BEHIND THE FINE FACE
EPISODE 19
.
Grace went on and on outlining things the prophet had said to me; things that didn’t seem to align with what we knew my reality to be. These were things the prophet had said, and I agreed to them while I was with him.
.
Grace’s words hit me differently. It was mostly as though the more she spoke, the clearer the picture she tried to project, or paint, became. I was seeing things from a whole new perspective at this point, and my stupidity was embarrassing.
.
“But that man said things no one else could have known. He said things that correlated with a lot going on in my life. How could he have known all of that if he wasn’t genuine? I muttered under my breath.
.
I simply sat there, quiet the whole time, as Grace’s mouth ran like a tap whose control had been inappropriately mishandled by playful children.
.
There was no stopping this woman. Then I thought I’d had enough.
A point had been made; I didn’t think repetition was necessary.
Because I’d never seen this side of my wife before, something about this was scary; something in me kept whispering to stop Grace before she got out of control; before she got used to it.
“Has she forgotten her place? What gives her the right to speak to you in this manner?” The thought in my head began. “Is she forgetting that she is the wife, and you are the husband? How dare she address you as though she is addressing a child? As a man, don’t you have the right to keep certain things to yourself? Who says a wife must know everything a husband knows? It’s what makes you a man, Godwin. Be yourself, and don’t let this woman tell you what should and shouldn’t be in your own home.”
.
At that point, I’d become engulfed in unimaginable rage.
At this point, more like when Prophet U.C. Kenneth was advancing towards me when I finally made it to being in the same room as him, everything about Grace started to annoy me. For the first time that night, I was conscious of time. I suddenly felt that my sweet sleep was abruptly being disrupted. I felt as though Grace was being a nag and needed to be put in her place, but my remaining “sense of reason” was pleading with me to maintain my composure
What was left of my sense of reason tried to remind me that Grace hadn’t said anything she shouldn’t have. It tried to remind me that my wife was only being a wife and, as such, expressing her wifely displeasure.
“Grace, please, can you allow me to sleep? Tonight, I am not cut out for any of these. I’ve had a long day, and I need to rest.” I said it with all the rational reasoning left in me.
I’d hoped that upon uttering those words, Grace would understand that indeed, I was not in the mood to continue that conversation, but she didn’t.
.
More like Grace, I had never addressed my wife by her name before. I’d never had to imagine what it sounded like because I knew I didn’t want to find out until this night. I did not know when I called her by it. But it wasn’t so much about calling her name as it was about how I called her.
Grace must have felt shocked as well. But even though she was startled when I called her by her name in that way, her recovery rate was incredible. She only scuffed and responded, “Yeah, that’s my name, Godwin,” giving me the eyeroll.
This somehow infuriated me even more, pushing me to the edge.
I lost my temper at Grace. This level of rage toward my wife was a first in our relationship. In an effort to calm myself, I got out of bed and tried to leave the room, but Grace at this point forbade me.
.
“Come back here, Godwin. We have to finish this discussion tonight. Why are you keeping me quiet? Where do you think you are going?”
.
I kicked Grace in the legs and stomach as I forced her to the ground and yanked her hair.
I punched my wife as though she had been the verified source of my problems all those years, so much so that I gave her a nosebleed.
I shouted and cursed at Grace before storming out of the room and the house.
.
Even though it was midnight, I soon found myself speeding down a lonely road while slamming on the accelerator to make the car go faster.
To be continued…
.
Moshood Avidiime
