River Wild by Frances Mensah Williams

Author:Frances Mensah Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Contemporary international romantic comedy
Publisher: Frances Mensah Williams
Published: 2021-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

‘Mama! Listen to me well. There is no way I will permit you to live with a man without benefit of – well, anything! What is he saying? No knocking, no drinks, no engagement? Haba! Why do my daughters want to see me in my grave?’

Torn between anger and laughter as she watched her mother pace up and down the crowded living room, River was sorely regretting having instigated the drama now in full flow. Still smarting from her encounter with Cameron the day before and determined to show she could also move on, River had chosen what had, up to that point, been a quiet Sunday afternoon to broach the subject of Donald’s proposal to her mother. Appalled at her daughter’s desire to live with a man she had known for only a matter of months, her mother had immediately called a family conference. Within the space of an hour, River’s three aunties had been ushered into the living room and Sefa had raced home from Kojo’s house in response to her sister’s urgent plea for back-up. River’s father, comfortably ensconced in his favourite armchair, had been barred by his wife from even touching his newspaper until their daughter agreed not to shame her family by cohabiting with a man who, despite his wealth, appeared strangely unwilling to do the right thing.

River sighed and shook her head. ‘Honestly, Ma, are you ever happy? You hated Cameron because he didn’t have a full-time job and now you’ve got a problem with Donald who’s only trying to take care of me and give me a good life.’

Her mother stopped her pacing to glare at her daughter. ‘Mama, I don’t hate anyone. How can you say such a thing to a good Christian woman? Have you ever known me to miss Church? That boy comes from a decent family, so how can I hate him? No, my only problem was that he wasn’t prepared to take a professional job and earn a decent salary to provide for my daughter.’

Shrugging off her mother’s talent for rewriting history, River appealed directly to her audience. ‘Aunties, please… can you tell my mother I’m thirty years old and a grown woman who earns her own living. I don’t need her permission if I choose to live with someone!’

River’s aunties were huddled together on a sofa observing the verbal battle between mother and daughter, and they immediately exchanged uneasy glances.

‘My daughter, this is not an easy request,’ Auntie Essie began tentatively. ‘Yes, you are an adult but…’ she faltered and turned to her sister who was wedged in beside her. Having left her house in a hurry, Auntie Mansa had arrived in her house slippers and with her wig askew.

‘Essie is right. This is a very delicate situation,’ Auntie Mansa entreated. ‘My dear, I think it is best if this man presents himself to us. That way, we can judge for ourselves if he is sincere in his intentions.’

River’s mother nodded in agreement. ‘You make a good point, Mansa.

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