23/09/2025
Mama Cafo's Wedding Plans
Part 5
Weeks turned into a month, and Deji and Bisi were settling into their new home—a modest two-bedroom flat that felt like a palace. Then the phone rang. It was Mama Caro.
"Bisi! Are you home?" she demanded, her voice a sharp contrast to the peaceful morning.
"Yes, Mama, we just finished breakfast," Bisi replied, exchanging a weary look with Deji.
"Good. I'm coming over. I have a delivery for you."
Deji mouthed "a delivery?" to Bisi, who just shrugged. An hour later, a truck pulled up to their building, and a team of men in overalls began unloading a colossal, intricately carved wooden bedframe.
Mama Caro, resplendent in a brightly colored caftan, supervised from the sidewalk. "Careful with my investment!" she yelled at the movers. "This is mahogany from the Republic of Benin! Not your regular firewood!"
When they finally managed to get the massive bedframe into the master bedroom, it took up nearly the entire space. It was a beautiful, but absurdly oversized, piece of furniture.
"It's a gift, my darlings," Mama Caro announced, fanning herself. "A proper marital bed. A queen needs a queen-sized bed, and since you are both my queens, you need this."
"Mama," Deji said, staring at the bed that left barely any room to walk. "It's… very generous. But where do we put our dressers? Or our sanity?"
Mama Caro waved her hand dismissively. "Details! You can put your things in the other room. This room is for rest, for reflection, and for making sure my future grandchildren have a strong foundation. You cannot make rich babies on a flimsy bed from IKEA."
Bisi just shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips. Mama Caro had a way of turning the mundane into a spectacular, exhausting event.
"Now," Mama Caro continued, her eyes scanning the rest of the flat. "I'm going to need to come back tomorrow to discuss your curtain choices. I have a vendor who does custom velvet and silk. We cannot have your neighbors thinking you are poor."
Deji and Bisi knew their marriage wasn't just between the two of them. It was a three-way partnership with Mama Caro, a whirlwind of unsolicited advice, extravagant gifts, and endless laughter. As Mama Caro made a theatrical exit, they looked at their ridiculously large new bed, then at each other, and burst out laughing. It was a chaotic start, but it was theirs, and it was perfect.
