Bandit Baby - S02 E05

Story 2 years ago

Bandit Baby - S02 E05

Read Story: SEASON 2 EPISODE 5

I picked the divorce papers and went through.

The whole thing came as a dream to me.

I pinched myself to confirm I was not dreaming, behold it was not a dream.

I looked at the time and it was 1:22am.

I sat on the sofa and wept.

‘How could my wife do this to me?’ I asked myself repeatedly.

I went to her room to talk sense to her, but her door was already locked.

I returned to my room, and with a teary eyes and feeble hands, I picked up my phone and called Enobong.

“My wife has filed for a divorce, and the marriage will be over in seven days if I do not find Collins.”

I dropped the call without waiting for her to respond.

Part of my heart was blaming her for what I was facing in my marriage.

I would hold her eternally responsible for the wreckage of my marriage.

She returned the call almost immediately I hung up.

I did not answer.

She called the second time, I still did not answer.

When she called the third time, I answered.

“Brother! What was that about? What did you say?” she asked in surprise.

“I am getting divorced. In seven days.”

“Please can you come tomorrow? Come tomorrow let’s find a way of fixing this,” she said.

“There is nothing to fix. It think it’s over. Unless we find Collins. That is the only thing you can do to fix this. Find Collins.”

“Let me come to the house and explain to her that we have nothing in common,” she suggested.

“If she sets her eyes on you, she may do something unimaginable to you and it will not be good. Let it be. Forget coming please.”

“No. I can’t sit and watch your marriage collapse because of me and I do nothing about it.”

“I don’t want more problems please. If you come to the house, there could be more problems. I know my wife. She is difficult to handle when provoked. Besides, she is even looking for you.”

“Looking for me? Why is she looking for me?”

“She wants to take her pound of flesh.”

I ended the call.

I could not sleep throughout the night.

Then in the morning, I went to my wife in a bid to convince her that I was innocent. She was dressed up already. I was not bothered to know where she was heading that early morning. All that mattered to me was how to get her back.

“Good morning!” she greeted.

“Good morning. I have taken one of the options. Just pay attention to me as I convince you that I am innocent.”

“Ok. I am listening.”

“My only mistake is that I did not tell the media at the hospital that I was not the husband, and for that, I am sorry. I would have opted for a DNA test, but the cost is outrageous. Hence, I am pleading with you to give me more days, I promise to find the father of those kids. One more thing, do not turn my son against me.”

“I will try not to be angry because it is too early for that. I accept your apology for not telling the media that you were not the husband. I understand. It must have been as a result of stress. But for you to tell me that the cost of conducting DNA test is too much for you is killing me faster. How much were you given back there? Or are you saving up the money to start a new life with her? You are asking me to give you more days. I have given you seven days and the counting starts today. You still have seven days, so what is the meaning of you asking me for more days? Lastly, I am not turning your son against you. It is you who turned yourself against your son the moment you decided to spend five weeks at the hospital with a strange woman who claimed to be your wife. Now how will you explain to the boy that what he saw on TV was just staged, or I should say a coincidence? How will you convince him that the step brother he saw on TV who bears same name with you is really not his step brother?”

“I will talk to him. I will explain to him. He will understand,” I assured her.

“That wouldn’t be necessary because, as you can see, I am already on my way out. I am taking him to Port Harcourt. He will be staying with my brother until you fix this mess. I don’t want him to witness as we go down the drain.”

As she was speaking, our son came out.

“Good morning Daddy,” the boy greeted.

I was still figuring how to begin explaining to the young boy what actually happened, but the mother interrupted.

“There is no time for talks. You can touch and hug him, probably for the last time. In case we proceed with the contents of the papers, so help me God, the day I see you anywhere close to my son, you will rot in jail.”

She held the boy and began to walk toward the entrance door, then made a sudden stop as soon as she opened the door. She turned, faked a smile and said:

“You are still my husband and I must respect that to the later. It will be so bad of me to go out without telling my darling husband where I am going and when I will be back. Like I said earlier, Junior is going on vacation at my brother’s house in Port Harcourt. I will be staying there for three days. But if you eventually make up your mind to go for a DNA test, just call me and I will be back immediately. Mind you, the test will be done at the hospital of my choosing. Also, there is enough food in the freezer. All you need do is warm them and eat. You’re losing weight, please don’t forget to eat. Do have a great day.”

She slammed the door behind her and off they went.

She did not even wait for me to hug my son. I leaned on the window watching the two things that gave me the greatest happiness in life walked away.

Everything I have ever done in my life, was for them.

The reason I traveled to Lagos was to have a better job so I could give them better lives.

I kept staring at them until they were out of sight.

I turned and met face to face with reality. The reality of loneliness.

An empty house, a lonely man with a broken heart.

That was the beginning of day one, out of seven.

© Ezekiel Umoren

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