A FATHER’S PAIN
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL DOKOSI
EPISODE 5
I could not sleep that night. Every now and then, I found myself pla-ying the video to watch my estranged wife and my best-friend having S-x. The images were so painful to watch. My heart ached. I wept. Even though I was a teetotaler, for the first time, I felt the de-sire to take alcohol. I wanted to do anything that will ease the pain I was going throu-gh.
At about 2:45am, I went to my children’s room to check on them as I always did. They were peacefully asleep, oblivious of what had just happened. I stared at them, sorrow in my heart, aware that with the action I had decided to take, life will no more be the same for them again.
Their mother had broken the sanctity of their home. The father and mother they used to see together were going to be together no more. Their father and mother were going to live ap@rt. And, though marriage was not on my mind any longer, I knew that they would one day have either a step-father or a step-mother.
I stayed in Peter and Pamela’s room for close to one hour, staring at them and crying. Finally, I left them while they were still asleep. Returning to my room, I took off my clothes and went to have my bath. Then I returned to my be-d and lying down, began to reflect on the drama that had happened taken place.
And Edwin! Hmmmmmm! He was my best pal. He was not only a friend, he was like a brother, one whom I had so much trust in. Though I was a medical doctor, I also ran a hvge business and he was my business p@rtner. While I was into the export of charcoal, shea bu-tter, plantain, pineapple and pepper to European markets, he was into the importation of European goods to Ghana.
This was one man I was so close to that some thought we were brothers. I believed, at the time, that I could trust him even with my life. Yet, he was the same person I caught doing it with my wife in my house in my be-droom and on my be-d. I sighed. Only God knew how long he had been having the affair with my wife.
Edwin was a widower. His wife died when he was only 33, that was two years after their marriage. She was then 25. Since then, he had remained single, d@t!ngonce a while but ma-king no real attempt at getting married again.
With his wealth, friends made attempts at getting him to marry again but he obviously was not interested. And, he didn’t care either that he didn’t have a child of his own.
He and I had together made several trips outside Ghana to transact business. Sometimes, I facilitate his imports and on other occasions, he helped me with my exports. On some occasions, I sle-pt over at his house and on others, he spent the night in my house. That was how close we were. So, catching him with my wife in the act was a real shocker.
That night was the longest night ever in my life. Finally, however, morning c@m£. I was happy to see day break. I was just getting re-ady to go and prepare the children for school when I had a call; it was my wife.
“Kwame, plea-se forgive me. I am on my knees. I don’t know what c@m£ over me. plea-se, in God’s name, forgive me. I will never repeat such a behavior again” she pleaded. I could s-en-se she was in tears.
But, there was no way I could forgive her. There was no way she could be my wife again. I told her calmly that the sound of her voice could kill me so I would appreciate it if she does not phone me again.
“It is over between us so better start getting used to that fact,” I said. Then I hanged up. She called and called again but I ignored her, switching my phone to the silence mode so when she calls, the phone could not ring to my hearing. Then I went to wake the children up.
Preparing them for school made me realize the tedious task I had ahead because they both courteously asked me where their mother was. I had to lie to them. I said she had travelled and would soon be back. They believed me.
A FATHER’S PAIN
WRITTEN BY MICHAEL DOKOSI
EPISODE 6
With my driver, Yao, on leave, I drove them to school myself. On hindsight, that was the fatal mistake I made – with the issue at hand, I should not have allowed them to go to school that day.
Having dropped them off at school, I phoned my lawyer, briefed him about what had happened and told him to begin divorce proceedings against my wife.
“Paul, you don’t mean you actually caught your wife, Ivy, and your friend, Edwin ma-king love in your house, in your be-droom and on your be-d” the shocked lawyer said.
I told the lawyer that was exactly what happened. And there was no way I was going to stay married to Nora any longer.
Back at work, I had a long queue of patients waiting for me. My day at the hospital usually started at 7:00am; I do the rounds in the wards to review the condition of in-patients. But on this day, I was late. I got to the hospital at 7:45am to find anxious nurses waiting for me.
There was an emergency waiting for me to deal with. A woman who had been in labour for two days nee-ded a caesarian done on her and I was required to do that.
I went to the theatre, saw the patient and then to everyb©dy’s surprise, left without a word. The nurses and other paramedics chased me to my room, pleading with me not waste time lest mother and baby would die.
I sighed and told them I knew it was an emergency but it would be better if another doctor did the surgery. I asked them to return to the woman; another doctor would be there to do the operation.
As soon as they left, I placed a call to a colleague, Dr. Ntim and quic-kly told him about the surgery and pleaded with him to take over from me because I was not in the right frame of mind to operate on anyb©dy.
Dr. Ntim was a close friend. I had done surgeries on his behalf on many occasions and he had done same for me. So, he didn’t hesitate; he didn’t ask questions either. He knew that if I said I was not in the right frame of mind, then it meant something was wrong. He said he was heading directly to the theatre immediately.
After I put my phone down, I placed my head on my table and sobbe-d. I felt bad not going to do the surgery but I knew I had taken the right decision; with my mind pre-occu-pied with my wife’s infidelity, I knew I could make an error that will be fatal to mother and child.
Two hours on, I was still seated behind my desk thinking about my wife and what I caught her doing when the door opened and Dr. Ntim stepped in. I got up and looked up enquiringly at him. He smiled and sitting down and told me that the surgery had been successful; mother and son were doing well.
I got up and hvgged him, thanking him for stepping in for me. Then after he sat down, I told him why I was not in the right frame of mind to do the surgery.
“Oh my God! Paul, are you sure of what you are telling me?” he asked, stunned.
“Kojo, would I lie to you in such a s-en-sitive matter? Would I tell you something so shameful for no cause? If you want to watch her and Edwin, here it is. I captured it on my phone,” I said as I switched the phone to video mode. But, Dr. Kojo Ntim st©pped me, saying he wouldn’t want to watch.
“It’s good you called me to do this operation for the woman. There is no way you could have been in the right frame of mind to do it,” he said.
He sympathized with me and agreed with me that divorce was the way to go. Then he left. He had patients to attend to. I too had patients to attend to.
………to be continued…………
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