The Lives We Lived

16: The aftermath

Kemi woke up to the sound of hurried footsteps. She sat up immediately and rubbed her eyes with her arms to fight off the captivating hold of sleep. From the large window, the moon bathed the room with a silver glow and she made out the figure of her husband struggling to stuff his feet into a pair of shoes.

"Osa," She called. He did not answer her and he did not stop what he was doing. He kept at it while she slung her legs to the side of the bed to sit up properly. She remembered waiting for him to return last night but she never remembered him coming back to the room before she dozed off.

"Did you spend the night outside?" She asked.

"Does it matter?" He snapped. She sighed. He was obviously still mad about yesterday. What was his problem? She had just as much say about their sexual life as he did. If she decided that she didn't want to have children yet, he ought to respect that.

"About last night..." Her voice trailed off. She didn't know how she would bring up the conversation without involving children in the discussion.

"Last night has passed. It is a new day." He replied. That was when she noticed that he was fully dressed. He had on a suit and a tie and even though she couldn't tell the colour, she was sure that one of his work satchels was on his bed.

"Baby, don't tell me you're going to work today." She said. All she got was silence. She got to her feet and walked past him so that she could turn on the lights. The lights flickered before it shone on them. While she was dressed in an almost transparent mini night dress, her husband was fully suited for work.

Her eyes flew to the fancy feather shaped wall clock in the room. "It's 4am. Where are you going to this morning?"

"I'm needed at the bank." He said.

"It's the weekend. We were supposed to spend the weekend together. Can't you just stay?" She asked, standing beside him.

He scoffed as he buckled his watch to his wrist. He picked up his satchel and made to leave the room. She stood right in front of him and she peered into his dark eyes. She opened her mouth to speak "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I have to."

"No you don't. It's your day off." She said. He adjusted the strap of his bag and tried to walk past her. She still stood in front of him. "Baby, stay with me. Stay with me-"

"Stay with you and do what?" He yelled. "It's not like if I stay with you we will achieve anything useful. See, life is short. I cannot invest in things that will not profit me. It's better that I go to work and not waste my time. Don't wait for me. I'll be late."

Her face fell as his words stung her heart. "Osa wait. We can-"

He didn't say another word but he pushed her our of the way. She stumbled slightly but caught herself before she fell. She held the door and walked out behind him. He took large purposeful steps down the hallway and she watched him walk away from her.

Her heart beat hard against her chest. Had her decision forced him to go to work on his free day? She didn't even want to think about it. She wandered into the room and shut the door behind her. She went to the bed and sat down on it.

She stared at the door for quite some time hoping that osa would come back to her and say that it was all a joke. But it didn't happen. The sound of the ticking clock had filled her hours with despair as she allowed her mind to replay their fight last night.

Where had she gone wrong? Was he really that desperate for a baby? What if he went to another woman? She rose to her feet and shook her head. Her husband wasn't that kind of man and she would like to keep believing so.