The wedding in this scene unites Ayodele (Isaach De Bankolé), the proprietor of a successful African restaurant in Brooklyn, and Adenike (Danai Gurira), a young woman who's much closer to her African roots. At first glance they seem well-matched: he's proud and confident, she's self-possessed but also demure and eager to please. Surrounded by family and well-wishers, they appear to have the best of the old world and the new. While the advantages of New York are all around, the two enjoy the support of a strong traditional culture that has been successfully transplanted from Africa. This auspicious combination seems to be summed up by Ayodele's strong-willed mother (Bukky Ajayi), who wishes the couple "prosperity and fertility."
The first of those goals essentially has already been achieved, thanks to Ayodele's hard work as a restaurateur. The second one is the rub, and the narrative's engine. While the couple's marriage is passionate, months pass and there's no pregnancy to report. (They hope for a boy, who will be named George after a deceased relative.) Both husband and wife seem to assume that the problem must lie with her, but Ayodele staunchly refuses to take another woman to bear his child, as custom allows. More and more perplexed at her inability to conceive, Adenike consults a friend, who steers her to a fertility specialist.
The doctor, though, offers tests that would need to involve both husband and wife, and that are expensive. Ayodele scoffs at both the idea that he needs test and at spending money on such foolishness. Unhappy and desperate, Adenike increasingly comes to suspect that the problem may really lie with Ayodele. Her crusty mother-in-law apparently agrees, and offers a solution: Adenike should conceive a child with her husband's younger brother, Biyi (Tony Okungbowa). "It's the same blood," the old woman shrugs. Adenike naturally is shocked at the idea. But what can she do? Is it better to accept her mother-in-law's urging and insert a massive deception into her marriage, or to watch that marriage founder due to childlessness?
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