A Love of Convenience by Adesuwa O’man Nwokedi

Summary

The story follows Ezioma (Ezi), a highly successful but insecure investment banker living in Manhattan. Since the age of five, she has been in love with Okwudili (Dili), the son of her father’s wealthy childhood friend. While Ezi excelled academically and professionally, she always felt overshadowed by her more “traditionally beautiful” sisters and felt invisible to Dili. Years later, she encounters a destitute Dili in New York; his family’s wealth vanished after his father’s death, and he is struggling with an expired visa and a commitment to his fiancée back in Nigeria, Onyeka.

Ezi proposes a “marriage of convenience” to help Dili obtain a Green Card, which he accepts out of desperation. As they live together, Ezi’s childhood feelings resurface, leading her to propose that Dili father her child organically since she is nearing forty and fears she will never find a partner of her own. This arrangement eventually shifts from a clinical “favor” into a deep, mutual romantic connection. However, the arrival of Onyeka in the U.S. shatters their domestic bliss, forcing Dili to choose between his promise to his fiancée and his feelings for Ezi. Believing Dili only stayed with her out of a sense of debt, Ezi pushes him away and is subsequently diagnosed with hereditary breast cancer. She flees to Washington State to face her illness alone, but Dili eventually finds her, nursing her back to health and proving his love is more than just a sense of duty.

Plot

• The Proposition: Ezi runs into Dili, who is facing deportation. She offers to marry him and let him live in her luxury apartment so he can gain legal residency.
• The Child Pact: Fearful of her “biological clock” and inspired by friends getting married, Ezi asks Dili to give her a baby. They begin having sex for procreation, which inevitably leads to emotional intimacy.
• The Fall into Love: After months of living together and navigating a “sham” marriage, Dili realizes he loves Ezi, though he remains conflicted about his fiancée, Onyeka.
• The Conflict: Onyeka arrives in New York. Ezi tries to be “the bigger person” but eventually snaps, leading to a confrontation where Ezi reveals her affair with Dili to Onyeka. Dili and Onyeka move out, and Ezi is left heartbroken.
• The Health Crisis: Ezi is diagnosed with Stage 2, Grade 3 breast cancer. Wanting to avoid the pity of her family and Dili, she moves to a secluded cottage in Friday Harbor, Washington.
• The Climax: Dili tracks Ezi down at her cottage. He discovers she has cancer and refuses to leave her side, acting as her primary caregiver through aggressive chemotherapy and a double mastectomy.
• Resolution: After a final period of doubt where Ezi tries to push Dili away again, they reconcile on the Brooklyn Bridge. They have a formal wedding ceremony and eventually welcome twins via a surrogate.

Setting

• Manhattan, New York: The primary setting, specifically the Upper East Side, where Ezi owns a luxury condo. It represents Ezi’s success and the modern, fast-paced life she has built.
• Friday Harbor, Washington State: A tranquil, seaside town where Ezi retreats to Rosler Road. This setting serves as a place of sanctuary and healing, contrasting with the “chaos” of New York.
• Nigeria (Lagos, Enugu, Umuahia): Though the story takes place in the U.S., the characters’ backgrounds in Nigeria are vital. References to Yaba (humble) and Ikoyi (wealthy) establish the class differences between Ezi and Dili’s families.

Themes

• Identity and Physical Appearance: Ezi struggles with her self-image, comparing her “dark skin and severe features” to her sisters’ and Onyeka’s “yellow” skin and supermodel looks. Her journey involves realizing her worth beyond her physical traits.
• Love vs. Indebtedness: A central tension is whether Dili loves Ezi or is merely grateful for her help with his Green Card and his health.
• Family Legacy and Mortality: The recurring presence of breast cancer (killing Ezi’s mother and sister, Uchechi) creates a sense of doomed fate that Ezi must fight to overcome.
• Sacrifice: Both characters sacrifice for family; Dili works to pay off his father’s debts and care for his mother’s “illegitimate” brood, while Ezi sacrifices her peace of mind to help Dili.

Characters

Major Characters

• Ezioma (Ezi): A brilliant investment banker and writer of the “Soundtrack of My Life” column. She is resilient and generous but deeply plagued by low self-esteem regarding her looks.
• Okwudili (Dili): Once a “golden boy,” he is humbled by his father’s debts and his status as an undocumented immigrant. He is portrayed as hardworking, musical, and ultimately devoted.

Minor Characters

• Onyeka: Dili’s fiancée. She is “vanilla pretty” and initially respectful to Ezi, though she later proves to be competitive and potentially opportunistic regarding Dili’s status.
• Seth: Ezi’s Jewish ex-fiancé, a professor who still loves her and tries to reconcile with her during her illness.
• Ebere: Ezi’s beautiful sister. She survived an abusive marriage and provides the “tough love” and sisterly support Ezi needs during her recovery.
• Mia: Ezi’s best friend and colleague who encourages her to see her own “unusual beauty”.
• Uchechi: Ezi’s youngest sister whose death from cancer haunts Ezi and foreshadows her own health struggle.
• Penny: The oncology nurse in Washington who witnesses and affirms the depth of Dili’s care for Ezi.

Literary Devices

• Motif (The “Soundtrack”): Ezi views her life through music. Each chapter or major emotional shift is marked by a song (e.g., Lovely Day, Russian Farmer’s Song, Ordinary People), which serves as a metaphor for her internal state.
• Flashbacks: The narrative frequently employs flashbacks to Ezi and Dili’s childhood in Nigeria to explain their deep-seated bond and Ezi’s insecurities.
• First-Person Point of View: The story is told entirely from Ezi’s perspective, allowing for a deeply intimate look at her struggles with cancer and her unrequited (then requited) love.
• Irony: It is ironic that Ezi, who spent her life helping others (Dili, her family), finds it the hardest to accept help when she is at her most vulnerable.
• Foreshadowing: The frequent mentions of Ezi’s mother and sister dying of breast cancer early in the book foreshadow Ezi’s own diagnosis.