The Landlord and His Tenant
Episode Two
“It as if you succeeded in convincing the landlord yesterday night. He did not come to disturb us this morning. Thank God that you went to talk to him yesterday. What did he say? And how did you do it?” John asked his wife that afternoon. It was already 12 noon and he hasn’t seen the landlord at his doorstep. Before his wife returned from the landlord’s room the other night, he already slept off and she did not bother to wake him up.
“My dear, it was like a thug of war, but God intervened. I even cried in his presence, but he totally refused to list to me. I had to call one of my friends last night when I returned and I cried to her to help us sort out our rent. I know you didn’t want to ask anyone for help, but obviously we needed help. She sent me the money and I have sent it to the landlord.” Ije lied. It was what she did with the landlord that softened his heart and he abandoned the rent.
She was uncomfortable with the lie but she had to cover things up. She obviously can’t tell her husband that she slept with the landlord to sort out their rent. In fact, after she finished sleeping with the landlord, he even gave her N50,000 and promised never to disturb them about rent as far as she keeps sleeping with him. She agreed to the deal, hoping that they would park out of the house as soon as things got better in few months.
“I thank God I have a friend like Linda. She came through for us last night. So you don’t have to worry about our rent for the next one year. We are now covered.” Ije said to her husband.
“My God! What can I do without you? But you should have allowed me to look for another way to sort it out. I feel ashamed that your friend Linda has to be the one to help pay our rent when I’m still alive. I feel terrible.” John said.
“Don’t be ashamed my love. The most important thing is that you don’t have to worry about the rent again. You have tried your best and I know that you are not a lazy man. Things just got bad for you and I know, soon you will rise again. The downfall of a man is not the end of his life.” Ije said as she touches her husband’s head in a loving way to soot his nerves.
Meanwhile, two weeks later, Ije discovered that she is pregnant. She missed her period. She was surprised because she and her husband have been trying to have a baby without success. It has been two years since they got married and she has never missed her period. This is the first time she is conceiving and it happened after she slept with the landlord.
“I’m confused. How did this happen? Does it mean the landlord got me pregnant? No! No! No! This can’t be true.” Ije said to herself that afternoon. She had gone to the pharmacy and bought a pregnancy test strip and dipped it into her urine and two lines appeared on it, indicating the presence of a baby in her womb.
“This is good news but, how am I sure my husband is responsible for this baby? If it is the landlord, then there is a problem.” Ije said. She was still in the bathroom crying after she performed the test and it came out clearly positive. She stood up, wore her undies and threw away the urine she collected in a cup and then took the test strip to her husband who was in the living room watching television. She took a deep breath and spoke with courage.
“I’m pregnant.” Ije tells her husband. She stretched her hand towards John who took the pregnancy test strip from her and read it carefully. He jumped up in excitement and hugged his wife passionately. He was so happy. The news was a relief because he was becoming frustrated due to the inability of his wife to conceive since they got married. In fact, his mother has been advising him to get married to another woman but he had refused and asked for more time for his wife.
“This is great news! I’m so happy honey! God has finally blessed us after a long wait. He has remembered us, finally.” John said as he lifted his wife up and spun around the living room. The excitement was so much.
Meanwhile, Ije just managed to smile the moment her husband started celebrating. She was happy too, but she knew there was a problem. She is totally convinced that her husband was not responsible for the baby. Ije went into the inner room and started crying again when they finished celebrating.
“Is it that my husband is incapable of getting me pregnant? Why is it that I got pregnant immediately after sleeping with the landlord? My God, why is this happening to me? Why did I sleep with the landlord? Oh! God, how will I raise another man’s child under my husband’s roof?” Ije asked herself, but she had no answers. She decided to call her friend, Linda to ask for advice.
“This is good news! Why are you crying?” Linda asked as soon as Ije told her of the pregnancy while sobbing heavily over the phone.
“You don’t understand Linda. My husband is not responsible for the baby. I’m ashamed to admit it but I slept with our landlord two weeks ago. I’m sure he got me pregnant.” Ije said.
“What do you mean? Haven’t you been sleeping with your husband too? What if your husband is the one? Why have you concluded that your landlord is responsible?” Linda asked.
“Come to think of it, I have been sleeping with my husband since the past two years and nothing came out of it. I just slept with another man once and I got pregnant. Don’t you think something is wrong somewhere? I strongly believe the landlord is responsible. Linda, I’m so worried and scared.” Ije said. She was crying bitterly and her nose was running like tap water.
“Stop crying. All the same it is good news. But, babe, why did you sleep with the landlord? Is your husband not good enough?” Linda asked with a worried voice.
“Linda, you know our situation now. My husband is jobless and we are owing rent. I did it to soften the landlord’s heart. But he clearly has put me in trouble. If my husband finds out, I’m finished.” Ije lamented.
“Are you going to tell him? There is no way he will find out except you tell him. Calm down. But there is something you have to do. Since you want to be sure who is responsible, why not tell your husband to do a sperm analysis so that it can be confirmed if he can get a woman pregnant. That will make your conscience clear and also relax your mind.” Linda suggested with a calm tone.
“You and I know he will not agree to go to the hospital with me. Not now that he is already happy that his wife is pregnant at last. I don’t think it is a good idea Linda.” Ije tells her friend.
“Why not do it secretly? Get him to sleep with you tonight and then collect his sperm secretly and take to the fertility clinic and have it analyzed. He won’t find out.” Linda said.
Ije agreed to the idea. That night, after John finished making love to her, she immediately rose from the bed and went straight to the bathroom. She used a small bottle and collected the thick fluid and cocked it carefully and put in the fridge. The next morning, she took it to the clinic for fertility analysis.
Watch out for episode 3.
