- Now my home is in disarray!
"Thank God, you have regained consciousness. We have
been so worried about you. Let me get the doctor," she stated, before
hurrying out of the room.
It was from the doctor I heard the horrible news, that my
baby, who had arrived prematurely had died.
"We kept him in an incubator since he was premature but
it was no use. He lived for just a few hours," he said in a sad tone. I
turned my face to the wall, hot tears streaming down my face, feeling too
drained and weak to even cry out.
Just then, some of my family members came into the room,
their expressions shifting from looks of joy at my regaining consciousness and
sadness at my baby's death. My Dad, stepmother and my brother Mike stood round
the bed, looking down at me.
"I'm so glad you are back with us, my daughter. You are
very precious to me and I can't afford to lose you," said my Dad as he
took my hand in his. He looked grim when I quietly narrated what had happened
with my husband that had led to my being hospitalized.
"I know it's painful to lose your baby but though the water
might have spilt, the vessel is still intact; it's not broken. As for that
husband of yours, just leave him to me. I know what to do to him. Don't worry
about him. Your health is what matters now. So, focus on getting better and
everything will be alright," he reassured me. "
But will it, I thought glumly after they had gone to see the
doctor. Will things ever be the same again between Kel and I after what had
happened. I shuddered, remembering the fight at home, the crazy look in his
eyes as he held my throat so tightly. What if he had strangled me to death that
night? It was a miracle that I was alive but that fact brought me little joy.
All I could think about was losing my baby and I blamed Kel for that.
I heard he had been coming to the hospital all the time I
was unconscious and had been so worried about me. But I did not care; I did not
want to see him and I told the nurses attending to me not to allow him near my
room.
Later, I fell into a deep sleep and woke up to the sound of
loud voices outside the door of my room. I could make out my husband, Kel's
voice among them. He was telling the nurses to allow him in to see me as it was
his right as my husband.
"She's my wife! You can't stop me from seeing her! What
kind of crazy hospital is this? I will definitely let the CMD hear about
this!" he threatened.
"Sir, we are just following instructions. It's better
you go back and return when she's in a better frame of mind," the nurse
told him but he was not ready to budge. Though still feeling weak and with
pains, I managed to get out of the bed and made for the door. I stood there
silently for a while watching the argument between Kel and the nurses.
"What have you come to do now? Finish the 'work' you
started at home?" I queried, my voice seeping with anger.
They all turned to me then.
"Ah, baby, how are you feeling now? Are you
alright?" he asked, a worried look on his face. One of the nurses bustled
up to me and stated firmly:
"Madam, you are not strong enough to be walking around
yet. Go back to bed. It's time to take your drugs. Lie down and Nurse Mary will
attend to you."
"Just tell him to stay away from me. I don't want to
see him," I said as I laid on the bed.
***
About a week later, I was discharged from the hospital.
Instead of heading home however, Mike drove me down to our parents' house. I
did not want to go home, at least not yet. I needed space and time to recover
fully both physically and mentally, before seeing my husband again. I was to
remain there for the next three months despite Kel's pleading for forgiveness
and for me to return home.
He also sent his relatives to plead with my Dad and I. My
father who was really angry with Kel at his behaviour, was even more against my
going back to my husband, stating that if he had killed me that night of the
fight, 'would they be here begging for me to return to him?'
"I gave my daughter to your son to love and care for
her, not kill her for me. I lost her mother to illness some years ago. I don't
want anything to happen to her. So, warn your son! He should learn to control
his temper as a man," he told them.
After some time though, my Dad relented. By then, my anger
with my husband had subsided and I was ready for a reconciliation. Truth is, I
loved my husband very much and I was ready to work on my marriage to make it
succeed.
On the eve of departure for my marital home, my Dad had a
long talk with me.
"My dear daughter, as you are going back to your
husband, I want you to put what has happened behind you and forge on. Marriage
is not a bed of roses; anyone that says otherwise is simply lying. It's full of
challenges, you just have to learn to weather them. Be patient with your
husband and do not provoke him to anger that might result in violence like what
happened the last time. Your husband has shown enough remorse and I believe
there won't be a repeat of the last incident. Be a good and loving wife to him
and he will cherish you," my father advised.
***
Soon, I returned home and life went on as usual. The only
difference was Kel, who now treated me so carefully like an egg that could
break if handled roughly. He later confessed that he thought he was going to
lose me when I was lying unconscious in the hospital.
"I couldn't sleep for days or eat. I prayed like I had
never done in my life. I was so scared you might die," he stated.
"As you can see, I'm still alive and well," I
said, smiling.
He laughed then made a solemn promise never to lay a finger
on me again.
"Never again, darling. I promise never to hit you or
cause you pain," he said before drawing me close and kissing me deeply. I
kissed him back, glad to be back in the arms of my man.
That promise lasted exactly six months. Then it was back to
the old Kel. He would slap or hit me whenever we had any argument. With time,
he grew more controlling and dictated what I could and not do.
I work in a government parastatal and I usually closed from
work officially around 5 o'clock. But sometimes, extra work would keep me in
the office an hour later. I was home late on such days and it was a bone of
contention between us.
"Why can't you be home early like other civil servants?
What do you do in that office after closing? Or are you having an affair? Are
you now cheating on me? Answer me!" he demanded angrily one evening on
getting home later than him.
"Kel, how can you say that? You know I will never do
that! It was the traffic that made me late," I explained. But he was still
furious and kept on talking about what he termed 'these so called sophisticated
career city women who run around with other men and cheat on their husbands.'
"If I ever catch you having an affair behind my back,
I'll kill you with my bare hands," he warned. I kept my cool and did not
say a word further to maintain the peace.
The other woman...
Then, I got pregnant again and this time, I was determined
to keep this baby. Kel was happy at the news though later, that changed to
anger when I stopped sleeping with him. I had taken the decision to keep my
pregnancy safe, to avoid another miscarriage.
"You do this all the time, denying me my rights! Of
what use are you to me, anyway? Or your family? You and your crazy family are
completely useless!" he raved. I ignored him and went to sleep in the
spare room to avoid a quarrel and possibly another beating.
He did not bother me about the issue for sometime and I
thought he had agreed with me to cool off from sex for a while.
Unknown to me, he had other plans. I came home one Saturday
evening from a visit to my friend Trina to see my husband laughing and talking
with a lady in the sitting room. I had never seen her before and wondered who
she was.
"Oh, here you are dear. This is Clarissa, a very good
friend of mine. We knew each other back in America; she's in the country for a
visit and she will be staying with us for a while," he stated. I greeted
her then turned to my husband and motioned for him to follow me to our bedroom.
"Kel, what is the meaning of this? How can you just
bring a guest home without informing me about it?" I queried sharply.
"So, now I have to take permission from you before
inviting my friends home?" he countered.
"That's not what I mean. You should have told me she
was coming maybe yesterday so I can make preparations. It's wrong for you to
simply bring her home without telling me, your wife beforehand," I
replied.
"Thank God you know your place, that you are my wife
and not my mother. You have no right to question me about this issue. Instead
of standing there babbling, go and get the guest room ready. She's tired after
the journey and she needs to rest," he ordered. I was ready to argue with
him on the matter but remembered my father's words just in time and decided to
keep my cool for the sake of peace.
That was how Clarissa came into our lives. She brought with
her a new set of problems to add to the ones I was already battling with. She
was the lazy type who did no house chores and expected to be served everything.
Even in my condition, she never offered to help with the cleaning, cooking and
other chores around the house but left everything to me. All she did all day
was paint her nails and face, style her long weave and wear all kinds of skimpy
and provocative clothes both at home and while going out. Then, there was her
drinking and smoking habits which I found particularly irritating.
Kel did not see anything wrong with her smoking in the house
and told me to stop complaining about it.
"Stop whining, woman! She's our guest. Learn to live
with her, bad habits and all," he said.
I endured, praying she would leave us soon. Then, two weeks
after her unexpected arrival, I came home early from work one day as I had a
bad headache. The front door was unlocked and as I stepped into the house, I
could hear sounds like loud moans from the direction of our bedroom.
I opened the door and...
Names have been changed to protect the identity of the narrator and other individuals in the story.
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