The Roommate Episode 14 © Eunice Ansah-Agyeman
The door flew open after a while and Mr Prosper Kofi Freeman, every inch a man stood towering over Sabastian in the doorway. He and his adorable kids had returned from their adventurous trip early that morning since one of the girls was not feeling so great.
“Honey, did you order flowers?” he asked with mock seriousness.
Cassie, Prosper’s wife, elegant fair-skinned beauty of the house, who had followed her husband to the door and was a few inches away from him laughed and answered in the negative.
“The things men do for love, huh! Come right in, son,” he said as he stepped aside, still with laughter in his voice to allow Sabastian to come in.
Cassie helped Sabastian put down the beautiful pack of flowers and ushered him to a seat in the living area.
“How’s Mina holding up?” Sabastian asked shyly when he was sure they were out of the earshot of her husband.
“Still hurting, but she’ll pull through. Wendy is with her now. At least I’ve heard some giggles from their room since she got here.
You know these things take time, and I don’t want you to rush her into a decision. Right now all you can do is for you to be there for her if she allows it. If she doesn’t want you around, I expect you to respect it but seek her out every day until she decides what happens next.”
“Thank you, Auntie Cassie. I really do appreciate all your help in these times.”
“Breakfast will be served in a couple of minutes, you can join us if you are not too much in a hurry.”
Just then, Mina and Wendy walked into the living area, with Wendy going into fury mode as soon as she saw Sabastian.
“You!” she screamed and rushed at Sabastian.
“Hey, hey, hey. Cool it, will you?” Mr Freeman was on his feet and headed to the living area from the dining area he was seated reading the dailies. He reached Wendy just in time to arrest her arms to prevent them from digging into Sabastian’s face.
“Uncle Pee, please let me dig out his eyes for hurting my sister like that. He is a hypocrite, the worst of its kind.”
“I know I deserve your anger, Wend. I’m truly sorry.”
“You are only sorry you got caught. You are worse than all the evil men in the world. I trusted you. I looked up to you because I thought you were genuine not knowing you were going around banging any thigh that opened for you. I’m so disappointed in you.”
Auntie Cassie, who had left for the kitchen briefly to check on the food she was cooking came back to see a struggling Wendy against her husband’s grips.
She called Wendy to order and as suddenly as the chaos started, order was restored.
Sabastian felt his presence was only compounding issues and wanted to leave but he was hoping he could speak with Mina alone, even if it was just to answer any other questions that had cropped up overnight.
One look at her and his heart melted, his guilt for causing her pain, peaking to unimaginable heights.
Politely, he asked to be excused and was headed for the door when Mina’s voice caused him to stop in his tracks.
“Thanks for the flowers, but you shouldn’t have bothered. Can I see you outside for a second?”
“Sure,” Sabastian answered, relieved that at least he would get to know what she was thinking about the whole thing.
Auntie Cassie and Mr Pee exchanged worried looks as the two stepped outside and closed the door behind them.
“I’ve been thinking about the whole thing and your explanations afterwards and I must say there seems to be a disconnect somewhere. I want you to answer this one question for me. Did you enjoy sleeping with Julie-Anna? I mean, did you like the sex?”
Sabastian sighed not knowing exactly how to answer a question like that.
“I told you I thought I was making love to you, M. This is not about Julie or anyone else for that matter. It’s you I love.”
“Oh, so it’s Julie now, huh? Just answer the damn question Sabastian. Did you or did you not enjoy the sex?”
Sabastian knew at that moment that saying yes or no to that question was not going to solve anything. Mina had already concluded that part of the puzzle and the less he spoke about that night, the better for everyone.
“I have told you what happened that night, M. You can choose to believe me or not. If my word is not enough for you, I don’t know what I’m even standing here for.”
“How do I believe you when what you are saying doesn’t make any sense? How can you say you didn’t know? That’s the part that is driving me nuts. And how do you explain what I came to see with my own two eyes?”Mina lashed out.
“I told you when you left I went into the shower and came to meet you at the door and she, on the bed around the same time.”
“That is some sick coincidence, don’t you think? Put yourself in my shoes. Will you believe me if I tell you what you are telling me?
“I guess that is the difference between you and me. I will never doubt what you tell me because I know you will not lie to me. But I guess I haven’t earned that with you yet. I have to go.”
Mina was confused for a bit. There was something about the way Sabastian just spoke that got to her, the hurt in his voice knowing she did not believe him was disconcerting.
“It’s not like I don’t trust you, Sab. I am struggling here. How did Julie-Anna know I would be with you for her to send that message? How did she know I would leave and how did she get there that quickly? There are too many unanswered questions. Are you sure it was not all planned to break up with me?”
“I wish I had answers to all those questions. And I hoped you would take my word for it. It looks like you don’t know what your roommate is capable of. Some people are clever at these things, and I agree the evidence on the ground is quite unsettling but at the end of the day, I was expecting that my word would mean something, hold water I must say. For you to think that I can go to that length just to break up with you is not only shattering but insulting. But it’s okay, I guess we are done here. Have a great life.”
Sabastian turned and made for his car with deflated shoulders. He had not felt this disappointed and hurt his entire life.
Slowly, he climbed into the driver’s seat, negotiated a U-turn without looking in Mina’s direction and sped off without much of a glance in Mina’s way.
To say he was heartbroken was putting it mildly.
And, as he drove through the streets that morning, tears of his pain simmered in his eyes so much so that at a point he had to park at the shoulders of the road to calm down and clear his eyes.