AMALA IYA SHERI! The implication to a husband's home. (A must read for all HUSBANDS)

Conjugal Vibes

My wife knew that something was fishy when I went straight to pick her gown and began to iron it immediately I got back from work. Earlier that morning, she had toasted me to help her with her crepe gown while I was ironing my shirt for work. I politely turned down her request.

"Your gown is heavy. There are too many folds that should be delicately pressed neatly," I replied as an excuse. It was the dress she planned to wear for our anniversary date the following day, a Saturday. I recommended that she should give it to Aminu, our dry cleaner.

"You are not a nice person," she replied after I declined her request.

Later that day, when she saw me ironing the gown within five minutes of getting home, she was curious to know if it was romance or something else that explained my change of mind.

"Baby, what's happening?" she chuckled. "Why are you ironing my gown? You have not even settled down."

I didn't respond. I increased the concentration on my emergency chore of appeasement.

Honestly, it's Dauda that I blame for the wahala I got into. He was the one who introduced us at work to Iya Seri's canteen. Iya Seri sells local delicacies about a kilometer away from my place of work. The woman's Amala with gbegiri soup deserves an Oscar Award.

During lunch at work one day, Dauda came into our open office with a bowl of Amala, ewedu and gbegiri soup with ogunfe. To the surprise of the staff members who saw the food he bought, he told us the entire cost of the food was just 500 naira.

Seun, our IT engineer, asked Dauda if he was sure he was not mortgaging his destiny with a meal that was too cheap. Everyone laughed. The aroma of the food did not allow us concentrate.

The following day, Seun and Rita joined Dauda to visit Iya Seri's canteen. They too came back to work with similar bowls of Amala at an unbelievable price of 500 naira. That was how I became initiated.

Perhaps I should have kept the excitement to myself; I told my wife about my discovery of a new canteen at work. I described the euphoric effect of Iya Seri's foods on the eater.

"Ehn ehn!" she reacted with interest. "When will you take me there?" she asked.

We commenced our annual leave two weeks later. We visited Iya Seri's canteen thrice during our two weeks leave.

"Dele, are you sure this food is "pure"? my wife whispered to me during our second visit of eating Amala in the Ijebu woman's canteen. She thought the quality of the food was too much for the money paid.

"Sumbo, we are covered by the blood of Jesus," I replied while I dug into the mound of food.

After our leave, Sumbo continued to ask me to buy her the food after closing at work. Despite the fact that the canteen was not along my route home, I granted her request twice.

I refused her demand the third time, explaining the traffic issues. She reluctantly understood my reason and never asked again until that Friday morning.

"Babe, tomorrow is our anniversary ooo; let's start it with Iya Seri's Amala," Sumbo suggested.

Before I could explain the stress of getting the food after work, she reminded me that I last got her the meal three months earlier. "Our anniversary is once a year," she added.

I grumbled quietly but promised to get her the meal. Having refused her request to iron her gown, I had to acquiesce.

I forgot to buy the food. Work was heavy till closing time. I remembered her request when I was about two blocks away from home. Sumbo was expectantly waiting for the bowl of Amala.

"Yee!" I exclaimed when I realized my error.

I thought of many ways to make it up to her. Only one idea popped in my head.

I entered the house with a straight face and went to pick her gown.

"Wait oh, Dele, did you buy my Amala?" Sumbo asked with a wry smile when I did not explain why I was ironing her gown...

#Fiction

#Storytelling

By Dr. Ademola Orolu

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