‘I’m suffering for marrying the wrong man’(2)

This is the continuation  of Gloria and Derrick’s story started last week.  Derrick fondly known in the whole Ibusa Village of Delta state as Rastaman  proposed marriage to Gloria and she accepted to marry him dismissing numerous suitors that came to ask for her hand in marriage. He said he  finished from a university in Australia where according to him  he studied music. But  after graduation, he insisted on coming  back to his country home to make an impact. He became popular in the whole village, his dreadlocks and his mannerism lured many young ladies to him. But he chose to marry Gloria. So, she brought him home first to her mother.

Selinah, Gloria’s mother didn’t like and accept Derrick to be her son-in-law although she concealed her disdain from him. The way she asked him questions showed she did not approve of him to marry her daughter. “Oh you call yourself Rastaman, wears  long dreadlocks with scorpion sign of tattoo to show your,”

“Yea Ma’am to show I’m a musician. Those are my style signatures. The scorpion sign of my tattoo shows that I would sting to death  any man who wants to take your daughter away from me,” he cut in, laughing. And Gloria giggled at what he said, expecting her mother to laugh. But she kept a long face.

Selinah didn’t find that funny. She was indeed disgusted by him but she managed a wry smile. Ever since she read the story of how a widow somewhere was butchered because she told her daughter’s suitor to his face that it would only be over her dead body would she accept him as a son-in-law. She decided to  tread with  care. When Derrick left, Selinah laid  her heart bare to her daughter. Gloria, who had sat and listened attentively to her mother sprang up angrily, “Mum, you better accept him and give your blessing the way he is. After all, who is a perfect man?  He is my choice of man. It’s true he wears dreadlocks, smokes weed, talks to himself whenever he walks alone, all these are acceptable by me. Is he going to marry you?  Is it not me he wants to marry?  Please don’t over do it. He may not look like a gentleman to you  simply because he doesn’t wear well tailored suits  but must everyone be a gentleman? He makes me happy…”

At that, Gloria’s mother quickly picked a towel that was kept on the chair close to her and wanted to whip Gloria with it, but she fled.

Her mother’s instructions and advice did not deter her. She went ahead and encouraged Derrick to come  see her father. “But when you want to come, dress well, wear your suit and park your dreadlocks so that my Dad wouldn’t see it. You see, my father needs to be impressed and once he accepts you, my mother’s opinion of you  wouldn’t hold water,” she said.

And Derrick who listened attentively nodded. The day he came to see Pa Patrick, Gloria’s father, he looked a bit decent. His tattoo was well covered by his suit and he spoke fluent English throwing away Rastafarian language to the wind at that moment. He tried to impress the old man but all to no avail. When he made his intension known, in the course of their discussion, Pa Patrick asked him to remove his cap and wondered why such a cap would be worn on  a formal attire. He hesitated before he pulled it off and his dreadlocks looked like something that had been ‘screaming’ for breathing space.

At the sight of his hair, Gloria’s father looked at him with disdain and asked why he must attach almost every strand  of his dread with cowries. He simply answered that he was displaying African culture. The old man didn’t hear him well because he muttered his answer.  Hence, that opened up for more  questions. And Selinah reminded him to tell his would-be-father-in-law what the sign of the tattoo on his left arm stood for. Gloria who was seated facing Derrick eyed her mother scornfully. Before Derrick left, Gloria had already kwon that her father would never accept him.

What she did was to run away with Derrick who came to Lagos for greener pastures. Though he claimed to be a musician, but he was only  maiming other people’s songs. None was his own. He would also tell who ever cared to listen how he used to drink and dine with popular Nigerian musicians. He mentioned endless list of Nigerian musicians who were his paddies but Gloria never saw those people with him. He would build castle in the air and Gloria’s head would swell at that.  Her ears were  deafened to her parents instructions and advice.

When Gloria had lived with him for two years and her parents had given up being anxious and worried about her,  she came home. Selinah had heard already  from her first daughter’s friends who reside in Lagos that they had been seeing Gloria with the Rasta man. That they used to attend Ibusa Village meeting in Lagos together as couple. And that they had warn Rasta man to go and marry her  properly else, he would not be given the position he was asking for in that meeting. Hence, both of them came back to beg her parents to allow her marry Derrick.

Her parents who had no choice and who couldn’t dissuade their daughter Gloria from marrying Derrick reluctantly allowed the traditional marriage to be held. When Derrick brought his people, Gloria’s parents and rest of Gloria’s siblings were present. They were not excited, never showed that something like marriage ceremony was taking place in their family. They appeared casually dressed  as if nothing was happening and they never helped Gloria dress up. She brought her friends from Lagos who cooked for her and helped to dress her up as a bride. When the bride price was offered including all the materials bought according to the list the village head gave, Pa Patrick said something that his wife and children were happy with.

To be continued.