Olumide sighed as he waited for Uju to open the gate. He was exhausted to the bones and just couldn’t wait to take a shower and hit the bed. There was a lot to be worried about. Mike his colleague at work had suddenly come up with a reason to need the money he loaned him for Uju’s school fees; something about his in-law’s hospital treatment. He had no way of proving it but there was a niggling thought at the back of his mind that this might actually have a lot to do with the embezzlement he had discovered in the office; a deal Mike was involved in. He had to be careful to avoid being implicated; he sent a quick prayer to God and amazingly felt peace flood his heart. He picked up his phone to call Uju, just in case she was sleeping, though that would be unusual of her, when the gate swung open.
She seemed distracted lately. The toll of taking care of four children was probably getting to her; it sure served her right for being selfish. Immediately, he felt guilty; he had agreed to it after all. He felt so ashamed of having let go of his resolution to stick with three children. Deep down inside, he knew he would have been thrilled to have a boy, but it didn’t matter so much. When Sophie had been born, he had been angrier with himself than Uju. He felt he had betrayed the innate desire of the typical African man to have a male heir.
Uju welcomed Olumide with a wary smile and an apology for keeping him waiting, as she tried to decipher her husband’s mood. It was highly important that the atmosphere be just perfect to tell him about the news. She was tired of carrying the burden all alone. It was tearing her up, and she feared he would soon discover anyway, at the rate at which the symptoms were hitting her. No, she had decided not to abort.
Even if the risk to her life and health was not enough to scare her, or she was foolish enough to face a jail-sentence for committing a crime, she could not bear the thoughts of her conscience tormenting her. No, she would not do it for anything in the world! So she served Olumide his favourite dish of dodo oniyeri, slightly peppered to his taste and garnished with vegetables while praying today would not be the last time he accepted it from her.
Olumide brightened up at the sight of his favourite meal. The aroma alone was enough to sharpen his tired senses. He ate slowly; deliberately savouring every bite, allowing the different flavours hit the chords of his taste buds accurately. They sent reverberating notes to other parts of his body and he began to eye his wife suggestively. Uju noted the change in his mood and offered a silent prayer to God, this was the perfect time.
“I have bad news”, she decided to put the cards on the table straightaway, no sweet talk that would give him the wrong impression she planned this. Olumide paused to allow the delicious morsel of the peppered dodo go down his throat before saying anything. Nothing was going to ruin his appetite and intentions.
“What is it?” using his tongue to pick out the pieces of meat stuck in his teeth. “I am pregnant” Uju replied in a calm tone that was far from the turmoil she was feeling inside, resigned to fate. Olumide bit his tongue, as his teeth clamped down involuntarily; all sensations in his mouth turning salty, and his body changed gear sharply. He swallowed hard and croakily said, “what!” His eyes begging her to tell him it was a joke. Uju’s calm façade was torn away, as she hastily began to plead her innocence and her surprise at the pregnancy despite the family planning, and how it was going to affect the family, how he must hate her right now but how she was not going to abort … "Stop, stop”, Olumide’s voice stopped the tirade of words, she was trembling but determined not to cry. She had decided to be coherent and not a ‘tear-escapist’; more misunderstanding occurs when a woman appears emotional and is not able to pass her message logically to the man.
Olumide stood up and wandered around absorbing the situation; this was his defining moment. He could choose to behave like a chauvinistic, egocentric fool…transfer the frustrations at work and inability to provide enough for the family on her, or even yield to the temptation to be a beast; not confronting his lack of self-control but blaming it on her carelessness…he could even walk out on her and the children; see it as an escape route…forsaking his children; his future and postpone the day of reckoning….but here he was unusually calm…he had defied the norm…norms can be broken and more humane ones made…women were not to be objects of ridicule, treated like trash, mere figure-heads created to pamper to every whim and fancy of a man and conveniently dumped when the going was tough to handle issues both of them were instrumental to. Who then was stronger, what then was the concept of masculinity? He slowly turned to her. “Whoever said anything about abortion here, why would you even bring that up?” Am I so evil that you think so badly of me, why would I walk out on you? “Wait”, he said as she was about to object, “I behaved badly the last time, yes, I was too proud to apologise. But I am sorry that I put you through that misery. You and I are as much responsible for this, and we are going to work it out together.
Uju blinked, it was one of those dreams right? Olumide moved towards her, his face determined; it was not going to be easy coping, but he was going to be a man this time. He held her close; he now understood the reason for the bags beneath her eyes and the fear he had caused her to suffer. “We will find a way out of this, I can’t promise it would be easy but I am going to be there for us”
Ololade Okedare has a degree in Physiotherapy from Obafemi Awolowo University and is a writer (screen and prose) by profession. She is passionate about women empowerment, family institution, child rights and social justice. She is deep rooted in her Christian faith and has a platform where she mentors young women. She is an alumnus of Orange Academy and currently running her post-graduate programme in media and journalism at the Pan African University. She is married to her beloved Fiyinfolu.
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