Episode 8
TOO HARD TO LET GO
“So, these are our wedding photos. Can you now go in there and take off those things you hung in my room?”. I said to Deborah.
She made an attempt to stand up but my mother, gave her a look that suggested she shouldn’t dare, so she sat back and bent her head on the table.
I sighed and went inside.
When I got to the room, I lifted her bag and carried it to the visitor’s room. Then I passed through the dinning to the kitchen, picked the mopping stick and passed again. They were watching without saying a word.
When I got to the room, I used the edge of the stick to get rid of the br@ too. After then, I locked my door and laid down.
Sleep was far away from me, yet I couldn’t think straight. I picked up my phone and called my elder brother to complain to him.
“I understand what mama wants to do. Since she never liked Lucy, she wants to use this opportunity to ensure she never gets back to your life”. He had observed.
“Please, help me and talk to her”. I pleaded.
“But, what do you really want, Douglas?. That woman got pregnant for someone else while still married to you, and when you tried to confront her, she left and excommunicated you. Do you still think you have a future with such a person?”. My brother asked.
“All I’m asking for is time. With time, I know I will get better”. I said.
“I will call mother tomorrow”. He promised.
After I was prepared to leave for work the next morning, I came out to the living room to see Deborah, setting breakfast on the dining table.
“Good morning sir”. She greeted, smiling.
I stared at her in disdain, picked my car keys and started moving to the door.
“Will you not take something?, food is ready oo”. She announced, but I didn’t turn to look at her.
I intentionally came back from work very late at night. I had gone to cool off at the restaurant I have been frequenting since Lucy left.
I was thinking that by the time I will be home, the women would be sleeping, so I could have my rest too after a hectic day in the office. But I was wrong because mother was sitting very wide awake in the living when I entered.
“Mama, you have not gone to bed, why?”. I asked, immediately I stepped in.
“I am waiting to have a word with you”. She answered.
I was reluctant because I knew she wanted to talk about Deborah, but she pleaded, promising not to take much of my time.
I agreed and sat next to her.
She cleared her throat and began.
“I don’t want you to start seeing me as a bad mother. I’m only doing this to make you accept the reality”.
“What reality?”.I asked
“The reality that Lucy has left you forever for good. Look at you Douglas, you’re gradually becoming a shadow of yourself because of a woman”.
“And you think the only way to drag me out from depression is by imposing another woman on me, Mama, how could you?”.
“Yes, not just any woman, Deborah is a decent girl, unlike your Lucy. She and your brother’s wife were best friends before she got married and left the village, she is a good girl”. She insisted.
“Mama, I am not saying she is not a good girl, I am not saying she is, all I want you to understand is that I don’t have feelings for her”. I stated.
“That one is not a problem. By the time you start seeing her around you often, the feeling will be developed”
I stood up to leave
“I will be going back to the village on Wednesday, Our conference starts on Thursday”. She announced.
“I hope Deborah is leaving with you?”. I asked.
“No, she goes nowhere.She is your wife”. She replied.
I shook my head and went inside.
I made sure to lock the door.
The next day at work, I thought about it all day. At the end I decided to find a way to get her leave with the woman so I can pack out immediately from the house, since the agents have gotten a new apartment for me.
When I got home in the evening, I bought roasted meat and drink for us.
I pretended to be happy. We sat together in the living room, eating and drinking happily.
She made sure Deborah sat very close to me all through.
Later when Deborah has gone to clear the dishes, I had time to talk with my mother.
“You know, I thought about what you said last night, and I have come to realize that I’m killing myself. So I’m ready to face reality now”. I began.
She smiled.
“That is my son. So does that mean you have accepted Deborah?”. She asked.
“Yes. I nodded
…she is a good girl, I mean, which man in his right sense would not accept such a lady?. Mama, you sure get eyes for good things”. I flattered her.
She smiled and heaved a sigh of relief.
“That is good news, so I can now have peace of mind”.
“You take her with you while leaving tomorrow, so I can start making arrangements to come and see her people by next week”. I said, sounding very serious.
“See her people?, for what?”. She asked.
“To pay her bride price, of course”. I replied.
She shook her head.
“There would be no need for that”.
“Why?”. I asked.
“Because everything have been settled. Her bride price has been paid in full”. She replied.
I looked closely at her.
“Why will you marry a woman in my absence, without my consent?, and what kind of a woman agrees to such arrangements?”.I asked, angrily.
“I know you would never agree to come with us, so I went with some of your uncles”. She confessed
I stood up and went inside, angry and disappointed.
How could my mother do a thing like that to me?
Typing 9…..
