“I’m sorry to cause you pain, but my mother is brining another woman for me. I mean, it has been ten years since we got married and there is nothing to show for it. I’m tired. I think I have tried.” Charles said to his wife Nura. It was Nura’s 39th birthday and Charles had taken her to a posh restaurant for what Nura thought was going to be a befitting birthday treat. It turned out to be a heartbreaking date night. She never expected her husband to announce the entrance of a new woman into their home on her birthday.
“And it is today you chose to tell me? My God, Charles are you this cruel? I thought you brought me here for a birthday treat? I thought you wanted to make me happy on my birthday? How would you feel if I did this kind of thing to you? You are very heartless.” Nura said. She started weeping and she reached for her bag and brought out a white tissue which she used to wipe her tears. The white tissue turned brownish because of the makeup on her face. She stuffed the tissue back into her bag.
“I’m sorry Nura, but I have tried. I mean, which man would live with a barren woman for ten years without getting tired? What else do you want me to do? I have taken you to all manner of hospitals and herbal clinics; still, there has been no solution to this problem. Honestly, I’m tired. I want to have children when I’m still young so that I will be able to take care of them and train them before growing old. I’m currently 45 years old. I’m not getting any younger and neither do you. And concerning your birthday, I’m sorry, but there is no better time to announce this. It is always going to hurt if I told you on your birthday or not. Please, I’m not chasing you away neither are we getting a divorce. We are still together. But I’m saying I need to try another woman, let me see if the problem is coming from me or you. My family is putting so much pressure on me and I cannot bear it anymore.” Charles said. He carefully avoided looking at Nura his wife directly in the face. It was a difficult decision for him too and he reasoned that he might change his mind if he sees Nura’s tears which by then was pouring like water.
“You said there is nothing to show for our marriage, but we have built so many things together since we got married. I married you when you had nothing. I married you when you had no money in your pockets or in your bank account. I agreed to marry you when you were living in a one room apartment. I accepted to marry you when you had no car. I married you when you had no job. I got married to you when you were sleeping on a mat. I married you and when we got home on our wedding day, the landlord came to chase us out because you had not paid your rent. I married you when you were poor and wretched. You had nothing to your name except your certificates and ambitions. I believed you and your ambitions. I worked hard with you and stood by you.” Nura said. She was still crying. She knew she cannot change her husband’s decision to marry another woman, but at least, she would pour out her heart to him in full. Not that it mattered, but she had to set the records straight as it had become apparent that another woman was coming to enjoy and feed off her hard work just because she cannot bear children.
“I struggled with you in sickness and in good health. I stood by you all the way to the point when you started making good money. I hawked in the streets for us to feed when we had no food at home. I did everything a wife would do to support her husband. Now, you have finally made it and you are standing by your feet and you are telling me there is nothing to show for our marriage? I can’t believe you said this to me. That would count as the most painful thing anyone has ever told be, because I practically suspended my life and lived for you.” Nura lamented. She began packing up her things from the table. She had ordered shawarma but when the waitress brought it, she declined because she lost her appetite the moment her husband mentioned to her that he was getting a second wife.
“Of course, I’m not saying we have not achieved anything. There is no doubt that we have achieved a lot. And it is also true that you stood by me through difficult times. In fact, you suffered so much for me. But the thing is that you have not been able to give birth. I really want to have children as fast as possible. My family is putting pressure on me and the whole thing is becoming difficult to bear. I want you to see it from my own point of view too. Please, let me try another woman. I and you will still be together, we are not getting a divorce.” Charles said.
“It is very easy for you to say, but you don’t know how much this hurts. You don’t know you are tearing my heart apart with those words. I can’t bear to share you with another woman. The thought of it alone shatters my heart into tiny pieces. After all I have suffered with you, another woman is coming into the house to sit and enjoy it? If you do this to me, I will never forgive you.” Nura said. She stood up, packed her things into her handbag and left the restaurant. She refused to drive home with her husband.
She booked Uber and actually got home before her husband. When she got home, she found her mother-in-law waiting at the security post with the new wife her husband had talked about. She greeted her mother-in-law but the old woman refused to respond.
In Africa, one of the most difficult things for a wife to deal with is to be at loggerheads with her mother-in-law. It becomes a serious issue when a wife has failed to bear a child and the mother-in-law is unhappy with the situation. If the husband is not strong, his wife would be plunged into hell. No one blames the husband, so Nura knew she now has a serious problem in her hands.
“Oh! My God! What I have been afraid of is finally happening.” Nura said in her heart as she respectfully took her mother-in-law’s bag into the house.
“How am I going to survive this? God please give me the strength to deal with this situation.” Nura asked herself when she went into her room to change her dress. Just then, the new wife called her from the living room.
“Fetch me water to drink and be fast about it.” The new wife said to Nura.
“What?” Nura asked, surprised. She wondered why the new wife was sending her around just a few minutes after entering the house.
“You heard her. Go and do as she said. You good-for-nothing-woman. Oh yes, what else are you good for in this house? You are a barren witch. For good ten years you have not given me grandchildren. What else are you good for if not for running errands? My friend rush and fetch water for my son’s wife.” Nura’s mother-in-law said with a harsh voice. It is a very painful thing for a childless woman to be called barren. Nura went to fetch the water with tears in her eyes.
“I will fight this and overcome.” Nura vowed in her hearth.keep following Ocholongwa Jacob . Jesus loves you.
Watch out for episode 2.