HEDGED
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Episode 1
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Mama used to tell me about how my dad abandoned us shortly after I was born. She’d usually tell me how hard she’d had to work to ensure my accomplishments in life.
I’ve matured into a fine young man, and I know without a doubt that, aside from God, I owe Mama all that I’ve learned and earned in life.
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My mother has always been the definition of a “superwoman.” For everything she’s done to aid me, I’ll be eternally thankful.
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My mom has had to work in deplorable conditions simply to put food on our table. She’d had to swallow her pride and beg at times just to keep me in school and not be sent home like the majority of my peers due to unpaid school fees.
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My mother has had to starve herself numerous times while appearing to have eaten to her heart’s delight in order for me to eat the little food we had—a meal that was always barely enough for me because that was all we had left in the house.
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My name is Greg.
I am my mother’s only child.
I am my mother’s only friend.
Mama never remarried, for whatever reason.
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Mama frequently brought me down memory lane. She’d usually bring up these somber recollections anytime I’d purportedly done something wrong, perhaps to keep me in check. These obnoxious cues were usually designed to trap me in guilt.
It worked on all occasions until I got married, at which point it appeared as if Mama’s “begotten son” had gone rogue.
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My mother seems to be needing more and more attention recently. So much attention that, even if Tricia looks cool right now, if I don’t do something to prevent it from escalating into something more, it could jeopardize the tranquility in my home.
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Mama may just pick up the phone and dial my number in the middle of the night, to let me know she is unable to sleep. She’ll require me to sing her to sleep most of the time.
Mama could only phone to inform me that she tried flushing the toilet, but it appears that whatever she’d dropped down there is stronger than normal, so she’ll have to wait for the WC to refill before flushing again 😏.
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I’ve had to strike a balance between tending to Tricia (my wife) and ensuring that my mother doesn’t feel abandoned, and believe me when I say it can be exhausting at times.
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Mama will continue to whine, no matter how hard I try.
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Mama frequently complains about being downgraded ever since I married Tricia, claiming she has transformed into an apparition in my life.
“You no longer care about my well-being, Greg.” Mama will frequently tell me.
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Every attempt to explain and persuade my mother that I now have an immediate family member who also requires my attention has simply incited more hatred towards my wife.
I’ve tried numerous times to convince Mama that getting married and desiring to spend time together with Tricia, my wife, doesn’t mean forgetting I have a mother “in her” and understanding how to treat her well.
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Even though Mama probably believed so, I have repeatedly tried to convince her that she is not in competition with my wife, and that the sooner she realizes this, the sooner she will stop seeing her as a rival and start seeing her as the daughter she never had.
All of this, however, falls on deaf ears.
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Then there’s Tricia, “my wife.”
To be continued…
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Moshood Avidiime The Writer
