A few months had raced by, and as Akushika’s pregnancy continued to grow, the changes that accompanied it followed.
Aside a bigger bump, the pregnancy glow many had often spoken about was one pleasant experience she was enjoying. She looked at herself in the mirror often and marveled at how radiant her skin looked. Dr. Asamoah had mentioned it was probably due to an increase in the amounts of hormones her body was releasing.
She didn’t mind one bit, of course. She was loving it.
There were downers to it, obviously. She was not enjoying the swift mood switches; she could be normal one moment, and ready to scream bloody murder at whoever was near her the next. Thankfully, of course, the flat family was more than ready to support and show her grace whenever those moments popped up.
And obviously, those moments when her little princess kicked were precious moments. The first time, she had been a bit scared, but after Drusilla assured her nothing was wrong, she learned to treasure those moments. Now, each time the baby kicked, she’d simply cradle the bump and stare at it lovingly.
For a while now, she had been contemplating what name would be best for her daughter. As the only present parent, that was her responsibility, and she had been going through a number of possible names. Of all she had seen, one name kept sticking out at her like a sore thumb.
Ellen.
She did her checks on its origin, and she loved the meaning.
“Shining light”.
Indeed, that adorable little girl would be a ray of light in her life.
So Ellen it would be. As far as the surname was concerned, a proper conversation would be had around it. And as for the local name, the day she would be born would tell. But the precious little one would be called Ellen.
No two ways about that.
***
“Of course Yaya Toure should be in there,” Jonny commented as they watched the panel on TV discuss the greatest African footballers of the Premier League. It was a Thursday evening, and the entire squad was in the Mills-Odoi couples’ apartment.
“Nanka we’ll riot if he wasn’t. Ei! That guy in his heyday was unplayable!” Raymond agreed. “Chale! I’ve forgotten which season it was, but at Man City, the guy was on fire literally every week! It was serious! Sir Remmy, who would you put in your team?”
Sir Remmy stroked his chin. “Hmmm… at least I know three players who would be a constant. Sadio Mane, Yaya Toure as you’ve said… and of course, the Drog! The bulldozer! The man for the big games! The one and only Didier Drogba!”
Akushika laughed as Jonny and Raymond cheered each appellation Remaliah chanted. Having learned that the three men were all Chelsea fans, that was to be expected. Bukky, who was seated at the dining table, had a scornful look on her face, and duly brought Remaliah’s attention to it with a deliberate throat clearing.
He noticed it and smirked. “Yes, the man who used to destroy Arsenal on a regular basis. He is the one I’m talking about!”
Bukky turned her nose up.
Akushika laughed. Bukky loved to hate on anything related to Chelsea as an Arsenal fan, and she usually got swallowed up by the men whenever she tried it. So it made for hilarious viewing whenever the two teams met, and Chelsea won. She would get relentlessly trolled by all three of them, especially by her boyfriend.
“Abeg, abeg, he no special like that!” Bukky retorted. “Jay-Jay is bigger than he’ll ever be.”
“Madam, please, respect yourself!” Raymond shot back. “First off, they’re different players. Didier was a striker, Jay-Jay was not. And everybody knows Jay-Jay and skill diɛɛ, like fufu and soup. Drogba was the big man that would bully defenders and score correct goals.”
Bukky pretended to yawn. “You go explain tire,” she slurred cheekily. “Evidence no dey.”
“Evidence? You dey talk about evidence?” Jonny scoffed, sitting up. “Abeg, evidence dey paaaa. See Premier League trophies. FA Cups. The fact that he won Chelsea their first Champions League. Madam, please, there is evidence!”
“Don’t mind her, Jonny. His record speaks for itself. Na Okocha you are fighting for, what did he win at Blackburn Rovers… oh wait, sorry, Bolton Wanderers. Mid-table team, what did he win there?” Remaliah challenged her.
She stared evilly at them, knowing she would be unable to hit back.
“Ah, Bukky paaaa. Jay-Jay Okocha di33, we all know sey he be proper baller, but please, don’t go there!” Raymond added. “Drogba dey win trophies and things, wey your man dey play mid-table football under Sam Allardyce! Ahhh! Ronaldinho’s African twin paaa, you left PSG for that! Madam, I beg, make you no dey do that!”
“Ashock! Nanka if you want to do proper boot-for-boot, bring up Nwankwo Kanu, eh. He played for Arsenal, he be striker, he won something in England. Naahhh, Bukky, this one, you lose guard,” Jonny admonished.
Akushika couldn’t help but giggle. She had little to no knowledge about football history. Not surprising when Mr. and Mrs. Acolatse never even allowed a Black Stars game to be watched in the house. But she found it pretty amusing just how the men successfully shut Bukky down, with the lady looking miffed at being defeated so easily.
“It’s okay,” Bukky conceded, her hands up in surrender. “But we live to fight another day. I go get you all, walahi!”
The men laughed out loud. “Awwww, you’re so cute when you lose gracefully,” Jonny teased. “That’s why you’re my lil boothang…”
“Boothang kee you there!”
As everyone in the living room roared with laughter at her retort, Remaliah’s phone rang. He quickly answered. “Hello, Adoley?”
Everyone perked up. The time was due.
Remaliah and Drusilla’s thirtieth wedding anniversary was a few weeks away, and Adoley and Dromo, their daughters, were coming down from the United States to join the celebrations. Akushika had had the chance to speak to them through video calls one or two times, but she felt a twinge of excitement at the thought of finally meeting them.
“Yes, sweetheart… oh great, great. So from San Francisco to Washington, then you come straight to Accra… alright, alright. Cool. So I’ll take the flight to Accra tomorrow morning and come wait for you girls, as we agreed… good, good… yes, your mother is in the kitchen, do you want to speak to her?… okay ooo, that too makes sense. You’ll be seeing her soon. Alright, so text me when you girls board the plane… good, good, alright. Bye!”
Hanging up, he nodded at the rest of the squad. “Time to pack some few things and get the ticket to Accra.”
“Sweet!” Jonny nodded. “Been long since we saw Adoley and Dromo.”
“Oh yeah. Can’t wait to see them again!” Bukky agreed.
Akushika nodded. The enthusiasm was enough to get her enthusiastic about meeting them herself.
I’m really looking forward to meeting them. Hope it’ll be good…
***
“HOME SWEET HOMMEEEEEEE!”
The excited squeals of two young ladies filled the living room as they followed their big father into the apartment. Drusilla, who was seated with Akushika as they watched a Nigerian movie on TV, sprung up at the sound of her daughters’ voices.
“MAMAAAA!” they screamed upon seeing her, rushing towards her.
“My babies!” she gushed delightedly, hugging them both tightly. “Awwww, I’ve missed you girls so much!”
“We’ve missed you too, Mamaa!”
Fighting the urge to try and remember if Martina Acolatse had ever given her a hug with half that enthusiasm, Akushika sat back and watched on as Drusilla and her two daughters embraced each other joyously. Drusilla had mentioned that she hadn’t seen them in over two years, so this was surely a moment to savour for her.
Chattering excitedly about all the gossip and news they had for her, they turned to see Akushika on the couch. Drusilla immediately got to introducing. “So girls, this is the sweet Akushika Acolatse we’ve been telling you about. The latest member of our ‘flat children’. Shika, these are my girls. Adoley and Dromo.”
“Awwww, she’s even cuter in person! Hey there, baby girl!” Dromo gushed, reaching down to hug her.
“Hey Shika, good to finally meet you!” Adoley cheered, also moving over to embrace her. “Such a sweet baby girl you are!”
Akushika happily hugged them back. “Thank you, ladies. It’s great to meet you too. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you both, now you’re here. Sorry I’m gonna have to hijack one of your beds for the meantime…”
“Oh, don’t worry about that, sweetie. You need all the space, you know,” Dromo insisted. “Don’t worry kraaa. We got’chu. Right, sis?”
“Of course, of course. No need to apologize,” Adoley agreed. “We’ll talk during the night, okay, love? Let us just get our stuff in. Paapa, my pink suitcase…”
As the girls walked towards the bedroom with their father pulling some of their suitcases along, Akushika smiled. Drusilla had always talked about their daughters’ different personalities, and within less than five minutes of meeting them in the flesh, it was apparent.
Hopefully, she would bond with them nicely.
Yep, Maa Dru was right. Adoley looks more like the serious type, and Dromo is just sass and sauciness! Haha! I sure hope we hit it off. It’s already been awesome enough bonding with everyone here. I’m sure it’ll be good with them too…
Our girl has really settled in nicely. And it looks like we’ve got an anniversary to look forward to…
