James’ steps falter as he sees Dave at the corridor. He had walked out of the bar to regain his composure. He was so sure he appeared like an open book back there.
He had thought that Dave would still be in the bar and had wanted to have a tete a tete with Alice over the paternity of the baby. It was when he stepped into the hospital corridor that he realised that it couldn’t have been possible.
He had totally forgotten that Alice shared the room with Kathryn. And now, Dave appears…like a monitoring spirit. He wonders what he could have said to Alice. It would have been cool if he could say something like, “You ain’t coming back home if you don’t tell me how you got pregnant…” But there’s no way he could say that. Whose home would he be talking about? His home or Alice’s? The house belongs to Alice.
He has no share in its ownership because Alice paid for and furnished it. All the documents were in her name. Once again, he regrets his wasteful lifestyle. Alice had pleaded with him that they should buy the house but he refused. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t have added a few millions of Naira then, after all, he had just been paid a handsome amount for a contract he handled then, but something just made him turn a deaf ear to her entreaties.
A resolute woman, Alice had paid for the house and told him that she bought it in her own name since he felt acquiring properties was a waste of funds. He had laughed and bought a wonder on wheels and cruised around town.
However, he had to dispose of the vehicle during drought time, when he couldn’t afford to maintain it. Today, the house, Alice’s house, has more than quadrupled in worth. He shakes his head as he wills himself back to the present. Threatening Alice with homelessness if she refuses to confess who she had an amorous dealing with is akin to rendering himself homeless. Can a tenant eject a landlord? That’s wishful thinking.
He clears his thoughts by shaking his head again. In this situation he finds himself, it’s loss, loss for him! He approaches Dave and Dave walks toward him. In his present state, he fails to realise that Dave has lost his composure.
“Are you feeling much better now?” Dave asks him, successfully masking his restlessness. “Sure…sure…nothing wrong with me,” James replies smoothly. He marvels at his outward calm despite his tumultuous inside.
“The young mothers are sleeping and it won’t be good if we disturb their rest,” Dave says, deftly turning him back to the entrance. “You’re right Bros,” James says, thankful that somehow, the evil day had been postponed. They walk out together.
*****
Kathryn shouts the second time and Alice turns in her bed. “What’s the matter?” she asks groggily.
“Sister…,” Kathryn begins but the words get stuck in her throat. How does she begin to ask such a question?
How does she ask a friend who has been closer than a sister, a friend who sheltered and fed her when she could have been sleeping under unveiled sky, exposed to the vagaries of weather and human risks? How does she ask such a sister if she slept with her husband? She swallows hard. “Nothing sis,” she says, coughing lightly to dislodge the phlegm that has gathered in her throat.
“Nothing,” she says again, knowing too well that there’s something, in fact, there are many things. Alice has settled back into her bed and is obviously asleep.
Kathryn looks around her as anger wells up inside her. Then the tears come down hard on her cheeks and she lets them soak her blouse. After a while, she feels better. A baby cries. She looks and it’s Alice’s son.
She lies down, turns her back and pretends to be sleeping. She can hear the rustling of clothes as Alice picks her baby. She must have slept off because she wakes up to happy voices. She turns to see family members -mother in-law et al- in the room.
Joy fills her heart. She would have ruined everything if she had said any accusatory word to Alice earlier. Dave and James look the perfect picture of brand new fathers. Grinning from ear to ear, they accept all the congratulatory messages proudly. “My daughters, thank you for bringing double joy into our home. How are you doing? These babies are blessed. They will continue to be sources of blessing to us,” Dave’s mother says.
The two new mothers look at her with joy as she prays for them all. She picks up Kathryn’s baby and examines her the way only grandmothers do.
“Haaaa…she’s a bonafide member of our family. The features are there. See the well set chin and the forehead,” she says to no one in particular.
She turns to Kathryn, beaming with smiles, she says, “Thank you my daughter. When I saw you the first time, I knew you would do me proud”. Alice freezes as she turns to her baby’s cot.
One could feel her excitement as she examines Alice’s baby. Proudly, she declares, “Ahaaaaah!
I have always said it. I wish your parents are still alive today James. Look at him! His ears! Did you notice these ears? That’s my husband’s ear! Papa David will be so happy today.
You see, your fathers had always argued over who has the stronger gene. We, the wives, used to take sides. James, this is your uncle, David’s father. He won here. Your mother would have offered my husband a cock as an acceptance of defeat. Unmistakable features of your grandfather. David’s father is his carbon copy.
It means your grandfather has reincarnated in James’ son. He will be named David. “Oh my God, the two new additions to the family look like twins. They must grow up together as twins.
Daddy says they will be named together in the family house. The whole family will witness the occasion.” The old woman goes on and on, dancing and hugging the two mothers excitedly… James’ face is a study in emotion.
He’s not sure if he’s grinning or frowning. Is it possible that two different doctors in two different hospitals made wrong diagnoses? He will make a discreet investigation, monitor his wife’s phone calls once they get home, perhaps.
..A little seed of hope sprouts in his mind. He looks at the happy and celebratory faces around him and his face breaks into a real smile. Dave had almost died.
He only began to come back to life when his mother said Alice’s baby looks like their father and grandfather.
Hey! That’s safe enough…for now at least. He peeks at James and notices that he’s smiling. If only he knows that Alice’s baby is to be named after his real father.
Hmmmmmmmmm! Alice is anything but relieved. Cool, no one is saying her son is a bastard but it narrows down James’ suspicion.
It’s clear to James and Kathryn that she’s tumbled in the hay with a member of the family. How long will it be before they narrow it down to Dave? What will then happen? And he will be called David… Dave! She shivers! Kathryn is so confused.
That expands the scope for her. She could have betted her life that her hubby fathered Alice’s son. Not anymore. Has Alice been monkeying with another member of the family?
Hmmmmmmmmm….this is serious. They have so many men in the family… all so handsome. Who are the men that Alice is very friendly with in their family?
She’ll monitor Alice’s movement… but Alice is closest to Dave! An icy hand clutches at her throat… A nurse comes in. Since both mothers and their babies are in excellent condition, they can go home that evening.
********
Can’t wait to see how these people untie and knot this pesky issue! Can you? Let’s meet here on Sunday to see if they are able to clear the air.
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