ESCAPING DINNER
It was a Sunday. I had swarmed myself with work and locked myself up in my room, not noticing how fast the time had flown by. My stomach rumbled loudly,announcing it's need for food. I picked up my phone from the table to check the time. It was some minutes to 6pm.
“Oh God! I haven't eaten all day" I exclaimed.
Quickly, I turned off my laptop, dropped whatever I was doing and rushed downstairs in search of some food. My mum saw me coming and beamed widely at me.
“Perfect! "You're just on time. "I was about to go and call you," she said excitedly.
I stopped in my tracks, as I observed the scenario before me. My brothers, who were already seated at the dining table, smiled so widely, almost a bit forced, as they stared down at the plate of food in front of them with fear, their hands trembling slightly as they picked up the metallic spoon and slowly brought it up to their mouths, their faces contorted into one of discomfort as the smell of the food hit their nostrils. Yet they managed to mask it all with a fake perfect smile I knew too well. I looked at my mum to see her looking at them, her eyes twinkling with excitement as she smiled expectantly at them. Waiting for feedback.
I immediately realized what was going on. Today was Sunday after all. And Sunday dinners for me and my brothers were nothing to look forward to, not in the Oguzie’s household. My mum had made it a tradition that every Sunday she would surprise us with different traditional dishes from our native land, since our relatives and uncles had often complained about us being too English and knew nothing about our culture and where we truly came from. Last Sunday, she cooked something called onugbu (bitter leaf soup). My brothers and I barely survived that one. The taste of it haunted us for weeks. The Sunday before that, it was Ukwa and Ugbu. Some pastry liquid that tasted awful in our mouths.
My mind quickly went into flight mode. I wasn't about to sit through another awful dinner this time around. I had endured enough of this torturous dinner, but this time my stomach needed actual food, something sweet, tasty and appetizing that would appeal to my taste buds, not kill my appetite. I began to move back slowly and quietly, making sure to go unnoticed. However, it seemed, faith had another plan for me that evening because my mum looked up at me instantly, gesturing for me to come join them.
“Precious, don't just stand there, grab a plate and have a seat. Let me serve you my special delicacy."
She said happily.
"Actually, I’m fasting so you don't need to worry”, I said, the first thing that popped up in my head without even thinking.
My brothers turned to look at me with amusement.
“Since when?” Emma, the last born, asked tauntingly.
" Yh, I've never seen you fast before” my mother added, looking at me with scrutinizing eyes.
I gulped nervously, scratching my head as I thought of another lie.
“Well, I'm in this prayer group on WhatsApp and today is our fasting day", I answered as I looked at my brother with annoyance.
They knew me very well enough to know that I was just making some silly excuse to escape today's dinner. And I knew they wouldn't make it easy for me.
“ But I haven't heard you pray all through today, and your room is just next to mine.” Micheal, the eldest, joined the interrogation party, with a smirk on his face.
“Well, you probably don't have ears. "Besides, do you expect me to scream down this house all in the name of prayer?” I bit back at him, slightly irritated.
" Alright, I’ll just keep some for you for tomorrow's breakfast”, my mum said, dishing out a large quantity just for me.
I looked at the quantity with horror. My brothers snickered wickedly at that. Enjoying the turn of event. I knew from experience that the only thing worse than eating this meal was eating the stayed-over version. It was like the taste became worse as the hours went by. Maybe it was all in my head, but I was not going to put myself through that next level of torture. I began rethinking my decision.
“On second thoughts, I think it's time I broke the fasting. I’ll probably continue it another time,” I said as I grabbed a plate and took a seat alongside my brothers on the dining table.
“ Ah! "You're not fasting again” my Mum asked in a mockery tone.
With my shoulder slumped and a defeated look on my face, I carried the small spoon and took a spoonful out of the plate. Slowly, I brought it up to my lips, The smell hit my nostrils immediately and I couldn't help but squeeze my face as I swallowed hard, trying not to taste the food. But it was no use. I looked from the left corner of my eye to see my mum watching us closely. Making sure we ate everything and nothing remained. There was no way out of this one, I thought to myself.
After dinner, my brothers wouldn't stop mocking me for my weak attempt at escaping dinner.
