So much for diplomacy, Chidinma thought in chagrin as she stood at the living room window and watched Nonso head off to school the next morning.
Nonso had declined her offer to drop him off at school, choosing instead to hitch a ride with his friend, who lived a few houses down from theirs. Chidinma could not blame him for the choice; if she were in his shoes, she would also be trying her utmost to avoid any unnecessary interaction.
She stood with a steaming cup of coffee in her hands and watched until he entered his friend’s house, then sighed and let the curtains drop. The previous night had not gone well at all.
After Onyeka left, she had walked into the house and was not surprised to find that Nonso had ensconced himself in his room, music playing as high as it could go. She had immediately made a beeline for his room and despite his refusal to acknowledge her knock; she had gone in anyway and tried to make him see things from a more mature perspective.
Chidinma sipped at her hot coffee, taking comfort in the pain as it scalded her tongue, the memory of the previous night scalding her heart. Their talk had not gone as planned at all.
She had given him the new clothes, which he grudgingly accepted with a mumbled thank you. Then when she broached the subject of the kiss with Onyeka, his attitude had steadily worsened until he finally said something snide.
Angry, she had asked him to apologize and he had refused, telling her if she could do whatever she damn well pleased, he would do the same. Shaking with rage, tone rude and insolent, he threatened to skip school if he felt like it, hang out as late as he wanted, and even drink or smoke as much as he pleased. That was when Chidinma slapped him.
Immediately after her action, she had felt regret, but pride had not let her apologize. She had walked out of her son’s bedroom, and he had not emerged till the next morning.
She had been wary and expecting some kind of backlash for her actions, but he had simply greeted her in a low voice and calmly collected his lunch money. When she offered to drop him off, his refusal had been immediate but not rude.
But from experience, she knew an explosion was brewing; Nonso had his father’s vindictiveness. She would just have to prepare for the worse.
**
Just as Chidinma expected, Nonso delivered his blow later in the evening.
It had been a tiring day for her. She had spent most of the work day avoiding Onyeka, after requesting they deferred any joint tasks till the next day. She wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened between them yet. The auditor had complied, and she had managed to spend the rest of the day without seeing him, her mind filled with worry over her son. She kept expecting a phone call from his school, with news that he had committed some serious offence or not showed up at all, but the day went smoothly, and just before the end of her work day, she was informed by the nurse at the reception that Nonso had strolled into the hospital, and was waiting for her at the reception lounge as he sometimes did. His school was not too far from the clinic and since he had begun to get close to Onyeka, he had become a more frequent visitor there. After about twenty minutes, Chidinma had walked out to him warily, shoulders tense with expectation of trouble, but she found her son innocently watching TV. His greeting wasn’t effusive, but it wasn’t warm either.
The ride home was quiet and uneventful, and an hour after they reached, Chidinma decided she was being paranoid and agonizing over nothing. She guiltily prepared a sumptuous dinner of rice and beans with fried plantain and chicken- Nonso’s favourite meal. As she worked, she mentally planned an attempt at another talk with her son when they were done eating. She hoped he would be more amenable to whatever she had to say.
She finished cooking, Nonso set the dining table, and dinner started without any drama. She was beginning to enjoy what seemed like a companionable silence before her son spoke.
“How is Uncle Onyeka?” Nonso suddenly asked.
Chidinma paused with her spoon halfway to her mouth. What was Nonso up to?
“He’s fine. He was at the clinic today. Why? Did you both speak?”
Nonso shook his head. “Nope. I saw him but we didn’t talk.”
“Okaaayyy.” Chidinma said, dragging out the word. She knew something was coming and she could not hide her impatience anymore. “So, is there something you want to say?”
Nonso nodded and took a sip of water to clear his throat, and then he leaned back in his seat and smiled. “Yes, mum. I apologize for my behaviour yesterday. I should have been more understanding. When it comes to love, age is just a number right? So why can’t you date Uncle Onyeka?”
Chidinma waited her son out, pushing down her anger. She could hear sarcasm in his voice, so she knew he was up to something.
“So, I’m happy for you two. Please, also be happy for me. Because love is a beautiful thing right? Even fifteen year olds deserve it. Didn’t Uncle Onyeka tell you I was in love?”
Chidinma hid her surprise and weighed her reply carefully. Onyeka had told her nothing of the sort, and that was to be expected- he couldn’t tell her what Nonso had confided in him. But obviously her son thought he had. Chidinma was more concerned about what he was claiming. Was it a crush of some sort? She had to handle the matter delicately.
“Just let me understand… is she someone at school? A classmate?”
Nonso grinned, but his happiness seemed mean and calculated. “At school? Of course not. She’s not a student. She’s wayyyyy older than me.”
The teenage boy grinned as his shocked mother dropped her spoon with a clang.
“What’s wrong? Isn’t age just a number anymore, mum?”
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