Akwaugo – Episode 69

 

PART 69

 

I believed her. Not because I had faith but rather because I had no choice. It was a very sad period in my life. I felt like a failure. This would be my second failed married, I thought to myself. I could imagine how people would talk. They would say she couldn’t keep an older man and now I couldn’t keep a younger man. I

 

 

loved Samuel and I missed him so much. Why did he have to treat me like this? He wouldn’t understand how much love I had for him. I allowed him to lead, I allowed him to be the man. I supported him. I was proud of him. Why did he have to be stubborn? Why did he have to be difficult? Why couldn’t he just trust God?

 

A week went by, no sign of Samuel. I dragged myself to work every day and I took up more hours just to take my mind off my challenges. I was a shadow of myself. I prayed at every opportunity. I disturbed Scholastica who was having a loving relationship with Alex. My burden wouldn’t allow me to rejoice with her. She understood and stuck to her words.

 

I went to his school where he taught but didn’t have the strong will to go inside to ask after him. I stood outside the school one Friday afternoon waiting for the teachers to leave so I could check if he was there. I stood for two hours until the teachers’ parking lot was empty. I didn’t see him leave on foot. Did he truly return to Nigeria? I didn’t want to call his mother to panic her. I didn’t want to do that. She didn’t need to know we had serious issues.

 

One Sunday afternoon, I came back home from my weekend shift which I took to get distracted. I perceived an aroma in the apartment. I knew that smell. I dropped my bag and laptop on the dining table. I walked into the kitchen with unsteady steps. I wasn’t sure he was the one and I was scared even if he was. I entered the kitchen and there he was. His back was to me as he was turning the swallow. He had lost some considerable amount of weight too. I walked up to him from behind and hugged him. I had missed him and I had no pride left in me anymore.

 

“Ediye!” he turned around to face me. I knew I was a ghost of myself. He had tears in his eyes when he saw me and we hugged ourselves and cried together in the kitchen together. We didn’t need anyone to talk to us; we had never needed. Why we allowed pride dictate for us, I will never know. We just couldn’t explain why we allowed ourselves to get angry and bitter when we could have been more forgiving and understanding.

 

We made up without saying anything to each other except I am sorry. We cuddled up together on the bed afterwards. He held on to me and wouldn’t let me go. I felt loved. I missed him dearly and wasn’t ashamed to say it or show it and neither was

 

 

he. Food was completely forgotten until the hunger pangs began to hit us hard. We went to eat.

 

We prayed before we went to bed. We asked God to forgive us for our past mistakes and behaviour. We asked for forgiveness for not obeying his instruction and putting our trust in him. We asked that from that moment onwards, he directs our steps and shows us the way. We prayed he removes unforgiving from us and help us from mistakes and never repeat them. I needed healing from losing two pregnancies and three babies. I asked God to help me look forward and not backwards. Samuel asked God to give us children that are from him and how he wanted us to have them. We closed our prayers with thanksgiving.

 

I never asked Samuel where he was all this while. He was the one that volunteered the information which le to the confession. There was a lady from his place he cooked for. She’s Nigerian, divorced, has grown-up children, lived in a big house and threw lavish parties. They got close because they were from the same place. She was a very good customer and used him for all her parties which were quite often. When I wasn’t talking to him and keeping my distance, he went to supply food to her. She saw he wasn’t his bubbly self and was unhappy. She asked him what happened. She was the first person to realise he was very sad and so he broke down. She comforted him and talked with him. He told her how upset I was and my refusal to talk to him. She gave him a shoulder to cry on. Then she blamed me saying I planned the pregnancy and my losing the pregnancy wasn’t his fault. He didn’t want to listen to her but when I pushed him away, she accepted him. She told him he was welcome to stay in her basement for as long as he wanted as she had no use for it. When he couldn’t take the distance between us anymore, he took the cowardly step to leave after his last attempt at resolving the issues failed.

 

He was with her. She was nice to him. He could cook in her big kitchen. He did for her what he did for me; cook breakfast and dinner. Through her connections, he got orders for both personal uses in the home and parties. He was so busy he had to hire hands to help him; the cash was rolling in and he was grateful. He observed that when he had orders and would leave some extra food for her, she would complain. She saw his cooking for her as a duty. She had a housekeeper but would want him to leave his orders and attend to her cravings. He indulged her initially but after a while, he explained to her it was too much work for him to cook fresh soup almost every day when there were bowls of soup in the freezer. Her daughter

 

 

comes every week to pack them while her mother wanted freshly made soup. They began to have a misunderstanding. Samuel decided to make food that was convenient for him to make. Then he offered to pay for the accommodation. She said he couldn’t afford it and would appreciate a different payment. The reason she was being so unreasonable was that she wanted more. She asked him to divorce me and be with her.

 

“In as much as I had left to clear my head, I was still very much in love with you. I left because I was causing you so much pain. I couldn’t bear to see you hurt anymore. I blamed myself for all we went through. She wanted me for something else; she wanted a young man that would attend to her needs; I told her severally I was married and could never be with another woman. She kept pushing. She tried to force herself on me. She removed the locks on the door of the basement. I asked myself what I was doing with her. Why would I leave my Ediye to stay in the basement of a much older woman’s house who only wanted me to cook and service her? She didn’t love me. She encouraged his rift between us so she could be with me. I had my regrets. She promised me heaven and earth if I would be hers. She became forceful. I knew it was a matter of time she would accuse me of something sinister so I packed up and left. She called me begging me to come back but I refused. I came back home instead. I met the apartment so clean and tidy. I had to cook for you. From now on, I will cook for only my family. If you want me to cook for you, you have to pay me handsomely”

 

“She is aware you are home?”

 

“Yes, I told her I would rather be with my wife”

 

“What did she say?”

 

‘She didn’t have any nice thing to say”

 

“Samuel, tell me the truth, did you sleep with her?”

 

“Did you know where I was? If I didn’t tell you this, would you have known? I ran back home because I didn’t want to. Akwaugo, I have only had sex with four ladies in my life. Are you surprised? Se.x doesn’t freak me except with you. My mother made me believe it was a grave sin that I stayed away completely from it.

 

 

Remember Blessing in Abuja? She’s partners with Alex and Joe. She was at the wedding; she was my first. She seduced me in our final year. She wanted to know if I was a man or not. She taught me how to please her body and I learnt fast. We were friends with benefits. She wanted a relationship but I didn’t want to publicly date her because Joe had eyes on her. The second was during my service year. She got married immediately after the service year. The third was just casual sex when the need arose. She understood we couldn’t be together; my mother would never agree. Immediately you came on the scene, I stopped meeting with her. I had many offers before and after but I waited patiently for you. Each time I met with any of my lovers, I felt guilty afterwards. I wouldn’t sleep with another until it is completely over between us. I didn’t sleep with her. She’s in her fifties, why would I disrespect her like that? It is like my mother sleeping with a young guy; I can never agree to that”

 

I was quiet. My anger would have pushed my husband into the hands of another woman. I wasn’t ready to dwell on the past but rather on the future. We had a lot of making up to do and a baby to have. I was more interested in accomplishing that than fighting imaginary wars. Samuel was my husband and he wouldn’t leave me for another.

 

By two months, I was pregnant again. We prayed it would be twins this time too but God didn’t sanction it. We only saw one foetus. We were both very happy with whatever we get as we couldn’t create any.

 

I shared the good news with Scholastica, she was excited. She told me to trust God and believe. I did just that. She told me Alex had come to see her people. I was dumbstruck. When did this happen? She had to explain to me that she couldn’t share so much of her joy with me when I was unhappy. Alex had proposed and he wanted them to get married as soon as possible. She told him she was from a wretched family, he didn’t care. Now Alex had seen her people and they were planning traditional marriage and church wedding.

 

“I will be there whatever it takes”

 

“You are pregnant; you don’t have to be here. You have played the most important role. God used you to bring us together and that’s the most important thing. We will sort out the rest”

 

 

“You are joking. Are you still the same size as the wedding?”

 

“Yes, I am”

 

“Good. I will get you your wedding gown and accessories. If I am not there theses things will represent me. I will arrange for some other things and let you know. When is the wedding?”

 

“He wants us to wed in two months. He has collected the list and is waiting for the date so he could also fix the church wedding”

 

“Where will the church wedding hold?”

 

“In my church. Prophetess will officiate. She promised it will be a beautiful wedding. The church has gotten a facelift too. You need to come there. I took Alex to meet her. She told him, “you have gotten someone who has bought over your troubles. Just as at the mention of the name of Jesus every knee bows, just mention their names to her and they will surely bow. They will avoid you. Whatever she tells you to do, please obey no matter how stupid it sounds. She is a prayer warrior and an intercessor. Nothing remains the same once she steps into it. You have just struck gold” Alex smiled while she spoke. He told me later that he took all the words of advice I gave him seriously. He wrote down what I said and did them. They always worked. He has a better business now although he is still in partnership with his friends. He met someone who introduced him to diesel supply business. He collects on credit and pays back after he is paid. He is building a house now. He wants us to be married and settled before he finishes it”

 

“Alex? I am shocked. Does he now believe in God?”

 

“He does. He has seen his wonders. He prays now. We pray together every morning and night. He no longer drinks. He is a whole new man. I know he likes women but gradually he will change”

 

“You know he likes women?”

 

 

“I know. He tells me when he falls. It has reduced drastically now. It is one of the reasons he wants to speed up the wedding so we can be together. When a young man has money, he will indulge in so many vices. Your husband was trained by a woman who instilled the right values in him. You should thank God. He doesn’t see the role of cooking and cleaning as a woman’s responsibility. She must have also taught him how to love and appreciate a woman. Alex told me they believed Samuel was gay because he never had a girlfriend whom they knew. You were the first girl he introduced to them and he told them from the first day he talked about you that he was going to marry you and make you his. They were shocked when he did. You are his wife and good luck charm. They like you”

 

I couldn’t tell her all I knew especially about Blessing. I was happy for Scholastica. Alex has always been hardworking. He was also a drinker and he loved women. He is a Kalabari guy and brags about so many vices. He is also a very nice guy.

 

I went all out for Scholastica. I shopped for her wedding gown, shoes, veil, and other accessories. She had to have the best. I got her lingerie for her first night and some clothes and shoes as I could afford. I was very happy for her. I insisted Samuel travelled for the wedding to represent us. He refused. He was not letting me out of his sight for a minute. I appreciated that. I called my auntie Nneoma and other family members to represent us. They agreed to attend the wedding on our behalf.

 

Samuel went back to his job and continued to take orders for food. Even though the woman didn’t get what she wanted, she wasn’t vindictive. She still placed orders and referred her friends to Samuel. I didn’t want to know her or meet her. I trusted him not to fall. She later asked him to forgive her for what she did. Gladly, she found a man.

 

Samuel’s business was booming while my tummy was growing. My doctors were extra careful with me. I was also careful but Samuel was paranoid. I couldn’t do any work at home. I ate very healthily. I couldn’t add any weight even if I tried. I ate mainly fruits and vegetable salads. The soups I ate were mainly vegetable soups. I enjoyed eating them but became bored after some time but Samuel wouldn’t listen to me. Instead, he did more research and introduced yoghurt and smoothies into my diet. I knew it was for my good so I tried not to deviate from his

 

 

health plan. One of his clients saw the smoothie he was bringing to me at work for lunch and was interested. He explained to him that I was pregnant, we had a miscarriage before and now he was taking care of my nutrition while I carried the baby. His wife too was pregnant and craved sugary things which her husband felt wasn’t healthy. He asked if he could make smoothies for the wife, he could store in the freezer for her. That was how he started a healthy fruity yoghurt business and I was the guinea pig. I made some observations eating healthy; my skin glowed beautifully, I had very healthy hair and nails, my weight was only my stomach expanding, I felt lighter and sexier.

 

Our doctor recommended a caesarian session due to anaemia (my blood leave and we had to pick a date. We started the process of my mother coming over and I asked for his mother to come too. He told me she would come after my mother had gone back. I felt it was a special moment for both of them. I tried to persuade him. He didn’t want a rift between both women while caring for the baby.

 

“I am caring for my child myself. I will bath him or her and attend to the baby. They are here to stay with the baby when I am at work and allow you rest enough before I come back. They don’t need to cook or clean for me”

 

“You want to collapse right? You think you are a superman. Let both of them come or allow your mother to come first. My mother has cared for newborn babies before; this will be your mother’s first experience”

 

“I don’t want any misunderstanding between both parents. We might have to get a bigger apartment. One room has to be the nursery and the other for our mothers. It will have a large bed to accommodate them both. How would we manage it?”

 

“One person sleeps in the nursery and the other in the other room. They will take it in turns. They will have to travel together to Canada”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I am very sure”

 

“Let’s get the accommodation”

 

 

That was how we prepared for the coming of our mothers who were so excited to come. I asked auntie Nneoma if she was willing to come now but she said she would visit after our mothers have left so she would not be a burden. (Join Group) More stories @ www.generalloaded.com

 

We went house hunting. Of course, I wasn’t allowed to go but I did the research, A colleague told me about a townhouse someone she knew was leaving. It had a backyard which would be great for Samuel’s barbecue and grilling. I sent the details to him. He went to see the place and came back excited. It was not as pricey as we expected and the person moving out owned the place. This was the second time we were fortunate with housing. I went with him to see the place and I loved it. We had three bedrooms with a sitting room, dining area, a big kitchen which opens to the backyard. Two rooms had to share a toilet and bath while the Master bedroom was ensuite.

 

We decorated the nursery with a neutral colour and bought items both sexes could use. We refused to check the sex of the baby. We were done playing God and learnt how to depend on his word. We moved in a good month before my due date. Our mothers were to arrive three weeks before my due date (our elected date) so they could acclimatize with the environment. Their room was ready. We were at the other end across them. It was not a very big house but it was comfortable and much better than where we lived before.

 

A week after we moved in and a few days before our mothers were to arrive, I went into labour. I was cranky that night and couldn’t sleep. Samuel knew how to get me to sleep. He made me a smoothie of bananas and some green leafy vegetables. It only made me empty my bowel. Then he offered a massage. That was a bad idea but I didn’t mind. He massaged me I felt good and then we sex and I had an orgasm. We slept off with him holding me. I woke up when I felt cold. The room was warm but I felt some wetness. I stood up to use the bathroom that was the gush was released followed by a triggering contraction. I was startled and woke Samuel up. We had packed the baby’s bag so he brought it out by the stairs. I went to take a warm bath then dressed up to leave with him. We had a van which Samuel uses for his job but he called a cab instead to take us to the hospital. I could see he was panicking while I stayed calm. The contractions were closer together. I was counting the intervals.

 

 

At the hospital, the nurses willed me in. By now the contractions were very close, they were about three minutes apart. They quickly did a test and the result showed my blood level was very good. I was wheeled into the delivery room and the doctor on duty decided to take the risk of me delivering normally as my blood level was good. I wouldn’t have waited for them. The baby was already on its way. By the time they checked again, the baby was already in the birth canal. I had three pushes and she came screaming into the world. Samuel watched his daughter being born and became very emotional. He cried with her. He heard my hands while we watched her being cleaned up. she was a very beautiful chocolate baby. When she was handed over to me Samuel and I saw her together. He kissed me and said “Thank you. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world”

 

When I was in labour on our way to the hospital, he contacted family members and told them what was happening. In our room, his phone was ringing none stop. He picked up aster I had settled down. He announced the good news. There was jubilation. I was a mother that was all that mattered to me. Even if I didn’t have another child, I was content with this child. I could see how excited Samuel was about this birth. I received so many calls. My mother and auntie Nneoma were so excited. My mother-in-law couldn’t wait to see her grandchild. My brothers (including Amanze) and their families laboured with me. Uju was very excited too. She was happy our baby was a girl and promised to ship clothes to her. I looked at my life and I was grateful.

 

We were discharged the next day. Samuel brought me home. The house was smelling of pepper soup ingredients. I wonder what time he woke up to cook as he was in the hospital as early as 6 am that morning. He settled the baby down beside our bed in her cot as I was too tired. He helped me on the bed and served me the pepper soup. I wondered where he got the spices from. It was concentrated. Samuel and I joked about how we went into labour. Then he held me and kissed me continuously. I fell asleep not long after. When I woke up, I saw him rocking his baby and talking to her. He called her Adiaha which means the first daughter. I could see they had a bond already. That night, I watched him clean her up with warm water and dressed her up to sleep. I took pictures of him attending to her and allowing me rest. He was on paternity leave for two weeks. I went back to having Greek yoghurt with fruits. He assured me it will increase breast milk supply. It did. I expressed milk which he fed her with I was asleep.

 

 

Our mothers arrived. There was excitement in the house. My mother-in-law met her grandchild for the first time and shed tears of joy. My mother allowed her to share the moment while I attended to my mother. Their stay was quite dramatic. Samuel bathed his daughter every morning and cleaned her at night. He put the bottled of expressed milk in the fridge and asked them to feed the baby with the bottle if I was asleep. They woke me up to breastfeed. Within a week, I was much better. Allowing me rest was a wise decision. I tried to do some work at home but he declined and his mother supported him. I didn’t have much to do in the house except nurse our daughter.

 

We called her Andino meaning God the giver, Trea (a saint), Somtochukwu. She was also called Aniekan, Ifunnaya and Precious.

 

AKWAUGO