Saturdays were special in the Karimi household. Aunty Sue would make us pancakes and sausages then Mum would turn on the radio and blast country music to let us know that breakfast was ready. My brothers and I would run downstairs, sometimes tripping over each other, so we could sit next to our father. Dad, how I miss that man.
He had the most interesting stories which he would tell at any opportunity, especially during Saturday breakfast. He would also sneak an extra sausage for whoever was seated next to him. That was the main reason we fought for that spot.
During one of his story narrations, my eyes locked in on Aunty Sue who was all the way in the kitchen, devouring her breakfast. I noticed how much I looked like her. It wasn’t the first time I had noticed our similarities but, at that time, I couldn’t shake it.
“Dad, how come I look like Aunty Sue and I don’t look like you or Mum?” I asked innocently but the reaction I got wasn’t what I expected.
“Don’t interrupt your father!” my mother barked. “Go and help Aunty in the kitchen.”
We argued a bit which seemed to irk my father.
“Girls, please stop arguing.” He said in a gentle but firm voice while keeping his eyes on me.
Whenever he intervened, the arguments would stop immediately.
“Of course, you look like me. You also look like Aunty Sue because she is Mum’s sister. Sometimes, kids end up looking like their aunts and uncles.” My father added.
Despite my father assuring me that I looked like him, I never saw it and the older I got, the less I looked like any of them and the more I looked like Aunty Sue. Eventually, Aunty Sue left our home and I never saw her again.
I may have been young but I always remembered her. She was more than a nanny. She was part of our family and made everyday better.
I kept asking about her, sometimes in front of my mother and other times when my father and I were alone.
Eventually, my father got tired of the question and decided to end it once and for all.
“Mercy, let’s go to the garden to pick some flowers.” He suggested, knowing the boys would never be interested in picking flowers.
That was our secret code to sneak away from the rest of the family and catch up.
“How are you doing?” He asked.
“You know, people come and go. It’s a normal part of life. Your aunt moved abroad and it’s hard for her to communicate but whenever she calls she always asks about you and she wants you to know that she loves you very much.”
She calls?” I asked curiously.
“Yes, but you’re usually in school.”
“Tell her to call when I’m not in school.”
“That’s difficult for her because of the time difference and her work.”
“Okay, I miss her so much. Life isn’t the same without her. Mum is more harsh towards me. I don’t think she likes me.” I said, almost in tears.
“Nonsense. She adores you.” My father tried to reassure me.
“Why is she always arguing with me?”
“She’s not arguing with you. She’s guiding you. You’re becoming a woman now and you have to be careful out there. The world isn’t very nice to women. Ask your mother.”
“But…”
“But nothing. Promise me that you’ll be nice to your mother.”
“Okay. I promise.”
I apologized to my mother and after that day, we never disagreed even when she tried to push my buttons. However, we had our biggest fight at my father’s funeral.
**********************************************
I got a call from my mother which I was tempted to ignore since I wasn’t in a mood to talk to her.
“Hi, Mercy.” My mother said which made me think something was wrong because she rarely called me by my English name.
“Hi, mum.”
“I need you to come home right now.”
The request wasn’t unusual. My mother always wanted me to be home and even objected to me living in a hostel when I joined the university. However, her tone sounded urgent.
I packed a small bag of clothes and went to the bus station to board a bus to town. During the ride home, I couldn’t stop thinking about what could be so urgent that my mother wanted me home immediately. I don’t even know how I got home. It felt like I teleported because everything was a blur.
When I got home, I was greeted by sombre faces. I was still confused about what was happening. After a quick look around the room, I noticed my father was missing.
“Where’s dad?” I asked innocently which made my mother burst out in tears.
My brother finally came to embrace me and pulled me to the couch.
“Dad is gone.” Rob, my other brother said.
“Gone where?”
I either didn’t want to accept the reality or I really didn’t believe my father had passed away because it took me several minutes to realize what they meant.
“What happened?” I asked in a calm low tone trying not to break down in tears.
“He was in an accident.”
“Why are we still here? Shouldn’t we be at the hospital?” I asked.
It seemed like my mother didn’t know what to do. So, I knew that I had to do most of the work to give my father a decent send off.
We were among the last people in his family to arrive at the hospital which painted a bad image of us. However, everyone was civil about it. My grandmother, uncles and aunts embraced us and mourned the loss of our father with us.
We took charge of arranging the funeral but the whole family came together to support. Most of the family members left the hospital one by one and by evening, it was just my mother, my brothers and I who were left.
While we were still at the hospital, my mother got a call and she dashed out to answer it. She was gone for more than 30 minutes which made me a bit worried so I went to look for her.
I wandered for a while before spotting her and another woman near the parking lot. As I approached them, I noticed that the woman looked familiar.
“Aunt Sue?” I shouted, catching their attention.
My mother came towards me as Aunt Sue headed in the opposite direction.
“I want to talk to Aunt Sue,” I said, as I tried to follow her.
“She’s leaving. You’ll talk tomorrow at the house.” My mother answered as she pulled me back.
I managed to pull away from my mother and ran towards Aunt Sue before she could leave.
”Why are you leaving? We haven’t seen you in years.” I said to her.
”We can’t talk right now but I have something important to tell you.” She said in a hurry before my mother caught up to us and grabbed me.
Aunt Sue left and I didn’t see her again throughout the funeral arrangements. I kept hoping she would show up before the funeral but she didn’t. However, I was too occupied with the funeral arrangements to think about it too much.
My father’s death came unexpectedly but nothing prepared me for the family secret that came out after. Find out what happens in My Mother And I Had A Confrontation At My Father’s Funeral Part 2
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