I had moved to the living room and was trying very hard
to keep it together but he saw right through my pretense
“What wrong with
you?”
I didn’t answer. I tried to but words just didn’t come
out
It took many unanswered questions for him to figure it
out.
“How did you
know?
Who told you?”“Does it really matter?” I responded
He got up and called for the maid but she had somehow
disappeared.
I guess there was nothing to hide anymore, so he
started to talk
“I never wanted
you to know about this
I didn’t want you
involved in any wayIt’s my problem and I am dealing with it.
If it was going to affect
you, I would have told you but I am a man and I am fixing it”
I had started crying again…he came close and wiped my
tears.
“You don’t have
to cry sweetheart
It’s nothing…believe
me, it’s not even an issue
If I had a single
doubt, I would tell you”
He went ahead and told me what was really happening…how
his wife showed up unannounced and wanted to fix a marriage she had abandoned
for years.
How she got family members involved and was trying to use
emotional blackmail and sentiments to force him to stay in the marriage.
How they already had several family meetings with elders
from both sides and how his wife wouldn’t agree to a divorce.
“We are having
another meeting tomorrow and I have decided to mention you and the baby. So
they all know I already moved on.
I begged; I waited…she
wouldn’t even talk to meWhere did this change of heart come from?
She tossed me out like garbage; someone else saw treasure in what she treated like trash…now she wants me back?”
Captain was making sense but I didn’t like what I got
myself into…how old was I that my name was being mentioned in another person's family issue and
I was the reason there would not be reconciliation?
I can’t deny that I had fallen in love with Captain but
was I ready to pay that much to be with him? Deola warned me to keep it on a
business level but that wasn’t what captain wanted, I wasn’t even that kind of
girl. I kept thinking of all the different possible outcomes
Captain had stepped away to get me something to eat
when he found out I hadn’t eaten all day…the maid was still nowhere to be
found.
The sound of the gates opening and a car coming through,
juggled me back to reality. I could hear a female voice and the person seemed
to be yelling.
Captain also heard it as he dashed out of the kitchen,
looked through the window and dropped the plate he was holding.
“Oh my God! No
No No No No” was all he said as he rushed out of the house
My heart was in my mouth…I didn’t need to be a genius
to figure out what just happened.
Captain’s wife showed up…my nightmare was becoming my reality.
“Kemi, you can’t
go inside” I heard Captain say
“This is my
house too…we are still married. You are still my husbandI need to see the brat that wants to snatch my husband from me
I will fight her with every fiber of my being” the woman responded
It was obvious that Captain was restraining her with lots of physical strength
“She met a dead buffalo
by the swamp, and brought a knife to harvest the meat. Did the buffalo die from
drinking the water?
She saw a
successful man and decided to play a parasite. Did you fall from the sky?
Was it not the support of one woman that made you what and who you are today?
I suffered with you
Festus…
We built our lives
from nothing…
You couldn’t even
afford a decent mattress when we got married…I bought our first mattress by
selling the necklace my grandmother bequeathed to me.
I’m not going to
allow some cheap gold digger reap where she did not sow”
“But you chose
to leave me and I had to move on” Captain interjected
“I’m sorry for
leaving but I’m back now…I’m back to stay.
I’m back to claim
what’s rightfully mine and will bulldoze anything or anyone that wants to stand
in my way.
There will be no divorce;
only death will separate my husband and I…can you hear me? Ms. Domitilla (this was a derogatory name that suggested a
prostitute back then. She was raising her voice some more, so I could hear her)
I’m sure you are hearing
me…leave my husband alone
Go find someone
your age and build a life with him
Go and help make
somebody out of a nobody and let’s see how you would feel if a small girl, the
age mate of your child, wants to snatch him from you”.
I just sat there like a lifeless stuffed animal
Only God knows what the woman would have done to me if
she was able to force her way through.
Captain finally got her to leave by threatening to have
the soldiers throw her out. He made sure she left and the gates were shut. I
could hear him instructing the soldier by the gate not to open it to anybody.
“I’m so sorry
you had to see that…I’m really sorry”
Those were the words that made me realize I was
bleeding and in so much pain
