"Mama, please. I won't do it again!.... I will change!... I've already changed!" Anne begged. At the same time, she used her hands to block some of the slaps.
Some 'melon seed eaters' also stepped forward to separate the duo. Seeing that the fight was getting out of hand.
Some elderly 'melon seed eaters' held oldma Massa's hands, attempting to loosen her grip on Anne's hair.
while the others helped Anne tie her open lapper around her waist, in tight knots, and pleaded on Anne's behalf.
Some of Anne's friends also begged her (oldma Massa) to release her grip. when they saw their friend getting disgraced and shamed by her mother-in-law.
But Oldma Massa was having none of it;
And at that moment, it was as if she put everything and everybody around her on mute.
Among the crowd, Mrs Willis and Chloe were watching with relish. You would almost see stars in Chloe's eyes from the excitement.
Gossiping adrenaline running through her veins, driving her to the point of wanting to scream and cheer on the duo (oldma Massa and Anne).
As for Mrs Willis, she was trying all her techniques, using them to hold herself back from adding chaos to the already chaotic fight.
Yet, she wasn't sure of her choice, so she turned to her partner, Chloe and asked
"You think we should go 'separate' them?"
Understanding what she meant, Chloe then replied.
"Not now. Leh wait small and enjoy the 'show'."
"Also, from our experiences, all that holding, they're holding oldma Massa. We know it's all for nought," she added.
Then, right on cue, oldma Massa shoved the 'melons seeds eaters' that were meddling in her family's matter. According to her.
Because they were focused on mediating the fight, they were caught off guard, and some fell on the ground in embarrassing positions.
The few lucky ones who didn't fall, plus the ones who fell, got furious and began exchanging cusses with oldma Massa. Clearly, oldma Massa is not one to trifle with. She single-handedly 'designed' the whole group. Even spilling some of their secrets.
"You Sangay!, Thing like you...."
Oldma Massa said to one of the old women who had fallen, looking at her from head to toe. her hand moving in sync with her eyes.
"You're supposed to tell me how to respect myself?? You, who slept with Otis, until he entered his coffin? Heheyyy, see my bad luck ayyy," she spat. Then she broke into a fussy dance while she said the "heheyyy".
Then she turned her gaze to the 'melon seed eaters'(the crowd), and scanned them with her eyes. After a few seconds of scanning, she found her target. Oldman James sixty nine years old, standing mong the crowd.
Then she opened her mouth....
"You foolish James, your wife planted a whole 'green forest' on your head. For almost your entire life and you were still oblivious. They were almost everywhere, even your banana bush knew. Only you were blind.
You'd better go check among your children which one's yours"
Otis is 65 years old. He's oldma Sangay and her husband's next-door neighbour.
After she said that, she turned back to the
group. But behind her was empty. All of them fled in different directions
She then turned her gaze to her daughter-in-law. Anne's friends had already helped her up and wiped the dirt off her skin. She also wore short jeans underneath her lapper.
She sat on a bench far from her husband and the commotion her mother-in-law was causing.
Her friends surrounded her immediately, the moment oldma Massa gazed at her.
But Anne's attention wasn't on all that. Her attention was on her husband and her son.
The four-month-old baby was in his hand, sleeping peacefully amidst all the chaos. Her husband, Alfred, was patting the baby, his expression serene. He was no longer livid or trembling from anger.
Feeling her gaze on him, Alfred looked up to meet her gaze. After ten seconds, he looked away. Then he calmly stood up and walked into the house. Leaving her to the mercy of his mother.
After Alfred entered the house, Anne then turned to look at her mother-in-law. Meeting her furious gaze, she got scared.
Oldma Massa looked at her and her friends for a while, and said...
"Birds of a feather. You'd better pack your things and go to your lover's house before I do it myself. And you better pray that child is for my son!"
After she said that, she went to sit at the far end of another bench. And began regulating her breath. After resting for a while, she got up and entered the house.
Outside, the crowd was already thinning out. Since the 'show' is mostly over. Anne's friends also left in pairs. And headed home to prepare dinner for their families.
Anne was left alone, sitting on the bench.
At this moment, Chloe and Mrs Willis have not yet gone home. Seeing that Anne was sitting alone on the bench, looking pitiful, they walked to her and sat down on the bench opposite her. Anne looked up at them and said in a low voice.
"If you're here to mock me, do it. I really messed up. Sob...Sob.." she said. While crying.
"Thank God, you know, you messed up.
But let me advise you, nobody should make you leave this front yard. Your baby is just four months old, and he will need you to feed him. Your mother-in-law has a poisonous mouth, but she also has a soft heart. Wait until your parents come from the farm, then you can ask them to plead for you. That's it. We're leaving." Chloe said.
Then she and Mrs Willis headed home.
.....
While they were leisurely walking home.
On this side, in Chloe's home, the trio-Joseph, Faith and baby Asher. Added another 'achievement' to their records. Joseph mistakenly dumped the food Chloe had kept on the stove (the one that uses wood) for dinner. They were playing hide and seek when Joseph, in search of a hiding place, mistakenly pushed down the almost empty water barrel. And then...
"Boom!" The barrel fell straight on the stove and knocked down the pots of food.
The soup pot tipped over, and the rice pot was filled with water from the barrel.
When Faith and baby Asher were searching for him, they heard a loud sound of something falling from the kitchen direction. Faith then rushed to the kitchen.
baby Asher saw her running in that direction, and followed her, crawling faster behind her.
When she entered the kitchen, she saw Joseph frantically picking soup from the floor and putting it back in the soup pot. She also joined him. Not long after, baby Asher crawled in happily and joined them.
Swapping his hands from side to side in the soup on the floor.
That was the scene old Mrs Hopeson saw when she entered the kitchen after she heard the barrel falling.