BENJY
The door opened and his sister walked in.
When they were younger, it had been a running joke in their home that Ore was not friends with closed doors. She could walk into the most intimate spaces without a knock, expecting all to be well. When she grew older and her brothers began to demand more privacy, she conceded and began to knock once before entering their rooms. Her policy was; if you didn’t hear the knock the first time, what was the guarantee you would hear it on the second? So she knocked once and entered whether or not she heard a response. The only time she wouldn’t go in was if someone responded from within specifically saying not to enter.
It was a habit that had carried over into adulthood and Benjy laughed even as she did it now. He rarely locked his front door in the daytime because his compound was one of the more secure ones, with a security man (Dauda), who took his job a bit more seriously than he should, perhaps because he had his wife and kids around also.
“You should be locking your door, egbon,” she said as she kicked off her shoes. “Times are hard, people are not smiling these days.”
“Dauda does a good job of keeping us safe,” he said with a chuckle. “Do you know he has a gun in there? One of those hunting rifles?”
“Ah ah, you people are serious o,” she stretched. “Ehen, any food in this house? I’m hungry.”
“You’re a married woman, shouldn’t I be coming to your house to eat?”
That was another strange thing about Ore’s marriage, even though they lived in the same town, she hardly extended an invitation to visit. She preferred meeting outside or coming over to Benjy’s. The one time she had let him visit her had been when she was still a newlywed and she’d been excited to show off her newly-acquired mansion. It had felt odd, seeing his little sister as Lady of the Manor, she even had a cook or housekeeper, he couldn’t remember which. It had felt like she was playing dress-up, pretending to fit into this life Ramsey had created for her. But he had said nothing then because what did he know about marriage anyway? Plus Ore had seemed happy enough, buzzing with energy as she opened doors and showed him around her home. The cook had made them lunch and served them while they sat in the living room. Benjy had been impressed by the service and royal treatment but even then he couldn’t help but wonder if it was a facade and there was something else lurking beneath the reams of luxury.
“So today that I came to visit you, I should starve?” Ore was already rummaging through his refrigerator.
“I don’t have any food sha. You know I don’t cook.”
“And no girlfriends around to do it for you?”
“You know I don’t encourage the girls I date to cook for me,” he said. “If you’re hungry, I can order something.”
“I honestly don’t understand the kind of life you live or the principles you live by,” Ore shook her head. “When I was a girlfriend, cooking for my guy was a staple. Like, we can’t be going out every time now, plus I had to establish my home training.”
“And did any of them marry you for your home training?”
“Well..”
“The one you ended up marrying didn’t need you to cook for him before proposing. Isn’t that ironic?”
“I thought you weren’t his fan,” Ore gave him a look.
“I am not, but I’m glad he knew his place and didn’t take advantage of you in that way.”
“What about the other ways?”
Benjy looked up from his phone, “what other ways?”
“Don’t mind me,” Ore sank into the couch. “I was just looking for your trouble.”
“So, what do you want? I’m about to order something?”
“I’ll have what you’re having. You know I’m not used to this your bachelor life.”
Benjy smiled and entered his order on the app.
“So.”
“So, you wanted to see me,” Ore said.”What’s up?”
“I need your advice,” Benjy took a deep breath.
“Ooookay. That’s a first. Okay, big bro. How may I help you with my infinite wisdom?”
“So, let’s say hypothetically, a girl…woman said she was…pregnant with my baby. What do you think would be the best course of action?”
Ore widened her eyes. “Come again?”
“I said let’s say…”
“No, no, I heard you the first time. I just…I’m just…what? You got someone pregnant?”
“I said hypothetically!”
“Oh please, I’m not naive. I know that hypotheses are usually steeped in reality. So, Benjy real talk. What? You’re going to be a father?”
Benjy sighed. When she put it that way, it made him sound…responsible. It made the situation more real.
“Who is she? How far along is she? When is she due? Has she told anyone? Have you told anyone?” Ore asked, bursting with curiosity.
“She’s a girl I dated for a short while. She is still in her first trimester, I believe. And no, we haven’t told anyone yet because we are still deciding what to do about it.”
“What do you mean what to do about it? Of course, she’s keeping it! Do you know what this means, Benjy? You are going to be a father! You might never get such an opportunity again, especially if you mean what you say about never wanting to get married.”
“Ore, Ore, don’t get carried away abeg. Have you considered that I’m not the only one in this equation? Have you considered the lady in question? What if she doesn’t want to keep the baby?”
“Doesn’t she?”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t know. She’s finding it hard to make a decision and I don’t want to influence it in any way.”
“What do you mean you don’t want to influence it? That child is as much yours as it is hers. It should be a joint decision.”
“Ore, I am not exactly keen on becoming a father. Plus this is unplanned. Lives are going to change if we go ahead with this pregnancy. I, for one, don’t want to be roped into a matrimonial arrangement with a woman I don’t know.”
“You slept with her! I’ll say you know enough. And, what other option do you have? You guys want to get rid of it? You want to kill a baby? Your baby?”
Benjy stood to clear his head just as there was a knock on the door. It was their food. He grabbed the package from the dispatch rider in his orange shirt and shut the door.
Without a word, he handed Ore her meal and set his on the kitchen counter.
He had lost his appetite. He didn’t like how Ore was viewing this matter and yet he knew that this was why he had asked to see her. She was going to present a different perspective, a perspective that was dangerously close to their mother’s.
“It’s not a baby yet,” he said in a low voice.
“You and I know that that’s not true. You know what Mummy would say,” Ore set her food aside, still covered.
“And what would Mummy say about your sham of a marriage?” Benjy lashed back.
Ore regarded him silently.
“You want me to have this baby so bad because you have decided not to have children with your husband. Shebi this child will be the perfect niece or nephew for you, right?”
“I’m going to pretend you did not just say that to me, Benjy,” Ore said. “You invited me here because you wanted advice but it seems like your mind is already made up. You got someone pregnant, the least you could do is take responsibility. Be the man our mother raised you to be.”
Benjy grimaced, shame washing over him. Ore was right. Running away wasn’t the answer to this situation and even though the thought of having a child terrified him, the thought of making that child disappear seemed like a sin he couldn’t quite forgive.
“I’m sorry,” he said, placing a hand on his sister’s arm as she stood to leave. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I should take responsibility.”
“I know you have sworn off being a married man, but that doesn’t mean you should lose out on being a father too.”
“But what if she wants to get rid of the baby?”
“No woman wants to put her body through the rigours of an uncertain surgical procedure. They convince themselves that having an abortion is better than keeping the baby, but most of them have regrets down the line. Anything could go wrong, bro. Anything. She could lose her life, she could lose her womb. You don’t want to be responsible for that.”
No, he didn’t, he realized. He would probably have to marry her then.
“You’re smart o, smallie,” he said with a wink.
“After you have insulted me abi,” Ore sat down again, taking out the plastic plate of jollof rice from the paper bag.
“Sorry now. Although to be fair, what’s going on with that? Has anything changed on that front?”
Ore shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“So, no. You’re still adamant about no kids. Does he at least know?”
“Again, I refuse to talk about it,” Ore spooned some food in her mouth.
“Which means no, he still doesn’t know,” Benjy shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re doing but that doesn’t sound like a marriage to me.”
“And what would you know about marriage eh, Mr. Bachelor?”
“I know that couples decide whether or not to have children together.”
“Benjy, abeg leave me and let’s face your own situation. Who is this woman? She’s going to need you to be present for her during the next nine months o. And you better be ready.”
“What do you mean ‘present’, she’s the one carrying the baby.”
Ore laughed. “Surprise. The woman carries the physical burden of a pregnancy, but the man carries every other aspect. It’ll have been easier if you were married but as you are not, you would have to work overtime to show her you can be a good dad and partner.”
“Partner ke? I said no marriage.”
“Not that kind of partner. Partner in parenting. As in co-parents. Whether you like it or not, you and this woman are going to be in each other’s lives forever.” Ore bit into her goatmeat.
“God help me,” Benjy groaned.
“Next time don’t have sex if you’re not ready to face the consequences.”
“I think I’m off sex for good,” Benjy said, reaching for his phone.
He needed to reach out to Lizzy and tell her where he stood. As scary as it was, he would rather they keep the baby. They could figure out the rest as time progressed.
“Oh, by the way, I have news for you,” Ore said. “Dad reached out to me the other day.”
“Yes?” Benjy felt his defences rise.
“He’s remarrying.”
“What?”
“Our father is getting married again.”
