Chap 2
As beautiful as her mother, a baby girl with round eyes was born the day before Christmas. They named her “Holly”. She was born with beautiful cheeks, everybody who came to see Maggy told her how much she looked just like her. It’s been a month and Lance can see it too. The only thing Holly might have inherited from her father was her perky ears. Other than that, there was no resemblance whatsoever.
Per tradition, a woman sleeps in a separate bedroom when she just gave birth. It has been that way for generations, and it is now that way in Lance and Maggy’s house. Maggy and the baby settled the original baby bedroom and Judith who used to sleep in it moved to the living room. Was she happy about that? Probably not since Maggy heard her two days ago complaining to her cousins about how mosquitoes buzz and bite her all night. Maggy could care less when she heard her. Concerns of anyone other than her infants didn’t matter to her.
During her maternity, Maggy’s mother volunteered to care for her and she has been with her a week before she went into labor. She mostly stayed in the bedroom either looking after the baby, sleeping or reciting a rosary since she didn’t see eye to eye with Lance’s nephews and cousins. One day, she straight up told Maggy about it when she first arrived. Good thing was that the feeling was mutual. The nephew or cousins didn’t like her either. “Be careful who you leave your children with Maggy. Those people are not good people” She warned her daughter. “If they harm your daughter, don’t be surprised.” Maggy looked at her in amazement when she told her those things. She remembers her mother convincing her to marry Lance, citing that he comes from a good family. Now, she ought to be careful. What changed? “It’s not your husband I am talking about. It’s his family members” “Well Mama, it’s too late for that.” Maggy replied. As a girl, once you marry into one’s man family, you become a part of that family. Whether that pleases you or not. It’s something you must deal with as soon as the man brings you into his home. Do you always know what’s waiting for you? Of course not. Because if some of these women knew, Maggy included. She wouldn’t have married Lance. A sad thing to think of when you have been married only for over a year. “Thank God for my baby” Maggy kept saying when she felt stressed. Like the other day, the doorknob height cousin came back home drunk and started shouting about how the arrival of the baby has changed their uncle. “It’s not even a boy. Who gets excited about a girl? What is she going to help on? How doesn’t he think about that?” The cousin went on until when his mouth was shut by a slap on his right cheek. “How dare you talk about my child that way?” Lance slapped the living out of him. He knelt down begging for forgiveness and blamed all the blasphemy on alcohol the next morning. He approached Maggy and asked for forgiveness for the things he said the night before. Maggy smirked and got up to her room. With her silence, you couldn’t tell if she forgave him or not. And that’s what she has learned to do so far. Be quiet and not pay evil with evil.
“Keep an eye on her. I am counting on you” Maggy telling her cousin Alice. At 8 months, she started leaving Holly on the watch of her cousin Alice when she wanted to go out with her friends. And today, she is about to do the same thing. Lance invited her for a nice diner out, but to ease her mind and to know that her baby is in safe hands, she agreed because Alice was free this evening. The latter loved children so much, you could see it from her eyes. There was a glow when she held Holly or when she played with her. There was deep love and attentiveness to her actions and movements. Holly could never bump into a chair or crawl further than 3m away from Alice. On the days Alice babysat Holly, she would sometimes refrain herself from using the bathroom. She felt as though something bad could happen if the baby was not in her eyesight. In fact, something bad could have happened 5mins ago when she left to go to the kitchen to warm up her bottle. She found Holly inserting her fingers into the electricity socket. “Watch out” She shouted at Judith. “Can’t you look after her even for 2second? How are you people?” The three cousins or nephews were seating in the living room watching TV when Holly crawled away from her toys to the wall. As all babies get curious and start touching everything they see. She was touching and putting her fingers into the socket in front of them.
With anger and frustration, she picked her up and retrieved into the bedroom. “Are you okay Holly?” Alice murmured, checking her fingers. Imagine if she got electrocuted with four adults in the house. Alice couldn’t fathom the thought. She tightly held Holly and cried thinking about it. When she found consolation of her little arm holding her cheeks and her eyes shaking of worry, she told Holly that her tears are of joy. Happiness of seeing her safe. After all, her mother entrusts her baby to her. She knew what others were capable of. Hence the reason Maggy insisted on keeping her eyes on her at all times.
After a while, Alice mastered the courage to face the heartless adults sitting in front of TV. Looking at their faces, she shook her head and murmured curse words to them. She couldn’t grasp how two grown adults can ever let a child put herself in danger while watching.
Around 10pm, Maggy and Lance arrived back home founding Holly asleep. They got reports from Alice that everything went well. She didn’t mention the incident and thanked Maggy for always calling her to babysit when she is not around “Anytime you want to go out even for 10mins, please call me. I would never say no”. Alice lived at a walking distance, and it was her niece after all.
As most people gets busy during the month of December, Maggy was getting ready to celebrate Holly’s birthday on the 29th of December. A date close enough to New Year’s Eve which gave her courage to celebrate and enjoy the beginning of a new year. Something she was never fond of before. Her mother would always tell her children to thank God for another year alive and sing songs of praise. At exactly 12:15mins, everybody had wished each other “Happy New Year” and heading to bed. Maggy found it simple and boring at the same time after seeing how other people celebrated. “We dance, drink and share what our goals are. It’s our tradition at the university” A friend from university once told her. And when she passed the message to her mother, suggesting changing things a bit, she was not impressed at all. “Does telling your goals to random drunk people give you the courage to accomplish them? And I am sure you make a ton of resolutions with those friends too?” Maggy never replied to her mother. She knew better. Anyone who knew Maggy’s mother knew not to argue with her. Why? There is no argument she could not win. To avoid chaos, everybody let her have the last words. But this time, Maggy was not going to skip her daughter’s birthday because her mother didn’t like celebration. She had already bought decoration balloons and ordered a small cake from her colleague baked after school for extra cash. The Lord even knows teacher’s salary can never be enough to cover for their lives.
“Are you okay Maggy?” Her colleague Fatou, the baker asked when she saw Maggy gagging on a piece of cake Fatou just gave her to taste. “The cake tastes different” Maggy said. “Really? I used the same ingredients as last time since you asked for a vanilla cake. I made sure to not change a thing.” Fatou pierced a fork in the cake for a bite. As she chewed, her eyes turned at the same time as her tongue. “It’s the same taste Maggy” She retorted. It’s after a minute she realized that Maggy was running from the kitchen. “Maggy…” Fatou called and saw her push the restroom door. “This can’t be…” Maggy tried to catch her breath while throwing up the last two-day meals in the toilet. Fatou stood behind her, tapping her back, either consoling her or pushing everything out, she was not sure. But she kept tapping until Maggy stretched out her hand for help to getting up. “I am okay” she said and Fatou walked her to her car. She drove her home and offered to help her set up Holly’s birthday décor in case she felt sick again. Fatou was a guest so getting at Maggy’s place earlier didn’t bother her. “Can you go to the pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy test for me?” Maggy whispered to Fatou, and the latter nodded. Maggy hoped for her discomfort to be indigestion, otherwise, the year will not start the way she’d wanted it to be. Half an hour later, Fatou came back and handed her the paper bag from the pharmacy.
“You gotta get ready. Your face looks beat up. The neighbors will start arriving soon” Lance told Maggy as soon as he saw her walking with wrinkles of worries all over her face. He didn’t see the paper bag she was holding as she walked to the restroom. She knew two of their neighbors would arrive soon since their children were as excited as Holly when they were invited last night. And thinking about guests arriving soon stirred her guts forcing her to calm down as she didn’t want to ruin her own daughter’s birthday. And standing in the bathroom alone, she unwrapped the pregnancy test, draw a cross on her face, took a leak and waited. 5 mins later, she flipped the test and starred at what she has been dreading to know. “Oh Lord…” she gasped and her face dropped as her bottom fell on the toilet sit.
