Beach fun and a weird twist

 

As a follow up to our done and dusted nuptials, we plan a spur of the minute beach outing for the entire family the next day to just chill and unwind.

Oge and I are planners in chief and as always we try to get things rocking. Due to unfavorable past experience, we decide to forgo the Elegushi beach option and set our sights on one of the smaller beaches near our end of the island. We eventually settle for Barracuda beach and communicate to everyone involved.

It’s a good choice as we all set off from our different points on Sunday. I’m leading the way with Cassie so Oge’s people(who don’t know the way) link up with us around Abraham Adesanya and we head to the beach in a convoy.

We get there and turns out we are not the only ones with fun in mind. The place is packed. Goodness. After a lot of haggling, opposing viewpoints, and jostling, we secure space and get down to the business of fun.

It’s a great time, there’s quite a bit of booze, no thanks to the remnants from the party yesterday and as more people show up, more booze appears and kicks things into higher gears. There’s lots of good food as well. Vivian and her hubby have been generous as always, the ladies are having fun taking pictures by the water, inhibitions are being destroyed by the booze, Dance steps(weird, gawky, hilarious, professional, and sometimes forgettable) are being unveiled, the kids were scrambling everywhere.. and as the sun goes down its really looking like a very memorable outing.

Things couldn’t get any better when we sight Emeka strolling into the party venue and there’s a wild shout as we welcome him. He’s handed a bottle of Hennesey and dancing continues.

Now Oge, my co-organizer had been conspicuously absent as he claimed he was still on his way and stuck in traffic somewhere. He arrived a bit later and asked me to come help him lug the whole crate of fresh booze he’s brought along with him. Yes o!!

No time to waste..I go to the car park and meet up with him. Surprise surprise, he’s with Kelechi!! Yaay!. I mean, what could be better? Both my Yankee cousins both coming to have fun with us together.

We pick up the bottles and head to the venue.

The reception on seeing us is even more uproaring….fresh bottles of champagne start getting popped and wow…This is a good party!

In the midst of all this, I notice Emeka gradually distancing himself from the group. Concerned, Chioma and I head off to find out what was wrong and he assures us that nothing’s up. I’m a bit doubtful because he has this strange gleam in his eyes….he moves off closer to the water, Chioma heads back and I decide to stick with him.

Everything went south from thereon.

Apparently, Kelechi had moved off from the group as well and was close to where we stood. Emeka sees Kelechi,(blood brothers by the way) and starts calling and cussing him out and basically asking him to come fight!!

WHAAAAT!! What the absolute fuck is going on here??

Kelechi, being the strong-headed ex-marine, is not the type to ignore or turn away from such taunts and makes a beeline for Emeka and me.

TF??I try to calm things down and appeal to Emeka to stop with the insults. Might have well been talking to the rocks.

Kelechi stops near us and they both start cursing each other out. Emeka very obviously wants to fight and tells his brother in no uncertain terms that he will fuck him up righteously. At this point, it’s becoming a very obvious spectacle and onlookers are slowly gathering. I’m frantic at this point and really begging both of them to cool down. No dice.

When it’s looking inevitable, very fortunately, Kelechi looks over to me and hands over his prized Marine dagger. An evil-looking blade that looks capable of serious damage and asks Emeka to try and touch him if he dares.

Emeka is only too pleased at the invitation and launches a punch at his brother that partially catches me on the cheek as well. All hell breaks loose after that.

Everything becomes a blur from then as I see them start to fight and exchange serious blows. Emeka obviously has the upper hand in this (both are ex-army guys btw) and drags Kel into the sand near the sea as they continued pummeling themselves.

Omo!!...i run off to get help and virtually drag Oge from the party, briefing him on what's going on as we race down to the beach where they are. OGE GOES INSANE.

Now, it’s worth mentioning that Oge has a legendary temper and is not someone you want to mess around with.

He sees them still fighting and starts to yell, scream and curse them both. At a point when they don’t even answer him, he strips naked and jumps in the fray to push them apart. My goodness!

Fortunately, Emeka, who’s clearly having the upper hand of this duel, lands a few more, disengages, and quickly moves away. Kel is clearly seriously injured but gets up, grabs me, and DEMANDS for his knife. He is swearing to commit fratricide and with the look in his eye, I have no doubt of his intentions and deliberately refuse to give it to him. He looks ready to kill me but limps off in no direction apparently to secure another weapon.

Everyone was really agitated at this point and the security guys were threatening to throw us out. Oge is really distraught and openly crying at this show of shame, the kids and the women were all scared and so we quickly coordinate them to start leaving asap. We pack up and everyone starts heading off in distress to the car park.

I see Emeka being held by Nnamdi and a few others. So I go off and at this point am openly begging him to leave so we avoid an impending disaster. Fortunately, and apparently against his will, he agrees and heads off to Uche’s car which he used to come. Most weird of all, he has this smile on his face like he’s done something that had been in the works for a while.

As he starts the car, I see Kelechi in the distance still raving around and say a silent prayer for this day to be over. Fat chance of that.

Emeka leaves and I go over to find Kel. Fuck! He’s badly hurt.

He’s wet, locks all covered in sand and his clothes are torn. He’s got serious bruises and worst of all, his hand is badly dislocated at the shoulder.

For context, due to serious war injuries, Kelechi was honorably discharged from the army and has been on some serious medication ever since. Now imagine someone, not in the best of health with these preconditions who had previously been managed very well in the US stuck in Nigeria and getting this badly injured.

Even worse, his flight back to the US is fixed for the next day!!

Kel is a mess and in some serious pain. Cussing everyone and everything while trying to cope with the pain. We, fortunately, recover his passport and some other documents lying around in the sand. Joe and I decided to get him to a hospital quickly and convert Vivian’s car to a makeshift ambulance. With Joe driving, we head off with him and that journey to Doren hospital is one I’m not likely to forget in a hurry.

Between Kelechi screaming for help and graphically insulting both of us for trying to help him (just imagine!!), we’re navigating bad roads from the beach and trying to hold his back and shoulder steady. It’s a nightmare.

Further compounded on reaching Doren hospital and they refuse to do anything until we register him and pay for a specialist who has to come and treat him. I’m massively irritated at this point and take it out on the idiots there who don’t even bat an eyelid.

Summary of the whole stupid hospital episode, we gather funds, pay for an orthopedic doctor who comes and treats him after knocking him out with some injections. Doctor categorically tells us Kel is in no state to travel and insists on saying we’re going against his medical advice if we decide to leave.

Of course, by this time, we’re tired, frustrated, and really pissed off with both Kelechi and Emeka, (who by the way had been calling me to send a picture of his brother in the hospital). But Kel had a flight to catch and couldn’t miss it for anything.

Of course, the first thing Kelechi did on waking up, was to rip off the sling the doctor had taken ages to set and set off the whole pain process again. At that point,(around 2.30am) Joe and I couldn’t give a damn anymore and decide to leave the hospital for home. After some drama with missing car keys and other rubbish, we depart for home totally deflated.

 

p.s – there were obviously issues between them I’m not at liberty to mention here. Kelechi managed to get on the flight that afternoon and head back home. Emeka apologized for everything and left later on too.