A Woman Seeking Solace

Chapter 11: Every Dog Has Its Day

I've been told no one is meant to be unhappy, that misery is temporary and when it falls on you, it simply means it's your turn; tomorrow it will fall onto someone else and so on.

Life has no guarantees other than the fact that as humans we are destined to make decisions we either regret or wish we could have done differently. Some regret kissing the wrong boy, wearing the wrong dress and forgetting to remind people we love them. Others regret missing opportunities, giving up on their dreams and giving up on themselves but one thing I know everyone regrets, is forgetting that everyone has a story.

We forget that before marriage, you were strangers, then you become friends, you start dating, get engaged and become lovers. Marriage needs to take all those factors into consideration. Like strangers always wish to know your partner better, like friends always respect each other, and like lovers, you are to be of like mind and intention. It sounds so simple but honestly, it's more difficult to do than you think.

I always thought I knew the man I married but after recent events, I wonder if truly one can ever know someone. What started as a simple day, turned out to be the start of a new chapter in my life.

To think it all started with a simple knock on the door days before our wedding.

It was December 23rd and I was the last one to get dressed. We were going shopping. The trip was going to serve two purposes; getting everyone Christmas presents and finalizing the décor for the wedding in 2 days.

Everyone was excited, unfortunately the excitement was short lived. At first I couldn't hear the knock. Dada was playing her Christmas jingles as loud as she could. I think it was her way of making sure we were all awake and no one was late. Everything was going smoothly until our unexpected guest forced us to delay our plans.

Uhuru went to open the door and walked back with him. He walked in, greeted us and we just stared. The others got over their shock quickly and went to hug him but I continued to stare. It had been nearly 8 years since I last saw him. We used to get along but now his presence makes me uncomfortable. His crude jokes implying Uhuru looked more like him than my husband had gotten the best of me. I disliked anyone playing such jokes, so I did my best to force separation between him and my family. Even though I knew he wasn't my favourite person in the world, he and my husband were best friends and basically brothers.

I knew his being here meant nothing but trouble. Whenever he was around, Rafiki would come home late, go out drinking and just be a guy. I wanted to pull him to the side, find out what he wanted and then tell him to leave but it was too late. Without warning I saw my husband fly past me and hug Hatari.

They were so happy to see each other, I suppose even though they hadn't seen each other in years, they were prepared to pick up where they left off. My husband looked at me and smiled signalling his wish for privacy with Hatari, it was a silent plea, like one a child makes when they wish to go and play.

I nodded and reminded him we made plans to go shopping as a family, so he could not ask to be excused but also he couldn't invite his bestie either. He promised he wouldn't take long, ordered one of the helpers to bring them some whiskey and then off they were to the study.

I don't know why I believed he'd keep his promise, after all Dada is the only member of our family is good at keeping time. After 3 hours of waiting, I told the others to go ahead without us and that we'd catch up to them. I waited another 30 minutes and then decided enough was enough. I went to the study and walked in on what was clearly an unpleasant conversation. Rafiki had his hands clenched in a fist and it was evident Hatari had decided to find comfort in the whiskey.