Stella's Happy Story 2

Photo credit: geneticliteracyproject.org

First it was pressure from Nwokezue’s family to bring his wife back to Lokpanta to help his old aunties out in the farm; to them she was spoilt and needed to be trained to be a strong woman who would be able to withstand any hardship (why do people have to prepare for hardship?)

Stella had never suffered, her husband started to take care of her right from start, she came into wealth and it wasn’t the best for any woman. (just look at this poverty mentality) Nwokezue after much resistance finally succumbed to the strain from his kindred and asked his beautiful wife to go home to Lokpa for a little while.

As expected it was one drama after the other, Nwokezue’s aunties and uncles always had one or two complaints against Stella. 

She wouldn’t go to Ukukoro to fetch water, she had little boys on her payroll who ran errands for her and it was strange to everyone in Nwokezue’s family that a young woman like Stella had no interest in going to the Nkwo Market on the dedicated Market day to shop for foodstuff that were only found on that special day. 

It was also a day when young wives showed off their new wrappers but Stella was in a world of her own and counting the days when her ordeal would be over but things got worse.

Her funds gradually stopped coming and Nwokezue also visited less frequently, she could read the writing on the wall and she adjusted to what would be her new life till when fate decided otherwise. 

She got a stall somewhere in Amaeke and turned her passion into a business. She made the best pepper soup and in no time her spot became very popular and she also began to sell alcohol to go with the pepper soup. Stella had a beer parlour! 

She no longer depended on the funds from her husband and she began to enjoy her new life, Nwokezue arrived unannounced on a certain day and created an ugly scene in his wife's beer parlour accusing her of infidelity. 

It was obvious that he had been fed a lot of lies which he acted on. Stella was no longer the gentle wife, they had been apart for almost two years and she had had enough.

She challenged him openly and let him know that she would continue with her business.

She wept on that day when she remembered how they met and fell in love. She was a young girl who had visited her grandmother who got married again to a man from Lokpanta and Nwokezue would not let a day pass without seeing her. 

She did not understand why everybody had the notion that she came into wealth, she was there from the get go when Nwokezue had nothing. She loved him before his wealth, people sure had very short memory but she wouldn’t join issues with her elders.

She did everything that she had been asked to do by her husband’s family but her restaurant business had come to stay.