Daddy was caught in the act
I am not a disrespectful child. No, far from it. I mean I love my dad and respect him. After all, he gave birth to me. Without him, I wouldn’t be writing this today. I would probably be in heaven singing praises to God. But what he did to me was unforgettable. A memory that has lingered on. I vowed to never do it to my children whatever the situation.
Now I’m not trying to paint my dad as a bad person. He has his white side. However, he doesn’t show that to his family. He is the kind of man that gets praised outside by the people and his close relative for his kindness. What baffles me is why he does not act like that to us his children. I don’t get it.
For context let me say this. I come from a polygamous family. My father has three wives.
Side note: I guess he inherited this polygamous behavior from his father, his father had 4 wives. And no you don’t have to bother about me. I wouldn’t dare go for polygamy trust me I know what is involved. Monogamy all the way.
My mother was the third wife, I guess that automatically make her the last wife. We don’t live with my dad. He lives in his office owned by his boss. It was a one storey white building though the white is already turning to grey the house is still in good condition as they do maintenance frequently. It contained two flats. He was living on the first floor. I don’t know why he lives alone but my mum once told me that when he fought with his second wife. He left his house packing only a few clothes and moving over to the office. She said that it happened before I was even born. She was carrying my immediate elder sister then. Although I think he might have other shady reasons for moving out. Who knows?
So here is the main gist. Every Saturday I and my sisters do go to my dad’s office to sweep, mop, and do every other cleaning-related chores. Likewise, we cook and run errands. Contrary to this, on that fateful Saturday morning, I was the only one going to my dad’s place. My immediate elder sister had gone to a science boarding school for her senior secondary while my eldest sister was in a tertiary institution. Yeah, we are three. The night before that morning my mom had no cash with her. We were stranded. The reason is simple. My dad gives us #5000 naira per month to buy foodstuffs while he gives my mum the same amount to buy him foodstuffs. Thinking about it now even makes me see that my dad took advantage of us. Besides, my mum’s business wasn’t going smoothly. My mom is someone that doesn’t like trouble. She is an easy-going person. At times when she can’t take it anymore. She confronts him about the money for upkeeping being too small. But trust my dad he will always come up with reasons like work isn’t going well plus he is the one paying our school fees that my mum should also handle the feeding. I get where he is coming from but he should also understand that feeding expenses are no joke. Moreover, her business isn’t doing well. And as a husband and father, the best he could do is to support her since he has the money. But he wouldn’t.
So as I was saying I had to go very early to my dad’s place to clean and also see if I could get some cash. From our house to my dad’s office was about 3km hence it was an 18 minutes walk. On getting there, I opened his office black big gate walked over to the staircase, and climbed the brown tiled stairs quietly. As I approached the door of his office I could smell the aroma of freshly cooked beans with spaghetti. Weird combination right? Well, my dad loves it.
On opening the door my eyes went straight to the kitchen. I could see him sitting on a stool using an empty paint bucket as a table. In a matter of seconds, he turned his face. It was a mix of surprise and displeasure. He stood up and shouted, ” What are you doing here this early “. Out of nowhere, he grabbed a stick. Then my optic nerves sent signals to my brain. And before I knew my effectors acted, reflex action occurred and I was already running down the stairs. While I was running I heard him say I should go home.
I got out of his office through the gate. On my way home I replayed what happened in my brain. I tried to decipher why he acted that way. In a split of seconds, I connected the dots. The previous weeks whenever I go to his place he would tell me he has no money that he is even fasting since he has nothing to eat. So he wouldn’t give me anything to eat after cleaning. Naive me, I would believe him. I would go home empty-handed. I guess that justifies his actions. For crying out loud I caught him red-handed.
Anytime I think about that scenario, I get cracked up. Anyway, I am not holding this up against him. I am not the kind of person. But I think he should have handled the situation better than that. I guess that is what makes him a typical African parent.
Michael is a writer interested in Scriptwriting, Fiction, Human Psychology and Persuasion. He wrote in via abiolamichael02@gmail.com
