The Crabs of Bangui

Chapter Thirty Three

223 Chapter Thirty Three F or Madam Genevieve, the fault was not in her but from her husband, a man, she said, who had never thought of encouraging her. For anybody who knew the woman very well, and there were very many people both inside and outside the circle of CRABS AND SHELLS, that was completely false. Her presence in the Association of Happy Widows which she now represented had generated much controversy, scandal and condemnation from many an observer. Although she preferred to be called simply Madam Genevieve, she was Mrs. Efa Jones, a retired civil servant who was very much around and alive. Madam Genevieve belonged to that species of women who, discovering the beauties of life late, look on their past and all relationships contracted in her early life with unqualified scorn and disdain. Genevieve’s marriage to Jones was the result of an arrangement that had been concluded by her parents and those of Jones long before she was born. As part of a deal, her father had decided that should her mother give birth to a baby girl, that girl would grow up to be Jones’ wife. There was nothing stranger in such an arrangement, that was the way many people got their wives. Because the baby turned out to be a girl, every other thing went on as planned and by the time she was 14 all traditional rites had been performed, dowry paid and she was ready to live with her husband. A far cry from what she was to become in future, the unhealthy conditions in which she lived and grew made her prey to many deforming diseases – yaws, small pox, chicken pox, filarial and the like – all of which left ugly scars all over her body. 224 Linus T. Asong With the passage of time, greater care and better health facilities the scars began to disappear. Like a reptile, by the time she had her first child, all the scars had vanished, leaving behind a woman of exceptional beauty. Her husband usually addressed her “my Queen,” referring as much to the respect with which he regarded her as to her supreme beauty. He encouraged her to attend evening classes, helping her at home to read and write. She was very easy to teach and learnt very fast. He also encouraged her to learn tailoring and finally how to run a saloon. She passed her first school leaving certificate at home, embarked on her G.C.E. Ordinary levels and had a few including Food and Nutrition, at home. Then Mr. Efa got her enrolled in the diploma programme from the University of London: L.C.P. There was no examination involved, only a major project and a questionnaire. He chose a topic for her – “The Influence of the Native Tongue on Second Language Learners in Cameroon.” He carried out the research for her and wrote out the entire project which he gave her to mail to London. She received a Grade A for her pains. One day, from nowhere she was appointed Provincial Inspector for Food and Nutrition for the North West. Only she alone knew that she had offered herself to some wellplaced authorities in Yaounde for the office. Within a year in the job she opened a small restaurant, GARDEN OF EDEN, which seemed to attract customers of very high grade. By this time her fourth and last child, Elsie, was fourteen. All her three boys had gone to Germany and Holland. The first two, brilliant boys, were already sending her money from time to time. At one time they sent her two cars, a Toyota Starlet and Carina II. They were used cars by European standards, but were as good as new. Gradually but systematically and without any provocation, her husband began to mean less and less to her. She carried out extension work on their house, adding 225 The Crabs of Bangui a larger self-contained bedroom which she furnished to her expensive tastes and into which she moved and kept the key. She enlarged the pictures of her children and herself which she hung on the walls. She brought visitors at will to the house and into her room. She would write to her children complaining of his neglect, his too much drinking and the like. She drove two cars, had completely bleached beyond recognition and would drive past her husband who was always...