Billy awoke to a bright sunny day that intervened to ensure he had a good mood.
His newfound piousness got him to visit Father Samuel whom he had been visiting a lot since the time they came back from Mantsekrom.
He smiled and welcomed his visitor.
They always found a lot to talk about and that day was no different as they joked and laughed together.
”I woke up today and felt motivated to visit you,” Billy said in response to the Reverend’s query on the reason for the visit.
”That’s awesome. It’s God who led you here,” Father Samuel said enthusiastically, hitting him lightly on his shoulder.
”God?” Billy asked in anticipation.
”I actually was going to visit you in the evening but it seems I must say it much earlier than I planned to,” Father Samuel said as a matter of fact.
”Say. Say what?” Billy said, at woods with what the man was going on about.
”Calm down. It’s something I wanted to tell you about,” he said noting the confused face of his visitor.
Billy said nothing to that and waited for him to elucidate him.
Calmly, Father Samuel sat down and made him sit down too and prayed with him.
”If the Komfobaa calls you, just listen to whatever she has in mind,” he told the now agitated young man.
Billy’s heart missed a beat upon hearing her name.
”Is she going to call?” he said frightfully
”I feel so. Sooner or later. I can sense it,” he said and went on to calm him with the assurance that the Lord was in control.
He left not long after.
Feeling somehow subdued, he went to visit his sons and was pleasantly surprised when he was served banku and fresh fish stew. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was. He ate everything placed in front of him as Mary looked on with pride.
It’s an open secret that if a man eats everything placed in front of him by the one he loves, then he must be really in love. As she went to him to clear the table, he held her hand and pulled her unto her lap with his unsoiled hand holding her in place.
She gasped. It was the most romantic gesture she had from him since she got pregnant. She felt safe and put the back of her neck on his shoulder, nuzzling him. Time stood still for them as they enjoyed each other’s closeness.
”Now I have caught you. Always pretending that you don’t love each other,” Maame Konadu who had arrived unnoticed said from behind them and they quickly jerked away from each other.
Mary laughed to cover the embarrassment she felt at being caught by that nosy woman of a mother. As for Billy, he proceeded to wash his hand in the bowl earlier provided for that purpose as if his life depended on it.
But the elderly woman knew what she had seen and wasn’t going to let them go scot-free.
”Now that it’s as clear as water that you two love each other, I demand to know the wedding date,” she said amidst laughter that ensued.
”Ebei Maame, exercise patience small wai,” Mary said matching her mother’s words.
”Look at this small girl o. Do you want another pregnancy, maybe with triplets this time around before he comes to ask for your hand in marriage?” she asked.
Billy sat through it all as he listened to the banter between mother and daughter. His embarrassed smile changed to amusement at the light banter between them. Maame Konadu, sensing his quietness left for home.
Mary immediately pulled Billy into the sofa and sat on his lap once again.
”Where were we when we were so rudely interrupted” she asked softly, her nose close to his.
It’s amazing what finding the right woman does to a man in love. He finds comfort and contentment in everything he does.
Billy now had a spring in his steps and he always had a smile on his face. The very thoughts of Mary and their children were enough reason to get him smiling. And his buoyant steps bespoke of a man who had not only grown in confidence but had found a new purpose in life. His work and his ability to work under pressure progressed well; especially in the absence of Mr Krampah, the former District Manager.
Mr. Krampah’s replacement was a likeable fellow who believed in getting all involved in the decision-making processes of the outfit. He respected the opinions of Billy who he felt was very dependable and dedicated.
”I surely must groom him to take over from me,” Prosper Dokernoo said and leaned back in his chair reflectively.
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Billy and Mary were inseparable. His early morning visits before work were a sort of ‘stare into my eyes’ competition.
They just couldn’t have enough of each other.
On that fateful day, about a week after they reignited their love for each other, after a bowl of oats, she had roused up for him. They were in a world of their own basking in the arms of each other on the comfortable sofa, when a rudely loud knock sounded at the door and Mary, miffed at this rude interruption of their quality time, got up to see who was at the door.
She walked wondering to the door and flung it open to come face to face with Kutorkor who was dressed in a pair of stretch jeans and a pink spaghetti-sleeved top that exposed as always, her bosom to the world.
Mary stared at her, speechless but Kutorkor, on seeing Billy sitting in the room, swished past her without the courtesy of greeting.
”So you thought I have forgotten about you, Billy Goat,” she said rudely, her hands akimbo. Billy stared back at her incomprehensibly, with goose pimples developing on his arms. His breath quickened and he began to sweat.
Kutorkor stared malevolently at him and smiled when she saw the effects she was having on him. Slowly, she went to him and laid her arm around his neck seductively, even in the presence of Mary who was looking at the unfolding drama, strangely incapable of intervening. Just as the arm of the priestess touched their father, the twins as if in accord, burst into strident cries that sounded like an air raid alarm.
The evil hold on them was broken and Mary and Billy, freed from their stupefied states, became aware of the intruder.
”Get out. Get out this very instant,” he shouted and tried to pull her out of the room.
”Don’t touch me,” she hissed at him, her eyes throwing missiles at him ”If you think you can impregnate me and run away to another woman, you’ve got another thinking to do.”
”I don’t care whether you are pregnant or not. Get out,” Billy glared at her amazed at the courage he found to confront her.
”So because of this nobody you are leaving me?” Kutorkor said and turned to Mary who had gone to comfort her children as if to protect them.
”Nothing and nobody can separate you and me from each other. Anyone who tries that would face my wrath,” KK said, unable to stay still.
”And what do you mean by that,” Maame Konadu who had walked in through the open door said to Kutorkor in a calm voice. Behind her was Father Samuel who was accompanying her to visit her daughter who had missed morning Mass.
Kutorkor whirled around with the surprise of a combatant who hadn’t seen the ambush coming.
She saw the spirit-filled elderly woman and the rosary-clutching Reverend and knew at once that she was outnumbered, physically and spiritually.
”I will come back. Mark my words,” she said with the courage she didn’t feel and swept herself out of the room.
She really hadn’t thought about what she was going to do after seeing Billy.
All she wanted to do was to see and remind him about the baby she was carrying for him and to somehow get him to stick to his promised marriage to her. Strings of thoughts glided through her mind as she walked along the streets of the town with no particular destination in mind.
She walked in the scorching sun and sometimes in her confused state of mind, strayed into the middle of the streets and only went back to the sidewalk when the honking of vehicles alerted her. She went along, languidly, deaf to the happenings around her.
She got to the junction, where the traffic light was without being aware of it and crossed the street unmindful of the danger to her safety. A speeding taxi cab that was trying to beat the red light almost killed her but the driver saw her in the nick of time, swerved to the left and prevented the car from hitting her headlong but its rear hit her side as it tailspined.
Dr Nat Sowah who was in traffic waiting for the green light to show so she could go and see Mary for an all-important discussion looked on with horror as she fell while the taxi cab sped away without stopping.
He quickly stepped out of his car and went to her to offer his assistance. He found her sitting in the middle of the street in apparent shock, with a dazed, and confused look on her face.
”I am a doctor,” he gently told her, trying to help.
”I am KK. Please my baby,” she couldn’t finish her statement. Her eyes rolled in her head and she passed out right in the middle of the street causing a minor traffic jam that resulted in a honking spree by insensitive and impatient drivers. He explained to some onlookers that he was a medical doctor which was confirmed by the Ghana Medical Association sticker on his car’s windscreen and they helped him convey her into it, after which he rushed her to the hospital.
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Back at the home of Mary, Father Samuel got them to calm down and led them in prayer for God’s protection and guidance before he left. Billy later left for work too, shaken by the encounter with the woman.Â
”It’s really true what the Bible said. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” he said to himself with the promise to be careful henceforth.
It was now left with the twins’ mother and their grandmother. They prepared lunch and generally had quality time with each other. Mary didn’t for one moment let the kids out of her sight even though they couldn’t have gone anywhere with them being in their cots. Long after midday when all was peaceful once more and they were relaxing, a gentle knock on the door startled them.
Mother and daughter looked at each other with trepidations. The knock sounded again, a little bit more forceful than before and the older woman with a resolve borne out of years of taking care of her offspring, marched to the door and opened it a crack, and saw the man waiting behind it.
”Who are you looking for” she asked suspiciously, with her body planted firmly behind the door.
”Mary. I am looking for Mary,” he said respectfully
Mary, recognising Dr Nat’s voice smiled and asked her mother to allow him in.
He went in and glanced sideways at Maame Konadu whose look of disapproval greatly disturbed him. Mary welcomed him with a hug and led him to the twins who were gurgling contentedly in the cots and excused herself to freshen up.
Maame Konadu was tight-lipped and looked at Nat fiercely to signal her unease with his presence. She had wanted to leave but with the arrival of Dr Nat, she decided to wait until she knew exactly what his motives were.
Mary returned, refreshed and smelling nice from the scented toilet soap she had bathed with. She had also put on a loose comfortable dress that did nothing to hide her great shape which had returned to its glorious pre-pregnancy form.
She offered him a drink which he declined and told her about what had been happening to him and the nurses since the last time she was there.
Eno Konadu kept mute, her eyes on the TV but her ears were preened for snippets of what they were talking about.
Dr Nat was uncomfortable in her presence and excused himself to leave. Mary saw him out to the car.
”I heard you have been seeing the twins’ father” he said when they got to the car.
”Yes o” she said, her face lighting up ”He has really bonded with his sons.”
”Do you think that is a good idea?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow.
”What do you mean by that?” Mary asked, a little too fast.
”Well, from the way he abandoned you and the trauma you went through due to that, I would have thought you’ll be careful,” he said gravely, trying not to overstep his boundaries.
”Well, I am careful. After all, it’s his babies he’s seeing,” she said carefully ”I am watching how it goes.”
”Mary, I am concerned for your welfare. You are too precious to be toyed with,” he told her earnestly.
”Nat, let me be the judge of that. I am not going to allow any man to toy with my heart ever again,” she assured him.
He heaved a deep sigh and held her palm in his and said what had been on his mind for a long time.
”Mary, I love you. I can give you a better life. I want to marry you.”
She gently pried her palm from his and with a deep tone of regret spoke.
”Nat, you are a good and wonderful man. My heart is bruised at the moment and I am more or less damaged goods. Marriage is far from my mind as we speak. Please understand me”
”You know you are not being truthful to me, Mary. What can he offer you? He’s just a common worker. If he wants his kids, we’ll give them to him and get married. We’ll leave the country if you so wish.”
She looked at him in disbelief. She had been trying to let him down easily but his outburst disturbed her.
”I am sorry, Nat” she said firmly.
Nat looked at her in anguish. To think he had left an accident victim in the care of nurses just to reveal his feelings to her. He took in deep measured breaths and hit with a frustrating blow at the steering wheel, causing the horn to blast out.
He drove away with a screech that left a massive amount of dust in its wake and she quickly had to run indoors to escape being engulfed in it.
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