Chapter Twenty Five
I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU 2
"Where are you coming from Ken?"
I asked him as he was climbing the staircase that led to our bedroom.
The question came like a two-edged sword. It pierced through his heart and crippled his steps. His legs were transfixed to the ground, and I guess my voice reminded him of the first time we met. Or better still, he was not expecting the questions.
'How can I ever slap my wife?'
He muttered in a voice not so audible, but I continued.
"Do not let it cross your mind that the fact that I am calm connotes cowardice. I just stand by my principle which says two wrongs do not make one right."
After I dropped the bombshell, I went back to the kitchen to check the food which was being reheated by the microwave. I never looked at him nor waited for a response.
Ken stood there confused and watched me walk back to the kitchen. He muttered something that sounded like.
'Why would she bother to reheat the food under this circumstance? The food got cold as a result of my returning late. Yet, she took the pain to do that.'
The food was his favorite. Potatoes from Jos, Plateau State, North Central of Nigeria which most Nigerians ignorantly call Irish Potatoes. As for Mr. Ken Israel, it was Jos Potatoes or better still Nigeria Potatoes. His first encounter with potatoes was when his uncle who lived in Jos brought it to the village for them. The uncle was fondly called 'Uncle Jos' and as such the potatoes were named after him.
If only he knew the pain I took to get that, as it was not the season and not even sold in the neighborhood.
He needed to eat. He was hungry and cannot joke with his precious 'Jos potatoes'. As a man, he managed to move to the bedroom and saw a neatly dressed bed. This shocked him more than slapping me. Now he knew I had been awake.
'What have I done to myself? She had been awake. Just waiting for me.'
He thought.
He knew it was not a crime if he claimed that he had the best family in the world, judging from his polygamous background. He knew that the children and I love him and can sacrifice anything just to make him happy. All the love was about to become a history if he did not keep his temper under control.
It was nobody's fault that he had a problem in the office.
"Why am I…?"
"Your food is ready. Do you want me to bring it to the room, or should I leave it at the dining table?"
I interrupted his thought as I walked into the bedroom.
"I will prefer the dining table."
He answered while rushing to the bathroom for a shower and to enable him to conceal the tears that were already gathering in his eyes.
He took a quick shower, came out of the bathroom and saw me sitting on the chair by the reading table. He hated the sight; seeing me sitting like a maid in my matrimonial home. The television was not turned on. I was just sitting there. He knew I hardly sleep alone. When the kids were younger, I shared the bed with them whenever he was out of town. He remembered that I dislike eating alone either.
'It is possible she had not had her dinner either. Anyway, the children are around, so she must have eaten with them.'
He concluded.
He quickly dressed up and left for the dinning while I sat wondering what to do next to restore the peace in our home and bring him out of his shell. My greatest challenge was how to reassure him that I still love him.
He ate his food quietly. By the time I came downstairs to keep him company, he was almost done with the food. That means, he was starving.
He muttered his appreciation after he ate the last piece of food. He refused to spend a second on the dining table as he left for the bedroom, immediately the words 'THANK YOU' left his lips. I cleared the table and joined him.
Our room was the biggest room in the four bedroom duplex meant for every Management Staff of the Cherry Fields Oil and Gas Group. The room was very spacious and can accommodate our family sized bed. The width and length of the bed were of equal sizes and enable one to lie on all sides. He had already covered himself with the blanket and turned off the air conditioner, an indication that he was cold. I laid by the other end of the bed quietly. The evening prayer that we usually had was never remembered. I said my silent prayer. Not knowing what tomorrow holds.
Saturdays, which were often sexing, resting and happy day for the family and was always fun, especially when we were to visit one relation or the other was boring. In most cases, the family regularly go out for shopping or visit the cinema, but this weekend was different, the family was not together, it was gloomy. Our love life, which was always rekindled on Saturdays with exciting love making, was not even remembered
The children could feel the atmosphere. It was not as lively as it used to be. Daddy had been aloof.
After the breakfast that morning, I busied myself with the washing of clothes. The children Jeff 18 and Jewel 16 joined me in the kitchen. We were chatting, washing, and tried to be as happy as possible.
We all laughed aloud, ignoring the person who chose to be aloof.
Ken was alone in the big sitting room, not doing anything in particular. He gazed at the Television but was not following the program. As a matter of fact, he could not tell what program was aired. All he knew was that he was sitting in the front of a big screen with motion pictures. All of a sudden, he remembered that he left his handset in the bedroom, and he went for it, hoping that he must have missed some calls.
'No one called.'
He thought. Quite unlike before, his colleagues would have called to check on him.
'Do I deserved to be sacked?'
'Do my friend and colleagues agree with Gabriel that I deserved what I got? Not even my staff.
He asked himself.
He had been in the Cherry Fields Oil and Gas Group for twenty-two years and had contributed immensely to its growth and development. I remembered the days of our courtship when he will always fail to keep his appointment with me because of his work. My husband was a thorough person who hardly joked with anything he does. It was also the same with his love life and family.