Chapter 37

Obong Inyang and his wife, Marilyn Inyang, own a six-plot land on which their lavish three-story mansion is built. The property features an additional two-story staff building, two cottages that serve external guest houses, a luxury spa, an Olympic-sized swimming pool in the back, a vegetable/herbs garden in the east-wing, a grand gazebo set in a mini flower maze in the west-wing, and an expansive underground garage just off the driveway leading to the front of the house. The Inyang residence screams of unquantifiable wealth, and for a moment, I feel out of place. It’s as if I have just stepped onto a different planet.

“There is no way that this place is actually located in Nigeria,” I say to Dominic in disbelief. “It’s as if we’ve just stepped across the continent and entered into Europe because what on earth is this place?”

He laughs softly. “This place is where my parents call home. You thought my place in Ikoyi is over-the-top? Well, this house takes the cake on that. It’s way too much if you ask me. It’s like a private resort.”

“Absolutely!” I agree. “Did Pamela decorate the interior too?”

“No. My mother was into interior designing at one point in her life. Putting this house together was quite fun for her, made her feel like she hadn’t lost her interior design touch after years of ditching it for diplomatic work.”

“Amazing,” I gush.

“Yeah. Shall we?” He asks, offering his arm to me to hold on to.

“Sure,” I reply with a confidence I don’t feel.

We approach the towering building with our arms linked. As we get closer to the house, I see uniformed domestic helps scurrying about, looking very preoccupied. One of them notices us and when she recognizes Dominic, she smiles widely and bends her knees slightly in a curtsy as a sign of respect when she greets him.

“Good afternoon, sir. Welcome sir,” says the beaming maid.

“Good afternoon, Agatha. How have you been?”

“Fine, sir,” she responds happily. “It’s good to see you again, sir.”

“It’s good to see you too. How is your family?”

“They’re fine, sir. Welcome once again.”

She hurries off to do whatever it is that she was going to do before she saw us.

“Why am I not surprised that all of the women in Akwa Ibom have a king-sized crush on you? Must be exciting to be the most eligible bachelor in the country.”

Dominic laughs heartily. “You are such a clown, Uzezi. All the women here don’t have a crush on me, maybe some, but not all. Mind you, Agatha is happily married with kids. Don’t let her petite frame fool you.”

“Ok, boo,” I reply to him playfully.

As we approach the front door, a butler shows up in front of it to welcome us in. “Master Dominic! What a pleasant surprise. Welcome, sir,” he grins from ear to ear as if he has just seen his favorite celebrity.

“Thank you, Akpan. It’s good to see you too. How are you?”

“Alive,” the elderly butler laughs. “Aside from occasional arthritis that bothers me in the cold weather. Other than that, I am as fit as a fiddle.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Akpan. Meet my girlfriend, Uzezi. Babe, this is Akpan, our butler. He has been working for us for more than a decade.”

“Wow,” I gasp in wonder. “That’s incredible. Pleased to meet you, sir.”

“Oh, please just call me Akpan, ok? And welcome to Court Inyang.”

“Court Inyang?” I ask uncertainly. The house has a name?

“Yeah, that’s what my mother calls the house,” Dominic answers my internal question.

“Fabulous,” I muse, as we enter the massive house. It takes me some serious physical effort to keep my mouth from hanging open in amazement once we enter the mansion. The interior is even more mind-blowing than the impressive exterior. The house is a beautiful blend of class, elegance, and wealth, all perfectly combined in a way that does not come off looking obscene. The expensive furnishings, exotic house plants, carefully selected paintings and family photos all come together in a tasteful combination that screams elite style.

“This house is a dream!” I gush in admiration.

“Why, thank you, dear,” a woman says from somewhere above us.

I look up and find a classically beautiful woman, dressed in a mint and cream silk combo outfit, adorned with pearls and gold accessories on her ears, neck and wrists. The woman positively looks like a walking high-end boutique.

“Hello, Mother,” Dominic greets her. “Are you going to come downstairs, or do we have to keep looking up at you as if you’re the mother of Jesus?”

“Don’t be rude, Dominic, and please, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. You know better than that, don’t you?”

Dominic’s mother descends the stairs as delicately as she can for a sixty-something-year-old woman. “How are you, my sweetheart?” She greets her son as he bends to hug her and kiss her on the cheek.

“I’m doing great. What about you?”

“Still gloriously beautiful, as you can see,” she says and does a little twirl for her son, who laughs and claps his hands in admiration for her performance.

“Thank you,” she says, then her sharp gaze swings to me, pinning me in place like a thumbtack holding a piece of paper to a wooden board. “Is this your girlfriend?”

“Yes, this is Uzezi,” says Dominic, proudly.

“Good afternoon, ma’am,” I greet her politely, not sure if I should embrace her or just stay put.

“I haven’t heard much about you,” she says plainly, ignoring my greeting. “I thought she was someone… younger,” she says to Dominic, but her eyes are still on me.

“Come on, Mother. Why would you say that?” Asks Dominic in a tone that shows his displeasure with his mother’s rude comment.

“It was merely an observation, not an insult. You aren’t offended, are you?” She asks me with that same bland expression.

“No, I’m not,” I say, even though I feel like turning around and walking out of this unbelievably beautiful house right now.

“Good,” she says with what looks like a smirk. “Come now, my love. Your father is seeing to the barbeque with Pamela. You know that’s her forte, right? She does it so well.”

“Pamela is here?” Asks Dominic in surprise.

“Yes. I invited her over,” replies his mother. “She happened to be in town and since you were coming here, I decided to invite her to join us for a family luncheon while we host your guest.”

“Family luncheon? This was supposed to be a brief visit where I introduce you to my girlfriend, and then we leave and return to our plans for the day. But now that you’ve invited Pam over, I don’t even know if this luncheon will end today?”

Mrs. Inyang laughs. “Don’t be ridiculous, darling. We didn’t arrange for anything grand. It’s just a small lunch and you can carry on with your escapades with your friend.”

“Her name is Uzezi,” says Dominic, painstakingly.

“Of course,” says his mother, dismissively. “Now, stop complaining and let’s go and see what your father and little Pammy have been up to in the backyard. They’ve been there forever. I hope your father doesn’t burn the meat, though. He always does, even if he’s standing right there in front of the grill the whole time. Being as stubborn as he is, he won’t stop, and you know how…”

And so, she tattles on and on with her arms linked with her son’s as they walk through the house to the backyard, while I follow behind like an unwanted third wheel.