Beauty on loan
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- Category: Al-Bint's diary
- Written by albintnewgeneration@yahoo.com
- Hits: 1164
‘What do you think?’ I asked Tahir, mimicking the poise and accent of Danielle in the classic comedy series Mind Your Language. As if spellbound Tahir continued to look at me standing in that catwalk pose, admiration all over his face, but no word about my brand new evening gown.
‘ Don’t you have anything to say about this obviously delectable number?’ I asked straightening up to walk towards the dining table and sit beside him.‘Have you paid for it?’ he asked matter-of-factly before putting the next morsel of food into his mouth.
‘I may seem like a mosque rat to you, but surely I earn enough to be able to afford a new dress.’ I replied.
‘Well as long as you are sure you have paid for it, I just don’t like the idea of someone knocking my door and asking to be paid.’ He answered.
‘Tahir did I ever buy anything on loan such that you had to come to my aid? This is incredible, all I asked for was a compliment. I bought a new evening gown and wanted to show it off and have you dying with admiration. And what did I get? Accusation that I might have bought it on credit to get you to pay for it. I am so glad we have no visitors in this house and the kids are in their room. Where did I go wrong?’ I lamented.
‘You didn’t darling Bint, and am sorry to spring it on you like that.’ He apologised, with a palm on my hand. ‘You see I just had a disturbing encounter with our neighbour Abdul. He stopped me on my way home from the mosque to ask for assistance on an issue that I didn’t know can happen in this day and age. I’m sorry I took it out on you.’ He repeated.
‘No problem hubby dearest, these things happen. Now what did Malam Abdul have to say that got you upset?’ I asked.
‘That he needed a loan of fifty thousand naira by tomorrow morning in order to pay off his wife’s debts.’ Tahir explained.
‘Fifty thousand naira, how can an unemployed housewife incur a debt that much?’ i asked in shock.
‘But that is not all, the actual amount is N120,000. He has up to N70,000 in his account and is looking for the remaining fifty to balance it up.’ He disclosed.
‘N120,000? This is incredible. What on earth did she buy?’
‘According to him, he was on his way to work this morning when a group of women stopped him at the front of his house. Apparently they were waiting outside the gate. The moment it was opened for his car to exit, they rushed forward and told him they were waiting to see him. Because he could recognise some of them as his wife’s friends he asked why they didn’t come into the house, and they explained that they were trying to avoid meeting his wife because she would never let them talk to him.
‘So why do you want to talk to me?’ Abdul had asked.
‘Your wife owes each one of us here money’ the apparent spokesperson of the group said, gesturing towards the other four women. ‘For long we have been coming here to ask her to pay, but she kept saying come back tomorrow. Because we are her friends we kept coming back, only to hear more excuses. But some of us here did not sell her goods belonging to us, we merely retailing on behalf of the actual owners. Now the real owners want their money and we have no way of paying unless she pays us.’
‘How much does she owe you?’ He asked.
‘All in all, N120,000.’ The lady replied.
‘N120,000, what did she buy for that amount, and how do I know you are telling the truth?’ Abdul demanded.
‘Because we have proof Alhaji. Look at the undertaking we always ask customers to sign whenever we allow them to buy something on credit. We know some of them are forgetful or just difficult to deal with, so we now write down the items and the amount and get them to read, write their names and sign the piece of paper. Look, all the ones we brought here have your wife’s name and signature. ‘ And she handed him the five pieces of paper.
‘Ok, I will go through this and then discuss with her. Please come for your money tomorrow.’ Abdul assured the women.
‘But we will wait for you here tomorrow, we can’t come in knowing that she will be very angry with us for seeking your intervention’ Spokesperson declared.
’Ok as you wish,’ Abdul replied driving off. He went to work but could hardly concentrate because of the morning’s incident. During lunch he came back and confronted his wife who tearfully accepted that she had indeed bought things worth that much money on credit.’ Tahir concluded.
‘But what did she buy?’ I asked.
‘Oh lots of stuff, clothes, underwears, trinkets children’s clothes, household decorations etc. It seems she has a lot of passion for beautiful things, which she also can’t afford.’ He observed.
‘So he is ready to pay for all that till the next time, isn’t he?’ I asked, sarcastically.
‘From what he said he had scolded her for it and warned her never to do so again because he will not stick his neck out to pay for her next time.’ Tahir replied.
‘I just hope he can enforce that. You see I’ve always wondered how she manages to look so elegant and fashionable for a full-time housewife who has no personal income of her own. And though she hardly travels abroad her children are always in designer-label clothes and shoes. I always say to myself this young couple does believe in quality outfit. I had no idea she was buying things on loan just to beautify herself, her children and her house. What kind of a mentality is that? But it could be his fault if he doesn’t buy at all and she has to buy herself, then he shouldn’t blame her if she went for the very best.’ I observed.
‘According to him he always bought everything for his family himself, the food they eat the clothes they wear, school items for the kids and every other thing she might request for. This is in order to save her having to go out to the market and stuff because he was the one who wanted her to be a full-time housewife. But she always seems to have extra, was always having things that he didn’t go out to buy. He now admits it’s his fault he never bothered to ask where she was getting the money from. He vows to be vigilant from now on, which got me resolved to be vigilant too. And that was why I wanted to know whether your dress was bought on loan too.’ Tahir confessed, smiling indulgently my way.
‘Well believe me you have nothing to fear. Though with the new fuel price you just might have to start paying some percentage of my beauty budget. But it’s not going to be much.....’ I deliberately let my voice trail away seductively, laying a hand on his cheek.
‘And so help me God.’ He replied in mock horror.
Articles
Beauty on loan
Category: Al-Bint's diary Written by albintnewgeneration@yahoo.com Hits: 1164
‘What do you think?’ I asked Tahir, mimicking the poise and accent of Danielle in the classic comedy series Mind Your Language. As if spellbound Tahir continued to look at me standing in that catwalk pose, admiration all over his face, but no word about my brand new evening gown.
‘ Don’t you have anything to say about this obviously delectable number?’ I asked straightening up to walk towards the dining table and sit beside him.‘Have you paid for it?’ he asked matter-of-factly before putting the next morsel of food into his mouth.
‘I may seem like a mosque rat to you, but surely I earn enough to be able to afford a new dress.’ I replied.
‘Well as long as you are sure you have paid for it, I just don’t like the idea of someone knocking my door and asking to be paid.’ He answered.
‘Tahir did I ever buy anything on loan such that you had to come to my aid? This is incredible, all I asked for was a compliment. I bought a new evening gown and wanted to show it off and have you dying with admiration. And what did I get? Accusation that I might have bought it on credit to get you to pay for it. I am so glad we have no visitors in this house and the kids are in their room. Where did I go wrong?’ I lamented.
‘You didn’t darling Bint, and am sorry to spring it on you like that.’ He apologised, with a palm on my hand. ‘You see I just had a disturbing encounter with our neighbour Abdul. He stopped me on my way home from the mosque to ask for assistance on an issue that I didn’t know can happen in this day and age. I’m sorry I took it out on you.’ He repeated.
‘No problem hubby dearest, these things happen. Now what did Malam Abdul have to say that got you upset?’ I asked.
‘That he needed a loan of fifty thousand naira by tomorrow morning in order to pay off his wife’s debts.’ Tahir explained.
‘Fifty thousand naira, how can an unemployed housewife incur a debt that much?’ i asked in shock.
‘But that is not all, the actual amount is N120,000. He has up to N70,000 in his account and is looking for the remaining fifty to balance it up.’ He disclosed.
‘N120,000? This is incredible. What on earth did she buy?’
‘According to him, he was on his way to work this morning when a group of women stopped him at the front of his house. Apparently they were waiting outside the gate. The moment it was opened for his car to exit, they rushed forward and told him they were waiting to see him. Because he could recognise some of them as his wife’s friends he asked why they didn’t come into the house, and they explained that they were trying to avoid meeting his wife because she would never let them talk to him.
‘So why do you want to talk to me?’ Abdul had asked.
‘Your wife owes each one of us here money’ the apparent spokesperson of the group said, gesturing towards the other four women. ‘For long we have been coming here to ask her to pay, but she kept saying come back tomorrow. Because we are her friends we kept coming back, only to hear more excuses. But some of us here did not sell her goods belonging to us, we merely retailing on behalf of the actual owners. Now the real owners want their money and we have no way of paying unless she pays us.’
‘How much does she owe you?’ He asked.
‘All in all, N120,000.’ The lady replied.
‘N120,000, what did she buy for that amount, and how do I know you are telling the truth?’ Abdul demanded.
‘Because we have proof Alhaji. Look at the undertaking we always ask customers to sign whenever we allow them to buy something on credit. We know some of them are forgetful or just difficult to deal with, so we now write down the items and the amount and get them to read, write their names and sign the piece of paper. Look, all the ones we brought here have your wife’s name and signature. ‘ And she handed him the five pieces of paper.
‘Ok, I will go through this and then discuss with her. Please come for your money tomorrow.’ Abdul assured the women.
‘But we will wait for you here tomorrow, we can’t come in knowing that she will be very angry with us for seeking your intervention’ Spokesperson declared.
’Ok as you wish,’ Abdul replied driving off. He went to work but could hardly concentrate because of the morning’s incident. During lunch he came back and confronted his wife who tearfully accepted that she had indeed bought things worth that much money on credit.’ Tahir concluded.
‘But what did she buy?’ I asked.
‘Oh lots of stuff, clothes, underwears, trinkets children’s clothes, household decorations etc. It seems she has a lot of passion for beautiful things, which she also can’t afford.’ He observed.
‘So he is ready to pay for all that till the next time, isn’t he?’ I asked, sarcastically.
‘From what he said he had scolded her for it and warned her never to do so again because he will not stick his neck out to pay for her next time.’ Tahir replied.
‘I just hope he can enforce that. You see I’ve always wondered how she manages to look so elegant and fashionable for a full-time housewife who has no personal income of her own. And though she hardly travels abroad her children are always in designer-label clothes and shoes. I always say to myself this young couple does believe in quality outfit. I had no idea she was buying things on loan just to beautify herself, her children and her house. What kind of a mentality is that? But it could be his fault if he doesn’t buy at all and she has to buy herself, then he shouldn’t blame her if she went for the very best.’ I observed.
‘According to him he always bought everything for his family himself, the food they eat the clothes they wear, school items for the kids and every other thing she might request for. This is in order to save her having to go out to the market and stuff because he was the one who wanted her to be a full-time housewife. But she always seems to have extra, was always having things that he didn’t go out to buy. He now admits it’s his fault he never bothered to ask where she was getting the money from. He vows to be vigilant from now on, which got me resolved to be vigilant too. And that was why I wanted to know whether your dress was bought on loan too.’ Tahir confessed, smiling indulgently my way.
‘Well believe me you have nothing to fear. Though with the new fuel price you just might have to start paying some percentage of my beauty budget. But it’s not going to be much.....’ I deliberately let my voice trail away seductively, laying a hand on his cheek.
‘And so help me God.’ He replied in mock horror.