Gadji’s wife, Olivia, needed a nanny. The girls were off to boarding school a few weeks after she gave birth to her only boy. Soon, her in-laws would be visiting. She had sent a message to her mother to come and spend some days with her as the business of housekeeping was becoming overly burdensome. But the old woman wouldn’t come, her reasons unclear over the phone due to poor network issues.

At first, Gadji wasn’t interested in hearing anything to do with the nanny-hunting expedition. His company was bankrupt and an incident that led to the bankruptcy was still in court. He had too much to handle at the moment. But the persistent Olivia wouldn’t let her husband be. She pestered him into making finding a nanny his prime passion.

It was a simple post on whatsapp that he hoped a couple of girls would respond to. You can imagine his shock when over fifty applications came in. And these were not girls looking for extra income, but young ladies, very pretty, desperate for a full time employment. Most of them were school dropouts looking for money to further their university education.

“Is this what has become of our country?” He sighed. What started as a joke had become serious business involving interviews and vetting. Unfortunately, there was only one slot for the bevy of ladies vying for the post of changing diapers and inventing lullabies.

Gadji sat up. He needed to. The drama was getting suspenseful as he listened to lady after lady explain how badly they needed the job.

He and Scorpion had been combing bars and restaurants in town for anything that could spice up the boredom of marriage and monotonous office work. They hardly come across such beauty. Now his house has been transformed overnight into a beehive buzzing with fresh chicks seeking employment.  “How lucky!” He gasped.

After days of deliberation, he gave the job to one Emelia. Lord knows he has a soft spot for fine ladies with good body shape. He couldn’t believe such  a beauty will show up for such a menial task.

But there was a problem. Olivia. His wife. Gadji knew there was no way she was going to accept such a lady as her nanny. She wouldn’t take the risk of allowing another woman wrestle her husband from her with her “bum bum” as the kids used to say. Her friend Nancy had always warned her that a nanny with a fat backside was dangerous to the health of a marriage.

He contemplated a technique to convince Olivia to accept their new employee. No idea came to mind. Olivia is the quiet type who tolerates most of his nonsense, but when Olivia says “NO”, there’s no getting around it. If Olivia doesn’t like the new nanny, there will be no point arguing with her.

In the evening when he brought in the shopping he had gone out to do, he used the occasion to present the new housegirl to Olivia.

“Honey, meet Emelia, your new nanny.”

From the way Olivia looked the new nanny over, sniffed and sighed before going into their bedroom, Gadji knew Emelia will be going back to wherever she came the following day.

“I am no longer interested in getting a nanny” she told her husband when they were alone in the bedroom. He didn’t bother to ask her why.

It was pretty obvious.

What do you see # 224- February 5, 2024