RESOLVE

Chapter Twenty.

~Author's POV~

Three decades back.

As the tradition of society burdens every young woman who clocked the second decade of her existence with the thought that the best days of her life began the day she is entrusted into the hands of a man in the name of marriage, Nwamaka was very excited about getting married to her first love, Ekene, in Orlu village, Imo state, the small suburb they had grown up in together. Her father had been quite repulsive to her decision to make Ekene her lifetime partner. His most optimistic response was suppressed to "as long as he makes you happy, it is your choice."

Blossoming in the euphoria of their neoteric matrimony, they had unleashed sentiments of curiosity towards giving a name to the their yet to be born child."If it's a girl, she's going to be called Adaeze, and if it's a boy, Jide - Kene" Nwamaka and Ekene had agreed on one sunny afternoon under the cashew tree, a day after her bride price was paid when she was just three months pregnant.

And the following six months of their marriage had heard the cry of a female child.

The birth of Adaeze Aniekwe had been welcomed with the bliss of affection, gifts from patrons and relatives and as well, the presence of her mother who helped with the basic stage of infant massages and extremely hot baths.

The dizzy spells and missed period had warded off a sign to Nwamaka about the possibility of a developing foetus even though her breasts still dripped the liquid that fed her five months old. She had considered weaning anyway. But the thought of stepping into a second trimester had groped her with distress and fear.

Nwamaka had recalled a supportive parenting and partnering from both herself and Ekene. Through the second trimester and the first few weeks after childbirth.

Nwamaka and her husband thought it was a good idea to name their second child the name they had set aside for their first son. Jide-Kene, they named him. Curly dark hair like his sister.

breastfed for an entire year, because Nwamaka visited the Orlu health centre every three months to renew her 'family planning injection' as they called it, a form of contraceptive, so she could make love to her husband without any other form of protection and she wouldn't be worried about getting pregnant again.

She had sought to visit the Orlu health centre after being convinced of trying the new 'family planning' routine which could help curb the frequencies of pregnancy occurrence. She had chosen the injection method which she thought would save her the hassle of having to remember to take the pills daily - if she had chosen the pills.

The injection method had indeed been a miracle which had tamed her eggs than her husband's orgasms for the last couple of years.

Ekene had come home that Saturday morning, and he had gotten a new job as a security man at the Orlu local government Council, which is just fifty naira taxi from their home.

Nwamaka's parents had come for the three-year-old Adaeze and her baby brother earlier that Saturday morning. They would be spending the day with their only grandparents since they do not have paternal grandparents.

Nwamaka and Ekene were excited with the new job, it would make them more money than the okada business. Because Nwamaka was so in love, and excited for her husband, and the best thing about being in love is making love.

Nine months later, Nwamaka gave birth to a set of beautiful boys whose eyeballs reminded her of her father who passed away the day before.

Ekene wasn't as present as he was for their first two children, because his job at the council was more demanding, and on the days when he was off duty, he wanted to hang out with Victor, Stephen and Obi, his long-time friends. Nwamaka would be home nurturing the twins who would cry incessantly, while she tried to control a three-year-old Jide - Kene, whose only way of expressing himself was to say yes to everything, apart from 'mama', the only other word he could say, besides yes.