of words and he sighed, "I just mean that it's fine if she stays with me. She's almost one and hardly troublesome." He tried to assure her.

"Okay." She said and when she walked away, I assumed it was to go get baby Grace.

I don't know why I kept staring even after their conversation had ended but Muna probably sensing my presence, landed his eyes on mine causing me to panic. He gave me a weird look and not wanting to be even creepier, I ducked back into the kitchen and started chopping onions nobody asked for.

Dinner was an awkward affair and I didn't even want to think about how the rest of this holiday would be. Of tomorrow morning when Reya would wake up refreshed enough to start  bombarding our mom with questions. Muna finished quickly and left the table and I couldn't help thinking that if it was a normal situation, mom would probably scold him for leaving his plate on the table and not pushing in his chair.

It was almost funny that as soon as Muna left though, everyone seemed to let loose all the breath they'd been holding.

"So, how was the trip?" Dad asked mom, his voice blending into the occasional cutlery on ceramic noise.

"It was really stressful... I can't..." She dropped her fork and leaned forward, resting her head in her interlocked fingers.

Dad rubbed her back, "It's okay darling, we'll figure this out." He whispered into her ear and that's when I saw her back shudder.

An immense wave of sadness washed over me. I've never seen my mom cry and I suddenly felt selfish for thinking it impossible. For thinking that she didn't have such emotions because she was an adult... a mom. My body moved on it's own as I got up and started towards her but Reya beat me to it. I heard the screech of her chair against the tiles as she got up and made her way to mom. I saw her sit on mom's lap and throw an arm over her shoulder and I saw mom respond by putting her arms around Reya and pulling her in.

I couldn't help feeling dejected and out of place as I watched them, as well as awkward as I stood by myself. Needing to do something with myself now that I was already up, I wordlessly began packing up everyone's plates. I entered the kitchen walking backwards and when I turned I jerked in shock when I found myself face to face with our guest.

He relieved me of the plates and made a discerning sweep around the kitchen with his eyes before dropping them in the sink.

"There's no dishwasher."

On a normal day I might have laughed at this and told him that I had never heard of a home in Nigeria where they used dishwashers, not disregarding the fact that there might be few, of course. Today though, I felt down and extremely conscious to be alone in a room with a boy and one I barely knew of course. Especially as my dad's words from two days ago came to me.

"Do you need something?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't sound as I felt.

"I came to make Gracie's food." Was his clipped reply as he went back to the small bowl that I just noticed on the counter.

Maybe it was good that he seemed very disinclined to make conversation, I thought as I busier myself with washing the plates. He left before me and when I was done, I wiped down the cooker and counter before making my own exit. On getting to my room, I let out a breath as I took of my bra and revelled in the feeling every girl gets on doing so. Relief. My eyes unconsciously darted to my bedside table and the two phones that lay on it.

My own phone which I hadn't switched on since I got back home and the new one, still in it's box that appeared on my table yesterday with a note. My dad bought me a new phone along with a letter to let me know that he was just looking out for me and that it was best if I heeded what he said at the airport. I knew that already though, so it still confused me why he felt he had to go out and buy me a whole new phone.

I woke up the next morning to the sound of music. At first I had a weird dream where Khadijah was singing to me for whatever reason. In the dream, I kept asking her why she was singing to me but instead of answering, she just kept singing. I ended up waking up to mom sitting on my bed, smiling and holding an airpod which I suspected to be the source of the music in my dream.

"Who sang that?" I asked, still groggy as I scolded myself for not locking my room door and squinted at the light that burst into my room, curtsy of mom drawing the curtains.

"Do you like it?" She asked and when I nodded, her smile grew. "You just heard Someone Else's Dream by Absofacto." She said proudly, the way she always was when she talked about this guy that she was obsessed with these days.

I laughed, "Funny how your song made it's way into my dream."

"How are you my baby? I barely saw you yesterday." She asked and I sat up as yesterday came crashing back into me.

"How are you?" I threw her question back at her, sooner than I could worry about whether it would throw her off and put her in a bad mood again.

Her smile didn't diminish though, dissipating my worries, "I'm as good as I can be." Despite the sigh she ended this statement with, she was still smiling and I decided that if she was putting up a front, then she was doing a pretty good job.

Mom made fried plantains and custard for breakfast, although it was kind of brunch since everyone woke up pretty late. During breakfast/brunch, Reya kept pestering Muna to talk whilst he concentrated on ignoring her.

I was about to laugh when he did not answer when she asked him if he had ever eaten plantain before but the sound caught swiftly in my throat when he caught my eye. I looked away and continued eating while he turned to give Grace a spoon of her own food.

I remembered how I cringed when my dad asked Muna, 'if he had seen him today'. It was the general question every adult asks when you pass by them and they remember that you haven't greeted them at all that day. Where I come from, greeting is annoyingly paramount. Muna looked confused and mom looked uncomfortable until Reya explained to him and he finally let out a, "Good Morning Sir".

Muna was mostly always locked inside his room with his sister or in the balcony which I barely went out to since he started hoarding it. He was the definition of a brooder and I cannot lie and say his presence in the house didn't unsettle me. I finally put on my phone and immediately I connected to the WiFi, the messages from WhatsApp came pouring in.

None from Damian though, I noticed, but soon after I entered the app, Khadijah was calling me. It was so sudden and unexpected that I spent almost a minute staring at the WhatsApp call before finally answering.

"Ejiro! You finally decided to come online!"

"Since when did WhatsApp post notifications about someone's online status outside the app?"

"You..."

"And since when are you enthusiastic about hearing from me?"

"You this Ejiro," She complained, "If you vex me I'll just hang up." She says, although I could tell she was smiling.

I laughed, "Hang up nah. I have other people to catch up with."

Khadijah hissed and indeed hung up, next thing I saw was a moving sticker of someone in a bunny costume pummeling another person into the ground. I couldn't stop laughing as she sent a couple more colorful stickers just like that. Exiting the chat, I scrolled through the class group and spent some time laughing at all the discussions they'd been having.

When I heard a knock on my door, I only had enough time to turn towards the door when Mom walked in.

"This one that you're smiling today..." She said with a smile.

"But I always smile!" I exclaimed but mom didn't reply that. In fact, I thought I saw her twitch her nose in disbelief.

She walked up to my reading table and picked up the phone box that had still been laying there untouched.

"Where did this come from? Did your Dad buy it for you?"

I nodded, slowly, not looking at her face.

"What's the occasion? Did your old phone spoil?" She asked and I shook my head waving my phone in the air.

"I was confused as well."

Mom suddenly gasped, "It's a Note 20 Ultra, my God! Your sister would be jealous." She laughed, "Did Reya get one as well?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, trying not to allow mom's laugh influence a smile on my own face. Then as a thought suddenly came to me, I asked, "Are you on leave? Why have you not been going to work?"

"Look at my daughter chasing me out of the house." Mom shook her head, "It's Christmas and I'm not even allowed a holiday."

"Look at my mom trying to guilt trip me." I countered and I was unprepared for the laughter that followed.

Mom threw back her head and laughed so hard, she had to grip her stomach. Then she picked up a pillow and threw it at me before sitting on my bed. She didn't sit for long though because mom has an OCD for tidying up and soon enough, she was picking up my clothes from the chair and sorting them out.

I was just about to argue with her to stop for the umpteenth time even though I knew it would be futile when Reya barged into my room with so much force, my heart jerked in fear.

"Oviereya! What is the problem?" Mom yelled, seeming to have been as shocked as I was from the way her hand remained pressed to her chest. "Is someone—"

"TJ... TJ is here!" She stammered, seeming very short of breath.

"What!?"

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Sorry for the wait...
I guess I was experiencing a case of temporary writers block, or something.

How do you feel about meeting new people? Cause it seems like I'm doing a lot of introductions in this chapter.(⊙_☉)

͜T͜͜EN͜͜A ❤