(Continued from last issue)
David and Diane have been married for years; then there is Julie, the young secretary whose axis collides with the couple’s in ways none of them saw coming.
JULIE
“I thought they were finishing the master bathroom yesterday; why isn’t the tiling done yet?” I demanded angrily.
I was standing with the engineer in the doorway of a far-from-complete bathroom, and felt myself rapidly losing my cool.
We were finally on the homestretch of the work on the manager’s unit above the office at the Katosi site, but there were still lots of final touches to be done, and we only had a week left at the apartment before we were billed for another month’s rent, which was why I was at the site on a Sunday.
“I’m sorry, madam; there was a miscalculation on the square footage of the floor tiles needed, so we’re a carton short, and they can’t do the walls until they finish the floor,” the engineer explained apologetically.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me this yesterday?” “The error was only realized after you had left.”
“In other words when they were meant to be finishing it!” I retorted in exasperation and then sighed deeply; getting frustrated was not going to solve the problem.
“Fine, I’ll get another carton of floor tiles; just make sure there is no miscalculation on the wall ones as well before I go,” I said warningly.
“There isn’t, I’ve already double-checked,” he assured me. “Good; I’ll come with the floor ones tomorrow. When is the carpenter finishing?” “He should be done on Wednesday.”
“Alright,” I nodded approvingly, and then glanced at my watch; David’s mother had invited Junior and I to lunch, and I did not want to be late. My relationship with her remained warm and cordial, but I was still nervous about visiting her without David, and he was spending the day with his other children.
It was on days like this that I really appreciated having a car; I had not been driving myself for long and still got nervous on busy roads, but the freedom and independence to go where I wanted, when I wanted had been extremely liberating.
Then again, it was only one of lots of life changes that David had given me; never in a million years could I have imagined that I would be buying tiles or supervising the construction of my home, let alone an entire estate.
These were experiences that I knew I was only able to have because of David, which was why no matter how shoddily he treated me, there was nothing he could do that I would not readily forgive.
DAVID
I was furious at the stunt Diane had pulled, disappearing with the children when she knew I was coming.
It was a low blow, even for her, but more than that, it was scary to think that she would go as far as using our children to hurt me. I might have failed as a husband, but my children were everything to me; they were my pride and joy, and I had always been determined to succeed as a father; that was a large part of the true measure of a man.
That was also a large part of the reason I had refused to consider giving Julie up, even to save my marriage; Junior was my son, and it was just as important for me to be a father to him, as it was for me to be a father to Daniel and the girls.
Neither role was one I would compromise on, and Diane knew that, which was why for her to pull the stunt she just had was so scary; how far was she willing to take our fight? I tried calling her, but after our initial call she had turned off her phone, and after several tries, I gave up and texted her instead.
‘Diane, I don’t know what kind of stupid game you think you’re playing, but I’m warning you, you’re treading on thin ice. I’ll let today slide but will come tomorrow evening as usual and the kids better be there, or you and I will have a serious problem!’
With the text sent, I pushed Diane and her games from my mind, left the house and drove to my mother’s place. She had invited Julie and I for lunch, saying she missed and wanted to see Junior, but having made plans to spend the day with Daniel and the girls, I had told Julie to take Junior, and give my mother my apologies for not being able to make it.
However, now that my plans with the children had been cancelled, I figured I might as well go for the lunch instead; it had been a while since I had visited my mother, and Julie still got shy and nervous around her when on her own.
In any case, since I went straight to the house after work during the week, I did not really spend too much time with Junior, as he was normally already asleep by the time I got back.
Diane had kept Daniel and the girls away from me today, and I would fix that tomorrow, but they were not my only children; today I would be a father to my other son.
DIANE
I knew I had succeeded in touching a nerve with David from the number of missed calls I found from him, as well as the ominous tone in his text, but rather than back down and heed his warning to stop playing games, his reaction told me I had found his soft spot and only encouraged me to press harder.
Only slightly nervous about what I was about to do, I picked up my phone and called my brother.
“Hey sis, this is a nice surprise! How are you?” he answered warmly. “Hi; I’m fine thanks, but I need a favour.” “Sure; what’s up?” “I need the kids to stay at yours for a few days starting tomorrow.”
“Don’t they have school?” “Yes, they do; I would drop them at your place after school tomorrow, and was hoping you could drop and pick them after that – it would not be for long, just a day or two,” I hurried to reassure him.
“Don’t you think the weekend would be a better time for them to visit? Does it have to be tomorrow, at the start of a school week?”
“Yes, I’m afraid it does, and I’m sorry because I know it’s an inconvenience and a huge favour, but I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t really need your help,” I pleaded desperately.
I needed him to agree to this, or my plan would fall to pieces. There was silence for a few nail-biting seconds, before he sighed and answered; “Alright; I don’t know what’s going on, but you are right, I know you wouldn’t ask if you didn’t really need my help; so fine, drop them off after school tomorrow and we’ll keep them for as long as you need us to.”
“Thank you,” I breathed gratefully. “No problem; that’s what family is for, right?” “Yes, it is; thank you,” I repeated, and after saying our goodbyes, I hung up and mused over his reference to family.
He did not know it, but family was the reason I was doing all this – saving mine before it was gone for good.
margaretwamanga@yahoo.com
About the Author
