Chapter 4 Going Back Home

Anita goes back home with her father and mother who arrive at her school to witness her final convocation ceremony.

Her mother is very happy, but her father keeps his usual non-smiling face as he drives them home.

Anita's father is proud of her that she didn't allow her beauty to sink into her brain and deter her from becoming successful in life, but nonetheless, he's still confused as to how she's the most beautiful amongst all her siblings.

Even as his wife doesn't bear him a son, he isn't bothered about that, as their custom permits a woman to inherit her father's property, even though she's already married to another man.

He sighs as he drives towards their home, as the university is closer to their home in the city.

Arriving home, he drives into their simple compound and parks as their home is just a simple house, which is a flat, consisting of 4 bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, and 5 toilets with bathrooms.

Mr. Joshua Baker is the owner of the house as he acquired and bought the house from the direct landowners.

He parks his car and steps a foot down, while Anita and her mother, step down next, and her sisters Flora, Esther, Favour, Lisa, and Glory are all inside, but none of them steps out to welcome her or their parents as they arrived home.

Mrs. Tonia walks into the living room first, while Anita follows suit, dragging her boxes, as her father remains in his car answering a phone call.

"Mom!" Esther and Favour rush up to their mom, while Lisa and Glory step out next.

They have separate rooms they share as Anita and Flora share a room, while Esther and Favour share another room, with Lisa and Glory sharing the last room, which sometimes they use as the guest room too.

"Welcome back home, mom. How did the event go?" Favour asks their mother first as she's an 18-year-old girl.

"Fine, why don't you ask your big sister about it? She won two awards, as the best overall graduating student and best in her department as well," Mrs. Tonia responds, with a faint smile, while Favour frowns.

"Who cares, mom!" she replies.

"Shut up your mouth, silly girl. She's your big sister, and you should accord her some respect!" Mrs. Tonia warns Favour, while Esther quickly responds, "We don't care, mom!"

"Esther!" Mrs. Tonia warns Esther too, while Esther rolls her eyes from where she's standing by the middle door entrance, holding the curtain.

"It's okay, Mom." Anita walks up to their mom and taps on her shoulder softly, but Mrs. Tonia responds.

"Your father caused all this," Mrs. Tonia almost bursts out into a sob.

"Caused what?!" Mr. Joshua asks as he walks into the living room, while Mrs. Tonia quickly wipes off her tears.

"Nothing, I was just discussing something not important," Mrs. Tonia quickly walks into the kitchen, while Mr. Joshua's eyes narrow at Anita, who smiles faintly at him.

Anita isn't an albino, but her beauty is too much and too charming. Staring at her dimple and chubby cheeks alone, made her look like an angel from heaven.

"Fine, take all these bags inside, and where are your sisters?! Flora, Favour!" Mr. Joshua calls them out, while they respond.

"Yes, Papa! Good evening, Dad, welcome back home."

Flora walks past Anita, who's dragging her boxes, and walks up to give their father a welcome hug.

"Assist your sister and take those luggages inside," Mr. Joshua instructs Flora after giving her a warm hug too, and she bites on her lower lip angrily and finally assists Anita in carrying her second box to the room they both share.

Anita doesn't utter any word to Flora, who carries her box to the room. As Flora turns to leave, Anita finally says, "Thank you," but Flora doesn't respond as she walks out from the room and back to the living room to meet her father sitting on the long couch, taking off his shoes.

"How was your day today, Flora?" Mr. Joshua asks, and just then the rest of his daughters step out.

"Father, do you remember you promised to take me to a private university?" Esther asks.

"Yes, I remember, but you still haven't passed your Jamb exams yet, and this is the fourth time you're writing the exam with your younger sister Favour. Can't you both learn from your elder sister, Anita?"

"No, father!" Esther and Favour both respond, surprising their father and causing his jaw to drop.

"What has come over you girls? If you still fail to pass your Jamb exams this year, then forget about going to the university and look for a trade or handwork to learn, as I cannot waste my hard-earned money sponsoring you both through a private university when you cannot even qualify for a government university. Now leave my sight, silly children. I'm sure you all inherited your dullness from your mother. Can't you learn from your elder sister for once? Don't you see her good grades, despite her being more beautiful than you all?"

"Father!" Flora, Esther, Favour, and Lisa all exclaim sadly.

"Shut your mouths and don't bother me. I have been a good father to all of you, yet you cannot be good daughters in return. Fail your exam this year again and see the other side of me!" Mr. Joshua warned, and he stood up from the couch. Just then, his wife stepped out from the kitchen and stared at him and her five daughters in the living room, as Anita was the only one in her room.

"Excuse me!" Mr. Joshua walked past his daughters and into the room he shares with his wife, knowing it was entirely his fault. He had shown more love to the rest of his daughters than their senior sister, Anita, making her feel like an outcast, and now he was regretting it.

He was also facing challenges at his office, as some missing funds from a transaction were detected under his records. If the error wasn't corrected, he was at risk of losing his job as a banker in a government-owned bank.

His brows furrowed as his wife stepped into their room to meet him a few minutes later.

"Aren't you being too harsh to our daughters today?" Mrs. Tonia questioned, but Mr. Joshua just glanced at her and looked away, loosening his necktie, taking off his long sleeve shirt, and stripping.

"I'm preparing dinner. It's already getting late," Mrs. Tonia informed him, but he didn't respond, even as he removed his trouser belt.

"Honey, aren't you going to say anything in response?" Mrs. Tonia finally asked, and he replied, "What do you want me to say to you? Can't you see that I'm busy?"

He walked past her and into the bathroom to take his bath, while Mrs. Tonia sighed and shook her head in sadness.

She knew something wasn't right with him, as he had been behaving unusually and was even happier when Anita was announced as the winner of the award for best graduating student. He had jumped up and screamed "Yes!" without minding the other parents and relatives around. But when he saw Anita approaching, his smile faded, as Anita didn't smile back, thinking he hated her and wasn't proud of her achievement.

Mrs. Tonia smiled faintly, remembering how her husband had reacted to his daughter's wins. Although the school rewards weren't much, as they awarded Anita some cash and medal rewards, she believed her daughter's certificate would get her into one of the highest paying jobs in the country.

Mrs. Tonia sighed again and walked out of the room she shared with her husband, as he was already taking his bath, the sound of water splashing in the bathroom.

She walked into the kitchen, where the okro soup had already heated up a little, and she served it into soup plates. Just then, Glory walked into the kitchen to assist her and carry it out to the dining room next to their living room.

Glory, a 14-year-old girl, was the last born. As the rest senior by only two years, while she is still in Junior Secondary School 3.

"Mom, I want to become a business admin, just like big sister," Glory said as she carried the tray of soups in her arms and looked up at her mom.

"There's no problem with that. You should study hard as well. You have your big sister here to guide you," Mrs. Tonia smiled at her.

"Okay, mom, is sis going to marry soon? Chika told me her big sister won't be returning home as she's already pregnant and expecting a child for her fiance," Glory asked.

"No, Glory! Although I don't know about that, Anita will get a job first before she settles down. You know your big sis is hardworking and wants to become an independent woman first, instead of depending on a man for money," Mrs. Tonia replied.

"Oh, so mom, you depend on father too for money?" Glory asked, surprising her.

"No, Glory. Now that's enough of the conversation. Carry the soups out before they get cold. Oh, Anita is already here to assist us," Mrs. Tonia said, smiling faintly as Glory turned to face Anita standing by the kitchen door.

Anita overheard their conversation and had a faint smile on her face too.

"Why are you standing there and staring at us? Come assist us in serving dinner. I'm sure your father will be out soon," Mrs. Tonia said, and Anita's smile quickly faded as she heard her father's name and didn't like him either.