The Birthday Wish: a Short Story by Ubaji Isiaka Abubakar Eazy

THE BIRTHDAY WISH

                                                         Ubaji Isiaka Abubakar Eazy

'I wish... I wish... I wish Mum would stop being Daddy...' That was my wish this morning. I had wanted to say more but found it difficult to continue. No, I could not continue, not with the myriad eyes starring at me in open mouthed wonder. They looked at my face then turned to look at mum's face. She also was bereft of words. A spontaneous silence descended on our household this morning and one could easily hear the footsteps of a passing angel. Suddenly, mum recovered from the momentary shock she had been experiencing and with a frown on her face shouted:

'Funmi, get into your room now! Get into your room this instant I say!'

Experience has taught me that obedience is a faithful saviour whenever mum gets infuriated as she was this morning. So, without much hesitation, I found the way to my room through the staircase.

I had not even reached my door when I heard Mum screaming at everybody downstairs.

'What are you people still gathered here for? The party is over, you can now go! Oya, oya, everybody gerraut!'

'Shade, take it easy now. What are you getting yourself so worked up for? Funmi is just a little girl and little girls talk carelessly. You should not let it bother...' That was Mummy Stephen; mum's best friend and confidante; talking some sense into mum's head as the guests quietly trooped out of our house.

'Heeey, Mummy Stephen! It is enough. You can start going also! What have I not done for that little brat hun? What? I make sure she lacks nothing, provide for her needs and everything yet she had to bring up the issue of that useless and good for nothing man who has not even bothered to check up on her years after he left this house! Look, I'm not going to take it! Not from her or anyone else,' Mum rapped out as she usually does whenever she is annoyed or irritated.

'Hey Sade, take it easy before you give yourself high BP. And do not even think I am leaving this house till I am sure that you are calm. You can have me killed for all I care but I am your friend and friends tell each other the truth. The girl misses her father, let him come back. Why is that so difficult to understand?' Mummy Stephen spoke to Mum calmly.

'I know but...' Mum attempted replying with a tearful pitch.

'Let go of this hatred and anger Sade. You have to let him back into your life and that of Funmi again. You just can't continue to shut him out. Look at how you disrupted all we have spent weeks planning for, hun? Now, who is going to eat all these food and...' Mummy Stephen went on speaking to Mum.

Well, today happens to be my 9th birthday and the fourth since Daddy walked out of our home and lives for good. The day he left had also been my birthday, I had just turned five that morning. But that was not how it all started, let me tell you from the beginning.

The problem, I think, began one day with a brown envelope which Daddy returned home with from work. The brown envelope was on the table when I arrived home from school that evening with Mum. Now, it was quite unusual to find Daddy at home at that time of the day since he returns from work late everyday. Daddy was sitting on the chair, arms folded across the chest, a leg on top of the centre table, and a forlorn look on his face. Mum had no option but to ask what was wrong with him.

'Imagine what they did to me!' Daddy was shouting. 'Just imagine! I worked for that company for years now with all sense of dedication, diligence and loyalty and now they tell me they are sorry that I am among those listed for retrenchment due to the financial challenges the company is currently facing as a result of the economic crisis in the country! Is that just fair? I have burned ten good years of my life for the company and this is how they pay me back?' He blurted out while he passed the envelope to Mum.

Mum was shocked and quiet. I saw the confusion written on her face and I knew she felt sad for Daddy.

'Maxwell, you have to take it easy. That you lost your job is not the end of the world. You will always find something better out there to do. You should not let this ugly occurrence weaken your zeal for life and happiness,' she said and sat close to him holding his hands. 'Let me go get you something to eat, we can discuss this later,' Mum left and walked towards the kitchen.

I have never seen Daddy this agitated and I felt bad for him. I was also hopeful that things would get better soon and we could all be one happy family again but such a dream was never to materialize.

Daddy kept going out everyday, except weekends, and returning home very tired and weak in the afternoon. He would walk in tired and fling himself on a chair with a vacant look on his face. He would ask me to get him a cup of water from the fridge while he would go on narrating to Mum tales upon tales of how it was difficult getting a job "out there".

'...the economic hardship in this country is just making things difficult for everyone,' he would conclude.

After three months of going out and returning tired and hopeless every time, Daddy changed routine and sat at home scanning the pages of newspapers he usually bought from the news vendor at the junction after our street.

I always returned from school everyday with Mum to meet Daddy consulting these newspapers. He stopped going out all together and his friends who usually visited at weekends and gathered at our sitting rooms for a few bottles of beer stopped visiting.

The good thing was that I had my Daddy to myself during the weekends and at nights. He was not always too tired to read or tell me a story every evening before bed unlike months before when he would return from work late and tired and would rush to bed immediately after dinner. At weekends, we played games such as scrabble, chess, ludo and whot which he taught me.

There grew a strong bound then between father and daughter and I could say that I began to prefer being with Daddy in contrast to being with Mum who was a strict disciplinarian and a no nonsense person.

Then one day, something happened. Mum came to my school to pick me, I noticed she was annoyed but could not figure out why. I kept quiet all through the drive home because I know Mum's palms usually get a bit itchy whenever she gets annoyed and she would not mind using my cheeks to scratch them so I have learnt to behave myself.

We got inside the house and she immediately began shouting at Daddy.

'Maxwell, what is the meaning of this rubbish hun? I explained to you yesterday that my new position as the principal of the school where I teach came with added responsibility and therefore I cannot close early to go pick Funmi from her school. How do you expect me to cope with all that stress at work then I go pick our daughter from school and still drive down to make dinner for us? Just how? I told you yesterday to assist me by going to pick Funmi at school everyday so I do not have to drive all the way down to her school but you failed to do so today. Had I not received a text message from her teacher that our daughter was still in school waiting as no one had come for her, I might never had known that she was still there!' Mum was fuming.

Although Daddy is taller than Mum and he is also muscular too, I have never seen Daddy get annoyed or provoked to the point of shouting; except that one time when he lost his job. So, while Mum barraged him with a volley of words, he sat down calmly and when he noticed she had stopped talking, he stood up and responded in a calm manner.

'Sade, I am sorry. I did not deliberately refuse to go pick up Funmi from school. I wanted to drive down to her school this afternoon when I suddenly noticed that there was no fuel in the car. I check to see if we still had some left in the generator but found out that it was also empty and I had not a single dime on me. I would have called your phone but I had exhausted the call card on my phone also. It would not happen again I promise,' Mum was pacified and walked away towards the bedroom.

After this occurrence, things began to change in our household. Dad was always at home, he drove me to school everyday and came to pick me at noon. He would do my laundry and starch my uniforms, and he also does the dishes and some other things around the house; Mum had been responsible for most of these things before.

Well, I enjoyed having him around and joining him to carry out these chores (at least he was not likely to become easily provoked and smack me before I could make a clean escape). Daddy and I sang and chatted while he went about doing all these chores.

The only thing I discovered that Daddy was horrible at is cooking, it was either the pepper, seasoning, or salt was too much. Mum asked that he leave the cooking to her. He was only to do the groceries and get them prepared before Mum arrives.

That, to me, was a wise decision for what Daddy cooked could not be called food at all, poison is perhaps a more appropriate appellation to label what he cooked.

I, however, did notice that I got my daily school allowance from Mum, and if I needed to get anything at school, I needed not tell Daddy because he would still ask me to meet Mum and tender my request to her. Dad no longer bought things for me now, she bought everything ranging from my clothing to the toys I use. My friends at school always tell me of how their daddy bought them things and I wondered why all the buying in my own house had to be done by Mum.

Well, who cares! If I was getting the things I needed, who cares where or whom it came from? Things might have changed between Mum and Daddy but I was glad to always have my daddy and best friend around at all times.

Then one day; I remember that day very well because it had being my fifth birthday; Daddy had been out early that morning to get the things needed for the birthday. There had been no fuel in his car so he used Mum's car. Thankfully, Mum would not be needing the car that morning as it was a Saturday. It rained heavily that Saturday morning and Daddy was out in it getting all necessary items for the birthday party scheduled for noon.

It was already 11am when he returned with a dent at the left hand side of the car's posterior and the backlight broken off. Mum was outside doing some decorations when he drove in and her immediate reaction when she saw the damage on her car was to scream.

'Whaaat! Maxwell, what happened to my car? Do not stand there looking at me like the statue of liberty, what in the blazes happened to my car Maxwell?'

'I... I... am sorry Sade. I visited Shoprite to get a few things that we needed and just as I was leaving the place, a young lady drove her vehicle towards mine and in an attempt to park her car, she rammed into mine from behind. I was of course annoyed but she pleaded profusely saying that she was still learning to drive. I had no option but to forgive her and let go,' answered Daddy.

'Did you "let go" Maxwell or did I hear you wrong? Did you say "let go"? Did you tell her the car is not yours and that you have no job or money to foot the repairs? Maxwell, you are a fool! You mean I spend my hard earned money to keep us going in this house, provide money for food, clothing, pay electricity bills, and fuel and repair your car only for you to go out there and incur extra expenses for me then you come here to tell me you "let go!" Maxwell, it shall not be well with you!' Mum shouted out her words at Daddy.

'Sade, but why are placing curses on me because of a small damage on the car. I already explained that it was a mistake arising from no fault of mine. Why are you becoming so difficult these days? You are frustrating me and you know it!' Daddy responded with the pitch of his voice slightly raised. I could feel that he was seething with anger and trying very hard to control it.

'Is it I that is frustrating you Maxwell? You spoil my car and come here to tell me nonsense. Maxwell, you are stupid! TWAAH!' That sounded like thunder but it was not thunder. It was Mum giving Daddy a resounding slap! I knew the sound of that her award winning slap too well for I had often been a recipient of it may times before.

I ran to the window on hearing the slap. Daddy's eyes were red, it was obvious he was annoyed and I wanted to see him beat the living daylight out of Mum but he just stood there dazed and flummoxed.

He did not beat Mum as I expected, what he did was to walk past her and go into the room, he grabbed his car keys and went to his car. He took the keg of petrol he bought on the way home and fueled his car. Then he got into the car and drove out without uttering a word in response to Mum's insult or retaliating.

It was Mum's turn to be confused. She had not expect this reaction from her husband. Maybe she had thought he would beat her or shout back but he never uttered a word more than what he said till he drove out of the compound.

I know Mum thought he would come back that evening, I also waited anxiously for his return. The birthday celebration was cancelled that day. Our house became as silent as the grave yard as Mum and I both sat in the living room waiting to hear Daddy's car honking at the gate. Mum was anxious to have him back but was too proud to call and apologise to him.

We waited all through the night but waited in vain as Dad did not return home that night. On Sunday, Mum did not go to church and we thought Daddy would come back home but he disappointed us still. I was almost crying when I had to go to my room that evening without seeing my daddy that night.

On Monday, Mum tried calling some of his friends on the phone. I heard her telling them she had been trying his number but his line was switched off. They all said they had not seen or heard from Daddy. She waited and surprisingly, days became weeks and weeks flew into months. It was beginning to seem as if Daddy had chosen to walk out of our lives for good.

Mum had at first felt bad about what happened but as time went on and Daddy was no where to be found, her feeling of regret metamorphosed into annoyance and she became quiet reckless. She paid me less and less attention and she was struggling too hard in between carrying out her duties at work and taking care of me.

She was losing it and I could see that the stress and burden was too much for her but she would not admit it. I once overheard her telling Mummy Stephen that Daddy could go to hell for all she cared, she could take care of me all by herself and ensure I do not miss him at all.

But I missed Daddy everyday. There was no one to play chess, ludo, and whot and scrabble with me anymore. Mum hardly has the time to tell me stories and I struggle everyday to keep out of her way to avoid her smacking me at the least provocation.

It has been exactly four years since Daddy walked out of our lives without returning to us and I miss him everyday. I want him back so I could tell my friends at school about what the things I did with Daddy as they always came to tell me of their parents. I knew there was something wrong with the setting in my home when I could only talk about Mum and not about Daddy while they told me about their own daddy and mum.

When I realised that I will be nine years old on the 20th of June, this year, I decided that I must find a way to let Mum know that I want my daddy back in our lives. Going to confront Mum was not an option. I would not want her to get annoyed and beat me black and blue. But I know I was always asked to make wish on my birthday and I already knew what this year's birthday wish would be.

So, this morning after everyone sang the birthday song in unison and I was asked to make a wish, I stuttered at first but finally said I wished Mum would stop being Daddy.

As expected, it got Mum annoyed that she sent me up to my room immediately but I was relieved that I finally made her know how I felt. Mum ended the party abruptly and I heard Mummy Stephen talking to her from my room upstairs this morning.

I hid in my room all day and did not dare leave the room till nightfall for the fear that I might had to confront Mum and still get beaten for not knowing how to keep my mouth shut when I should.

When it was nightfall, I was hungry and tiptoed to the kitchen to help myself with a generous plate of the jollof rice prepared for my truncated birthday party, I also took two pieces of meat and drank a cup of water before tip toeing back to my room. Usually, to get to my room from the staircase, I would have to pass through Mum's room. I noticed that the door was a bit ajar and the light was on. These were things I should have noticed while making my way to the kitchen but perhaps hunger made me bold and see beyond them. Returning from the kitchen, I could not help but to notice the light and slightly opened door. I immediately thought Mum had caught me red handed and was only lurking in the shadow to beat me. I looked around and when I could not see her, I summoned courage and moved closer to the room.

At first I could not believe what I heard but after a while I knew it was Mum sniffing. She had been crying! I discovered she was on the phone talking to someone.

'... I am sorry, please forgive me... I was angry, I was not in my right senses and could not have done it intentionally. Please, I am sorry... Your daughter needs you back home, we all need you... This is your home, where you belong, please return home... I am sorry it would never happen again... Thank you,' she said in a tearful voice as she dropped the phone on her desk. She turned to the door and she saw me standing there also crying. She came to me and embraced me, at that moment, I really felt close to Mum.

'Stop crying Funmi, I have just spoken to your daddy and he says he is coming home tomorrow morning! Stop crying hun? We can celebrate your birthday tomorrow together when he comes and ask Mummy Stephen to come with Stephen and his father to join in the celebration too,' Mum assured me.

I felt happy as she took me to my room to sleep. I knew I was going to sleep well this night and dream of Daddy returning back home to us where he belongs.

The End

© Ubaji Isiaka Abubakar Eazy 2017

Photo Credit: https://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-180768979/stock-photo-african-couple-having-quarrel-at-home-unhappy-husband-apologizing-for-an-affair-to-his-offended-ang


Meet the Writer

Ubaji Isiaka Abubakar Eazy is a short story writer, a book reviewer, copy editor, literary critic and poet.