Before my plans to travel to Ethiopia materialised, I was struggling to get back my position as Head of Institution (HOI), Mwisho wa Lami Comprehensive School. The beautiful sub-county TSC Director was not helping. In fact, she was actively helping Kuya take over from me.
But when it became apparent that I would be traveling, the director started talking to me. I was careful with her as I thought she wanted to ask me if I had permission to travel. You never know with these TSC people. It turned out that she actually had a different request.
"If you are travelling, please buy me a nice Ethiopian dress. With yellow flowers," was her request.
I promised to do so. Luckily, on my third day in Ethiopia, our driver, Yohannes Alemayehu, took us to a huge dress supermarket. I bought a dress for the beautiful director from an old Ethiopian lady who spoke some Swahili.
"Surely you want to travel back without getting a dress for mlamwa?" wondered my brother Pius, referring to Fiolina, the laugh of my life. I also took an identical dress for Fiolina. Pius paid for this as I did not have money.
The beautiful sub county TSC director was the first person I saw when I returned to Mwisho wa Lami, and I gave her the dress. She was very happy. I asked her about my job status.
"Continue with your work as HOI," she said when I told her I had no letter telling me otherwise. That's all I needed.
That's why last Monday, I arrived in school with gusto, ready to reshape the school and change its fortunes from the mess that Kuya had left it in.
I was looking forward to updating you on how I took the school by storm, the challenges of JSS, and the visit by Bensouda, but it looks like I'll have to fill you on what transpired since Friday.
And it all had to do with the beautiful Ethiopian dress I bought for the sub county TSC Director of Education. If you remember, Juma, the former deputy of this school, had invited us for dowry negotiations ceremony for his daughter. It was to happen on Saturday, January 4.
However, it seems the man, who works in Uganda, didn't make it on time, and as such, it was postponed to last Friday. Being a school day, I didn't attend, but I sent Fiolina to represent me.
Fiolina was excited to go and kept giving me updates, until around 2pm, when she went mute. Her answers to me were one-worded: "ok", "sijui" or “ya”.
Any married man does not need a calculator to know that when your wife starts giving you such answers, trouble is brewing, if it hasn't fermented!
I wondered what the problem was. Had I not deleted all suspicious messages from my phone – I do that every two days. If it were messages, she would have exploded the previous day when she spent about five minutes with my phone, a period that felt like two years!
At around 3 pm, I called her, but she did not answer; when I asked her how the ceremony was, she gave me a short answer, "iko sawa".
Not knowing what the issue was, I passed by Hitler's to borrow some confidence to face Fiolina. It was well past 7pm when I arrived home.
As I had feared, Fiolina was visibly angry, singing Christian hymns as she did her chores. Using her mouth, she pointed at food placed on the table.
I ate properly, whatever it was that awaited me; it needed to find me full.
"So you think I am a fool, Dre? Tell me, did you not buy anyone else a dress?"
"Oh, the county TSC director, yes, but it was not a gift; she sent me money, and I just bought her."
"She did not send you any money Dre, you bought her from your pocket," she said, with teary eyes.
"She was wearing it today, a dress more beautiful and more expensive than the one you bought me. What is happening Dre..."
"If she had sent you, why didn't you mention it? How come you have promised her more gifts? Who do you think I am, Dre?" she asked, crying.
"Look, Fio," I started, calling her by her pet name.
"You know the whole of last term I had no job; I had to do something to get my job back. And I promised her more, since this year you have to get a job, and she is influential."
"Stop your lies, Dre, she told us at the wedding how you bought her the dress...Imagine how I felt seeing her better dressed than me, while bragging to other women that she can talk to you! Even if you wanted to buy her a gift, you should have bought us different things" she said still crying.
She went to the bedroom; brought the dress I had bought her, and threw it at me. "Now that there is someone more important than me, I won't wear it. You can give her." She went back to the bedroom.
A few minutes later, I received an SMS from Lena, "Did you remain with an Ethiopian dress? TSC director said that I ask you, it is so nice. Thank you in advance."
"But kama ulibaki na dress moja, sitakataa my dear."
I started contemplating who to give the dress. Since I would be making Sella the acting deputy, I decided to give the dress to Lena.
I folded the dress and was packing it in an Uhuru bag when Fiolina stormed into the sitting room. "Give me back my dress!" she shouted. "I can't believe what I have heard. Mlamwa Pius has told me that in fact, he is the one who bought me the dress. You only thought about that skinny woman."
"Dre, what am I to you? Surely hiyo ni madharau gani?" I said nothing. She added that were it not late, she would have gone back to her parents, and threatened to go the next morning - which was yesterday.
That night, she packed noisily, expecting me to beg her and stop her. I did not say anything, did not stop her. The only thing I did was to send my brother Pius a short SMS: "Wacha umama!"
I woke up yesterday thinking Fiolina had left. But she was up and about, singing gospel songs as she handled her chores. On the table, breakfast had been set.
A part of me did not want to take it but the real me cleared the breakfast. I also got busy cutting grass and trimming the fence. We all were busy, not talking to each other, but aware of each other's presence.
"Never do that again dear," she sent me a WhatsApp message later at night, while we were in bed. I responded, promising that it will never happen again. And I meant it, for I will never go to Ethiopia again!
For obvious reasons, we slept late. Very late…
