"You're going to do our wish, Jose, and if you decline, you will see the other side of me and your father", Mrs Olumoroti snapped at Joseph, her son, who was planning to marry the love of his life, Mabel.
Joseph scoffed and pretended he didn't hear his mother whept pressing his phone.
"You turned a deaf ear abi(right?). Joseph oro mio le si(you won't give a response?)", Mrs Olumoroti snapped again.
"Mom, what exactly did you want? Should I give up my life before you stop troubling me?" Joseph angrily replied.
"You were controlling my life until this age. You wanted me to become a lawyer against my will, I succumbed to you and dad's wish just to be the good son you wanted but this, eleyi ti e ra owo le yi(this one you're persistent on) won't be possible and I mean it Mom", Joseph angrily replied as he stormed to his room.
"Egbami(come to my aid), this boy doesn't know what he's saying. All we're doing is for your sake Jose, and you must listen", Mrs Olumoroti shouted.
Just as she was about to head to the kitchen, Mr Olumoroti entered. They wanted Joseph to get married to Stephanie, one of Mr Olumoroti's closest allies' Mr Coker's daughter. She is a medical doctor. Both parents had been friends for years and their wish was for their children to get married to each other.
"Ha, okomi(my husband) welcome my love, how was work today? Hope you're not stressed?", Mrs Olumoroti asked.
"Mama the mama, thanks my dear, a bit stressed though. What happened, I was hearing your voice as I entered the gate", Mr Olumoroti asked.
"Is it not your son? You'd better talk sense into him; I don't know what's wrong with him. I was telling him that his marriage with Stephanie will hold only for him to flare up and walk out on me", Mrs Olumoroti explained.
"My dear, don't sweat it, leave that to me. He wants to tell us he's an adult and we'll tell him we are his parents, he has no choice but to obey us and do our bidding", Mr Olumoroti assured his wife as they both entered their room.
Throughout the night, Joseph was in his room. He didn't come out for dinner despite his mom calling him to. Neither did he greet his father when he was back from work. The next morning, he went out before everyone woke up and didn't return till later at night. Just as he entered the living room, he met his father and mother taking a snack in the living room.
"Omo mi Akanbi, kaa bo(my son Akanbi, welcome)", Mrs Olumoroti said with a broad smile.
"Good evening, sir, good evening, ma", Joseph replied and headed to his room.
"Young man, is that how you will greet your parents? And why do you leave home so early today?" Mr Olumoroti asked, reducing the volume of the program he was watching with his wife.
"No reason, I just needed some peace that I can no longer get in this house", Joseph replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mr Olumoroti asked.
"Dad, Mom, I have a fiancée that I would love to marry, so the idea of this Stephanie, I'm not buying it, and I won't give in to it, and this is my decision", Joseph replied calmly.
"Hunhunhun", Mr Olumoroti giggled.
"Ha, Akanbi, do you know what you're saying, do you know how long your father had been friends with Stephanie's father? Do you want to ruin their friendship?" Mrs Olumoroti stood up angrily, facing Joseph.
"Mom, Dad is friends with Stephanie's father, does that make me a tool to tie their friendship? Am I a bait for some political gain or what exactly? I need to know the reason why you're hellbent on me marrying Stephanie", Joseph fires back.
"My dear look, he's talking back at me. My son is now talking back at me", Mrs Olumoroti shouted.
"Mom relax, stop getting yourself worked up. I'm going to marry Mabel, get used to it, and the earlier the better." Joseph turned and was about to head to his room when his father snapped.
"You now give orders right? You now have the guts to talk back to your parents, and I'm sure all this is the courtesy of that uncultured girlfriend of yours", Mr Olumoroti shouted.
"Dad, I'm an adult, old enough to make decisions and choices myself. Why are you forcing your will on me? You guys wanted me to be a lawyer because Dad is a lawyer. You wanted a perfect son to continue his legacy, I obeyed just to please you and now, you want me to marry someone I don't love? Really? I'm sorry, my darling parents, but I won't, and that's my stand", Joseph replied bluntly and stormed angrily to his room.
After lots of arguments, Joseph's parents never agreed to him marrying Mabel. He had no choice but to leave home; he did a customary marriage with Mabel and left the city for another city, where he settled down with his wife, and they began their life. Joseph had always wanted to be a data analyst, he found his way back to his passion. This choice costs him his parents' love, but he never regrets making the decision. His father no longer picks up his calls while his mother pucks once in a while. When Mabel gave birth to their first child, Joseph called his mother.
"Mom, we gave birth to a bouncing baby boy. If you're mad at me, will you still be mad at your innocent grandchild?" Joseph asked during a phone conversation with his mother.
The next day, Mrs Olumoroti travelled down to visit Joseph and Mabel. On getting there she was impressed and happy at how they were living. At first, she was grumpy, but later became the sweet, loving mother-in-law Mabel was expecting. Although Mr Olumoroti is still hard to convince but they believe he will come around soon with the help of Mrs Olumoroti.
Thanks for your time and your comments will be appreciated.