Chapter 48

Susan glanced at her in surprise. Mama nodded. "Yes, Tokunbo got around to telling me about you and Olu. At first, I was shocked, as he has started a baby in Tokunbo, but she explained her thinking, so I understood." She took a breath, then grabbed Susan's hand.

"Susan, I do not know if it has been made clear to you, but Tokunbo is attempting to find a wife for Olu, and she has you in her sights!"

Susan's face paled. "Mama, I do not know what to say! My purpose in coming here was to lose my virginity. I needed a man I could trust, who would be kind and gentle, and Tokunbo told me Olu was perfect for the job. She was right." She stopped to gather herself. "Tokunbo did say that Olu needed a wife, but it did not occur to me that I was the one she meant! I had assumed it would be a black girl he wanted."

Mama gather her into her ample bosom. "Susan, I do not care what colour is the girl my Olu chooses to marry, as long as she is a nice girl. You ARE a nice girl, but it is up to you to decide eventually whether you and Olu could cope with spending a life together, having a family. It is an important choice, and not one to be made swiftly."

"Thank you Mama. You are a wonderfully understanding lady, and an excellent mother if Olu is anything to go by. But your warning: Did Adeola and Eniola wait?"

"No, dear, but they knew Winston from childhood, and had decided by themselves a couple of years ago that he should be their husband. He of course had no idea of their decision, but they developed into beauties while he was away, and that blew his mind, an d he was easily hooked. That pair of girls always prefer to be together, and they took it into marriage. As long as they are happy, I can live with it."

Susan decided to trust Olu's mother. "Mama, at the moment I do not love Olu. I like him a lot, but I have only had the one visit. I would need much more time to work out my feelings for the future. I only recently decided that I needed to do well at school, and perhaps go on for further study; so marriage is not to the fore in my plans." She looked up at Mama for a response.

"Susan, you are a wise young lady. You have your head screwed on properly, and you should go for education. If you and Olu gradually fall in love, then he will have to wait for you to be ready. He already has Tokunbo to love, so it is more awkward for him to fall I love with another girl right away. I think he will take time also, but if you and Tokunbo hit it off, then you have a head start. Please treat our home as your home in the meantime. Oh, I err. The new house is to be our home, not this building."

"Mama? What are you and Susan whispering about?" Adeola queried.

Mama bridled, "What is to you, my daughter? A mother has some confidential discussions with a friend, and you have to know about it? Should I have told about some of the matters that you and I have discussed privately?"

"Um. No, Mama," She gulped. "I understand, Mama. I was going to invite Susan to come see the new house being built. Olu is there."

"Very well. Take Susan to see what is going on, but stay clear. We don't want any accidents. I have to get on with our meal. Simisola, can you assist me, or do you have to be beside your husband?"

Simisola was amenable. "I can come, Mama. I have lots to learn yet about cooking for our husband." She giggled. "I have become like the twins, talking out OUR husband."

"it is a good sign, girl. It indicates a happily married woman. But that is my own humble opinion; having been papa's only wife."

"I value your opinion, Mama. You are not my mother-in-law, so your views are not biased."

"I am almost your mother-in-law, Simmie, with Winston being my son-in-law. You are learning important lessons about who to be nice to, and I come top of the list! Let's get to the kitchen and be productive members of this family."

As they worked in the kitchen, Simisola enquired, "Mama, Winston never talks about his mother. Is there a reason for that, do you know?"

"Ah, yes. His mother. The woman he refers to as his mother is his father's other wife. Winston's mother died when he was born. He has never felt attached to his second mother, nor she to him, so that by the time he was a teenager, they simply ignored each other. It fitted the family situation, as Winston's father is a bossy man, conscious of status above all. He allowed Winston, as a child, to chose his own friends on the estate, but the minute he decided Winston was old enough to accept social levels, he banned Winston from seeing Olu. That was tough for both boys. Mr Oluwosu was not a good man to work for, but I was told that his clan had a poor opinion of him as well, due to his attitude. They do what is required for the clan good, but they do not do it with enthusiasm. We were simply a family of workers on the estate, so what I have heard is mere gossip, but I think accurate gossip." She grinned to herself, and stood a bit taller. "Now, we are a landowning family alongside Winston, and we are making a good effort to improve ourselves. You are the wife of the main landowner, but remember that on Rehome, all people are equal members of society, and should be valued as such.

I thought that your mother was penniless when she came here, but curiously, a new trust has appeared and purchased a share of the farm. The tale I am hearing from the boys is that it is Tokunbo who runs this trust. It is amazing how mysterious things can happen, and yet she has shown no sign of change. She is the same Tokunbo that she was when she arrived, and if anything, she is happier now, with no visible change to her finances. Happiness is a state to be wished for, Simmie, and you can usually work to achieve it. Your mother is a prime example."

"Mama, I know nothing about this trust, or my mother having access to money. She has said nothing to me about it."

"She will have her reasons, girl, so do not bother her. She will tell you what you need to know, when you need to know it. That is another lesson to learn. Do not talk in public about your family finances."

The twins and Susan came round to where the new house was being erected. One wall was completed, and a second was partially in place. Susan noted that there were supports at an angle to the new walls, and mentioned them. Eniola told her, "These keep the walls in position in case of any wind pressure on them. It is not until all four walls are in place that they have any rigidity, and even then the beams running across the tops are needed to make the house fully stable. Winston explained that to us. Our husband is a clever man, but so is our big brother, your Olu."

Susan felt embarrassed, "Oh, he is not MY Olu. He is Tokunbo's Olu. He is just my friend at this time."

"Sorry, Susan. I thought ... well, the way Olu was talking about you since your visit, I got the impression it was more than that."

"Well, of course, he DID relieve me of my virginity, but that was by mutual agreement. It was not intended to be any commitment to the future."

"Olu seems to think it was more than that, and so does Tokunbo. I think they are setting you up as a potential wife for Olu."

"My goodness. That is running ahead of the facts. I have only been here ONCE, so I would need many more meetings with Olu to get to know what I feel for him, if anything."

"Well, you do seem to have made an impression on him; that is all I would say, Susan."

"If you could encourage him to have more meetings with me, Eniola, that would be helpful. I want to discover what he sees in me. I don't want him to view me as a prize – a white woman; I want him to see me as a person, as me, Susan; a special person. He sees Tokunbo as a special person: that is why the age difference does not matter. In the same way, I don't want our colour to matter."

"You are right, Susan. What matters is who you are, inside your head and heart. Does the other person MATTER to you; someone you care for immensely? That is how I look at Winston. He is what helps to make me tick; his presence makes me happy, and the same applies to Adeola. We talk about things like that between us. She and I are like one person in our thinking."

They were interrupted by Olu and Winston taking a break from their work on the building. They had been concentrating so much that they had not noticed the girls watching them.

"Oh, Hi, ladies. The house is coming along nicely," Winston informed them. "We should have it complete in about a week, provided the weather stays dry. Welcome, Susan. Olu was just talking about you a few minutes ago. He says Tokunbo is encouraging him to see you more. For all his bluster and apparent bravado, he is a fairly shy man. Aren't you, Olu?"

He turned to face his friend. "Well, it is true, isn't it?"

"Perhaps, to some extent, Winston, but you make it seem more, with your pushy attitude. Anyone next to you comes over as shy in comparison. As my revered grandmother once described me, I am backward about coming forward."

Winston and Olu gave a rundown on progress with the new house. Winston explained, "While the colony supplied us with a new house, it actually came as parts, with an instruction manual for putting it together ourselves. It is not too difficult, just time consuming. Once you have found how a join is done, you just do other joins in the same way, much faster. The electric connections are very simple: just plug together the right way, and it is done. The plumbing connections should be just as simple, but they need the parts connected with a rubber seal that MUST be in the correct position, or it will leak when water comes through. The external link between panels is more or less a click together process, and hey presto – it is weather-proof."

Olu was more reticent, but now put in his contribution. "The panels come with connections to the floor joists. You just have to push a bolt through, add a washer, then screw on a butterfly nut to six it. That gives your panels a secure fastening at floor level, and when we add the ceiling joists, the whole thing will tighten up and be a solid unit. I am impressed by this housebuilding process. I know it comes direct from the manufacturer on Earth, but it seems to be something that could be made here on Rehome. It doesn't require too many skills, as most of it is repetitive work, putting the parts of the panels together with each plumbing or electrical part slotted in to the right place. Making the panels seems no more difficult than putting the panels together to make the house."

Winston was intrigued by Olu's observations. "Olu, you should send in your comments to the Colony Admin office, for them to think about it."

Olu was amenable to the suggestion. "I did like some touches. The loose parts – nuts, bolts and washers, and so on, come inside a plastic bag, and the parts are protected by the bag being inside a box and held secure by polystyrene foam inserts. The box looked like cardboard, but was different. It had a shiny finish to its surface, and I think it is water-resistant, unlike cardboard."

Susan was able to help out. "Oh, I have seen these boxes. My mother gets her normal groceries ordered online, and supplied to the farm by Rehome Deliveries. The groceries have been coming for several weeks in a box like you described. The delivery is made to a storage unit beside the rail line. The unit has our name on it, and is intended to protect stuff from the weather. Mum said the boxes were quite tough: "robust" was the word she used.