Episode 2
*HUBBY’S BACKGROUND*
“Happy birthday Mommy! Happy birthday Mommy!” Debbie screamed as she sighted her mum entering the sitting room
“Oh Angel! You are up already?” Roseline sounded surprised. She quickly wiped her tears. She is such an emotional being…
“Oh yeah, mom. I decided to be the second person to wish you a happy birthday after Dad.”
She said in a sing-song voice, then presented a little piece of cardboard to her Mum. It was a small greeting card which she had made herself for her mother’s birthday. The words were simple but lovely.
“Happy birthday to the best mommy in the world, your dear daughter loves you!”
“Oh Debbie, this is so cute! Who taught you how to make a greeting card?” Roseline asked in excitement.
“I’m glad you like it mom, we did it at school. Our Creative Arts teacher taught us and she also helped out with this very one.”
“That’s so sweet of her.” Roseline replied gleefully, momentarily forgetting her nonchalant husband.
“God bless you my sweetheart.” She hugged her daughter, and felt so happy to be a mother especially to a lovely girl like Debbie.
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David Evans is a good husband but a very boring one. He is a godly man, a practising Christian but he is not romantic in anyway. He is one of those men that grew up in a home where everything is just business as usual, no extra fun activities. He was raised in the slums…
His parents were illiterates but they placed so much value on education that they spent nearly all they had to ensure that all their children went to school despite the fact that they were poor.
Being the first born, he has four younger siblings, two girls and two boys meaning they are five in all. Their parents were farmers who depended on profits made from the proceeds of their farm for daily survival…
Their mother took food items such as vegetables, tomatoes, oranges, potatoes, etc (in accordance with their seasons) to the daily evening market near their home. Their father did bricklaying as a part-time job during the time of the year when farmers are considered to be less busy. The children helped with hawking food items after school hours…
Such things as extra or private lessons were luxuries which their parents could not afford. They only manage to read a little with their kerosene lantern inside their one room and a parlour apartment in the evenings before dosing off…
Theirs was the type of family in which such things as birthdays or wedding anniversaries were never observed or celebrated. Most times, they don’t even remember their birth dates not to talk of celebrating it. To them, they are just like any other days.
They do not have the time and resources to go on family picnics either. David in his childhood days never went to a fast food, neither is he used to places like the Zoo, Amusement Parks, recreational gardens, pool side and so on.
So, whether it was Easter, Christmas or New year, they spent it in their house, after they might have killed a big local chicken (all they could afford) or they go visiting friends and families. Asides that, no more, no less.
In David’s home, mother is mother and father is father, no such words as mom or dad.
Mother simply called her husband, Baba David (David’s Father), while Father calls his wife Iya David (David’s mother) and that was all. No endearments!
You may say they are uncivilized but they love one other only that they don’t practise any form of open show of love.
Their parents don’t hold or hug each other… Maybe they only touch each other whenever they were ready for s*x.
So because David was used to such a life where romance wasn’t practised in broad daylight, when she married Rose, he showcased the attitude of the only model he knew all his life – ‘his father…’
So in the second year of their marriage, Roseline was nearly choked up by this boring and unromantic husband of hers.
To be continued…
