Unknown 8

Time stood still. All was silent save the sound of my heart. Hubby suddenly stood up from the bed and started pacing

‘What in the world has gotten into you, Soom? You’ve changed! When did you start lying?! This just isn’t the wife I married! This isn’t you!’

I started crying, I cried so hard he had to take me into his arms as I blurted ‘I….i…had an appointment with a herbal practitioner who said he could help me get pregnant. I….i…didn’t want to tell you because I know you dislike stuff like that' 

May God help me! Where the lie came from I don’t know. I just knew I had to give a plausible excuse. Anything to save the moment.

‘Ah! Soom! You went too far. Is it because I told you my people have been putting pressure on me to have more children?! Children will come, it’s God that gives and he will give more. In fact, as many as we want.’

I cried harder at the tenderness and empathy I was shown. Guilt apparently made the tears flow even faster.

Eventually I slept off, cradled in his arms, tired and very spent. I woke up with a headache. With a grimace, I reminded myself the reward of sin was a bad headache. After popping two Tylenol in my mouth and swallowing it with freshly squeezed juice, I went back to bed. Sean and his father had gone out to the park which was their usual routine on a Saturday morning. They would be back in the afternoon so I had time to rest.

My sleep was as restless as my heart was. I was playing a dangerous game that could backfire. Was it wise to leave my marriage to go with Jude, no matter how badly I wanted to. What effect would this have on Sean? Would I get custody? Nothing was certain in this part of the world.

What would be my family's reaction? I cringed at what my mother would say and do. I wouldn’t hear the last of it, I was sure.

I had no job, I depended solely on hubby. I needed a source of income to be independent enough to take some decisions. I made up my mind to put machinery in place to have a career, business of some sort.

By the time hubby and Sean were back, I had made lunch, jollof rice, fried plantains with fried Chicken, Sean's favourite and my husband's.

After lunch, Sean went to the neighbours to play with his friend. Hubby went in to have a siesta and I decided to respond to Jude's chat. 

I observed he was on line but when i waited for some minutes for his response to my chat, I decided to do some tidying up in the kitchen. Not long afterwards, my hubby's niece came visiting with her family and I got too busy to worry about the silence from his end.

When I had settled in for the night at around 11pm, I went through my messages and my eyes lit up when I saw the messages he had sent to me on Whatsapp professing his unending love for me. I read the messages at least a dozen times, all ten of them and I felt a glow from the depths of my heart, warming my cold body even in the relentlessly cold air conditioning in the room. I looked at hubby's still form on the bed beside me and rued the day I was married off to him.

I replied all his messages with care. I poured my heart and soul out to him and told him I would love him forever. Just then hubby stirred and reached out for me on the bed. I had to take deep breaths to calm my panicky heart. This was the last thing I wanted….needed. To be in love with Jude, yet allow hubby to get intimate with me. Revulsion rose betwist my breasts as I willed my tense body to relax as his large frame rose against mine.

To be continued…