A FATHER’S PAIN
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL DOKOSI
EPISODE 30
STORY SO FAR: Dr. Isaac Ofori Mensah returns home to catch his wife, Nora, and his bosom friend c-m business p@rtner, Edwin, in the act in his be-droom and on his marital be-d. He decides to divorce his wife who also later as-serts that he is not the biological father of their two children. The result of a DNA test ordered by a court indicated that indeed, he was not the biological father of the children. Despite that, Dr. Ofori-Mensah was very sure the two were his biological children and was therefore not re-ady to let go. But later, the result of a fertility test ran on him indicated he was not even fertile enough to father a child. Distraught, he seeks the aide of a fertility centre to enable him become fertile. However, a test on him at this second fertility centre proved he was fertile and therefore nee-ded no help to be fertile. Shocked, he dashes with the result to his lawyer who says they nee-d another test to authenticate the latest fertility results.
plea-sE re-ad ON
………………………………
It was agreed that I will have another fertility test the next day. Lawyer Oscar Brew will however not mention the name of the hospital to me. Obviously, he wanted to make sure that I would not know the hospital so that if I had manipulated the two that had given me a clean bill of health, I will not be able to do the same where he was taking me to.
I left his office that day very hopeful. We drove back home. I called my hospital to find out how my colleagues were doing.
“We are doing well, Isaac. We can’t wait to have you back. We hope you will solve whatever problem has plagued you so you return to work sound and happy”. Dr. Boateng, one of my colleagues at the hospital where I worked said.
That evening, after supper, John, Efe and I sat in the living room to discuss the latest development.
“I am really surprise, Daddy. So does it mean that the result from the first fertility centre was wrong?” Efe asked. She was as happy as a happy puppy.
“Hopefully, it may also turn out that the result of the DNA tests too were wrong” John said, smiling.
“That is what I am hoping will be the case. I will ask my lawyer if the court will grant us a second DNA test. You may never know,” I opined.
We went on and on about the possibilities. The prospects that I may be the biological father of Peter and Pamela after all, kept me excited. Then I noticed Efe was yawning. I said it was time to call it a day. We all got up, bade each other good night and headed for our respective be-drooms.
The next morning, I was up very early only to find that my driver was alre-ady up and waiting for me. I quic-kly had my bath and dressed up, hopeful that the day will be fruitful. We left the house before 7:00 a.m., arriving at Lawyer Oscar Brew’s office at 7:20 a.m. He was waiting for us in his car. The moment he saw us, he signalled us to follow him. Then starting his engine, he got going. We followed. Ten minutes later, we arrived at the Ave Maria International Hospital. I knew the place. It was a pri-vate facility, one of the best in town.
We parked the car and followed Lawyer Oscar Brew inside. We went down a corridor and c@m£ to a door. On the door was written Dr. Otto Siegfield. He knocked, opened and entered.
Dr. Siegfield welcomed us. He was a tall and lanky man. He was a German. Apparently, my lawyer had alre-ady briefed him about our mission. He got up and asked that we follow him. We did. A few seconds later, we found ourselves in a laboratory. There were all kinds of sophisticated gadgets there, some, even as a medical doctor, that I had not seen before.
This time, the doctor did not require my semen. He switched on some of the equipment, asked me to stand on one and place all five f!ngersof my right hand on a scanner. I did. We waited. My f!ngersappeared on a TV screen. We all waited. About two minutes later, a green light began to beep on the screen.
“Finished” he said and then turned to my lawyer. “Your man is very fertile. I will print the result of this test for you” he said. Relief swept throu-gh my entire b©dy. I felt weak at the knees Dr. Siegfield printed the result for us. Then we all returned to his Consulting Room. He sat down and explained to us the process he used to determine whether I was fertile or not.
“As you can see, Dr. Ofori-Mensah is very fertile. We have here the latest and most advanced equipment in the world for testing the fertility of both men and women. The green light which beamed indicated he is fertile. If the light had turned red, it would have meant he is not fertile,” the doctor explained.
A FATHER’S PAIN
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL DOKOSI
EPISODE 31
I was jubilant! I was fertile after all. This meant that I could father a child. I resolved to do another DNA test and quietly prayed that the result, like the fertility test, would also prove that I was the biological father of Peter and Pamela.
Lawyer Oscar Brew thanked Dr. Seigfield. Then we left. At the car park, the lawyer told me he smells a conspiracy against me.
“I am willing to bet that the DNA test which was pres£nted to the court was false. Someb©dy made sure the wrong results was written. I am going to find this out and if true, we shall sue the hospital and the individuals involved,” he said.
Though I nodded in agreement, I really did not care about suing anyb©dy. To have found out that I was fertile after all and that was very good news for me. All that I wanted now was to have another DNA test and be told the result proves I was the biological father of my children.
“We are going to sue each of the health facilities GH¢20million each if it turns out that they lied. The doctors too who supervised it will be sued GH¢2million each” he said, beaming with smiles. I could see that as far as he was concerned, he had hit a jackpot. His next statement confirmed this.
Dr. OforiMensah, we nee-d to sign an agreement. If our suspicions turn out to be true and we sue them, my law firm will receive 40% of the total amount of money we sue them for when you are paid. Agreed?” he asked me.
I nodded happily. He said in that case, there was the nee-d for us to return to his office and sign the agreement. So, we headed for his office where the agreement was written and signed. I really was not interested in the money. I was interested in being told I am the biological father of Peter and Pamela.
Three days later, I received a call from Lawyer Oscar Brew. He said he had filed an appeal at a High Court in the face of the new evidence we had. The case was scheduled for a week’s time. He informed me that Nora’s lawyers had been served.
“Okay, but my ex-wife is out of the country with the children” I said.
“No. they are back in the country. They are living at North Legon in a house bought for your wife by your friend, Edwin” he said. I was surprised at this information from my lawyer.
“Oh! I see! How did you get to know all this?” I asked him, impressed.
“Well, alongside our law chambers, we ran an investigative agency. We use it to fish out nee-ded information that will as-sist our cases at the court. I can tell you for now that we have placed surveillance on your ex-wife with our team of investigators so we know where she is at any p@rticular time” he said.
I was impressed with my lawyer. The work he had done so far made me realize why his services were so expensive and why he is reputed to be a crack lawyer.
I began to day dream about me having my children back. The thought so excited me sometimes I found myself dancing though I was a bad dancer. Peter and Pamela were the love of my life for whom all the diamonds in the world cannot compare.
Three weeks after I went on leave, I had to resume work. I had rested enough and with all the good news, I looked forward to joining my colleagues at work.
On a calm Monday morning in September of that year, I woke up early, skipped breakfast and headed for work. I was driving myself and was in high spirits. About ten minutes after I left home, I heard my phone ringing. I stared at the screen but could not tell who was calling. I answered the call and was surprised to hear my wife’s voice..
“plea-se can we meet? I have something important to tell you” she said
“ A meeting? What for, Nora?” I asked her. I was really surprised she had called.
“plea-se, I want us to talk over our break-up and the children. If you don’t want me again, I will not deny you your children,” she said.
“Me my children?” I asked. “I thought you said Peter and Pamela are not my biological children and you got a DNA result to prove it. So, why refer to them as my children?” I asked her.
I heard her sobbing. When she spoke, her tone was remorseful.
“Darling, I lied. You are their biological father” she said.
………..to be continued……………
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