WONDER 8

WONDER 8

Eight women, who grew up together, married around the same area- Section 58 - and are now in their forties take a peek at life’s intrigues. Of the eight, one, Lillian, has just been expelled from the Chama and one, Veronica, has called it quits. The two, however, remain in touch with the other members of the Chama. Their monthly meeting is due, but before they meet, each has had their own share of woes with life.

Pauline Onyango – 42 years old, restaurant manager, and married to John K’Ogalo, a 47 year old government accountant. They have 3 sons, Pierre who is 15 years old, Keith, 13 years old and Eric who is 4 years old. John is fighting for his life, afflicted by HIV/AIDS.

“Send him upcountry, so as to lessen the burden when he dies,” suggested Jackie when she visited. Quite callous but practical, that’s Jackie for you.
Pauline, always the calm and sober one in the group, looked at Jackie. “Might as well bury him here is Nakuru. Same thing.”
Pauline’s two sons knew what was going on and she had made it her point to explain to them.
“Did Dad get AIDS from a prostitute?” Pierre inquired during Pauline’s briefing to the boys. Pauline was stunned at the bluntness of the question.
“It is not only prostitutes who have AIDS, my son,” Pauline tried to be as assuring as possible.
“Do you have AIDS?” Keith joined in the questioning.
“No,” Pauline replied but somehow she must have not been convincing enough to the boys. Her occasional bouts of heavy coughing had alarmed the boys.
“Are you sure?” Pierre asked rather harshly.
“Are you going to die? asked Eric, the youngest of them all.
Pauline understood their fears and she had to be there for them.
“I think I will become a priest,” Pierre murmured under her breath. It was a promise, not a threat.

Elizabeth Mwende – 40 year old businesswoman, stall No.401A on Koigi’s House, Kenyatta Avenue . She is barren.

Elizabeth came home one evening and found a note on the dining table. It read. “I am sorry things cannot work between us. I’d love to have kids of my own one day. Good luck in your future endeavours.” Signed, Godfrey.
Elizabeth sat down and did not move for a long time. Then she finally tried Godfrey’s number. It was off. So she called the members of her group, most who lived within Section 58.
“Men are dogs,” said Christine, the first one to come to Elizabeth’s house.
Elizabeth was crying. “This is the 3rd man who has left me in 3 years. Why?”
“Adopt a kid or kids if that is the problem,” offered Prisca.
Elizabeth was still low and they all decided to treat her to a movie – on a weekday.
Prisca’s eyes were firmly on the new curtains and nets that Elizabeth had put in the house. They conveniently matched with the gold carpet. Whenever members of the Chama came visiting, Elizabeth always made sure there was something new in the house.

Christine Wakesho – 43 years old single mother of 2 – a 23 year old 2nd year university son, Stano and an 18 year old Form Four student, Tina. The kids have different fathers and they know it.
“Mom, I think there is something I should tell you about Stano,” Tina approached her mom
Christine was immediately on her guard. “Drugs?” Tina shook her head. She paused.
“Worse. He is going out with a sugar mummy.” Tina’s eyes bulged in guilt at letting out her brother’s guarded secret.
It did not sink. “How do you know?” Chrisitine asked her daughter.
“Please promise that you won’t tell him that I told you,” Tina pleaded. She looked behind her shoulders just to confirm that there was no one around.
“Okay, I will try my best.”
Tina showed her mum the sms Stano had sent her. “Hi Sis – imagine I am getting a new car for my 24th birthday! How cool!” Christine could not believe it.
“For how long has this been going on?” Christine asked.
“9 months!”
“What?” Christine went for a cold glass of water, dreading the next question she was going to ask.
“How old is she?”
Tina hesitated but the combination of pain and pity on her mother’s eyes swayed her judgement.
“52!”
Christine choked on her water making Tina rush to her mum’s side.
The tirade followed for the next minute or so. Then Christine sat down and broke down in tears, wailing her heart out. Tina joined her.

Prisca Cheruiyot 47 year old accountant with Serena Hotels. She is married, as a 3rd wife, to Moses Leting, a politician and power broker in the current regime and they have 3 children, 2 sons aged 25 and 21 and a daughter aged 19, who has just completed Form Four. She is building a 7 bedroomed house in the upmarket Milimani Estate.

“Mom, you are soon to be a granny,” JayneRose (JR) declared one night when they were watching news.
“Now which of my randy sons has impregnated a housegirl?” Prisca asked her sons.
Both sons laughed out loudly, before the younger one replied, “Or which houseboy has impregnated your precious daughter?”
“No!” screamed Prisca giving her sons the daggers.
“Yes,” screamed JR. “I will be a mummy just like you!”
“Who?” demanded Prisca.
There was silence before JR exploded in tears.
“It is the neighbour’s houseboy, the kiosk man or a matatu manamba,” said her brother.
“Or all the above,” chuckled the second one as they burst into a stream of prolonged and annoying laughter.
“Stop it boys!” the mum ordered. “Darling, who is the father?”
JR hesitated. “He is called Damien!”
The boys burst out into uncontrollable guffaws again.
“Stop it!” screamed Prisca.
“Why? It is that useless manamba who hangs out the whole day at the bus stop?” said her brother. “He sleeps with anything!”

Georgina Njoroge – 41 year old lecturer at a Kenya Institute of Management College in Nakuru. Married with four children, aged between 6 and 17, but husband has been abroad for the last 5 years without communicating.

“Forget him Georgina,” Patrick, an old time friend told her.
Georgina kept quiet as she fiddled with her wine glass. She gulped the wine. The background music did not register.
“Three whole years and there is no word from him. What if he is dead?” Georgina asked.
“No Kenyan dies in the US without the authorities contacting the family. Forget him. I am here for you,” Patrick stroked Georgina’s hand. She felt safe.
“But he is the father of my children,” Georgina started again, the doubts creeping back.
“An absent father is no father,” Patrick told her. “And you are not growing any younger.”
“Are you calling me old?” Georgina purred.
“Beautiful,” whispered Patrick. “Forget him!”
“Easier said than done,” replied Georgina, squeezing Patrick’s hand in reciprocation.

Jackline Nafula Kiragu – 27 year old, Drama and Music teacher at an International School in Nakuru. She is the youngest in the group and was recruited by her aunt who has since left the group. Jackie has just delivered a bouncing baby girl. Her husband Wycliffe, an engineer with Vodafone, hails from a different tribe with Jackline.

“Imagine when he found out that it was a baby girl, he walked out of the hospital,” Jackie was crying as she narrated to her group members.
“The doctor held him by his shirt and told him, “Man, there are many women who do not make it through this, and there are many people who have no children.”
‘The doctor drew Wycliffe closer to him and whispered, ‘Your mother is not a man!’
“Wycliffe walked away and came back in two hours totally drunk. ‘Where is that fucking doctor who thinks my balls are diluted? Does he know that my family line is made of men: I have four brothers and each of them has a son!’?”
Jackline broke down again as she was narrating the story. Her doctor had warned her against serious baby blues.
Jackie’s auntie, Veronica, walked in and found Jackline in tears. The others were thrilled to see her and everyone stood to hug her. Veronica was one of the founding members of Wonder Eight but she had to leave because of Lillian. That was 8 months back.
“How have you been?” everyone seemed to ask Veronica at the same time.
Veronica was overwhelmed by memories flooding back to the good old days. She became teary as she held Jackie’s baby.
There was knock on the door and without thinking Jackie shouted, “Come in!”
Lillian walked in and there was silence in the room. The tension was palpable. No one spoke, not even Jackie the hostess.
“Hi everybody,” Lillian said tensely before spotting Veronica, who quickly gave the baby back to Jackie and stood to leave.
“I will leave,” Lillian offered as she dropped her gift and beat a hasty retreat.
“Prostitute,” Veronica said as Lillian fled the room.

*

It is a day that Veronica will never forget. Veronica had heard rumours about her husband going out with Lillian. However much she tried, Veronica had been unable to establish the truth behind the rumours until one day when she got a phone call at midnight.
“Lillian is with your husband at Gituamba Night Club, Room 41,” was the message from the caller. Veronica tried calling back for more details but the caller had disconnected his phone.
A call to her husband proved equally fruitless.
With that Veronica’s sleep had gone. She spent the next 10 minutes trying out different things. Finally she decided to call Wonder 8 members.
Only two members responded to her distress call.
“What?” Liz had screamed. “I will be there in 5 minutes.
“Wait for me there,” was Georgina’s reply.
Both ladies were there in less than 10 minutes ready for combat.
“Let’s go,” they dragged Veronica out of the house to Gituamba Night Club.
“I want a room,” Liz told the receptionist. “Number 41.”
“Sorry, it’s taken,” the receptionists replied.
Liz then slid a shs.1000 note and the spare key was in her hands
Veronica, Liz and Georgina made their way to the room. Veronica was a bag of nerves. “What if it is not true?” she asked while holding the stairs railing. The others stopped.
“Let’s go back, this is not right,” Veronica said.
“There is only one way of finding out once and for all,” commanded the combative Liz as she matched to the room.
Veronica stood aside as the two ladies took charge. Liz fitted the key into the hole and noiselessly turned the key and opened the door. Georgina walked in. Veronica had to be pulled in.
Liz switched on the light and the room came to life. It was a small room with a bed on the corner. The air reeked heavily of alcohol and cigarette. Clothes were strewn all over the floor. Veronica recognised the trousers that her husband had been wearing that day. On the bed were two figures partly covered in a blanket.
Veronica lost it and yanked the blanket from the bed, thus exposing the two naked bodies. Veronica went for Lillian and pulled her out from her husband’s embrace.
The three ladies all descended on Lillian, who was far too drunk to know what was going on. The husband stirred from his sleep and thinking that it was thieves, started shouting.
The commotion attracted the security personnel who came and resolved the issue by throwing out the three dressed ladies.
“That is my husband,” Veronica said as she was pulled away from the two naked bodies.
“Go home and wait for him,” was the reply from one of the security men.
Veronica and the two ladies did not go home but instead parked their car outside the club.
“I will not go until they both come out. I have to settle this once and for all,” Veronica told her girlfriends. They pledged their loyalty and stayed in the car with her.
At around 10 a.m, Lillian and Tom, Veronica’s husband walked out of the club, hand in hand.
The three ladies came out of the car. Lillian was the first one to spot them. She turned and ran back to the club. Tom stood rooted to the spot.
Veronica, a bag of nerves, broke down crying.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Sensing danger, Tom tried aggression. “Stupid woman, you think you can keep me on a leash!” His attempt to beat up Veronica was, however, thwarted by the other two tough women.
“Try touching her and you will see fire,” Liz told Tom, as she positioned herself like a boxer. Georgina’s bag was ready to strike.
“So now the Chama has become your husband,” shouted Tom. “Tell them to make love to you as well.” And with that Tom went back to the club.
That morning, Veronica moved out of Section 58 estate to Free Area Estate with her two children. It is the day that she also left the group Wonder 8, despite the protests from the other 6 women.
A special meeting was convened by the group. Lillian and Veronica did not attend. The meeting resolved to expel Lillian. All the members endorsed the decision.