Being Mrs Dantata

26

The Sufyan brothers' compound was located on Igbinosa Street, off Irhirhi Road, Benin City. The four bungalows in the fenced compound had been renovated one way or the other.

The uniform army green outer walls and the yellow walls inside had been repainted, the untilled floors had been tiled, weeds had been cut and the whole space had been cleaned. The shed in a corner that served as the outdoor kitchen had been touched up too and the outdoor store was stocked with foodstuffs; bags of rice, yam tubers stacked on each other, dried vegetables and seasonings. In another part of the compound, the décor items for Blue Velvet sat.

The ride from the airport to the compound was not a long one. Each person worried about Hanan who was way paler than she had been in Abuja. She was not talking straight and kept complaining of a slight cold.

Amal asked the others to not call Zayd. If they did, he would take the next flight down and if that happened, he would stay in Benin until after the wedding which would affect the last minute adjustments to the wedding programme that he and the other men were to take care of before they came down. That was something they could not risk.

The moment Linda sighted her daughter, she called out to her husband. "Yusuf, come o! Come and help me buy IMA injection. This girl is going to collapse at any moment!"

They had barely crossed the front door threshold of Yusuf's bungalow when Hanan's legs gave way and she fell, the reflexes of the others not fast enough. Yusuf was out of the house in seconds with Hauwa and the others helped in moving Hanan's to her parents' room. Her lafaya was loosened to allow air in and when she tried to cover herself with her parents' duvet, Linda stopped her.

The older woman faced Amal. "Has she eaten this morning?"

Amal shook her head. "I didn't ask. Zayd and I met them up this morning."

Salatu walked into the room and removed her hijab. "Don't give her injections without getting her to eat something." Like many others, she had seen Yusuf leave. "She barely ate anything this morning."

In an attempt to decongest the building, members of the Sufyan family directed guests to the other buildings in the compound so they could settle in. Those who had made arrangements to stay in nearby hotels had been dropped off. Others who did not fit into any of the buildings in the compound were to be taken to a similar compound at Wire Road; a compound with five houses that belonged to more members of the Sufyan family.

Getting Hanan to eat was hard work but they were able to do so. When Linda moved to administer the injection, Amal's phone rang. She considered rejecting the call when she saw Zayd was the one calling but on second thought, she stepped out of the room and accepted it.

"Sa'ed –"

Zayd did not allow her get another word out. "Asma said Hanan collapsed. Is that true?"

Amal turned around and peeped in. She noticed then that Asma was the only close friend not in the room with Hanan. "How did she tell you that?"

"I've been trying to reach you and Hanan but no one was going through so I tried calling Hussayna, Jameelah and Catherine but they weren't picking up." His voice had an edge of fearful vulnerability. "I called Asma and she said she wasn't meant to tell me but that Hanan collapsed the minute you got to the house. Is that true, Amal?"

She exhaled. There was no use trying to lie to him. "Yeah, it's true."

"I'm taking the next flight there and –"

"Don't."

"Amal..."

"Really, Sa'ed, don't." She prayed he listened to her. He could be the world's stubborn man. "Yes, Hanan collapsed but she's being treated right now. Aunt Linda said it's a fever and that it's linked to stress. She's a health professional, Sa'ed, so we need to trust her. "