This Could Have Been Our Song!: A coulda woulda shoulda ballad (45 page)

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Authors: Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba

“She does that?” Noor said looking at her daughter.

“All the time!
You should hang out with her for a few days and discover all her tricks,” I told her. I gave Cassie her bottle. “From your aunt.”

“I’ll be too busy. Why don’t you guys bring a nanny with you?” she said. Cassie looked up at the sound of her mother’s voice.
“Hi, Pooky! You’re so big now. Isn’t she Andrew?” she said and tried to lift her up. Big mistake! Cassie is not the touching type and Noor was basically a stranger to her. She wiggled her way out to land in my arms, someone she knew. At least she didn’t start a hissy fit.

“She can’t even stay in my arms long enough for a hug; how would I look after her for two week? I’m not Houdini!”

“She needs to get used to you,” Andrew said and lightly pitched his daughter cheek. She actually smiled at him and opened her arms to him. “She knows her daddy,” he said, taking her with him. Well, I’ll be damned!

“She does take that foul temper of hers from you,” Lulu screamed from the kitchen.

“You know what, Luce? She will stay with us. Won’t you, you little minx?” Andrew told his daughter and she laughed. She wasn’t immunized from his charms.

“Yeah, it would be alright,” Noor said next to him.

“You see?” I whispered in Lulu’s ear back in the kitchen. “It will just be the two of us.”

She cleaned off her plate quietly and exchanged a knowing look with Axelle. What did I miss?

We landed in Manchester a week later: two days before the funeral. We had to change our flights about six times. It went from a direct flight for three to Manchester, leaving from T
oronto, five days ago to direct flights to London for six and another four tickets to Manchester the next day. We dropped Fraser and Cassie with Magda in London while Axelle, Noor, Lulu and I headed to Manchester. I offered to stay in London as well, but in the end and after three flight changes, I was part of the Mpobo-Riddell’s congregation. But I stayed away from the Grants until the funeral, watching Lulu leaving the hotel at dusk and only coming at dawn, completely exhausted. I haven’t seen much of Noor and Axelle either. The Mpobo-Riddell’s sisters are really different in England.

The night before the funeral, most of the Riddell clan arrived and took over the hotel we were staying in: older and younger generations alike. Twins Teddy and Tara Lee-Riddell were ha
ving dinner with me while Lulu was away. One of them was getting married in nine weeks; I wasn’t sure anymore which one it was.

“How is it that Lulu has Korean relatives and I only meet them now?” I asked them.

“Tell me about it!” Teddy said with a smirk.

“My mother would love you,” I told Teddy or Tara. I checked their fingers; the one with the very short hairstyle, Tara, was engaged.

“My
dad
would love you, even if you’re half Irish,” Teddy laughed back. “Nobody is perfect!” They both looked like the beautiful ballet dancers they were.

“You wouldn’t imagine what they call Lulu, Lucia!” I had been feeling terrible about this.

“
Gug-oeja
:
what else!” And we all laughed.

The Riddell women were quite awesome. We chatted until the wee hours of the night. I wanted to make sure I saw Lulu before going to bed. She got back to the hotel just as I was g
oing back upstairs and we met in the lobby.

“Hey, I was chatting with the Lee sisters,” I said. She looked like she needed a hug and just came into my arms.
“Long day?”

“Yeah… Teddy and Tara… I should have set you up with one of them back in the day,” I heard her mumble.

“Let’s go to bed,” I said to shut her up.

“Thanks for being here, Greg.”

“Anytime, Lulu.”

On the day of the funeral, I left with the rest of Riddell congregation, all twenty to thirty of them.

“Why are we so many?” I asked Shirley Riddell-Lee, Lulu’s aunt. The Riddell resemblance was uncanny. You couldn’t miss a Riddell in a crowd.

“The Millers, Doddy’s family, we go way back; I’m talking at least four generations,” she whispered as we were sitting in the church. Lulu, Axelle and Noor were sitting not far from Patrick’s family. Patrick, Marcus and their mother were at the front. Their heads were bent down; they were crying. So were Lulu, Axelle and Noor.

“This is bringing up so many bad memories for the girls,” Shirley said.

The ceremony was short but very moving. Patrick gave the eulogy when Marcus was so quiet and looked so sad that for the first time since I had met him I genuinely felt sorry for him. I couldn’t even imagine what hell he was going through, but Lulu and her sisters could.

We were all slowly walking outside the church following the coffin, the
sisters arm-in-arm with Doddy while Marcus and Patrick were carrying their dad to his final resting place. I decided to stay behind: too many raw emotions for the day. I wasn’t the only one; a slim older woman, elegantly dressed in black, her face partially covered by a veil, was standing not far from me. She was staring at Lulu and her sisters slowly wiping her tears.
A mistress?
Was Stanford living a double life? It wasn’t his style. Her posture was what struck me at first; it was so familiar. The posture of a dancer… But not any dancer; Lulu stood like that, so did Noor and Axelle. They were standing like that not far from us. She lifted her veil and quickly put it back, but not fast enough. You couldn’t miss a Riddell in a crowd. I knew those large grey eyes; they were the same ones Lulu, Axelle and Noor had, the ones they got from their mother. I quickly walked toward the woman as she was starting to leave. “Mrs. Riddell?” I shouted behind, but she kept walking. “Are you Mrs. Eleanor Riddell-Mpobo?” I shouted again. This time she stopped and turned around.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Danielle-Claude Ngontang Mba is a Canadian writer from Gabonese origins. She grew up in France and Gabon before moving back to Canada in her late teen years. This Could have Been Our Song! is her first complete novel and is inspired by all the different cultures she had encountered in the past twenty years. She’s currently residing in London, UK writing the sequel “
This Would Have Been Our Song! Catchy Tunes
And Dancers”
and working on other projects. Please visit her website www.danielle-claude.com.

[1]
Happy Birthday

[2]
Thank you I’ve missed you.

[3]
He’s here

[4]
witch

[5]
Have a good time

[6]
Welcome

[7]
Honey

[8]
Scary

[9]
Darling

[10]
Sweet

[11]
It's nice to be here

[12]
I like your dad