Within minutes, she was there, he got
into the car and they drove off.
He was doing it again. She thought as
they drove, holding back tears. He was hurting her again. She drove quietly.
She did not know what to say to him anymore. Perhaps she should first speak to
a counsellor before knowing what to say to her child. She got to the house and
got him settled. These were uncertain days and she tried to apologize to her
husband, over and over again at her just bring the child back without notifying
him first.
“You should not have gotten involved
in this whole set up again. How is he going to support any of his children
now?” Ponk asked.
“I have no idea.” She replied wanting
to seem cheerful; “and now I have to work even harder to support an extra
child. He just throws all responsibility back at me.”
“Yeah, I really don’t understand the man
you once married.”
“I call him a ‘mistake’. He was a
mistake. How can he do that to his own child and tell him ‘from today onwards
am not your daddy. Don’t call me dad, call me uncle’?’’ She went on in her feminine
voice; “I mean we all feel overwhelmed with parenting, but how can a parent do
that to his own child? Some things had better be left unsaid.”
“He said that?” Ponk asked with a thin
smile.
“Yes. My child has just told me so. He
was asking him to pack and go for some time now. Alaka...told me...”
“You see that is where your problem
begins…” He pointed out whilst lying under the bed covers with the newspaper by
his side.
Halgfna was restless and just pacing
up and down in the bedroom, having apologized to her husband for some times.
She could not afford to have another failed relationship. Ponk Base was a good
man. She was never, ever going to allow things to get out of hand with him. She
needed him for stability and for proving a point that she had not been a bad
wife, that she could have made it the first time if only Vecos had been more of
a better husband. This had to work, not matter how many curve balls came her
way. Somehow, she had to ensure that through all the chaos she looked beautiful
and smiled for her husband. She could not afford to wear a frown, no matter how
bad her day was. Hers’ was to put on a happy face and be Ms fix it all. Everything
is okay, I have it under control. Don’t worry am on top of it.
It was only when he was at work that
she took stock of how much a toll everything was on her. It was only then that
she would cry if she felt overwhelmed. Her marriage, first! She could not
imagine another broken relationship and her failing to provide stability to her
children. This was stable, Ponk had brought stability in her life that could
have been nothing but full of pandemonium from day to day, year after year. He
was the one stable and reliable person in her life and Vesco was not going to
pull that carpet of stability from under her feet. It was not love she was
after but stability and she had it. She put her fingers in her hair and
scratched her scalp.
“What do you mean?”
“He sent your child because you and Alaka
are in touch, he doesn’t want you quizzing your child anymore and filtering the
information to her. I warned you to cut ties with her.”
“I am trying to. But maybe he did this
so that she could move back in with him.” She cut in a bit upset.
“I think he had strong feeling for
her.” Ponk added. “He feels he let her down because of you. Because of people
and what they would say and so he is trying to not support you and her at the
same time. You know she knows him too well…”
“Yeah, I was married to him longer but
she knows him more than I do.”
He smiled. “Come over here.” He said
as she had stopped in her tracks to look at him. He watched her walk over to
the bed to sit next to him. “Just take a deep breath, your child can live with
us. I don’t have a problem with that, we are a family. That’s what families are
for. Let us give him time to settle down and set the rules straight with him.”
He touched her hand she his as their
eyes met, their souls collided.
“I don’t know where I’d be without
you. You are really a man of great wisdom.” And for a moment she wished that Vecos
was the man lying in the bed and speaking to her with such tenderness. Suck
kindness and such love. She did not have to be the pillar of strength or the
man of the house. Ponk was there, he was the man of the house. She later
reassured herself, having failed to be intimate with him now that her son was
back in the house. She had to let him settle in before she could consider being
intimate with her husband. She kissed him on the lips and went down stairs to
her office.
She later picked up the phone and
spoke to Alaka, about Vecos’s decision to have his son move out of his house.
They both agreed he was in a bad space and was clearly dealing with a lot of
demons.
Halgfna suspected something. Alaka
still went to the house, she still could take Vecos back and Vecos still seemed
interested in her. What if all this was actuated by Alaka so that Vecos could
get rid of her child and they could live happily together? She smiled to
herself in a conniving manner. Had she been used so that the mixed race couple
could live with no worries on their heads? Worry of other people’s reactions
maybe?
Page 133 to 135 currently copyright 2015 Constance Mutale
Courtesy of Africa Independent Magazine CC
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