A father’s pain
EPISODE 34
My wife had me cornered and I knew it. She was a very cunning woman.
“Peter, your mother asked you to call and say what you are saying, right? And I am sure she is standing by you right now, gesturing to you” I said. My son said he was alone with his sister and that they were at a public pay phone. They had sneaked out of the house: that their mother was not aware that they had sneaked out to call me
I believed him. I knew Peter very well. He was terrible when it comes to lying. I was in a fix. My children loved their mother to a fault just as they loved me. Now, to have their mother jailed would have an adverse effect on them. And, I guess they will never forgive me for it.
“Daddy, are you there?” he asked me.
“Yes I am here” I said
“Daddy, do this for Pamela and me. We beg you” he pleaded once more. I could feel the pas-sion in his voice. I also knew he was crying.
“Okay, for the sake of the two of you, I have forgiven her” I said
“ Daddy! Are you sure?” he asked.” Are you sure you have forgiven mummy?
“I have. I love the two of you so much”
“So Daddy, will you take mummy back in our home? Will she be with your wife once again” he asked. I said she will. I heard him scream in joy and narrate what I had said to her younger sister. She screamed and asked to talk to me.
“Daddy?” she asked. Her innocent and soft voice immediately set my heart racing. How I missed her!
“Daddy, I love you. Let us see you soon!” she said, giggling happily.
“I love you too, Pamela” I responded. Then the connection went off. I sighed as tears began to trickle down my cheeks. I took a handkerchief and wiped it off. Then I got my car going once more. Suddenly, I wished I had made John drive me to work.
By the time I arrived home, I was at peace with myself, having decided not to pursue the case in court. Once I was in the privacy of my be-droom, I phoned my lawyer to tell him I was no longer interested in pursuing the case in court. I explained to him that my wife had confessed to me that she lied to the court concerning the DNA and once she had pleaded for forgiveness, I was no longer interested.
“Wow! She confessed to perjury. That is an offence for which she can be jailed. You have a golden opportunity to put your wife away for a long time” he said.
I repeated that I was no longer interested in the case. He was stunned. Apparently, he saw the news twist as an opportunity to make money.
“Doctor, you are throwing away an opportunity to make some cool money” he said, frantically. However, I stuck to my guns. That ended it.
John and Efe, my driver and house-help respectively were stunned when I later told them, after supper, about my wife’s confession.
“Jesus Christ!” John exclaimed. “So Madam concocted all that lies against you?”
Efe, though stunned, spoke up, saying that many a woman would do what my wife did to ensure no one takestheir children away from them.
“So, you mean Nora acted right?” I asked Efe.
“Daddy, I am not saying Madam’s actions were right. I am only saying most women will do anything to ensure that their children are not taken from them” Efe replied.
Then I dropped the second bombshell of the evening.
EPISODE 35
Calmly, I told them I had decided to let my wife back into the marriage. The two stared at me as if I was a ghost.
“Daddy! What did you just say?” Efe asked me. Smiling, I repeated what I had said. She and John stared at each other as if I was talking gibberish and then Efe began to cry as she showered praises on me.
“Oh God! Thank you, God! Thank you! Thank you for listening to my prayers” she kept on repeating. I got her to get up and calm down.
“So, when is madam coming, Daddy?” she asked. I could see the sparkle in her yes.
“Can’t tell now. But she will be coming” I said. Then I said I had to go have my bath so I stood up. The meeting c@m£ to an end.
I had just gotten back to my be-droom when my phone rang. The number on it indicated it was my wife. I hesitated and then picked the call.
“Daddy, Mummy is here. We have told her that you have forgiven her but she won’t believe. So, plea-se tell her” Peter said.
I was proud of my son. Though still young, he was doing everything possible to bring his father and mother back together. Of course, it was obvious that his mother had not told him or his sister what she did. And despite my anger, I also did not wish her to tell them. I did not want the children to know what their mother did. It will take away her honor in their eyes. I smiled. Then Nora c@m£ on the line.
“Isaac” she said
“Yes”
“I am sorry”
“I have forgiven you” I said. There was silence. I could hear her sobbing. I waited.
“Thank you, darling. Thank you so much. I am grateful” she said finally. I said nothing more. There was silence again and then she asked if she could come back home.
“Yes” I replied. Again, there was a pause. More sobs. I kept quiet. Then my son spoke.
“Daddy, we are coming back home tonight. Right now! Right now1” he screamed excitedly.
Okay, Peter. I will be waiting to see you and Pamela” I said.
“And Mummy” he added.
“Of course, and Mummy” I said.
“Daddy, do you still love her?” he asked me. If there was anyb©dy I loved that moment, it was my son.
“Yes, I love her” I replied. I heard him scream in delight as he ended the call.
I suddenly felt a bit empty. Then against my wish, I broke down in tears and cried my heart out. For close to thirty minutes, all I could do was weep. In order not to be heard crying, I later went to my bathroom, str!pped and got un-der the shower. un-der the shower, as I bathed, I wept. By the time I had come out, I felt okay.
I had ba-rely finished dressing when I heard a knock on my door. Expecting that it was Efe coming over to tell me food was re-ady, I hurried to the door and opened it. Lo and behold, standing there was my estranged wife with our two children.
“Daddyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!” the two children screamed out in unison as they jumped into my arms. I curled my hands around them as tears of joy began to trickle down my cheeks.
They were my children; my biological children; bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood. And, every attempt had been made to deny them their father.
I held on to them ti-ghtly. They were more important to me than all the gold and diamonds in the world. They were more important to me than I was to myself.
Finally, I put them down. Screaming, they run to my be-d, jumped on it and began to pl@yas they used to do. Seeing them at pl@ymade me realize that the good old days were back. I turned to Nora. She was on her knees and in tears. Her eyes looked puffy.
“Isaac, I am a fool. I don’t deserve….” She began.
“Ssshhhh!” I said, st©pping her from talking. Holding her hands, I got her to her feet, pu-ll-ed her close to me and k!$$£d her on thel-ips. She literally melted into my arms as she began to cry again. Over to my right, I saw Efe and John, standing by the TV, looking at us and smiling. I nodded to them, smiling back.
……………..THE END ……………