Yetunde I am her great-great-great-great grandaunt. Great x great equals greater! Great-est. I am surely the one to be trusted with this decision –

Adebisi I disagree.

Yetunde Yekpami-oh! Gods, come and smite them for this rubbish.

Adebisi Aunty, we’re already dead.

Yetunde A beg, you should dead them again jo!

Babatunde We cannot bless this marriage, Yetunde.

Yetunde Why not?

Babatunde Because it is not . . . normal. It is not our way.

Yetunde Eh?

Adebisi She cannot conceive. She cannot have children with this – this her girlfriend.

Yetunde She can. Not in our time, but now –

Adebisi It is unheard of. It is not African.

Yetunde Who are you to say what is and is not African? Mrs English textbook –

Babatunde Alright –

Yetunde Mrs Bible before bed time.

Babatunde Yetunde –

Yetunde Daughter of Empire!

Babatunde That’s enough.

Yetunde You would not know what was African if it looked you square in the eye and spat in your face. We are blessing this marriage. It is what the gods would want.

Adebisi The gods are not here. They have chosen us to decide what to do.

Yetunde You are a disgrace. Both of you. You’re a disgrace to our lineage.

Adebisi What do we do when this happens? When we disagree?

Yetunde We do not normally disagree. Every other summoning I’ve been to we’ve thought in one accord. It’s been quick. Simple. Done the blessing, or given the healing or the sign that our descendant needed. Then we go home.

Babatunde Well we’ll have to put it to a vote. And I’m afraid it’s two against one, Yetunde –

Yetunde No! We are missing one Ancestor. We cannot conduct a vote without all of us present.

Adebisi That’s not our fault. There must be a problem with the system. There’s only been three of us for this long. We cannot wait for another ancestor to arrive.

Babatunde Even if they did come, and they happened to vote your way, Yetunde, it would still be a tie.

Yetunde Not so! For you must count the will of the descendant.

Adebisi We don’t know when they’re going to come! We don’t even know if they’re going to come.

Yetunde That may be so. But we are not leaving here until they join us.

Adebisi This is madness! I want to go home. To my rest.

Yetunde This is your first council. The first time you’ve ever bothered to turn up for your ancestral duties. Don’t talk to me about rest.

Babatunde We need to get back.

Yetunde For what, Baba? What are you hurrying back for?

Babatunde Because Papa Elegba said once I complete this council, the gods might finally grant me my tomorrow life.

Yetunde Oho! So this is why. You’re putting your own selfish, carnal needs above the struggles of your descendants? Just so you can get yourself back to Aiye?

Babatunde Please, Yetunde.