HE CALLED ME A CHEAT
Episode 9
The letter dropped from my hand and I was numb for some minutes. So, my stepmother has been the one behind my predic@m£nt all along. I fell to the ground and let out a scream, what did I do wrong? I wasn’t the one who asked my mother to have an affair with her husband, I was just the product of nightstand.
That night was a sorrowful one for me, I have come to love and adore Jeddy as he had become my friend and husband during my trying moment. I just can’t afford to lose him. I was happy that the truth was out but I was sad because Jeddy wasn’t mine.
I kept the matter to myself for almost three months but as time goes on, I decided that I had to let it out.
Jeddy and Jerry’s eight years birthday was fast approaching and I decided to be with them that day. Two weeks to their birthday, I called John with my new line informing him that I have information for him and I want to see Jerry on his birthday.
After listening to me, he ended the call without giving me a reply and refused to pick up when I called again. I st©pped calling him but save some money to get both of them beautiful wristwatches as their birthday pres£nt.
A day preceding their birthday, he called and gave me the location where I am to meet up with them. It was a public secondary school. I tried my best to buy new wears for Jeddy as I didn’t want him to feel inferior when he meets Jerry.
On the birthday, I celebr@ted Jeddy in my own little way, I took him to the studio to take pictures and also bought biscuit which I shared among the children in our compound.
At exactly 3 pm, the three of us left home for the school we were to meet up with Jerry and John. After waiting for one hour, John drove into the school compound. He c@m£ into the clas-sroom with Jerry in his hands, it was obvious Jerry was not aware that he was coming to meet with me.
‘Mommyyyyyyyy, Jeddyyyyyyy’ Jerry scream immediately he saw us
‘Oh my son, I missed you so much’ I drew him into my embr@ce
‘Happy Birthday Jerry’ Jeddy wished him
‘Happy Birthday Jeddy, I miss you so much’ Jerry replied
‘I missed you too’
‘Here are your birthday gift boys’ I said while handling the wristwatches to them
‘Ohh thank you, mommy, this is so beautiful’ Jeddy exclaimed
‘Wow! This is beautiful mommy, I love you so much. Mommy, plea-se come back home’ Jerry said and a tear dropped from my eye
I was so happy that Jerry’s mind hasn’t been polluted against me. I drew him to an embr@ce again and affirmed that I never st©pped loving him. Jerry requested to carry Joy and I placed her on his l@ps.
While both boys were engrossed in admiring their watches and pla-ying with their little sister, I moved to where John sit and gave him a copy of the letter and receipt of the money my stepmother paid the midwife.
He collected it from me and never st©pped staring at me, he was surprised to see how much I have aged. Well, that’s the result of the torture he subjected me into.
Right there, he opened the envelope and re-ad throu-gh the letter while I went back to meet the boys. He c@m£ over to meet us after re-ading the letter.
‘Jeddy, won’t you say hello to your Dad?’ I asked Jeddy immediately John got to where we were
‘I don’t have a father’ Jeddy replied rudely
‘Come on Jeddy, don’t be like this’
‘I hate him because he hated us. He s£nt us out of the house and allowed us to suffer’ Jeddy lamented
‘Will you st©p spewing nons-en-se?’ I screamed at Jeddy
‘Leave him alone’ John finally said something
John returned back to his former position and had his head buried in his palms. When the night was fast approaching, he told Jerry they nee-ded to go back home but the latter refused to go with him. I had to plead with Jerry to go with his father with the promise that I won’t be far from him again.
Jerry reluctantly went with John while Jeddy, Joy, and I went home.
HE CALLED ME A CHEAT
Episode 10
Life continues and we kept living it one day at a time. For almost three weeks, I didn’t hear anything from John just for me to see a neighbor’s son bring him to the shed where I sell my wares one evening.
At first, I didn’t see them coming. Jerry’s scream was what attra-cted me to the direction they c@m£ throu-gh.
‘How are you son?’ I asked Jerry
‘Fine mommy and you?’
‘Fine too’
I gave John and Jerry a seat while I hurriedly pack my wares since it was getting dark. John offered to help me but I told him not to worry. Done with packing, we trekked to my house which was just thirty minutes’ walk from where I sell.
Getting to the house, I invited them in and quic-kly heat up the rice which I prepared in the morning and serve the children with it. While the children were busy with the food, John requested to speak with me outside. I took him to the backyard in order to avoid our conversation being eavesdropped.
‘How are you?’ John began
‘As you can see, I am doing great’
‘Can I carry her?’ He requested but immediately Joy saw that he wants to carry her, she held on to me
‘No, you can’t. She isn’t yours or Is she? I asked surprising him
‘She looks so much like Jerry so it’s obvious she is mine’
‘You are sick upstairs. So you think you can humiliate me in public then come secretly to beg me abi? You lie, I actually thought you are a matured man, I never knew you are a mommy’s puppet. Look here Mr. I only allowed you into my house because of my son, don’t feel that I still want anything to do with you’ I replied with rage written all over me
‘Jane???’
‘If you call my name again, I will plaster your face with a sl@p. Jeddy is right, you never loved us. I regret ever having anything to do with you weakling, the only thing he knows how to do is to impregnate a woman and reject the pregnancy. Only God knows what he did to his ex-girlfriend that made her abscond with his best friend’ I raged on
I saw him break down in tears but I wasn’t moved by his tears. After being f0rç£fully married to him, I live all my life to plea-se him. I bore him children and also care for both him and the children but all he could reward me with is throwing me out of the house when there was crisis forgetting that he was the one who f0rç£fully broke my hy-men.
For the eight years I lived with him, he never st©ps comparing me to his ex-girlfriend whenever we have misun-derstood and when I try to defend myself, he would always remind me of the twelve years gap between us.
After Jerry and Jeddy celebr@ted their second birthday, I actually pleaded with him to s£nd me back to school since I was just twenty years old and was still interested in bringing my dream to reality. He told me to give him time to think about it and after thinking about it, he refused to s£nd me to school with the thought that I would grow wings after schooling.
I pleaded and pleaded with him that nothing of such would happen. I even went as far as writing un-dertaking but he remained obstinate. After all the ill-treatment, he now comes secretly to make me come back to him.
To be continued
HE CALLED ME A CHEAT
Episode 11
With that I left him at the balcony and went into the room to meet my children. They had finish eating and were pla-ying game. John c@m£ into the room some minutes later and made to leave with Jerry but the latter refused to go with him even after I pleaded with him to go.
After much persuasion and Jerry still refused to go with John, we had to let him be. John had to go home alone and since schools were on holiday, Jerry was free to stay with me.
John returned the following day with change of clothes for Jerry and also brou-ght some foodstuffs. At first, I rejected the foodstuffs but when he didn’t st©p pleading with me to take it, I collected it from him. He also bought some clothes for Jeddy but Jeddy refused to collect it.
A week later, I received a call from John’s mother. She actually st©pped being my mother-in-law the day she joined my stepmother to throw me out of her son’s house.
‘Good afternoon’ I replied rudely
‘Afternoon, John told me what went wrong and since you are innocent, you have to return back to your husband’ she informed increasing my anger
‘Wait, are you now ordering me to go back to your son? And who told you I am still Interested in your son? I replied her vibr@ting with anger
‘Fine, if you are no longer then return my grandchildren’
‘Can you see how foolish you are? So, you are now demanding for the grandchildren you once rejected abi? If you ever disturb me again, I will relocate to a far away land and begin life with my children then we would know who will be at loss’
‘Young lady, Did you just call me a foolish woman?’ She asked
‘Yes, in fact, you are a mad woman. You and your son are both sick upstairs. If you ever call my line again, I will disgrace you’
With that, I ended the call and block her number immediately. I was actually surprised I could speak to her the way I did. Well, when a person Is pushed to the wall, he or she has no option but to defend his or her self.
Three weeks later, I was in the room teaching the twins some arithmetic, when I heard a knock on the door. I st©pped what I was doing and went to open the door, I was shocked to see John and a lady at the door. I was lost staring at them as I was actually trying to remember where I knew the lady from.
‘Care to invite us in?’ The lady asked jo-lting me out of reverie
‘Do come in’ I invited them in not without giving John a bad eye
‘Daddyyyyy’ Jerry scream immediately he saw his father
‘How are you son?’
‘Very fine, Jeddy, won’t you say hello to Daddy?’ Jerry asked his brother
‘I have told you that I don’t have a father ‘ Jeddy replied rudely
‘When will you st©p this nons-en-se Jeddy?’ I screamed at Jeddy
‘Until when he start loving us again’ Jeddy replied surprising me
‘I am talking and you are replying me abi? Wait, till I sl@p you’
‘plea-se, let the boy be. He is right, if his father had been more reasonable, things won’t escalate to this point.’ She replied surprising me as I thought she also c@m£ to cast blames on me.
I gave Jerry and Jeddy biscuits and asked them to go pl@youtside while I discusss with John and the lady he brou-ght.
‘Do you know me?’ She asked
‘No ma’ I replied with all sincerity.
‘I guess so, well, I am John’s elder sister who reside in Ghana. He actually made me travel here to help him apologize to his wife. You see, I never knew about the situation till three weeks ago. I have listened to his p@rt of the story and I let him know that he is at fault but I am here to plead with you, I know you are hurt but plea-se come back home because of the kids’
‘Sorry to disappoint you ma, I am not interested in coming back to him neither do I want to have anything to do with him again’
Oh hearing that, John c@m£ to where I sat and knelt before me weeping. I was so surprised to see him go on his knee before him, I was just short of words.
‘My wife, plea-se forgive me. I know I have been wicked and unfair to you, I am re-ady to change. I promise to make you happy and treat you as my wife, plea-se, just forgive me’ John pleaded amidst tears
‘You see, he is truly sorry. I sat him down and talked s-en-se into his dull br@in and he promised to be a better husband, plea-se give him another chance’ his sister ch!pped in
While we were still discussing, Jerry ran into the room crying that Jeddy was finding it ha-rd to breathe. On hearing that, I ran outside and carry him into the house. John collected him from him while I search for his inhaler.
Immediately I saw the inhaler, I helped him use it and he bec@m£ fine after inhaling it. John drew him closer to himself and started apologizing to him for being a failed father. In no time, Jeddy sle-pt off in John’s arms.
Sister Lucy, John’s sister asked how I was able to cope with an asthmatic child and I made her un-derstand that it wasn’t easy but Christ keep strengthening me.
WATCH OUT FOR EPISODE 11