Summary

In the short story “Imitation” Nkem stares at a Benin mask as her friend tells her that her husband has a girlfriend. The friend tells Nkem that the woman has even moved into Nkem’s house back in Lagos. After Nkem hangs up from her phone call she thinks about the mask at which she has been staring. These masks were once used to protect the king from evil. She imagines the men who were in charge of keeping the masks had wished they could be protected from evil and that they had some say in their lives.

Nkem had been pregnant when she first came to America with Obiora. She enjoyed the way the American neighbors offered to help her. When Obiora went back to Nigeria the neighbors questioned why he was gone, wanting to know if something was wrong. When she’d...