Chapter 15
It was 6:30 a.m. on Sunday. It was the ringing tone from his phone that woke him up. He had woken up from his emergency sleep the previous day with the help of a biting hunger and had tried to put some corn flakes into his stomach and went back immediately to his bed to sleep.
After his phone began to ring, he rose up lazily and tiredly from the bed and move towards the mirror table to pick up his phone where he had left it the previous day. He checked who the caller was and found out it was Mrs. Hamilton putting a call through to him. Mrs., he thought with goose bumps rising all over his skin. Hamilton? He dropped the ringing phone quickly on the table as if it was a time bomb that was ready to go off. He looked at the wall clock to check what the time was. 6:36 a.m., he said to himself. Why is Mrs. Hamilton calling me at this time? This is strange.
"Why," his other mind said to him. "Can't you pick the call?" "Pick the call?"
“Yes."
Steve shrugged. He was confused and couldn't figure out the strange things that have been happening around him since yesterday. Bobby acted strangely with his sermon and behaviors. I got home only to find my wife and son missing from home and now Mrs. Hamilton putting a strange call to me at 6:30 a.m.
His phone kept on ringing. He looked at the ringing phone where he dropped it, picked it up and answered the call. "Hello." He said.
"Hello, Mr. Davies and good morning." "Good morning madam, I hope there's…"
"Oh," Mrs., Hamilton said immediately cutting him short. "I'm sorry for disturbing your sleep Mr. Davies. I'm here at the gate of your house with your wife and son."
"With, “Steve said, shocked. “My wife and son?”
"Yes, Mr. Davies. We would like you to open the gate for us from behind."
"Ok." Steve stopped the call and quickly rushed to the bathroom to wash his face and rinse his mouth with water. He dashed out of the bathroom and the bedroom to the living room, picked up the key to the gate's padlock to open the gate for his strange visitors.
Wonders, he thought as he approached the gate. Shall never end. Mrs. Hamilton, Serena, Tammy and 6:30 a.m.! Strange combination indeed!
“Good morning Mrs. Hamilton." Steve said as he opened the gate. "Good morning Mr. Davies. Can we come in? "
"Sure. Of course," Steve replied and looked in the direction of his wife and son.
"Don't worry, "Mrs. Hamilton said.” I’ll explain everything to you. Your wife and son are fine. Can we come in?”
"Yes, you can, Madam."
The shock was still written all over Steve’s face. The mystery of the morning’s visit and the appearance of Mrs. Hamilton in his house that morning were still making him uncomfortable.
Mrs. Hamilton carefully and professionally narrated how Serena shocked her with an unscheduled visit to her office yesterday. She told Steve how she had to break protocols and normal routines to attend to her especially when she found out that she came along with a bag full of clothes. She mentioned how Serena tearfully explained all that has happened in her marriage since the last meeting with her during the counseling session. She also explained how Serena tearfully stopped her from calling him yesterday and how she begged her not to allow her return home yesterday.
"I," Mrs. Hamilton said. "Had to take her to my place yesterday where she and your son spent the night. I was only able to convince her to come back home after our lengthy midnight discussion.”
“Really," Steve said and looked in the direction of his wife and then immediately took his face back in the direction of Mrs. Hamilton. Madam, I still can't figure out why she had to do what she did. It’s still a mystery to me.”
"Yes," Mrs. Hamilton said, cutting him short. "I know and I understand your shock and disappointment when you discovered your lovely wife and son were not at home yesterday and even when you saw us this morning.”
"I was shocked madam, because to the best of my knowledge, we've not argued about any big issue in the past month.”
"Yes, she told me about that but she promised me she was going to explain all she said to me yesterday and in the middle of the night to you herself.”
Mrs. Hamilton looked in the direction of Serena after her last statement signaling to her with her face to explain all that she told her to her husband. Serena tried to say something but could not bring the words out of her mouth. She broke into tears and covered her face with her handkerchief. Steve stood up from his seat, handed over his son to Mrs. Hamilton, walked down to where his wife was seated and sat beside her dragging her to himself.
"Oh," he said. "Common, stop the tears, Serena. We need to move above situations like this."
He removed her handkerchief from her face and placed her head on his chest. "Serena," he said. "Can you say something now or would you like to say it later."
Serena withdrew her head from his chest, sat properly on the chair and tried to use her hand to wipe off the tears from her face.
"I'm," she said regretfully. "Sorry, Steve for all I've made you to go through since we got married.”
"Oh," he said.“ Common, you've not done me any harm. You've ..."
"No!" She said suddenly and rose from her seated position. "I have Steve. I have. I've done grievous harm to you."
"How?"
"Steve, I've lied to you and I've cheated on you."
"Lied," he said, shocked. "To me! Yes, I know you've cheated on me but I don't understand what you're driving at."
"I’ve lied to you about my relationship with Charles." She said apologetically. "How?"
"My," she said, turning her back to her husband to face the wall from her standing position. “Relationship with Charles was not a one-off thing as I told you."
That revelation shocked Steve and he rested his back on the chair where he was seated. He was not sure if he heard her right. He used his right palm to wipe off the sweat that suddenly gushed out of the opened skin glands on his forehead.
"You," he finally said, "Mean you had sex relationship with Charles multiple times? "Yes," she said, still facing the wall.
"How and where?" "At the usual place."
"But you did not tell me."
"Yes," she said, turning her face from the wall, knelt before her husband. "I lied to you. It continued on two more occasions even after you found out and after I’ve promised to stop the relationship."
"But ...but ..." Steve said sadly.
"I'm," Serena said apologetically. "Sorry, Steve. I was wrong for keeping it away from you. Charles was my ex and he was the first boyfriend I had when I was in Benin. I was sixteen years old then. I couldn't resist him because he was always coming around to.my office.
"But Serena, you should’ve informed me." "Yes, I know. I was wrong."
Steve looked at Mrs. Hamilton who had tried not to get in the way of the couple in their discussion and then looked at his son, Tammy who was now sleeping comfortably in Mrs. Hamilton's hands.
"Is," Steve said suddenly, looking in the direction of his wife. "Tammy my son?"
"Tammy," she said softly. "Is your son. I never had unprotected sex with Charles.”
That last statement from Serena went a long way to calm the nerves of Steve and it also helped him to solve the lingering thought he has had about the true paternity of Tammy since he was born.
"Are you sure?” "Yes, I am."
"Was there any other relationship you had with other men apart from Charles?" "None."
"But," he said. "Why did you have to throw away all decency and give your body to adultery? Why did you have to expose your womanhood to strange men?"
"I," she said, with the tears still rolling down her cheeks. "Was wrong Steve. I know I've harmed your soul. I’ve rubbished all the love you've shown me in the mud."
"Yes," Steve said, looking away from his wife. "You rubbished all on the platform of adultery. You went back to your vomit. You voted for prostitution again in the form of adultery. I warned you severally of the dangers of staying around sinful friends. You can’t get anything from them except for them to make you commit sins against your soul and destiny. "
Steve, from his standing position, looked at Mrs. Hamilton, who was still keeping her silence and watching proceedings as they happened between the couple. "Was," he said, turning his face away from Mrs. Hamilton to his wife. "That the reason why you left the house?
"Yes."
"Why? But you should’ve just told me."
"I don't know what your reaction would be. I was scared to break your heart again with such news."
Steve went back to his previous seated position and kept quiet. Serena will not be that gold you saw in her initially until she's thoroughly refined. You know it takes the extra fire to do that. For now, you need to put up with her raw state and help with the refining fire to bring out the beauty you saw in her at the beginning, he thought as he remembered Bobby’s wise saying to him at the workshop. Bobby, it's as if you knew all these would happen. That was graciously packaged for this moment and it came from your heart and mouth. Thank you. He said in his mind.
“Sweetheart," he finally said, gesturing with his hand to his wife to stand up and come and sit beside him on the chair. "What was my reaction when I chose to get married to you even when you were deep into prostitution?
"Hmmm." Serena breathed down heavily.
"What was my reaction when you hugged a stranger during our honeymoon? What was my reaction when you visited Allen Avenue when I was away from home? What was my reaction when I discovered you had a sexual affair with Charles?
Serena could not muster enough strength to give any response to the questions of her husband.
"Serena," he continued, now holding his wife's two hands and looking straight into her eyes. "Though truly I was angry on some of those occasions but my unmovable love for you took priority over those angry reactions I put forward. My love for you has been dwarfing and exterminating your dirty attitudes and sins since we got married."
Steve held his wife's hands very firmly, stood up and moved towards the wall where a picture of their wedding was hung. "My," he said. "Deep and unadulterated love for you made me marry you in the first place. It's still there and it will always be there."