"My money. Shebi, you went to fix flight mode for 5k. I've fixed it by myself too." Their mother held out her hand.

"Maami na." He began, then met Romola's gaze. "You told her."

"I didn't have to tell her anything."

"Liar Liar."

Romola stuck out her tongue. He deserved it as, no doubt, he was the one who had begged for money from her. "That one is not my business. I came here to find out why you wanted me to send money to Matthew Ajayi. And why you did that through mummy's phone and why you lied."

"It's not true."

"Oh really? Then how come mummy's phone suddenly develops flight mode issues when you take the phone while I receive messages begging for money."

"No. I didn't do it."

She would have believed his confident rejection but she knew her brother.

"You did not delete the message from Romola's phone." Her mother added.

"And you didn't think mummy and I would catch on. A whole 25k inside your smelly pocket."

"30k. That flight mode money must come out today."

"But Maami." Jide shrugged.

Their mother propped one hand on her waist. "They caught you and you are still lying. Big mouth."

"You can't even lie sensibly." Romola screamed. "Am I supposed to believe that Lolade did this?"

"But aspa, you are the master of lies na. I should come and learn from you."

"Ehn Jide. Wetin you just talk? What did you just say?" Their mother doubled over, took off her left slippers and aimed at his head.

He ducked, running towards the bedroom. Her slippers missed his head and hit the wall in front of him.

Romola untied her shoe lace and aimed her sneakers at his back. The shoe hit his head as he raced to the door post. The mother and daughter shared a hi-five. Romola smiled. She'd missed that. Giving hi-fives and sharing skills with her mother.

The older woman walked to the door post of the bedroom as Jide closed the door. "You will vomit that 30k today by force or by fire."

Her mother returned to the chair, pouting and folding her hands. "Can you see this?"

"I don't even know what to say." Romola shook her head.

Jide had played a very good plan and fooled them both but today the thief got caught.

Her mother grabbed the Lenovo phone and tapped on the screen. "What is your account number, let me send you back your money."

Romola frowned. "No oh. Mummy. You can't."

"Which one is I can't?"

"You shouldn't. I sent the money to you. Or I thought I sent the money to you."

"I don't want to keep your money."

"That's fine. But can you keep it for Lolade or Sunbo."

Her mother's lips pressed together in a solid line and twisted in a circular motion, ending with a discreet nose twitch.

"Please. I swear, I did not make that money by sleeping around. I can take you to the store where I work. Just keep it for Lolade and maybe use it to pay her school fees, if you can even get it back from Jide."

Her mother looked away but dropped the phone. Romola rubbed her palms against her laps. Now that she was alone with her mother, she searched for words to fill the void between them. But the void was deeper than any bridge words could build.

Her mother broke the silence, "What even made you to ask about the money?"

"Hmm. Mummy, you won't believe it if I told you. Jide texted me one time asking me to send money to one account. Only for me to hear that the owner of the account sells nudes. Naked pictures."

"Ehn?" Her mother gripped the armrest, legs parting with an animated head swing in Romola's direction. "Nudes?"

"Yes oh. That's why I said it does not make sense, that it can't be you. It is that Jide's friend that owns the account."

"Which one?" Her mother's brown narrowed fiercely.

"That thin fair boy. Mama Akara's son."

"Ah. Ah. Ah. Shebi, I used to tell this boy to have sense but him papa dey always fight me. His father argues with me."

Her mother flew off the chair, grabbed a local broom by its black rubber band and marched to Jide's door. Romola bit the side of her lips, nodding as her mother marched on. Yes. It was better this way. Their mother would boil Jide's grave of hot soup.

The woman slapped the broom against the door. "Open this door."

There was no reply. Romola pinched her cheeks. He must've expected their mother's assault.

"If I open this door ehn, I go hammer you one. I will deal with you." Their mother screamed, fighting with the door handle.

The door remained shut and its ward, silent. Their mother jacked the door handle until the top screw came lose. She let it go. "Don't worry. It is me and you in this house."

"Maami, I'm going." Romola stood. There was no point in overstaying her welcome. Especially when her mother itched to punish Jide. She had suffered enough of transferred aggression from Iya Tobi.

"Wait. Have you eaten?"

Romola shook her head. Did her mother now care about her welfare?

"You have not changed. Eat on time. Eat on time, you will not hear. Sit down." Her mother pointed at the chair.

"Maami, don't worry."

"I said sit down."

Her mother's tone had a note of finality. The level playing ground they had over Jide's misbehaviour was lost. Romola sat down and folded her legs. Her mother disappeared through the dark corridor at the right.

Jide's door creaked open and he peeked out, hissing at her. She eyed him.

He opened his door wider. "Where is she?"

Romola folded her arms.

"Why did you report me?" His look darkened.

She shot him a fiery glare. "Why did you steal from me?"

"It wasn't stealing. I am your brother; you are supposed to send me money."

There it was. That sense of entitlement to the money she slaved over. The exact reason why she did not want to tell her family about her dancing and the same reason why she could not tell Sunbo how much she earned at Lilwana.

"I don't send money to thieves."

"Pot calling kettle black. How far that your friend, Yetunde, abi Yemisi? Have you finished paying back her money?"

Jide's leer reached deep into her skin breeding goosebumps of revulsion and hatred. "I did not steal from her."

"Took her clothes. Took her money. Took her man. That sounds like stealing to me."

Romola noticed their mother's shadow growing by the second. She kept a smile on her face and locked her eyes with him. "At least I finished secondary school. How many years have you spent in Ss2? Your younger sister has graduated."

"Don't compare me to that rat. Besides—"

The slap on the side of his face sent him reeling back into the room. He stood, trying to block the door but their mother inserted herself between the door and the doorpost, reaching inside with her arm turning this way and that as she smacked him.

Romola ran to her mother's side, hailing. "Yes mummy. Beat him. Beat him well."

"You think you are too big?" Their mother barked. "Where is that your stupid friend?"

"Ma?" Jide pushed their mother further towards the door.

Their mother's brows shot up as Romola handed her the broom. She reached further into the room, blessing his body with a few strokes of the broom before he succeeded in pushing her out.

"Don't worry." She snapped her fingers at the door. "I get your time. I have time to deal with you."

Her mother tightened her wrapper mid-bust and returned to the corridor.

Romola picked up the broom, palmed the head into shape and tossed it in its proper location. She turned around. Her mother returned with a plate of beans and bread.

"Ah mummy. No oh."

"Eat fast. Before your father comes."

Her mother placed the food on the table.

Romola sat on the chair as her mother pushed the table towards her. Her fingers shook as she held the food. Was it poisoned?

Her mother took the other spoon from the edge of the plate and stuck it into the beans before bowing her head, muttering a quick prayer and swallowing some beans.

"You better eat fast before he comes. He must not meet you here. If you want to visit again, come on Thursday. He stays out late."

There was no need to mention his name.

Romola tore off a small corner of the bread and placed it in her mouth, chewing slowly. Her mother constantly threw sidelong glances at her. The sound of their spoons hitting the plate while they scooped up beans and tore off the bread nylon so they could dig further into the bread filled their minutes. No words were said but they understood their roles in that moment. A daughter and her mother.