The Contractor

Last updated on February 25th, 2024 at 01:59 pm

“Richard, just tell me why my favourite wife can’t give me a son.” Of course, Chief Tomori is the only person that can call the doctor by name considering that he is on the hospital’s board of directors. 

The doctor itches a spot beneath his clean jaw, then clears his throat. 

“Sir, just as I’ve told you…she, your wife here is perfectly okay.”

“I need a solution, not a repetition of these bollocks! If my favourite wife cannot inherit part of my property, what’s her gain?!” Chief Tomori shouts, a vein popping in his neck. Adesewa shifts in her seat and taps her husband. He looks at her and visibly calms. 

***

As Chief Tomori’s fourth wife, Adesewa was his favourite. Everyone, including the older wives, knew and Chief Tomori himself didn’t mind telling those that were unaware. The only issue is that Adesewa has been unable to birth a son. The rule in Tomori’s clan is that each wife can only have three children. As it is, Adesewa already has two girls and can only try for the third if she’s sure that it will be a boy. The first two wives each have three children: two girls and a boy, the third wife has two children—both of them boys. 

Her position and relevance to chief also mean that the other wives automatically dislike her. Each of them never misses a chance to remind her that she has nothing to inherit. Adesewa also believes that her level of education was another thing that made the wives dislike her. 

She had met Chief Tomori when she was job hunting after having concluded her master’s in English and linguistics. She had no plans of marrying at the time, and neither did she intend to marry someone with three wives. But he had been persistent…and very wealthy too. He was born with a silver spoon and he maintained his family’s business and wealth. 

Considering that Chief Tomori was educated, no one understood his archaic stance of having only his sons inherit his property. Granted, Adesewa had been saving up money for herself and her girls; not that Tomori was old, he was only fourty-four, but she couldn’t leave her girls high and dry because their father had silly opinions. She wasn’t interested in having any other child, but she had to go along with Tomori’s desire. 

***

“Mum, I think other mummies are having a meeting.” Romade, Adesewa’s six-year-old comes into her bedroom. It isn’t unusual for the other wives to hold a meeting. They hold it twice a month without involving her. 

“Baby, I told you that adults can have meetings.” 

“Okay, but why don’t you join them?” 

“Because I don’t have to be involved in every meeting.” 

“Well, just one time, not all the time.” Adesewa smiles and hugs her daughter. Initially, she was affected by how the other wives received her, but after being in the house for more than four years, it didn’t bother her again. She has a life of her own, a full life. 

Speaking of having a life, she has to hang out with her friends later in the day and is only waiting for her younger daughter to wake up before leaving. They are going to stay with her maids but she needs her daughter to be awake before leaving. 

***

“Madam, go well o.” The gateman smiles. Adesewa smiles back and drives out of the compound. He’s her only friend in that house. Thankfully, each wife has a two-bedroom apartment, then the chief has a three-bedroom apartment where each wife take turns. 

The wives have jokingly mentioned that she should employ the gateman to help her out. The remark stood out and she told their husband who waved it aside and said they were jealous. More than once though, she had stared at the gateman on many occasions for longer than necessary to see if any of Chief Tomori’s kids looked like him, unfortunately, they didn’t. They all look alike. 

***

“I have four,” Chief Tomori holds up four fingers looking at the fingers as if he wants to be sure. “Count my fingers, four boys with three different women. I can’t and won’t subject myself to any procedure.” As usual, he is being adamant again. Adesewa sighs. 

“Doctor Richard, what can we do?” Adesewa asks.

“This shouldn’t come from me, but I think you may want to ask the other wives what they did differently. Chief doesn’t accept that he determines the child’s sex.” 

“I accept! But but, you can’t tell me it’s my fault after I have produced four men.” He holds out his fingers again. The doctor and Adesewa look at each other, both exhausted. 

***

It’s only a matter of time before Tomori gets tired and gives Adesewa a deadline, she has to do something. She couldn’t tell her friends because they were still disappointed at her choice but what could she have done back then? 

***

“Madam madam.” Adesewa stops and turns to the gateman. 

“Oga, what do you have for me that you couldn’t give me at the gate?” 

“Sorry, ma. One man delivered these envelopes and they are all addressed to Mrs Tomori. I’m not sure which of the madams, but it should be you.” She isn’t expecting any package but she takes the envelopes from him and continues on her way to her apartment. She sees Mummy Jide, the third wife whose apartment is next to hers. At first, Mummy Jide AKA Taiwo ignores Adesewa but after seeing the envelopes, her face shifts and she quickly gets up to intercept Adesewa who is now trying to open the door to her apartment. 

“Sewa, where did you get those envelopes from?” Adesewa ignores her, opens her door, and slams it. Taiwo has given her the toughest time since she married Tomori. It doesn’t help that she has two boys and thinks that’s the height of all achievements. 

***

Adesewa has noticed the wives going back and forth in the compound and it occurs to her that she still hasn’t opened the envelopes. As soon as she got in earlier, she slept off. Now, she gets up and picks up the first package. 

CONTRACT between:

Wura Tomori and Fikayomi Adio

On

24th March, 2010.

Being an agreement to aid with the conception of a male child.

Both parties hereby agree to involve in intercourse every week for the span of six months until the female party conceives. Upon conception and confirmation of foetus’s gender, all intercourse and contact immediately cease. 

In the event that the intercourse exceeds the aforementioned period due to lack of conception, a weekly payment of 200,000 NGN will be made. 

Referrals can be made (to referee’s detriment) at the end of the contract, however, that will be the only reason to contact the Contractor. Going outside the agreement can incite the Contractor to take any action that suits them in order to curb the renege. 

The period of agreement can only be initiated with a complete payment of 5, 200, 000 NGN paid only by bank transfer to the Contractor, Fikayomi Adio whose account details are provided below. 

Bank name: Eratim Bank

Account number: 3421002334

Signature and date:

Adesewa vaguely hears a knock on her door. Her children do not return from school until…she picks up her phone to check, about three hours. She picks up the next document in the same envelope to read. 

REASONS FOR CONTACT:

1.

Referral, Sikirat Tomori contacting the Contractor to initiate an affair outside the agreement. 

2. 

Referral, Taiwo Tomori owing 1,000,000 NGN for five weeks of extended period due to the lack of conception of second male child during the initial period. 

Refusal to address the above reasons within a month will lead to sending the attached pictures and documents to husband, Chief Elijah Tomori. 

Adesewa’s mouth is ajar. Taiwo’s second son is five years old, which means that this was still going on at the time that she was nursing her first child, Romade. 

She picks out a picture and at the same time hears loud bangs on her door causing her to flinch. The other wives are obviously aware of something. It’s a picture of the first wife, Wura, and the Contractor, both smiling. The envelope has other documents, mainly receipts of payments from Wura. 

She quickly glances through the other envelopes and sees similar contracts for the second and the third wife on different dates, indicating that both Taiwo’s sons and the other sons from the first two wives were by the Contractor. She tucks all the documents back into the envelopes, her head spinning, and hides them in her bedside drawer. She puts the keys in her bra and heads for the door. 

She has just gotten enough information to ruin the whole Tomori clan and has to play a smart game. Right now, she is sure that her door is going to be pulled out of its frame. She takes a deep shaky breath and opens the door. All three pairs of eyes, belonging to Wura; the first wife, Sikirat; the second wife, and Taiwo; the third wife, land on her: confused, scared, and angry respectively. 

“Yes?” She says. 

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