Ikwo mma’s attitude shocked Ekpenyong. He sat still, quietly lost in deep thoughts in exactly the same seat Ikwo mma had left him. “Why would Ikwo mma behave so horribly in the face of her son’s happiest moment on earth?   He did not even want to entertain the suspicion that his mother may not actually want him to have a child. “That’s a ridiculous thought, Ekpenyong shrugged mentally , he was her only son, she had been fighting as hard if not even harder than himself to have him father a child.

The baby’s voice tore into his reverie; it was time to feed him. This was not going to be easy without the support of his mother; he had deliberately decided to keep the child a secret and in line with the decision had not thought of hiring a nurse maid for the baby. The baby also seemed to have been sworn to an oath of silence, he choreographed his cries to synchronize with the times that the house would be empty except for the presence of Ekpenyong and he only made noise when he was hungry.

Ekpenyong went in and came out again with the child and his feeder, he had gone shopping on his own the previous day and had made extensive enquiries about the quality and quantity of milk to administer to a baby who could not be breast fed. The milk had been expensive and came highly recommended from one of his female friends who worked as a nurse in the missionary hospital.

He sat down, gently placed the child on his knees, checked the temperature of the milk on the back of his right hand before sticking the mouth of the bottle into the baby’s small mouth.”I am doing this like a real professional” he thought, surprised at himself.

The feeding done and the baby asleep again, Ekpenyong took him into the room.  As he stood looking at the baby, he wondered how long he could possibly keep this up. “I can’t let anybody take him outside the palace; I fear I might lose him if I did that. Hiring a nurse maid into the palace was also out of the question, people talked too much and Ekpenyong was not willing to risk the furore that would be generated from the revelation that he had added the title of a nursing father to that of his kingly role. People would definitely want to know about the mother of the baby and what would he tell them then? That he had her secretly interred? He could just imagine the scene with his subjects starring up at him with wide open mouths and shocked expression as he made the revelation.

Ekpenyong had only one hope of resolving the baby question and that hope was Ikwo mma, his own mother. With her recent attitude, he had a lot of reservations about her cooperation but he was determined to get her to give it, after all no matter how bad a woman’s son has become, it was not always the usual practice for mothers to throw their children to the wolves especially if that child happens to be an only child like Ekpenyong.

These days, Ikwo had become very withdrawn and had stubbornly refrained from answering people’s greetings it was the height of rudeness and Ekpenyong would have pointed it out to her, but there was the issue of the baby and Ekpenyong also felt partly to blame for his mother’s attitude. She was obviously still sulking. He refused to dwell on what his mother could possibly have against a tender infant. He was however determined to win her over and make her help with the baby.

 As soon Ekpenyong heard Ikwo’s walking stick announcing her return, he immediately went into the room and re- emerged shortly with a covered bowl. Ikwo had taken her usual position at the corner of the room, she refused to acknowledge Ekpenyong’s presence or respond to his greetings.  

Undaunted, he went over to her, placed the plate on the small table before her and sank on his knees beside her, burying his face in her laps. There was silence all around the room, Ikwo looked down at her only son, grown and powerful and yet totally vulnerable. She placed her hand on his head and started a slow massage, like she used to do in the past when in moments of fear, he would burry his face in her laps. This was the first time he was doing this in  forty years.

 “mum, I cooked goat meat pepper soup for you, Ekpenyong announced comically, Ikwo suppressed the sudden mirth that rose to her throat at the subtle bribe from a fifty six year old traditional ruler. “Really? She exclaimed breaking her silence for the first time in five days. She opened the bowl and took a sip from the hot soup. “This taste nice’  she said .Ekpenyong as an only child was very domesticated, he could do all the house hold chores and more.

“it is the child is it not? His mother asked him, I know how much you want a son my child, but this child does not look good to me. I have a lot of ill feelings about this child and I think you should keep him away from the palace. “Ikwo, my mother, Ekpenyong said,  the fact that you may not feel right about an innocent infant is not enough reason for me to abandon him. Let us at least take care of him now that he is so tender and later on when he is strong enough, if you still insist, I will send him out of the palace. This suggestion seemed to look reasonable and Ikwo nodded her head. ‘I still feel this is a bad idea though, she said and started eating her pepper soup, Ikwo was crazy about goat meat pepper soup and Ekpenyong had prepared this one by killing one of the very big male goats in the herd.

Ekpenyong needed to go into the village for the first time in five days and now that Ikwo had agreed to help him, he felt he could confidently leave the baby with her and attend to the duties of the clan that must by now have been pilling up.

Thirty minutes after he left, Ikwo finished tidying up and went into the room to check the child. He had not uttered a sound since Ekpenyong left. As soon as Ikwo stepped into the room she noticed that the baby was awake. Judging  from the brightness of his eyes; he had been awake for the past fifteen minutes. Contrary to his style he had not uttered a sound; his wake up call has always been  a piercing scream.

Ikwo drew near to the bed; she starred at the baby who starred right back with surprisingly curious gaze that looked shockingly adult. “Where did you come from? Ikwo asked the eyes which at that moment appeared to dominate the face, seeming to be the only thing in the room. The baby kept starring at her….

Robot  Villager

# 1 Ikwo mma’s attitude shocked Ekpenyong. He sat still, quietly lost in deep thoughts in exac...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 07.07.2008 13:31

Lovenest  Villager

# 2 "Ikwo drew near to the bed; she starred at the baby who starred right back with surprisingly curious gaze that looked shockingly adult. “Where did you come from? Ikwo asked the eyes which at that moment appeared to dominate the face, seeming to be the only thing in the room. The baby kept starring at her…." Womeneen! Only God knows where this story is heading to! Women! You can never tell with women! Posted by Lovenest| 08.07.2008 08:41