#Eko Ile! [iDey#7]

Tales of Isabelle (Part 1):

18+

Life has not been fair to Isabelle. Born to a mid-income earning family of mid-western Nigeria, growing up has not been so much of a bed of roses for this 19 year old girl; Her mum Mrs. Bala, was a consistent trader in the then open markets of Jos town, (that was before the initial violence that erupted in the city that took her husband Mr. Bala…). And ever since Isabelle lost her dad, life went from bad to chaotic. School became a luxury, good clothes became a thing of the past, and Christmases seemed like a normal "hard-work" day; because now, Isabelle had to work from day to day, first as a prep-school attendant - then just because she didn’t finish her O’Levels, the schools raised their stakes, and Isabelle had to resort to housekeeping, then to full time live-in housekeeping to fend for her family: her 2 younger brothers; and also add to her mum’s income to sustain the family.

Someway, Isabelle worked for this foreign family in Jos town. Things seemed easy as she worked with a German family who liked Isabelle very much, for Isabelle was very beautiful; And at her teen age she was well built in body and height, and she was very smart too. Her German massers loved Isabelle so much that she was like a daughter of the house, and since this expatriate couple (of whom the husband worked as a factory engineer in a carpet company, down town) had no children of their own, Isabelle was treated well much as family.

Things went south, when the madam of the house, Mrs. Carpenter, told Isabelle that they would soon be going back to Germany, and her services would not be required anymore; it was bad news for Isabelle and she felt very bad by the news. But Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter gave Isabelle a good farewell, with lots of gifts of clothes, books, and quite a good pay. But life returned back to square one for Isabelle, or at least, back to seeking for another job once again. But not quite before long, news came to Isabella’s mum that her services would be required by a family in Lagos. Actually it was a family friend that hinted Mrs. Bala about the new job opening, and it was fair news since the pay seemed a bit better, and Isabelle was excited to make it to the city of Lagos for the first time.

A week Later: The time was 10:25pm. Isabelle was standing before Mr. and Mrs. Goje; the sitting room was a lavishly furnished space, with a 12 foot chandelier running from roof to about 8 feet above ground. The Television set in the sitting room was the biggest Isabella had ever seen: it was about 6 foot wide and 4 foot tall. Isabelle wasn’t so intrigued about the cold air of the air-conditioner, which seemed like the atmosphere was icy like where she was coming from. Mr. Goje, a middle aged business man in the metropolitan area of Lagos, and his wife Mrs. Goje, a bank executive who just had a new born baby boy, lived in the sub-urban part of Lekki, Lagos; and it was high time for Mrs. Goje to resume work after weeks of maternity leave, and she much needed the help of a housekeeper.

Isabelle’s mind was still aloof over the brightness of the sitting room, the gold plated arm rest chairs, the 3D floors, and…until Mrs. Goje’s voice brought her back to reality: “Do you speak English?” Mrs. Goje asked Isabelle, “Yes ma” Isabelle replied. “How old are you?” Mrs. Goje asked once again, “I am 19 years old ma…” Isabelle replied…”Hmmm, you look older” Mrs. Goje retorted, “I am 19 years ma….” Isabelle repeated again…”Can you cook?’ Mrs. Goje asked, “Yes I can…” Isabelle replied; “That’s good…” Mrs. Goje replied; “Honey do you have any questions for her?” Mrs. Goje asked her husband, as she throws a glance at him, and surprisingly sees Mr. Goje lost in awe, as he is staring uncontrollably on Isabelle’s breasts…

To Be Continued...