[STORY] THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE (Episode 11)

Episode 11.

Both of them, John, my driver and Efe, my maid, were standing just a few feet from my door. They rushed to my side before I could retreat into my room. “Wait, sir. Please sir, don’t do this to us,” my driver began to plead as he held me back.

“So the two of you tricked me, right?” I asked for want of any other thing to say. “Sir, we cannot resign from your employment. We only pretended we had quit and had left because we needed you to come out of your room. You have locked yourself up for hours now. You have not eaten anything,” Efe said. With that, she went down on her knees with tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks. To my surprise, John too began to shed tears. I was touched; really touched. These two were showing that they really cared about me. I asked Efe to get up as I began to fight back tears. She got up. I led her and my driver to the living room. We all sat down.

For a while, no one talked. I could not say anything for fear of bursting out in tears. Finally, however, I got a grip on myself, cleared my throat and addressed them.

I told them I had felt despondent and depressed after the second test showed I was not fertile enough to father a child. I then confessed I had begun to consider suicide as the only option left to me. John and Efe were shocked at my confession.

“But what more would I be living for. My wife has betrayed me. As if that is not enough, tests have proven that I am not the biological father of my children, Peter and Pamela, whom I love with all my heart. Then came the news that I am not fertile enough to father a child. So, what am I then living for?” I asked. “ Daddy, we know how you feel. In fact we are all devastated by all that is happening. But seriously, suicide cannot be a way out. You have preached to us several times about how evil suicide is. Why resort to it now?” my driver asked me.

For the first time, I could not look into his eyes. I felt stupid ever contemplating suicide.

“You are right, John. I am sorry. It will never happen again” I said Then John spoke again. He said he did not think all was lost for me. He had heard of fertility centres where men who could not father children are helped to become fertile.

“Yes!” Efe responded, brightening up immediately. “Fertility centres could help. I know two of them. John, you are right” she said.

I could see from the way she had brightened up suddenly, that they had been really affected by my plight. But, indeed, what John said made me brighten up too. There was nothing I would not do to become a father, a biological father.

Despite the truth having been made to me, my heart still yearned for Peter and Pamela. Yes, they may not be my biological children but I still loved them. It was going to be very difficult for me to turn my back on them.

Memories of happy times with Peter and Pamela often came rushing back to me. I could remember very well my trip with them to Egypt where we went visiting the pyramids.

Pamela had been scared initially but had later on overcome her fear of the pyramids. We had a very good time. Then also was my trip with them to Zambia. We had visited the Niagara Falls and later were at the Game and Wildlife Park to watch the wild animals in their natural habitats.

Sometimes, I could hear their laughter, their innocent laughter. All these made me hate their mother the more. She had shattered the unity and happiness of the family.

“It’s time for supper, sir. I have prepared your favourite for you” Efe announced. I knew what she meant by my favourite. wonder woman “Well, today, no supper in this house. I am taking both of you out. We are going to have our supper at the Super Maxi Restaurant” I announced.

John beamed with delight. I noticed that Efe immediately wore a crestfallen look. I knew she did not like the idea of us eating outside. “Efe! Come on. We always enjoy your food but it is not every time we have to eat at home and it is not every time that you have to cook. I am giving you and John a treat because you have remained my best friends in my moment of need. So, come on. Let, everybody go and prepare!” I said.

The two left for their respective rooms. I left for my room too. I had my bath, a hot bath and then got into a simple sleeveless light blue shirt with a blue- black khaki trouser to match. When I emerged, I found that John and Efe were already waiting for me.

Efe was in a simple purple dress while John was in a white T-shirt and a blue jeans trouser. wonder woman “Good. The two of you look superb. Now, off we go,” I said. To John’s chagrin, I insisted that I will be the one to drive. He protested. Efe supported him – they could not imagine how me, their employer, will drive them to town. Finally, however, they caved in to my demand. I got behind the steer with John by my side and drove off. We had a nice evening at the Super Maxi Restaurant. Everything at the restaurant was very expensive. While a bottle a bottle of coca cola was selling at GH¢3.00 in town, it was selling at GH¢10.00 at the restaurant. It was so priced to keep some elements from patronizing the place.

We had an exciting evening. A live band played some local songs. I did not dance but I encouraged John and Efe to. At 10:30pm, we left the place and returned home.

“Thank you for a nice evening sir,” Efe said, beaming with a smile when we arrived home. I returned to my room feeling a bit cheerful. I went to bed with a smile.

I woke up the next morning at 6:30am. I was surprise to find lawyer Torto waiting for me in the living room. “I have brought back $30,000 out of the $35,000 you paid us for our services. Since the result of the test showed you are not fertile, and therefore incapable of fathering a child, it will be useless to continue with the case. My chamber therefore decided that we return the $30,000 out of what you paid to us” he said. wonder woman I was surprise by the move. It showed honesty. I collected the cheque and thanked him. That morning, after we had had breakfast, John and Efe set out in search of a fertility centre. They were back later to take me to one that they felt will help – the Royal International Fertility Centre. The doctor on duty was one Dr. Paul Quansah. For twenty minutes, I was with him. He took me through the line of treatment they were going to give me. Finally, we scheduled that I begin the programme in two days’ time. I left the hospital feeling confident that I had found the solution to my infertility. Soon, I would be able to father a child. But, it felt as though I was starting life all over again.

When I returned home, the two persons who had become my confidants, John and Efe, sat with me to discuss the latest development. Everyone was enthusiastic about the fertility treatment I was going to go through.

“I cannot wait for you to complete it, sir. Then you can have your own children, your own flesh and blood,” John said. “Well, I must be grateful to the two of you. Without you, it would not have been possible. The doctor there has assured me that within a month, the treatment will be completed,” I said. Efe said what excited her most was the fact that the whole treatment will not involve orthodox medicine or injections. I was going to be on diet and will be taking some herbal drinks and food supplements. I nodded in agreement.

We all, in our moment of excitement, did not think about who was going to be my partner to give birth to my children. We had very light supper that evening. Then we relaxed in the living room to watch TV. After watching the latest Ghanaian film, I left the two for my bedroom. But before I could enter, I suddenly felt urge to have a look at Peter and Pamela’s room. I retraced my steps down the corridors, virtually tip-toeing because I did not want to alert John and Efe about where I was going. They would definitely have followed me there if they knew I was going there. But, I wanted to be there alone. I got to the door and gently opened it. Immediately I did, the scent of my children reached me. With my heart beating wildly, I pushed open the door and entered. Their presence was everywhere.

Their picture, mounted on huge frames looked down at me from the wall. I stared back at them, their smiles. Their innocent smiles were everywhere. And their eyes bore into me as if they were appealing to me not to let go off them. I opened their wardrobe; they dresses hanged in there while their shoes were arranged on the shoe rack. Pamela’s teddy bear lay quietly and sadly on her bed.

I fought back tears. They were the two children I had known as mine for the past years. Those were the children I had hugged, kissed and cuddled as a father. But in a twinkle of an eye, I had discovered that they were not my children – at least DNA tests had proven they were not my children. It was so unbelievable. How could I live the rest of my life knowing that they were not my children? I sat down on Pamela’s bed. Memories of nights I used to come and sit on their beds and chat with them came flooding back to me. I felt the tears swelling up in my eyes. Then I realized that I was trembling. “I still love you, Peter. I still love you Pamela. You are my children! You will always be my children, I promise,” I heard myself say.

I reached for Pamela’s bed sheet and wrapped it around my body. It felt like having her wrap her arms around me as I carry her.

“Pamela my princess! My love! My baby! I love you so much,” I said. By this time, I was weeping. The tears were flowing liberally down my cheeks. My heart was burning, burning for my children.

I began to wonder where they were at that material moment. Were they missing me too? Were they being coached to call another man ‘Daddy’? How will their young hearts assimilate all that was happening around them? I looked up once more at their pictures hanging from the wall. They were all smiling and their eyes were beaming directly at me. I began to think of the future I had planned for them. Before I knew it, I had fallen asleep on Pamela’s bed.

It was a sweet sleep for me because I dreamt about Peter, Pamela, their mother and I having fun at the countryside in England where we had gone visiting relatives. We went horse riding and swimming. I woke up later to find that it was all just a dream. I took a look at my wrist watch. The time read half past four in the morning. I lay still on the bed, thinking about the tragedy that had rocked my family. Then I thought about the prospects of me becoming a biological father soon after my fertility treatment. That gave me something to be cheerful about.

However, being in Peter and Pamela’s room and feeling their presence all over made it very difficult for me to stop thinking about them. Despite the results of the DNA and the fertility test later on, I still found it difficult to accept that Peter and Pamela were not my biological children.

Didn’t they have some resemblance to me? On countless occasions, many people had talked about how Peter in particular resembles me. Yet, tests had proved that he was not my biological child. Even worse, I was not fertile enough to father a child. I sighed, feeling very depressed.

At 5:00am, I finally left the room and sneaked back to mine. I quickly had a shower after which I phoned a private detective I knew. I told him about my estranged wife and my children. Then I asked him if he could trace where my wife now lives with the children.

“No problem boss” he replied. His name was E.C. Otoo. He had been my friend for years but I had never taken his business seriously. Private Investigators thrive in advanced countries, not in countries like Ghana. At least, so I thought. Now, I needed him desperately.

We discussed how much it will cost me and quickly settled on a figure. He, however, will receive payment only after he had successfully carried out the task entrusted to him.

That morning, I told John and Efe that I was going to teach them how to play tennis. They were surprised. Efe’s countenance indicated that she was not enthusiastic about the idea. She was a very reserved person.

“Efe, all work and no play will make you a dull person. Let us get out and have some fun. Tennis is fun” I told her. Reluctantly, she went to change into a sports wear. We all immediately set off for the tennis club.

Only a few people were present when we arrived. This enabled me ample opportunity to teach them how to play tennis. John grasped the rudiments faster than Efe. Within an hour, they were playing against each other.We spent two hours at the tennis club before we finally returned home. Hardly had we reached home when my phone rang. It was Otoo, the investigator. He said he had spent the entire morning in search of my wife and the children and had discovered that the children had been flown out of the country.

I was crestfallen and heartbroken. Nora had sent the children beyond my reach. I went to my room, fell on the bed and burst into tears. I was still crying when Efe came to knock on the door.

“Food is ready, sir. Yam and palaver sauce!” she announced cheerfully. Steadying my voice, I told her I will be out soon. I went to the bathroom, had my bath and later emerged from the bedroom to dine with John and Efe. I could see they were in high spirits. The tennis had done them a lot of good. We had our meal together. Over the meal, John popped out the multi-billion dollar question.

“Sir, I am confident that your fertility treatment will yield positive results. Who will be the lucky woman to be the mother of your biological children?” he asked.

The question took me by surprise. I could see it took Efe too by surprise. I paused for a while and then shrugged, saying if we get to the river, we will know how to cross it.

The idea of me marrying again was not that which appealed to me. I loved Nora so much so after what she had done to me, I did not see the need to fall in love with another woman.

After that question, there was silence as we ate, each person buried in thought. Finally, we finished eating. I returned to my study to read but just as I was getting engrossed in what I was reading, my phone rang. I picked the call to be greeted by a familiar voice. “Peter!” I screamed out, dropping the book in my hand”.

To be continued….

Subscribe To ANE Talk Trends On Youtube

Subscribe To All Naija Entertainment On Youtube