Pearls of Love (Episode 24)



AUGUST 22, 2002

The relationship between Ann and I had gone very sour. We decided to put the kids in the boarding house; at least they could be out of the way. Honestly I didn’t know she had been laid off work, for about a week now. We were not talking and so she didn’t bother telling me about her job loss, I only noticed she was usually at home while I was leaving for work, but I didn’t care somehow. It could be that she chose to wait till I leave the house before she does.

And also I felt since the kids were now in the boarding house, she would no longer need to get up so early.



Sometimes, using most of the applications on gadgets makes sense, especially reminder and alarm. I wouldn’t have remembered it was her birthday if not for the birthday reminder I set on the laptop. It always prompts anniversaries, events, and other activities, once I logged on to the windows.

I put a call through but she didn’t pick it until after it had rang the sixth time, I thought it was deliberate, but she said she was in the bath at the time I called.

“Bath?’ I was surprised and checked the time on the laptop.

“Bath, of course’, she replied

“Are you on leave?’

“What leave?’ she answered.

“I just hope you are okay anyway?’

“Sure I am fine. I guess you remembered my birthday” She said.

“Yes, Happy birthday to you”,

“Thanks for remembering’, she answered.

“Is that why you didn’t go to work?’ I asked still surprised.

“Work?” She asked like it had become a crime to go to work, and said, “I’ve been laid off’.

“Laid-off, when, why, how?’… I asked all at once confused.

“Do you care, why bother now?’

“See Ann, I’m very sorry to hear this. We will think of something. Please I’m really very sorry, okay?’

“Okay’. She replied.

I never thought a time would come that Ann and I would no longer be close the way we used to be, we were like distant people now, we had suddenly become strangers and I felt guilty about this.

Rita- ah, women! Hmm, I sighed and wondered about women and why God chose to make them.

I thought of stories of great men who had bad encounters because of women. Women! I thought of the stories about Solomon, Samson, David, Orunmila, even Clinton and host of others; their escapade with women, some of them lost their glory through women, I thought about Joseph who seemed to be the only one that was able to escape the hungry passion of his boss’ wife, I wonder at how he managed it. Joseph of this world of today would not have only slept with their bosses’ wife, but would have gained so much financially, and might have plotted along with the boss’ wife to kill the boss and become the heir.

I think Ann was supposed to have told me about her job loss, wouldn’t she have said it if was an accident, regardless of whatever was happening.

“I’ll see you soonest”. I said and hung up the phone. I thought it was very bad of me to have treated her badly, she must believe I didn’t care about.

Now I feel repentant and sober. Nothing has happened again after that last time between Rita and me, but we’ve both been deeply involved in the business.

It would be a great idea to close early and arrive home early so I could be with Ann. I owed it to her on her birthday. She has the right to be happy, it was my duty to make her happy, and I mean to do exactly that.

I was supposed to see Rita that night but I cancelled my appointment with her immediately. That night I took Ann out but I guess it was a very big mistake, because I over reacted over an issue.

While we were entering the lounge of a hotel, someone, a man stopped to talk to Ann. This man did not bother to notice that she was with someone not to talk of the fact that the person was her husband. Was he even aware that she was married? I wondered when she started associating with men, and even men that doesn’t have respect for her husband. Thousands of thoughts slipped through my fast thinking brain. Was she seeing someone, was she balling? My heart skipped, no she couldn’t be.

“Hi, Ann. It’s a long time we’ve not seen’. He said and I could see that he was very excited. I felt something ran down my spine I was angry, perhaps the way the man blundered on us without taken notice of me, nor even saying sorry after blundering on us in the manner he did. I thought of how manner less some people could be, even if he was balling my wife- that’s already a disrespect, now disrespecting me to my face was another ball game altogether.


“Oh Ben, it’s you’. She sounded a bit nervous and this even made me even more suspicious. By now I was already walking ahead, I couldn’t stand the man.

I heard her say, “That’s my husband going over there. Let me quickly catch up with him we have a date”. Even while I walked ahead my ears were all opened to grasp every word. You can imagine, it was like microphones were attached everywhere, and I was hearing things, I was going mad, I was hearing things like the guy saying “ Oh Ann, it’s been a long while, I missed balling u” I was hearing things like Ann saying, “Oh, am sorry I missed you too, let me just get done with him, we have a date, I will see you tomorrow” it was crazy thoughts, I was hearing things that was not said, I suddenly felt the whole world laughing at me.

“I hope we see again?’ I heard him, this one wasn’t an imagination, and I heard this one. But I didn’t hear her response to that.”

When she met up with me, she asked;

“Dan, why did you behave the way you did?

“How do you mean?’ I asked her angrily, we were still walking. I was sweating by now.

“Dan I don’t think after all these years, you are still like this”.

Here we go again I thought. Now what did I do to her. I thought I should be the one to get angry over what she did. Imagine a man blundering into me did not apologize and yet stands to talk to my wife and here she is talking about me being whatever she calls it. I was angry, yes I was.

“Now, tell me, what exactly are you complaining about?” I asked in a loud and harsh tone.

“Nothing” She replied. This annoyed me more than anything that I was already upset about.

“Nothing, okay why bother me at first?’

“I didn’t mean to’, she replied. She sounded sassy and saucy.

I noticed that the people passing by were listening and I hated this even more. We finally got a place to sit but by then we were both furious. I was boiling inside and I know she was too.

The attendant came and asked what we would take. I was no longer in the mood to take anything; all I wanted was to get quickly out of the place. But I know it wasn’t possible at that time, we just came in. and so I ordered a beer for myself and left the attendant to her, she ordered a soft. My plan was to eat good food, some good nkwobi, and assorted meats, but I couldn’t anymore, my appetite was dead- dead!

“Dan. Do you have to spoil my day?” she asked when the waiter had left. I didn’t say anything.

The attendant later returned with our drinks, he waited around to see if we were going to order for meat or something else, but we were even hardly touching our drinks, neither did we talk. I tried several times to bring up a talk but it wouldn’t just come out. After about ten minutes, she said we should leave.

“Dan, I want to leave’, she said.

“Okay” I answered, signaled to the waiter, paid for the drink which was not touched and which was not the reason why we came out because we had a lot of drinks in the fridge at home.

We got to the car and I drove off without saying a word. When we got home, she went to her room and locked herself in, I locked up the house, checked the kids room, I missed them, they were coming over for the weekend.

I knew I was over-reacting to Ann, because I hadn’t even stop to consider anything about the man that blundered into us. I didn’t even remember him, which means I wasn’t upset because of him. After changing into my pajamas I decided to go to Ann’s room to look her up, but she had locked her door. I waited for two minutes when she didn’t open the door I went back to my room

The next morning when I woke she was still in her room that means I would have to do everything for myself before I leave for work. I wasn’t in the mood to do anything and so I took my bath and got set for work. I went to her room but the door was still locked I have to see her before leaving for work and so I kept knocking with the hope she would open up. 

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