English, but she spoke mostly in Luo now. Even without the benefit of Zeituni’s translation, I guessed that she wasn’t
happy.
“She wants to know why you have taken so long to visit her,” Zeituni explained. “She says that she is the eldest child
of your grandfather, Hussein Onyango, and that you should have come to see her first.”
“Tell her I meant no disrespect,” I said, looking at Sarah but not sure what she understood. “Everything’s been so
busy since my arrival-it was hard to come sooner.”
Sarah’s tone became sharp. “She says that the people you stay with must be telling you lies.”
“Tell her that I’ve heard nothing said against her. Tell her that the dispute about the Old Man’s estate has just made
Auma uncomfortable about coming here.”
Sarah snorted after the translation and started up again, her voice rumbling against the close walls. When she finally
stopped, Zeituni remained quiet.
“What’d she say, Zeituni?”
Zeituni’s eyes stayed on Sarah as she answered my question. “She says the trial is not her fault. She says that it’s
Kezia’s doing-Auma’s mum. She says that the children who claim to be Obama’s are not Obama’s. She says they have
taken everything of his and left his true people living like beggars.”
Sarah nodded, and her eyes began to smolder. “Yes, Barry,” she said suddenly in English. “It is me who looks after
your father when he is a small boy. My mother, Akumu, is also your father’s mother. Akumu is your true grandmother,
not this one you call Granny. Akumu, the woman who gives your father life-you should be helping her. And me, your
brother’s sister. Look how I live. Why don’t you help us, instead of these others?”
Before I could answer, Zeituni and Sarah began to argue with each other in Luo. Eventually, Zeituni stood up and
straightened her skirt. “We should go now, Barry.”
I began to rise out of my chair, but Sarah took my hand in both of hers, her voice softening.
“Will you give me something? For your grandmother?”
I reached for my wallet and felt the eyes of both aunts as I counted out the money I had on me-perhaps thirty dollars’
worth of shillings. I pressed them into Sarah’s dry, chapped hands, and she quickly slipped the money down the front
of her blouse before clutching my hand again.
“Stay here, Barry,” Sarah said. “You must meet-”
“You can come back later, Barry,” Zeituni said. “Let’s go.”
Outside, a hazy yellow light bathed the road; my clothes hung limp against my body in the windless heat. Zeituni was
quiet now, visibly upset. She was a proud woman, this aunt; the scene with Sarah must have embarrassed her. And
then, that thirty dollars-Lord knows, she could have used it herself....
We had walked for ten minutes before I asked Zeituni what she and Sarah had been arguing about.
“Ah, it’s nothing, Barry. This is what happens to old women who have no husbands.” Zeituni tried to smile, but the
tension creased the corners of her mouth.
“Come on, Auntie. Tell me the truth.”
barré
(Barré)
#1