Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 4

4 years ago

Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 4

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Of course Juliet knew Lubesha too well. Now who in their right mind would forget their nephew after not seeing him for a few years only? She knew that was her nephew standing beside that policewoman just as she knew he was a double orphan now. The news of his parents’ death, her sister’s death, had been all over the news. But what did she care? Nature was finally doing her a huge favour and seeing Lubesha just infuriated her deep within cause here she was thinking she was finally rid of that plague called Janet and now her stupid son shows up at her(Juliet’s) doorstep? May lightning strike me dead if am going to acknowledge this stray dog as my nephew, she thought. God knows how he even managed to travel this far alone!
The policewoman looked from Lubesha to Juliet and asked, “You sure you don’t know him?”
“What part of I don’t know this boy don’t you understand, madam?” “But how does he know your name, Mrs. Musongo?”
“How am I to know?” said Juliet with a shrug. “He might be a crazy stalker for all we know.”
“Really? He’s only 13!”
“I don’t care…You know what, I think you’ve overstayed your welcome. Kindly leave cause I was doing something before you two popped up here.”

Where he stood, Lubesha couldn’t believe a human being with a heart in them could be as heartless as to deny knowing their only nephew. Who does that, like seriously? Anyway, that’s Juliet for you.

“Aunty, it’s me. It’s Lubesha, your young sister’s son! Mum is dead, aunt. Your sister is dead back in Kampala!”

“Whoever sent you,” warned Juliet while pointing an accusing finger at Lubesha. “Tell them you didn’t find me! And for the record, I don’t have any sister!” she faced the policewoman. “Why don’t you take this boy back to whichever hole you dug him from ai?” “You heard the woman, Lubesha. She says she doesn’t know you and remember you and I have an agreement, right? With this sad development at hand, am afraid I’ll have to take you back to the cells.”

“No..” his voice was a whisper. “Auntie Juliet, please. If my mother had wronged you in any way, I apologise on her behalf but please just take me in cause I have nowhere else to go.”

Juliet faced the other way and the policewoman felt it, Lubesha was telling the truth.

If people were to get awards for being wicked, she thought, this b---h right here would scoop the biggest prize. With a heavy heart and fighting the tears that threatened to escape her eyes, she held Lubesha by the hand and opened the door for him. The boy kept on pleading with his aunt but of course his pleas fell on deaf ears.

As she opened her own door, the policewoman opened her mouth to say something hurtful to Juliet but she decided this wasn’t her fight so she closed her mouth.

“What’s going on here?”
Juliet cussed when she saw her husband Donald pack right behind the police vehicle and ask what was going on while sticking his head out the window.

“Uncle!” shouted Lubesha who leaped out of the car and rushed to his uncle’s car. Donald opened the door and hugged Lubesha like he were his long lost son.

“How did you get here, son? I’ve been dead worried about you!”

“It’s a long story, uncle. I’ll tell you everything later. Meanwhile,” he pointed a polite finger at the policewoman. “She needs confirmation to say am related to you and that I am no street kid nor thief.” “God forbid! I’d have to be dead for you to become any of those awful things.” Donald stood while holding on to Lubesha’s hand and said, “He’s my nephew.”

This earned him one of the ugliest glares from Juliet who angrily stomped her feet before dashing into the house.

“I apologise for my wife’s unruly behaviour.” “It’s fine.”

Donald went with the policewoman to the police station where he signed some papers and then he later went home with Lubesha.
“Over my dead body is that stray dog staying in my house, Donald!” yelled Juliet later in the evening. She and her husband were having a heated argument over Lubesha staying with them.

“Are you even listening to yourself, Juliet?” Donald patiently asked her while walking up to her in front of the mirror where she stood applying some anti-acne ointment on her face. “This is your sister’s son we are talking about! We shouldn’t even be having this conversation for Christ’s sake.” “I still don’t want him here, period!”
“Imagine it was either of our children going through this. How would you feel if you died and people treat our Amos and Alice as you’re treating Lubesha?”
She laughed, all in a bid to mock him. “First of all, dead people have got no feelings and secondly, we’ll all die one day. Janet killed herself to worsen matters so why should I carry the burden of raising her child?”
“If I knew you were this heartless,” Donald sternly said and gripped Juliet’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t have married you! That aside, this is my house and being the head of the family, I say Lubesha is gonna stay here henceforth.”
“Suit yourself, Mr. Head of the family.” Donald Musongo worked as a surgeon at UTH so he earned enough money to sustain his family and afford the four bedroomed house they lived in. One bedroom belonged to his wife and him, while the other to their 12 year old daughter Alice, the other to their 14 year old son Amos and the other was a guestroom intended for guests only. Seeing as he didn’t consider Lubesha a guest, Donald led him to Amos’ spacious room.
“This is where you’ll be sleeping, my dear.”

“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
Since he had already had dinner, Lubesha decided to drop himself on the bed and take his much needed nap only for Amos to come roll him off the bed. Lubesha hit the ground with a dull thud and was instantly awake.
“What do you think you’re doing? Sleeping in my bed, ha! I don’t share my bed with no one so I don’t give a d--n whether you’re aunt Janet’s son or Dad took pity on you because that’s what he does best…all I know is you shouldn’t be sleeping in my bed! Be warned. Who knows maybe you even brought lice with you or bed bugs or something?”
Lubesha said no word and just listened to his cousin degrade him. Amos got under the sheets after turning off the lights.
Lubesha lay on the carpet beside the bed and recalled that once upon a time he too had owned his own bed. Not that he was bragging but his room was even much better than this one.
On the cold floor, the boy missed both his parents and the life they’d once had…The tears came next. The poor orphan literally silently cried himself to sleep. In the morning, Lubesha was in the bathroom brushing his teeth when someone screamed behind him, in a bid to scare him.

A startled Lubesha dropped his new toothbrush and this was funny to Alice who laughed so hard. “Gosh, you’re such a coward, Lubesha! Anyway,” she leaned against the doorframe. “Just came to inform you Dad said you should hurry up as we are going out.”
“Where to?”
Alice shrugged. “I don’t know.”
As Donald had learnt the previous day, Lubesha had no clothes and since he (Donald) was only going for work in the afternoon, he decided to take the kids out and buy them a couple of clothes. He asked Juliet to come with but she gave him an eye roll and told him she’d rather stay home than mingle with her enemy’s son.
Donald shook his head and beckoned to the kids, it was time to leave.
In town, Donald bought clothes for all three of them but Lubesha got more clothes as he had less.
Inside, Amos was dying with jealousy. It annoyed him to see his father spending so much on some stranger cause that’s practically what Lubesha was to them. A stranger.
At home, Amos waited for his father to leave for work and then decided it was the best time to bully Lubesha.
“Bring your clothes here, ” Amos ordered Lubesha who was seated on the floor doing nothing in particular.
“Why do you want to see them? They are mine.”
“The nerve you have to answer me back..and who says I want to see them? My father bought those clothes with his money you punk so bring them clothes here!”
Aunt Juliet was home and not wanting any drama, Lubesha quietly walked to the closet and took out the clothes.
“There you go, Amos.” Amos bent down and picked clothes that he liked most and it so happened that Lubesha liked those clothes most too but had no say in this.
When Amos was done, only a few clothes were left.
“There,” He threw in most of his worn out clothes. “Those are the clothes that suit you best. You’re an orphan so it’s high time you started dressing and acting like one! Orphans wear rags, you hear me?” he packed the clothes in his closet and added. “Don’t even think about snitching to Dad when he comes back cause I’ll get even with you by snitching to mum and you know how much she loathes you.”

Amos kicked the pile of clothes as he walked out of the room. Lubesha looked up at the ceiling and wondered if being an orphan is a sin.