Married To A Tyrant

Before The Wedding (Part 7)

MANSUR

"You're a disgrace to this family. I feel utterly ashamed to call you my son. Fornication? Do you have any idea how much Allah hates fornication?" Abba yelled angrily, his chest heaving up and down. The silence in the room was thickening with every passing second. Briefly, I glanced at Umma seated at the dining table.

"I'm disgusted by you. Absolutely disgusted. How could you even think of something like this? What drove you to commit such a disgusting sin?" he yelled. I looked up at his face, and I could see the anger clearly etched into every inch of his face. I'd seen that look on his face enough times that I'd gotten used to it. That, and his look of disappointment. Come to think of it, that was the most common look he always gave me.

"Come on, Father. Don't make a big deal out of it. It was just a mistake. Besides, I was drunk when it happened. So you can't blame me for what happened, can you?" I said, my temper beginning to rise. It was bad enough that I had gotten caught, but to have him yelling at me in front of my younger ones was pissing me off. I hate being reprimanded for something so trivial. For all we knew, this girl could be lying.

"Voluntary intoxication is not a defence. You're a disgrace to me. An absolute disgrace!" he spat. "Can you see how you've ruined this young girl's life? How heartless are you? What did she ever do to deserve this from you?"

"Like I said, it's not my fault. And besides, why was she even at the party? If she didn't want something like this to happen, then she shouldn't have gone to the party." I said.

"Can you even hear yourself? What sort of stupid statement is that?" Hafsah suddenly said, standing up. "How could you do this to an innocent young girl. You're a coward." she said. "I'm ashamed to call you my brother."

"Ke? Ba kida hankali ne? Idan kika qara sa baki a maganar mu saina wanka miki mari (Hey, are you out of your mind? If you include yourself in our conversation again, I'm going to slap you)." I said, shaking my finger at her. How dare she? And Abba was just standing there, not saying anything. How could he let her disrespect me like that?

"You're very stupid for saying that." Abba said, stepping between myself and Hafsah. "Did you hear me? I said you're very stupid. Aren't you even ashamed? Rather than apologizing, you're standing here and saying nonsense."

"Will you shut up over there?" Umma suddenly said, standing up. "Can you even hear yourself? You're preaching to him against fornication? Do you even have the right to speak? How dare you?"

"Raliya, I thought we resolved this issue before. Why are you bringing back the past?" Abba said, turning his attention to her. "Ki bar maganar nan (Drop this topic). Now is not the time for that."

"Umma, what are you talking about?" Rukayyah asked.

"Raliya, drop this topic right now." Abba said.

"Bazan bar maganar ba (I'm not dropping it). If you're going to reprimand my son for a mistake he made, then everyone deserves to know what you've done as well." she said.

"Raliya..."

"No. Let me speak." she said, turning towards Hafsah. "You want to insult your brother for what he did? What about your father over there? Do you have any idea how many women your father has been with even while we were still married? If what Mansur did is so bad, then why did your precious father do it as well?"

"Umma bana so inji (Mother, I don't want to hear this)." she said, putting her hands over her ears as tears rolled from eyes. Nafisah was crying as well, her head tucked into her knees.

"Ai wallahi sai kinji. Ba ke daddy's girl ba (Oh, you have to hear this. Aren't you your daddy's girl)? Well, you deserve to know what your darling father has been up to. Maybe then you wouldn't look at him with so much adoration in your eyes. You think your father is a saint, don't you? Well he's not. He's not as pure or as perfect as you think he is.

"I'm sure he hasn't told you all that you had a step brother, did he? Of course he wouldn't. You only reveal good news, right? Well your daddy had an illegitimate child five years ago with another woman. She gave birth to the child while we were still living in Kaduna. Your father tried to hide it, but unfortunately I found out. Do you remember one Maimuna who always came to our house with my friend, Sumaiyah? Well, your father had an affair with her. When she gave birth to the child, he relocated her to Kano, and she started a new life there, where nobody knew her.

"But the child - Umar, as your father named him -, died a few months ago. When your father told you guys that he was going to Kano for a meeting, he went to the funeral of the child. And that isn't the only affair your father has had in his marriage. What about our neighbour, Maman Abba? Or my former tailor? Or that distant cousin of his, who came to live with us for a few months because her husband had died? Or how about..."

"ENOUGH RALIYA! THAT IS ENOUGH! NOT ANOTHER WORD FROM YOU!" Abba yelled, pointing his finger threateningly at Umma. "Not another word from you."

"Or else what? Will you hit me again? All those years of hitting me haven't satisfied you?" Umma yelled, standing up. "Don't you dare raise your voice at me, you shameless man."

"Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. I guess fornication and adultery runs in the family." Amina's mother said, pulling her daughter up. "Tashi mu bar gidan nan, kafin muma zinnibin su ya shafe mu (Get up, let's leave this house, before their sins will rub off on us as well)."

"And as for you," she said, pointing her finger at me, "Insha Allahu, kai da kaga arziki da kwanciyar hankali a duniyar nan, saidai kaji labarin wasu (By God's grace, you will never see peace or success in this world, but you'll only hear of others)."

"Allah ya isa tsakani na dakai (God Almighty will judge between you and I)." her daughter sobbed as they left the house. As she walked out of the living room, her hand went to her stomach, clutching it tightly. My heart gave a sudden lurch. That's when reality hit me. She could actually be pregnant. All because I was reckless for one night. This was all that stupid girl's fault. Now I could be in big trouble. My life could be ruined all because of her.

"Whatever." I muttered as I turned to leave the living room.

"Mansur," Abba called. I turned to face him, furrowing my eyebrows. He had his disappointed look on.

"Listen to me very carefully. I don't want to see you in this house again. I'm going out now. If I come back and find you in my house, you'll regret the day your were born. Pack your things and leave.

"And as for you," he said, turning to face Umma. "You can stay if you want. I'm not going to stop you. Otherwise, pack your things and leave with him. As far as I'm concerned, I have nothing to do with both of you."

With that, he turned and headed upstairs, his slippers slapping against the tiles. We fell into silence once again, except for the silent sobs of Hafsah and Nafisah. Rukayyah had withdrawn into the corner, gently rocking back and forth. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair was unraveled.

"Aikin banza aikin wofi (Nonsense)." Umma muttered, rising as well. She limped away into the kitchen, with Afnan following her quietly.

I took that as my cue to leave, slamming the door on my way out. I was beyond pissed off. I needed to take my mind off everything.

*****

"Mansur." Umma called, knocking softly on the door. I groaned and turned on the bed, pressing my fingers into my temples. If there's one thing I hate, it's being woken up while I'm sleeping.

"Mansur, ka bude kofar mana (Mansur open the door)." she said, knocking again.

"Ganinan (I'm coming)." I said, rising from the bed. I dragged my feet towards the door and opened it slowly. "What?" I groaned.

"Have you been smoking?" she asked, stepping into the room.

"Nope." I lied, turning on the ceiling fan to blow some of the lingering smoke away. Umma shook her head quietly and sat down. She must have known that I was lying.

"Baban ku ya dawo (Your father is back)." she said dejectedly. I pointed to my already packed bags and laughed. "I'm all set to go."

"You're not going anywhere. This is your house, just as much as it is his house." she said, massaging her leg.

"Does it still hurt?" I asked. She nodded quietly and stared out the window. The evening sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow over the sky. It was almost time for Magrib prayed, which I had no intention of performing. I was too busy evaluating my life.

It scared me to think of what the future might bring. What if Amina ended up getting pregnant? I wasn't ready to handle the responsibility of being a father. I just wanted a wife whom I could satisfy myself with. A child was not even in my plans for the next... five to seven years.

I didn't want to end up like Abba. He was a disgrace, and everything that happened to me was because of him. Why would he cheat on Umma, even though they were still married. What more could he possibly want from her? She had wasted almost thirty years of her life slaving away to him.

"What's on your mind?" Umma asked, pulling me out of my thought bubble.

"Life." I muttered. She laughed sadly and sagged her shoulders. "Don't mind your father. He's a pathetic excuse of a man."

"I know." I said, staring up at the ceiling.

"Aunty Rahama just left the house." Umma said.

"What did she come here to do? Or did Abba tell her anything?" I asked, looking at Umma once again.

"That's why I came to see you actually. She wanted to speak to me about you." she said, still staring out the window. I kept quiet and waited for her to continue.

"She had a discussion with your Uncle Kabir about your bachelorhood. They actually came together. But since your father wasn't home, they decided to inform me instead.

"To cut the long story short, they are proposing a union between you and Salma." she said, turning to see my expression. I felt a sinking feeling of despair in my soul.

"Amma Umma bana son ta (But Umma I don't like her). She's rude, arrogant, disrespectful and full of herself. Why would anyone want to marry Salma? I rather remain single than to marry her." I said, hoping she would drop the topic.

But that look in her eyes... Umma has already made up her mind. I could feel it. And once she made up her mind, there was no way of convincing her otherwise.

"Dan Allah Umma kice baki amince ba (Please Umma tell them you don't approve)." I begged.

"Mansur, opportunities like this come only once in a person's life. Salma is a very responsible girl. I have actually been considering this union for a very long time now. She's responsible, calm, quiet and religious. And she's very obedient. What more could you possibly want in a woman?

"Ba haka bane Umma (It's not like that, Umma). It's just that I don't like her as a person. She irritates me." I argued.

"Mansur..."

"Na'am (Yes)?"

"Mansur..."

"Na'am? "

"Mansur..."

"Na'am?"

"Sau nawa na kiraka (How many times did I call you)?" she asked.

"Three times." I replied.

"You shall marry Salma, or else you can stop calling me your mother." she said with a tone of finality, then stood up and limped out of the room.

I didn't argue again, because I knew that my fate was already sealed.