Mostly Unlady

Part 15

Hey Mum,

Today dad finally took me to see a doctor about my tonsils since I can no longer sleep or eat properly for days. Can you believe dad had to ask his secretary at work to call a doctor for me! I'm guessing he doesn't know anything about finding a doctor, being a good parent or being a good husband.

I'm on antibiotics now.

While Nona's been away, dad has tried to be nicer to me than before. Remember how he'd shout at me over the tiniest spill? Now we eat from disposable tableware, and he tells me I'm a star every day. He only buys pre-made food, though. Oh, and he gets me soooo involved with house chores!

Yesterday, he had me folding bed linen for an hour and I swear I could feel my heart slow down to a whisper. He only took a tiny break from his televised football game to help me fold the huge, double bed sheets. Just as we wrap up, he says to me: "it really makes you appreciate all that Nona does for us, doesn't it?" 

I couldn't believe my ears. I tried to move my lips, but they were glued shut. Don't know why. Inside my head, I could feel hot vapours rising, about to come out of my ears. I wanted to shout at him: "Is that all that Nona means to you? She's just a servant? And...you know what, man...it's you! It's you who can't appreciate Nona! How dare you bring me to your level! How dare you hurt all three of us!" By the time my lips got unstuck, I looked up and dad had gone to his room to finish watching his football match.

I miss Nona's beans and rice, even while I'm eating beans and rice, in the school canteen. It's because it's not her beans and rice. Her rice is cooked to perfection. It's fluffy. Her black beans are whole and soft and smell of bay leaf. And she never forgets to bring greens to the table, and fresh oranges and papaya for dessert.

I found the andiroba oil that she keeps in a pink bottle in the bathroom, and I put some on my hands, the same way she does. There's a knot in my throat when I think of that bomb she dropped over the phone and her words play back, in my mind, about leaving us for good. 

I never thought that if she walked away from dad, she was also prepared to leave me. I didn't know it was like that—him and me—part of the same package.

Oh, mum...is there any way you could talk to her and convince her to come back? I know it's not easy for you but, if you can do this for me, I know she'll listen.

I love you, mum.

Zelia

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Photo by Aline Viana Prado, from Pexels