Judge Ossom sighs.
“I know you’re really hurt, Junior, and I understand you love your Daddy. Will you be okay if I allow you to speak to your Daddy for a few minutes?”
Junior looks at him hopefully.
“Yes, please! Oh yes, please! Can I?”
The judge smiles sadly.
“Yes, Junior, go ahead.”
Junior steps back and wipes his face with the back of his hand. Chris’ hands are still handcuffed behind him, and he drops slowly to his knees and looks at his son.
He cannot take this. He is a hard man, a warrior, a fighter who has never had it easy in life, but his one weakness is his son, and he cannot take it when his son is hurt. Junior throws his arms around his father’s neck, and he weeps bitterly.
“Hey, hey, Champ. It’s okay, my boy. You gotta be brave for me, son. If you’re not strong Daddy cannot be strong. Remember our motto?”
“Dom spiro spero, once we breathe, we hope!” Junior says sadly.
“Yes, Champ! I’ll always love you Champ, but you gotta be strong for me now, otherwise I’ll have no hope.”
Junior stands back and looks at his father. He speaks in a soft lost voice.
“You promised me, Daddy, that you will never ever, ever leave me! You broke your promise to me Daddy!”
“No, no, no! Champ! I’ll never break my promise to you!” Chris cries, his face etched with deep pain. “You know that! I’ll never do that!”
“Then why’re they taking you away? Why did you do this bad thing and they’re taking you away again? Why, Daddy? Why?”
Many in the spectators are weeping now.
Judge Ossom shakes his head sadly.
“Jesus, Mr. Bawa! Just look at how you’ve broken your son’s heart! Are you proud now? You disgust me!” he says in a harsh voice.
Junior turns harshly on him.
“Hey! Don’t insult my Daddy!” he cries. “It’s between us, Senior and Junior! Please don’t let me tell my Daddy to Goju your face!”
The Judge smiles sadly and holds up his hands.
Chris takes a deep breath, and then he grits his teeth and speaks gently.
“Listen, Champ. You need to go home now, please. Later you can come and see me, and I’ll tell you everything, okay? I promise.”
“No, no, no, Daddy! I want to know now!” Junior screams. “Tell me now! Why did you break your promise, Daddy? Don’t you love me, Daddy?”
“I never broke my promise, son! I’ll never break a promise to you!” Chris says painfully.
“So please tell me what happened, Daddy? Please, okay, please, please, please!”
Okay, alright, Champ!” Chris says resignedly. “You remember the day Mommy was travelling and she said goodbye to me?”
“Yes, Daddy. I left with her. She dropped me at school.”
“Yes. Well, immediately you left with her, Steve came to see me.”
“Uncle Steve? He’s a very bad man,” Junior says feelingly. “He wants to marry Mommy. The other time I heard him telling somebody on the phone that if he and Mom get married, he will let me go and stay with Grandpa and Grandma.”
Effe’s face expresses deep shock.
“What?” Effe asks, stunned.
She gets up and approaches them.
“Yes, Mommy, Uncle Steve said that!”
Effe drops to her knees, distraught, and takes Junior’s hands.
“Please, Junior! I’ll never do that to you. Never ever! Why didn’t you tell me you heard Steve saying that? But, like I said this morning, that’s over!” she cries passionately.
Junior looks at her, and she sees the torment in his eyes. It tears her soul out. She touches his face gently, and he smiles at her before turning to his father.
“What did Uncle Steve do, Daddy?”
“He showed me some documents in a yellow file. It was a doctor’s file, Champ. It said you are not my son,” Chris says quaveringly.
“How could you believe that, Daddy? I’m your son!” Junior screams. “I look like you, Daddy! My face looks like you! My body looks like you! Even my dicky looks like yours, just that mine is small boy small and yours is big man big! That is why your weewee is big and mine is thin weewee!”
There is a burst of laughter in the courtroom, and even Judge Ossom smiles at that.
“Am I not Daddy’s son, Mommy?” Junior asks, anguished, and turns to his mother.
Effe puts a hand on Chris’ shoulder.
“Chris-Love, Eyram told me that you found out about the In Vitro I was planning to do. I’m very sorry I didn’t tell you about that earlier after I gave birth to Junior. You see, the gynaec told me I wasn’t producing enough eggs to get pregnant,” she says tremulously. “I was desperate, my love, because your Mom was always going on about grandchildren and I couldn’t get pregnant. The pressure was too much and I was scared you would leave me if I didn’t give you a child. Doctor Anaman suggested the IVF as an option. He said he would use eggs from Eyram, but I told him I would never accept any sperm from Steve, and he understood, and used a sperm from the Sperm Bank. Never Steve’s! However, soon afterwards, about a month before the procedure, a miracle happened because I realized I was pregnant, my love, with Junior, naturally with you, finally. So we never even began the IVF at all. It wasn’t necessary.”
Effe looks at Chris’ tortured face, and she shakes her head sadly.
“I was pregnant, Chris, and I didn’t know it. Doctor Anaman found out I was indeed pregnant with your child, Chris. I told Eyram that I couldn’t go ahead with the In Vitro because I was pregnant for you, and it wasn’t necessary anymore. I never went ahead with it! Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you speak to me? Why did you accept that story without asking me?”
“I called you, several times. Your phone was off,” Chris says bitterly. “I was so scared, so terrified. I was hurting badly, and that was when Barbara showed up at the house, when I was most vulnerable.”
“Oh, yes, my phone went off that morning and I put it in my bag, but it slipped out of my bag, and so it wasn’t until I came back to Accra after leaving the seminar in Takoradi, that I found it in the car,” Effe says.
“So, Daddy, you see, I’m your son! I’ll always be your son!” Junior cries sadly.
Chris nods, and shuts his eyes.
“Yes, Champ. But I didn’t know that day, and when I called Auntie Eyram she confirmed it, and she would’ve told me the truth, but I threw my phone away because I was so hurt and scared that I might lose you. The fact that you were not my son really hurt me, Champ.”
Tears fall down Junior’s cheeks as he once again puts his arms around his father’s neck.
“I understand, Daddy. If I’m told I’m not your son I’ll be really, really, really sad too! But you should know that even if I’m not your son I’m still your son because I really, really, really love you and I don’t want any other father.”
“Yes, I was really sad. I went into my room, you know, at Auntie Eyram’s house. Well, I was very hurt. I thought your Mommy has lied to me, okay, and so…”
Chris voice trails off. He cannot speak.
“You did the face-licking things with Aunt Barbara?” Junior asks gently.
Chris shakes his head vehemently.
Judge Ossom nods his head. Of course, they know Chris cannot tell his son that he raped Barbara.
“No, Champ. She really wanted to do it, but I told her to leave because I only wanted to be with your Mom. Barbara wouldn’t listen to me and wanted to stay with me. I was angry, and I told her to leave my room because your Mom and I were going to get married. To convince Barbara, I showed her the rings I bought for your Mom and me.”
“Oh, yeah! The diamond rings you showed me?” Junior asks excitedly. “The ones you and Mommy were going to use again to get married when she returned from Takoradi? The ones you said I shouldn’t tell her yet?”
Chris nods.
“Yes, Champ. Well, Aunt Barbara got angry over that.”
“No, no, no, Daddy! If you make Aunt Barbara angry she will transform,” Junior says, horrified. “Have you forgotten I told you about Transformer Barbara and Cool Barbara?”
“Yes, I do remember, Champ. She was very angry, and I turned my back to her. She might have hit me or drugged my drink because I don’t remember anything else after that because I lost consciousness. The next thing I remember was that I woke up on the kitchen floor, and the police were around, and they said I had done bad things to Aunt Barbara, and no one believes me, and so they’re sending me back to prison.”
There is silence in the room.
Effe is staring at Chris with horror on her face.
“My God, man, how could you lie to your own son like that?” the judge explodes, disgusted. “You really are a beast, and unscrupulous!”
“Junior, what did you say? What do you mean about transforming and cool Barbara?” Effe asks desperately.
Junior giggles as Effe winks secretly at him. He remembers what they had planned and rehearsed in the car that morning on their way to the court.
“Oh, not transforming, Mommy. Transformer Barbara and Cool Barbara. Have you watched the Transformers movies, Mommy?”
“Yes, yes, when the cars can transform into giant fighting robots?” Effe asks excitedly.
“Yes, yes. Like Megathron and Bumblebee and Optimus Prime!” Junior says with a laugh. “It is like that with Auntie Barbara. If you make her angry she turns into mean Transformer Barbara, but when you’re good to her she changes to Cool Barbara. When Daddy told her the diamond rings are for Mommy and not for her it made her mad, and she changed into Transformer Barbara.”
“My God! What are you talking about, boy?” Judge Ossom asks, stunned.
“Is that why they’re sending you to prison, Daddy?” Junior asks with a giggle. “Because of what Transformer Barbara said?”
“Yes, Champ,” Chris says sadly.
“Oh, but that’s so bad! When she becomes Transformer Barbara she is fun!” Junior says with a giggle. “She can lie! Ei, she can lie oh! I told you I can let her change, didn’t I? You need to find the key, and you can make her change.”
“And you know the key, Junior?” Effe asks desperately. “The wedding rings are the keys, right?”
“Yes, yes! The wedding rings!” Junior cries excitedly. “Where are the wedding rings, Daddy? I’ll make her change right now!”
“I didn’t see the rings again,” Chris says, looking and sounding confused. “I asked the policemen, but they didn’t see them.”
“Oh, no! The rings are the key, Daddy!” Junior says, sounding scared now. “You must have them. If you don’t have them, she will never, never ever change and I can’t help you!”
“No, no! Junior, I warned you never to go near her again! It’s okay, my boy. Mommy will appeal, and she’ll get me out of prison.”
“No, no, no, no! I promised Mommy I’ll help you. We planned it in the car! I really, really, really don’t want you to go to prison! Let me have the rings, Daddy!”
His son’s tears and anguish bring tears to Chris’ eyes, and he looks desperately at Effe. Effe is weeping silently as she reaches for Junior. She can taste the bitterness of disappointment in her mouth. She looks across at Barbara, who is sitting demurely and smiling as if she is gloating.
“Effe Kedem! I’ll have you suspended from the Bar!” the judge says wrathfully. “You’re behind this? You put your son up to this? You exposed him to this pain? To say I’m disappointed in you would be putting it mildly, woman!”
Effe jumps to her feet and faces the Judge.
“Well, she lied, Your Honor!” she says fiercely. “I obtained Chris’ phone records privately from a good friend this morning. It showed there had been no calls between him and Barbara for three days prior to the day in question!”
“Well save that for your appeal, Lawyer!” the judge says angrily. “Right now we’re done! Inspector, take that man to prison! It is over!”
Cuger drags Chris to his feet. Junior is screaming and weeping still holding his father.
Effe looks at Barbara.
She sees that Barbara looks very happy and smug.
Effe approaches Barbara. The crowd is making a lot of noise.
McBaiden is trying to pull Junior off Chris, but the boy fiercely resists.
“Leave him alone! Leave that boy alone!” the judge shouts. “Let his mother try and take him off!”
All eyes turn to Effe, who is now standing in front of Barbara who is looking so innocent and sweet as she slowly pops gum into her mouth and smiles beautifully at Effe.
[insert-comment-form]
FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Aaron.Ansah.A/
JOIN US ON WHATSAPP: https://chat.whatsapp.com/F3PeBtycHsVLX8705Fgi0U
Got a comment? Drop it below...