Safohene Mogyahyew was the happiest man in the world. He was a proud father who looked at his daughter with pride.
Her WASSCE results were out and through the singular efforts of Father Samuel, the kind Reverend Father, she had gained admission into Accra Technical University on a full scholarship provided by the Church. It was going to foot all the bills including accommodation and meals. She had proved to be a very level-headed young lady who had learned her lesson and moved on from her wayward past.
She had of late been moving from Mantsekrom to Ohenemanso where the parish was. And it had always been a sweet reunion for her and Mary and the twins who were fast growing.
”It seems as if they are growing faster and faster each time I see them,”’ she remarked on one of her visits.
”I am surprised even. I always find them older than before in the blink of an eye,” Maame Konadu who was there on that occasion concurred with amusement.
The general atmosphere in their life was one of contentment. That was, until recently.
Mary’s outlook had changed to that of stubborn resistance. She had seen how she was trying to shut the father of her twins out of her life. She decided to stay out of it for now.
”I don’t want to get her alienated from me for poking my nose into her affairs.”
”I will talk to the poor boy about it,” she resolved with determination
Meanwhile, the ever-busy Billy went on with his plans unaware that there was fire on the mountain. He also always found an excuse to be away from the house anytime Safoa visited as he felt responsible for her recent traumatic experience. But to be fair to her, Safoa had conducted herself quite well by letting sleeping dogs lie. Though Mary and her Mom were aware of the history between him and Safoa, and of how it had led to her disappearance, they had come to terms with it, especially when they saw how maturely Safoa conducted herself. She left them with no doubt that that part of her life was not going to be a future problem.
”I will take Mary out to that new spot in town and spoil her with enjoyment as compensation for neglecting her of late.
ONE WEEK LATER
Billy’s life was suddenly in turmoil. It seemed to him as if the calm waters had turned into a raging uncontrollable river.
The calm and easygoing life he had found was in danger of getting out of his hands as a result of his past life. His past, it seemed had caught up with him.
Mary, whom he thought loved him unconditionally as he loved her was trying to push him out of her life.
First, he lovingly had been buying her chocolates and other things but the enthusiasm with which she had been receiving them had waned. In fact, it was gone.
His invitation to her to go out on a date with her had been rejected, to put it mildly. She said she was tired. He saw that his visits to her and the kids were not encouraged anymore. It was either replied with ‘Please go home I am feeling sleepy’ or ‘We are already asleep go home’.
The kisses and the pecks on the sofa, needless to say, had become extinct. She repulsed every overture he made to be close to her in a romantic setting. He was, as it were, at the end of his tether and the questions his confused eyes asked went unanswered.
”What is happening Mary?” he asked when he confronted her on her actions and inactions. ”Don’t you love me anymore? ”
She remained silent and just occupied herself with folding the already folded laundry at the bottom of the bed. He waited, his heart in his mouth as he stared at her with exasperation.
After an uneasy silence that stretched into minutes of waiting, he got up, looked in on his sons and told her that he was leaving. He wasn’t really angry but felt that if she didn’t love him anymore there was no need to irritate her with his presence which could only bring unbearable discomfort to both of them.
”Billy,” she called softly to him when he was almost at the door, ”Let’s take a temporary break from each other, please. I have a lot on my plate at the moment.”
His mouth hung open with disbelief as he stared at her. He had already come to terms with it from the signs she had thrown his way but she actually putting words to it devastated him.
He nodded, once, unable to vocally articulate his reaction. With threatening tears that stung his eyes, he turned away and went home.
***
Mary was in anguish. She sat in the same place long after he had left, hating herself for being the one to crush him with such news. She had seen the devastation in his eyes and was sad about it and the unshed tears that she was so bravely trying to prevent was enough to break her own heart too. She didn’t realise how long she had sat down there, mourning what she only had the power to resurrect. As she sat with a pitiful expression on her face, she thought and wondered whether she had done the right thing with the way and manner she had treated him. She had seen how broken he was. It made her feel broken too.
Beneath all that, she was of the view that for her to have any chance of being happy in the future, it was only proper for her to distance herself from him and his alliances of the past. The other woman could also be feeling what she felt when she got pregnant.
She was brooding over all that when she received a phone call from Dr Nat Sowah who had been debating with himself for close to an hour whether to call her
”Hello, Mary May” he greeted using the pet name he had given her.
”Don’t Mary May me. Just treat me to an expensive dinner,” she said, shocking herself to the bone.
”No problem at all. Dinner for two at the Chinese restaurant then,” he said crispily, taking the surprising statement from her in his stride.
He was happy beyond measure. He excitedly had a refreshing bath and whistled melodiously as he prepared for the date he hadn’t seen coming.
Mary, shocked at the audacious way she had cajoled a dinner date with him got Mena Aba, her kind landlady to babysit the boys as she prepared for the outing.
Feeling nervous and a little undecided, she wore a simple mini-dress that greatly amplified her fine-tuned body to its amazing proportions. She applied just light makeup and clutching just a purse, took a taxi to the restaurant. She insisted on going by herself when Nat offered to pick her up.
He gamely accepted her suggestion as he felt that being on a date with her was enough satisfaction.
He wore a pair of jeans he hadn’t worn before with a long-sleeved pullover to match. He drove to the location, as excited as a schoolboy on his first date.
***
Billy couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t function well and he couldn’t eat.
”So this is how being broken hearted is?” he said to himself as he left home to roam the streets. In days gone by, he would have no compunction about calling someone to warm his bed. Someone like Cecilia but strangely, he didn’t even consider it. It wasn’t an option.
So he took a stroll through the streets. It was as if he was the only single man on the street. Everyone else was with someone. It was maybe a couples’ night he thought as he saw lovers holding hands, some embracing in dark corners and even kissing. Laughter filled the air but to him, they were sights that sent searing pains into his heart.
He found the sights disturbing and tiring so decided to go back home.
He turned around quickly and headed home. His heartache turned to a blinding headache when he espied Mary embracing that doctor friend at the entrance of that new restaurant. He gaped, stupefied as they disengaged and walked into the elegant restaurant holding hands.
***
I really shouldn’t have had the date with Nat,” Mary said to herself as she lay lazily in bed. There was no joy in her heart as she went through the tasty meals ordered for her by ever-ready Nat. She wished as she ate the palatable meal set in front of her that the one sitting across was the one she really loved. Her instincts had urged her to leave but she had felt that it could be regarded as rude on her part so she had sat through it all till it was time for them to leave. Nat, bless his kind heart, was both courteous and attentive to her every need. He had not protested when she said no to his suggestion for them to go clubbing.
He drove her home and didn’t seem to mind when she turned away from the peck he had wanted to place on her cheek.
It had taken her a long time before she fell asleep.
Billy on the other hand, hadn’t slept at all. He got only a two-hour sleep and his head, on waking up, felt as if someone was pounding fufu in it. His whole body felt as if he was going to fall any moment.
He knew he needed help but he, being a loner and a go-getter was confused about how he was going to go about dealing with the barrage of emotions going through him. The very thought of Mary was enough to quicken his heartbeat.
”Ohh God, what is happening to me?” he said as he lay in bed ”Is this what being broken-hearted really means?”
He got up gingerly and went into the bathroom.
He was two hours late for work that day. Mr Prosper Dorkenoo, his boss looked on as Billy slipped into his Office. He found it weird. He, who had always been the first person to always get to work was two hours late.
”Well, we all have our off days,” he said to himself. ”It could be nothing.”
But further events and occurrences that preceded this really gave him food for thought.
For instance, he always caught him staring into space most of the time with a woebegone look on his face. And if someone touched him in those moments, he got so startled in such a way that one could easily see that he had a lot on his mind.
Another thing that had become strange about him was the numerous times he had been caught sighing. He either sigh before he said anything or he sighed at the end of anything he said. It was a deep emotion-filled type of sigh that left no one in any doubt that he had a lot on his mind.
Even his ‘I am fine’ invariably ended with a long sigh.
After enduring this for a week, Prosper decided that it was time to find out what was bothering his star worker.
”Daavi wants your help on something. Can you please come over after church?” he told Billy on Saturday with a phone call.
”What exactly is the thing?” Billy asked.
”I have no idea but she did say that she needed your help,” Prosper said craftly.
”Okay boss. I guess we’ll find that out on Sunday afternoon,” Billy said
”Yeah, and she says she’s going to prepare fufu with eduei and Afram Plains smoked fish,” Prosper said
”Boss, with this I’ll do any task she asks me to do,” Billy said with a laugh and ended the call
It was a highly intrigued Billy who went to lunch at Mr Prosper Dorkenoo’s home. Daavi his wife, had always been nice to him, treating him like her own son.
He was well welcomed when he arrived and Daavi seemed to be in no hurry to say what was on her mind. Rather, she made him feel comfortable with a glass of lemonade while her husband made do with a shot of high-octane Akpeteshie.
”I am drinking a man’s drink. Would you care for a tot?” he asked Billy looking down with disdain at the chilled drink Billy was sipping.
”No, I prefer this,” Billy said with firmness.
”That sissy drink? Ahh well,” Prosper said and hit his chest after a sip on his own.
Lunch was soon served and he found himself loosening out. He enjoyed the aromatic and delicious food placed in front of him. He would have asked for more of the soup but shyness prevented him from asking. Daavi, as if sensing his yearning, dished out two more ladles into his bowl and he smiled gratefully at her.
He couldn’t remember when last he enjoyed himself like this. Daavi really knew her way around the kitchen fire.
They made small talk until immediately after the meal, Daavi vanished with the bowls leaving Billy with her husband.
They retired to the living room and Prosper, without wasting time placed a comforting palm on his shoulder.
”Billy, I have known you for only a little while but I can tell when something is bothering you. Can you tell me so that we can find a solution to it?” his host asked him compassionately.
Billy’s head jerked up, a pained look fell on his face. He sighed.
”Look, whatever the matter is can be resolved. Trust me,” Prosper said softly.
”Hmmmmmm. I am going through a lot and I don’t know how to talk about it. It gives me pain.”
”Talking about it would ease the pain. I know. I have been there before,” Proper said.
”The woman I love says we should part ways,” he said, and a flood of tears opened out on his face.
Prosper looked at him, speechless. He was shocked. Billy had told him not long ago that he was secretly buying the items for his eventual union with the mother of his sons.
”What made her say that? Did you give her any reason to say that?” his host asked.
”She didn’t give any reason for saying that. I suspect it could be because of the way I treated her when she got pregnant. But I have changed now. I am a better person now,” he replied in a shaky voice
”I see. Could it be because she doesn’t trust you anymore?”
”We’ve spoken about it before and she assured me that she still loved me. Maybe she’s having second thoughts,” Billy said.
”Did you try to get her to change her mind?”
”No, I didn’t. When a woman tells you she’s no more interested, it means she has carefully thought about it and my life would be a living hell if she gets convinced to marry me without the required love. I want her to love me with no eyes for any other man. As much as I need her in my life, I don’t want her to be with me out of pity or only because of the babies. I want her to be with me because of the love she has for me. Getting her to marry me by force or by subterfuge could only lead to misery for both of us. Mr Dorkenoo, it would devastate me for her to fall into the arms of another man. That would be the day I will surely die,” he said, and with a cynical smile lifted the glass of juice and drank it after making a silent toast.
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