Episode 11

Last updated on March 8th, 2023 at 12:30 pm

Even though Jude had been taking care of the house, he still left our allowance. I didn’t know when he’d go back to his usual self, but I hoped he never did. 

Our two years anniversary and my twenty-fifth birthday was next week and I felt blessed. Just last month before finding out about my pregnancy, I was unhappy about everything. But today, I was so glad. It was funny how time changed things. 

Having been able to save up from the allowance Jude dropped for us, I’d ordered a gift for our anniversary. I also planned to make a special dish for him. 

Mummy had been calling everyday to check up on me and I really felt loved. I hoped this phase never ended. But I couldn’t be delusional. Even if my husband never stopped being sweet, mummy couldn’t call me everyday just to dote on me. 

***

I heard the gate open and I checked the time. That should be Jude. I immediately got up, feeling excited. He was back earlier today=. I opened the door to let him in and received kisses all over my face as soon as he came in. 

“My wife, the mother of my kids—born and unborn. You bring so much happiness to my life.” Jeez! I am so in love with my husband right now. 

Giggling like a toddler, I replied, “Welcome, my darling husband.” I was rewarded with an extra kiss on the nose.

Leaving the entrance together with me following behind, his bag in my hand, Jude bent to play with Dimeji who was furiously battling with the throw pillow.

“Big man.” He said as he carried him. Dimeji was not in the mood, as he soon started struggling to get down. I would ask what Jude would eat, but he had already told me repeatedly not to ask again as everything was now his duty. So, I followed him into the room and watched as he undressed. 

“How was work baby?” I moved closer to help him unbutton his shirt. I still felt a bit anxious when I wanted to do something like this for him, it was all new to me. I had anticipated this when we got married, and we actually had this for a while until he changed. Maybe I was doing something wrong to make my husband change. He fitted this role of a caring husband and it made my heart light.

As I undid his shirt, he talked to me about work. Totally undressed, he went into the bathroom. I knelt down and said a word of thanks to God. This could only be God.

***

It was the week of my birthday, although I saw it more as the week of my anniversary. Life of a happily married woman. I was expecting the gift I ordered, but I had also decided to do a printed gift for Jude. A mug with his picture on it and an inscription, “The Best Husband in the World.” 

I had tried to wear a pair of trousers, but they did not fit around my waist. Our little one was growing. So, I brought out the blue gown Jude had gotten me the weekend we knew about the pregnancy. This baby must be really blessed, she had changed my life around. She? Or he? I thought to myself. I wondered what sex I would want the baby to be. I did not have to wonder for long as Dimeji started crying.

What has this boy done to himself now?

I went to the sitting room and saw him crying. I carried him and checked; he did not seem hurt. Maybe he was just feeling lonely. 

***

At noon, Dimeji and I entered Sarah’s office. Moving about with a baby was not an easy job. In this case, two babies. I laughed to myself. Sarah came out of her office as soon as the receptionist told her I was around. 

“My sweet sister-in-law, you are looking so radiant.” She said as we hugged. 

“Good afternoon, Sarah. You are not looking bad either.” And this was entirely true. Sarah ran a printing firm in Osogbo and the business was doing really well. I had called her last night to tell her what I needed and how urgent it was, and she told me to come around today. I could have sent everything she needed over the phone, but I also wanted to go out. 

Sarah and Sam had been married for about seven years now and they lived separately. They met in Osogbo even though Sam was already in PortHarcourt then. They had a long-distance relationship and we all assumed Sarah would be moving in with her husband when they announced that they wanted to get married. After the wedding, we were all surprised when Sarah stayed back in Osogbo with her then little business. This was what started the first problem with Sarah and mummy. 

Mummy thought it was silly for Sarah to leave her husband and stay back. I remember her saying, “At least if she’s not scared that they would snatch her husband from her, she should be worried about how he would take care of himself. Why is he married if he still gets to wash his clothes, clean his house and even cook for himself?” She called Sam many times, complaining and crying as usual, eventually Sam stopped picking her call. I think he even blocked her at some point. I was in school then, so I did not get everything that happened. 

When I got back from school, mummy told me what was happening and how she had been trying Sam’s number for a long time and it never went through. I had spoken to Sam a week before coming home, he had even sent me transport fare, so I deduced he might have blocked her contact. “Won’t they have kids?” She asked. “Mummy, see leave them alone, they are adults.” She did not reply to me, she just stared, looking devastated. 

If everyone thought Sam was weird, Sarah was eccentric. If circumstances were different, I would have loved to get close to her and get a glimpse into her perspective of many things. She always seemed so unruffled; I doubt anything bothered her. Mummy had not made things easy for her over the years, especially since she was closer to mummy than Sam. They still had no children, and the way they both were, I would not be surprised if it was a mutual decision between them. 

Sam came home once every month, or she went to see him and it had been that way since they got married. Looking at her now in her Ankara blouse and black pants, she looked even younger than when I first saw her. Her nails were painted white and her shoes were also white. I was sitting in her office, looking around as she talked to one of her employees. She made something huge for herself and it made me happy. There were also lovely paintings on the white walls of her office.

Dimeji was engaged with a cartoon showing on the TV hung on the wall opposite the chair I was sitting on. There was a cold drink she had brought out from the fridge on the stool beside me. The office also had a fragrance that I couldn’t quite place my finger on. Just like Sarah, the atmosphere of the office was peaceful. I could actually sleep off at this rate.

***

After Sarah had shown me around her company, I was wowed. In almost seven years, she had done this much for her business. It was even bigger than I had assumed. They were two huge printing rooms, with printers arranged according to use—printers in varying sizes. She showed me a material room where they kept materials for printing and just beside it was the sourcing department, they took stock of the materials that were left and then sourced for new materials to be replaced or added. 

There was the logistics department beside the customer care department. The logistics department had a door that led to the compound of the company and vehicles and delivery bikes were parked in that area. After the production department was done, the products were sent to the quality control department and then the customer care department. The customer care department then ensured that the products were tagged to the right customer and installed a ‘thank you’ card. Then they send the products to the logistics and tracking department. The whole place was organized. I felt a little bad that we were in the same city and we barely talked, she had done this much and I didn’t even know because of my problems. Anyway, things were changing now and I would do better.

After paying a discounted price for the work to be done, I ate in the cafeteria and picked my bag from her office and left. Leaving the gate of her company, it seemed as if I just left another world. I walked to the road and faced the task of going back home with a restless toddler. Sarah said by Thursday, I would get my product.