The Jailbird Episode 7 and 8

by Aaron Ansah-Agyeman

Steve slips an arm around Effe’s stiff shoulders protectively and speaks with a chuckle to help ease the horrible friction that has sprung up between the two friends.

“Hey, hey, hey, Elaine! That’s enough! Look we’re all a bit stressed here! Why don’t we call it a night, huh? By tomorrow everything will be okay. The shock of Chris’ return would’ve worn off, and we would all be back on an even keel.”

Elaine raises her glass and emptied it with an almost violent sucking sound, and then sets the cup down with a bang.

“I hope they take his rotten ass back to jail, the damn ape!” she says bitterly.

Effe breathes deeply, and then she speaks, forcing a calm she doesn’t feel into her words.

“He’s not going back to jail, Elaine. Dad called the Chaplain at the prison. Chris is free. The President gave him a reprieve, together with some other prisoners.”

She feels Steve’s arm going rigid around her shoulders, and feels also the slight tremor that rips through him.

“Damn it! He didn’t escape from prison?” Steve asks, stunned.

“No. He was released. A Presidential pardon for good behaviour,” Effe replies carefully.

“A pardon?” Elaine asks, her voice bristling with a mixture of disgust and fury. “A presidential pardon for a guy who beat up an old pastor and almost maimed him for life? Pardon for a man who was so choked up with cocaine that he knocked down a poor girl with a car whilst drunk-driving, making her lose one of her legs in the process? Pardon for a man who has refused to say sorry for any of his dastardly behaviours? Pardon for a man who raped his own wife’s best friend? Pardon for a man who busted the eye of a law-enforcing officer? Well, if that ain’t shitty then I don’t know what the hell it is!”

“Elaine! Calm down!” Steve says tightly.

“Don’t tell me to calm down! You’re not the one who got raped! I don’t care what it takes, but I’m going to make sure Chris Bawa is taken back to jail to serve the rest of his sentence! You watch me!” Elaine hisses tightly as she looks balefully at Steve, her face filled with the wrath of a real angry woman.

She picks up her handbag and snatches her car keys from a chair, and then she storms out of the house without another word.

Steve walks to the beautifully-designed bar and pours himself a tall glass of scotch. He uses a spatula to scoop ice from an ice bucket into his drink. He swirls it thoughtfully and drinks half of it in one gulp.

“Want a drink, Princess?”

Effe shakes her head. She walks almost unsteadily to an immaculately-finished sofa and sits down. Steve watches her carefully.

“Is he going to be a problem for us?” he asks softly.

“What?” she asks, looking at him almost numbly.

“Chris. He’s back. He used to be your husband and my best friend. I was his best man at your wedding. You’ve divorced him, and we’re planning our wedding. Now he’s back. I want to know if he’s going to be a problem to our plans,” he says, and can’t keep the trace of fear out of his voice. Effe looks at him for a long time, and then she stands up and walks to him, and looks at him with steady eyes.

“Chris is dead to me, Steve. I chose you. You and I were friends before he came along. Your parents and my parents have always wanted you and I to marry, to seal the friendship that has existed between our two families for ages. But you went to school, brought your schoolmate home, and I ended up falling in love with your friend. He turned the script on its head and strained the relationship between our two families. He had his chance, and he not only humiliated me but tore my heart to shreds. You were there, you helped me, and you were a rock and a fortress for me. Finally, we’ve decided to get together again. I keep my promises, Steve. Chris is dead to me. And I will marry you!”

Steve smiles with happiness. He empties his glass and sets it down. He takes her in his arms, and she does not protest when he kisses her. However, when his hand moves up to cup her delicious right breast, she pushes back from him and shakes her head. Steve looks exasperated and sad.

“Why, Effe? Why? He’s out now! I saw the way he looked at you! We need to make love, Effe, my darling!” he states painfully. “You need to give me that assurance! You need to be mine in every way so that it makes you committed! I was prepared to wait until our wedding before touching you, but you said it yourself: Chris is back, and he’s turned the script on its head! Let me make love to you, my darling! I love you so, Effe.”

“I can’t Steve, darling! You know I can’t!” she moans in a wounded voice and takes another step back from him, her expression sad.

“And why the hell not, Effe? Why? Are you still playing games with me? Does he affect you that much? Damn it! Why not?”

“Oh, Steve! No, he doesn’t affect me! But you know me. I’m a hundred per cent faithful to my partner! Before I make love to you my marriage to Chris must end!” Effe replies trembling, in the face of his pain and disappointment.

“But it has ended!” he is almost screaming now. “You’ve been granted your divorce by the court! You have signed the damn papers! What else do you need?”

“Steve! Please don’t do this! You know Chris refused to sign the divorce papers! Until he signs them, I’m still his wife, much as I hate it, I can’t be unfaithful in that capacity!”

“That is bullshit, darling, and you damn well know it! Once the divorce was granted you’re free! You don’t need his signature! Once you’ve signed yours, it’s over! Hell, are you saying if he refuses to sign the damn papers in twenty years you still wouldn’t marry me? That’s just a damn excuse, and you know it!”

“I want him to sign those divorce papers, darling. You know me well, and you know how important some little things like these are to me.”

“For five years I told you to take the damn papers to him in prison and make him sign them, Effe, but you refused to visit him in prison! So what are you going to do if he refuses to sign the papers? Check into the nearest Catholic Church as a nun, maybe?”

“Stop hurting me, Steve, please! Look, it’s good he’s back. I’ll send the papers to him myself, and I’ll let him sign them! And then we’ll get married, Ok?” Effe retorts as a look of pain flashes across Effe’s face, and her voice is quite unsteady.

Steve pours more drink for himself. His hands are not steady, and he spills some of the drink. He drinks it straight and walks towards her.

“Do that, darling. Do that for me. Let’s get married. I can’t wait any longer, ok?”

He brushes his lips across hers, and then he takes his car keys from a low table by his leg.

“Good night, Steve,” Effe says miserably as he turns toward the door.

He pauses and looks at her darkly, grinding his teeth. He is suddenly filled with such fury that it shocks her. He speaks in a furious snarl.

“Oh, it’s like that now, is it?”

“Like what? What’re you talking about?” Effe asks, puzzled.

“Instead of ‘Good night, darling’ you now say ‘Good night, Steve’? Just because Chris is back?”

She knows then that his extreme jealousy has come to the fore. She is getting angry herself, but she strives to keep her cool.

“Stop being childish, Steve darling, please. Good night.”

He glowers at her for a moment, and then he nods and opens the door furiously, slamming it shut behind him.

Effe sinks into a chair weakly and hugs herself. She shuts her eyes, and she sees those eyes almost immediately! Eyes that have always held love! Eyes that used to worship her! Eyes that she used to love so much!

Chris’ eyes!

But she sees shock in them now. The excruciating pain! An unbelievable explosion of bitter gall as he asks her again why she has taken a restraining order against him! The tears seep beneath her eyelids, and with a tiny cry of despair, she gets up and pours herself a drink. She takes a sip, and another, and then grimaces with disgust.

She walks to the beautiful kitchen and pours the drink down the drain. She returns to the living room and picks her phone. She dials. A grumpy, sleepy voice answers.

It is the voice of Joshua Darkwa, their family attorney of many years. He is fifty-seven years old, and more of a family member now.

“Effe, my dear. Is it about that Chris issue?” he asks in a tired voice.

“Sorry to wake you up, Uncle Josh, but yes, it is. Dad told me he’d inform you to get Chris out. I was just wondering if you were able to see to it.”

“Well, I tried. It seems the arresting officer walked off with the key to the cell, and there was no way to get him out. They promised me, though, that as soon as the officer returns, they would release him.”

Effe gasps, horrified.

“But that’s so unfair, so unlawful! What if they don’t release him?”

“Calm down, my dear. I’m sure they would. Early tomorrow morning I’ll go over there myself and verify.”

“I’ll like to come along, Uncle Josh, if you don’t mind,” she says softly.

“No problem, dear. I’ll come pick you up.”

“Thank you. Thank you very much.”

“Always a pleasure. Please get some sleep now.”

Effe cuts the call and walks dejectedly up the stairs to her room. She undresses and takes a long bath. Naked, she walks to her bed and slides under the sheets. Sleep takes a long time to arrive because she keeps seeing his eyes …filled with pain, filled with torture. She keeps hearing his voice, over and over again:

You took a restraining order against me? Why did you do a thing like that?

She buries her head in her pillow. Her shoulders shake as the sobs slowly rock through her soul.

“Damn you, Chris Bawa! Damn you to hell!” she sobs passionately.

 

The police station is hot and humid, even that early in the morning.

There are a lot of people milling around, and the noise levels are in decibel regions higher than Effe is used to hearing. Thankfully, Mr. Darkwa takes her from the bustle and hustle of the main office and directs her to an office marked DISTRICT COMMANDER which is two floors up.

The man inside the office is a uniformed police captain. He is huge and has a really big head. He has a florid face and full lips. He gets up and extends his hand with a smile. His massive gut pushes out the uniform, forming little arcs of stretched material around the buttons that looked as if they might pop out pretty soon in their tortured task of holding the uniform buttoned up.

“Joshua Darkwa! You bad old man! It’s been a while!” the Captain says loudly.

Joshua laughs and shakes the hand of the policeman.

“Commander! Been a while, yes. Up and downs taking over our social lives, right? This is my daughter, Effe Kedem. Effe, this is the best police commander in the whole of Ghana. He’s Allan Davidson, my childhood buddy.”

The policeman shakes Effe’s hand as his beady eyes run over her with frank admiration.

“Of course, of course, I recognize her. The lovely Effe Kedem, one of Ghana’s top corporate lawyers, so good that even the Attorney-General hires her often to handle cases. I hear you’ve never lost a case yet, right? Welcome, madam! Your photos in magazines don’t do you justice at all. You’re more beautiful face to face!”

Effe laughs shyly and sits on the chair the policeman indicates. He offers them drinks, but they politely refuse. Joshua then goes straight to the point.

“It’s about the little business we discussed on phone this morning, Allan. Chris Bawa was arrested yesterday at Effe’s house. You promised to look into it when you get to the office.”

“Yes, yes. I did check on it. Apparently, they claimed they could not find the cell key. It was quite unfortunate, you see. I ordered them to break in the cell immediately, but then one of the officers showed up eventually, and he claimed the key fell in a crag in the floor or something, and they just managed to bring it out.” The Commander pops a piece of gum into his mouth and explains.

“So, Chris spent the night in a cell?” Effe asks softly.

The policeman looks apologetically at her, and it is apparent that he is in a lot of discomfort. He leaned forward earnestly.

“That is the case, madam, unfortunately. I must apologize because the boy is straight out of prison, and he claims he wasn’t even served with the restraining order. He knew nothing about it. It’s quite unfortunate, but sometimes these sad things occur.”

Effe’s lips tremble. She does not understand why she is so upset. She is not happy that Chris has spent his first free night locked up again in a cell due to the fact that she had taken a restraining order against him and forgotten all about it.

“So where’s he now, Allan? You let him leave?” Joshua asks carefully.

“Oh, no. You told me you wanted him to do something for you first, so I asked them to keep him. I’ll let them bring him in now,” the cop replies.

He lifts a receiver from a red phone on his desk and dials. He listens for a while and then commands that Mr. Bawa be brought in. Effe looks at Uncle Joshua questioningly, but he is chatting happily with the Commander and so she just waits impatiently.

The door opens after a while and Chris enters. He is wearing the same clothes he had been wearing the previous day, and he looks dirty. There is an unsavoury odour around him too. However, looking at him, Effe is once again quite shaken by the sight of him. He has gone to prison five years ago as a fat man. Not obese, but fat. Chris has always been extremely handsome, but five years of prison life has changed him so completely.

The fat is gone, leaving him with a hard muscled frame that has turned him from a fat handsome man into an incredibly-toned handsome and sexy man. Effe’s heart simply bleeds at the kind of hard labour he has been forced to go through to change his physique so much.

In her anger and bitterness and wrathful fury, she had refused to visit him in prison after her first few tries, and she realizes – quite suddenly – that she feels absolute regret for that act now.

She has only been interested in killing him from her life, and the life of her son, and focused solely on getting her career back on course, and reshaping the life that his dastardly acts had torn to shreds.

His eyes are cold as he looks at her, and she can feel his fury sizzling in the air. They all stare at him. His hard eyes settle on the Commander.

“Can I go now?” he asks softly.

Effe gets up and approaches him. Her eyes look haunted.

“You’re free to go, Mr. Bawa. The lawyer here, however, has something for you, and after that, you’re at liberty to go anywhere you wish,” the policeman says.

“I’m sorry, Chris,” Effe says softly. “I didn’t know they were going to keep you here overnight.”

His hard eyes slam into her, and she is surprised to see they hold as much fury, almost hatred, as she had felt for him the other day.

“Don’t pretend with me, Effe!” he grates out coldly, and his tone both shocks and hurts her, to her surprise.

“What’re you insinuating, Chris?” she asks, dazed. “You’re not by any chance trying to say I knew something about this whole thing, are you?”

Chris stares at her, his jaws working angrily.

“So, what are you doing here if it’s not to see to it that I don’t go anywhere after my release without signing it?”

Effe gasps, stumped by his bristling anger.

“Sign what, Chris? I decided to come here to see to it that you’re set free! I promised your son!”

Chris shakes his head and walks past her, and she knows he does not believe her.

She turns dazedly, and that is when she sees for the first time that Uncle Joshua is holding a shiny folder, and she realizes that it contained her divorce documents.

She sighs with abject frustration. She did not know her lawyer is bringing them!

So that is it!

Chris thinks she has made the police detain him overnight to force him to sign the divorce papers. Joshua Darkwa spoke briskly.

“Listen, Chris, you’ve given me a hell of a time over these papers. For five years I’ve been trying to get you to sign them, and you were downright rude in your refusal. Listen, I’ve run out of patience with you. If you force my hand, I’ll set the full rigours of the law against you, I will –”

Chris’ bitter and angry voice interrupts him sharply.

“Cut the drivel, Lawyer! Just show me where to sign.”

Joshua stares open-mouthed at Chris. It is evident he has not been expecting that. Quickly he pulls the sheets out of the folder and opens a page. Effe’s signature is on that page, together with the signature of a witness. In line with her signature is the dotted unsigned portion with Chris’ name below. Joshua hands Chris a pen, and then Effe moves suddenly and puts a hand on Chris’ hand.

Her hand trembles a bit, and there is a strange expression on her face.

“Chris, this is not why I came here. You must believe me. Much as I want you to sign them, I came here because Junior wanted me to. I didn’t ask them to detain you because of this.”

He looks at her, and she notices that his eyes no longer hold anger, only great sadness. His eyes mirror his horror, his sudden acceptance of the fact that his wife is gone, and that his life as he knows it, is gone. His eyes reflect the grim realization that indeed, his happy life with Effe, and his son, is gone forever. When he finally speaks, his voice is filled with sad resignation.

“Quit the hypocrisy, Effe. It doesn’t suit you.”

He disengages his hand from hers and poises the pen over the document.

“I don’t want you to sign them here, Chris,” Effe insists, her voice almost a painful moan. “Take the document home, read it, and sign. I want you to believe that’s not the reason I came here this morning.”

When he looks at her, she sees the face of the young reckless boy she had fallen so helplessly in love with. It is the face of the boy who used to stare at her with unbelievable love and adoration. It is the face of the boy who had walked her home on many occasions, adoring and stripping her with those beautiful eyes.

“Take the document home?” he asks quietly. “What home, Effe?”

That brings tears to her eyes immediately. She knows that indeed he has no home. To him, home is Effe. His words hurt her and drive a sudden painful lump into her throat. Her defences spring up, and she speaks without thinking.

“Don’t ask me, Chris! You decided to rape my best friend because evidently, I wasn’t enough for you! You made yourself homeless, so please stop putting the blame on me!”

He looks down immediately, but not before she sees the abject pain and misery in his eyes, and she knows she has hurt him badly. She reaches out instinctively to touch him, but then she hesitates and draws her hand back again.

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