"Honey, how much data do we still have on the MiFi?" Jide, the Banjoko family's first child asked his wife, Christina, while he was preparing for the family virtual meeting.
"Really? Don't tell me that you are having a meeting today again," Christina muttered.
"Yes, I do. It's the last Saturday of the month and you should know what that means by now," Jide replied.
"I do not know what it means because you have become inconsiderate in the past few months. This same data is what we use to do that little online job, and yet, you think exhausting it on a family meeting is what matters," Christina sighed heavily and left Jide in the living room.
He was about to follow her when he realized it was time for the meeting so he settled on the dining and prepared his device. As usual, Jide, being the first child, would create the meeting while other members of the family joined.
Holding a virtual meeting became the Banjoko family's only option to continue the tradition of meeting every last Saturday of every month to discuss individual growth and address family affairs since the COVID-19 lockdown was issued by the government.
"Hello, can everyone hear me?" Jide asked, adjusting his laptop properly.
"My son, how are you doing?" Mrs Banjoko asked, turning on her camera.
"Good evening mom, I am doing very well. How are you doing too?" Jide asked staring at his mom from the laptop screen.
"I am fine, dear. I hope all this COVID thing ends so I can see my babies again," She replied.
"I can't wait too," Jide paused, still staring at the screen to see who hadn't joined.
"Okay, I see that everyone is here already. Looks like we are getting used to this virtual thing gradually," He replied.
"Hello, brother Jide" Eniola, the last child of the family, greeted.
"Hey, little brother," Jide replied.
"I have really missed you, Mom. I have lost so much weight for not eating your food," Eniola said to Mother, and everyone started laughing.
"You don't know more than food," Segun, one of Banjoko's twins, replied and greeted every member of the family while his twin sister did the same.
The greeting continued for another five minutes, and immediately, everyone muted their mic; Jide knew it was time for the meeting proper.
He requested that their mom pray, and she did briefly. While the prayer was still on, Christiana walked back into the living room.
"I hope everyone is doing alright?" Jide asked, taking a quick glance at Christina.
"Yes, I am fine over here. Just bored of sitting indoors," Sharon, Jide's immediate sister, replied. Everyone else claimed to be fine but Eniola didn't say anything.
His mic was mute, and it was very unusual of him not to have complained; he really enjoys being the last child of the family.
"Eniola, your silence means a lot. Is everything alright?" Jide asked.
"I am fine but," Eniola paused.
"You need money," Sharon completed the sentence. It has become a rhythm they never stopped hearing from Eniola.
"We will get back to your issue; let's address the most important thing first, which is fixing mom's house roof. The rainy season is approaching," Jide replied, cutting Eniola's whining short.
"Jide, how are you doing too?" Mrs. Banjoko said before Jide would say another world.
"I am fine, mum. Things are going on smoothly here for me and Christina," Jide stuttered.
"Where is she? It's unusual of her not to even say hello to us during the meeting," Sharon asked.
"You mean my wife? She's busy in the kitchen," Jide stuttered.
"Go get her, I want to say hello. I know she wants to greet her mother-in-law," Mrs Banjoko told Jide and the smile on his face vanished.
"Can Christina join us when she's through? Let's just go on with the meeting," Jide replied.
"I insist," Mrs Banjoko muted her mic, and everyone knew Mom was angry already.
"Okay, I will get her. Give me a few minutes," Jide replied and tapped his keyboard button to mute his mic.
"Hey honey, please you need to understand that meeting is important to me. I will know how to sort the data," Jide said to him immediately after he joined her in the living room.
"You will really? Like the last time? We can't keep pretending to be fine when we are not," Christina replied.
"We will be fine. It's just my job I lost, not my life. I will get something soon," Jide replied patting Christina. He drew her closer and hugged her.
"You've been saying this for a few months now and this could have been better if you didn't force me to quit my job because of the pregnancy," Christina stuttered and started sobbing. Jide felt emotional and kept apologizing to her.
"Please dry your eyes and come say hi to the family. Everyone is asking after you," Jide pleaded.
"Honestly, I am not in the mood. Let me just be," Christina replied.
Jide's phone rang while persuading her and immediately he reached for, the call ended. It was Sharon and she left a text message.
"You didn't mute your mic," Jide read the message and froze for a second. He didn't believe he left the mic unmuted despite muting it on the keyboard.
He felt bad but had to return to the meeting, and immediately, he appeared on the screen again; Mrs. Banjoko unmuted herself.
"But I asked if you are fine and you said yes," Mrs Banjoko said angrily.
"It's not what you think," Jide stuttered.
"Before you start twisting words, know very well that we heard everything clearly. Just tell us what's going on," She replied.
"Christina is pregnant, five months now and we discovered a few weeks before the lockdown. I also lost my job and we've been struggling," Jide's voice trembled.
He excused himself from the meeting and went sobbing. He felt embarrassed that his family eventually knew what was happening in his home.
"I am sorry you had to bear the inconvenience more, I was just trying to keep my reputation intact within the family," Jide apologized to Christina, kneeling before her.
Christina helped him up immediately and hugged Jide. They both returned for the meeting and she greeted everyone.
They congratulated her for the pregnancy and Mrs Banjoko scolded her for hiding Jide's secret too.
She apologized and was forgiven immediately. Jide didn't hesitate to apologize to the family. He felt hiding his problems was the right thing to do as the father figure and eldest child of the family but he was wrong. The meeting had to come to an end after the discovery and the house roof discussion was postponed.
Later that evening, Jide was thinking about how to get some provisions when he received a notification on his phone.
He was lost in thought and didn't check but the notification continued for another thirty seconds.
He sluggishly picked up his phone, and upon checking, it was several credit alerts from every member of the family, including Eniola.
Jide didn't believe his eyes, he rushed to the family chat group and saw that everyone left short messages for him telling him how much they admire and appreciate his sacrifices for the family.
He carefully read them and was happy they came through for him.
He decided to drop a message, thanking everyone for the help, and Mrs Banjoko replied," You deserve more because you were there for us all during difficult times."
