The relationship between Ann and I had gone very sour. We decided to put the kids in the boarding house; at least they could be out of the way. Honestly I didn’t know she had been laid off work, for about a week now. We were not talking and so she didn’t bother telling me about her job loss, I only noticed she was usually at home while I was leaving for work, but I didn’t care somehow. It could be that she chose to wait till I leave the house before she does.

And also I felt since the kids were now in the boarding house, she would no longer need to get up so early.



Sometimes, using most of the applications on gadgets makes sense, especially reminder and alarm. I wouldn’t have remembered it was her birthday if not for the birthday reminder I set on the laptop. It always prompts anniversaries, events, and other activities, once I logged on to the windows.

I put a call through but she didn’t pick it until after it had rang the sixth time, I thought it was deliberate, but she said she was in the bath at the time I called.

“Bath?’ I was surprised and checked the time on the laptop.

“Bath, of course’, she replied

“Are you on leave?’

“What leave?’ she answered.

“I just hope you are okay anyway?’

“Sure I am fine. I guess you remembered my birthday” She said.

“Yes, Happy birthday to you”,

“Thanks for remembering’, she answered.

“Is that why you didn’t go to work?’ I asked still surprised.

“Work?” She asked like it had become a crime to go to work, and said, “I’ve been laid off’.

“Laid-off, when, why, how?’… I asked all at once confused.

“Do you care, why bother now?’

“See Ann, I’m very sorry to hear this. We will think of something. Please I’m really very sorry, okay?’

“Okay’. She replied.

I never thought a time would come that Ann and I would no longer be close the way we used to be, we were like distant people now, we had suddenly become strangers and I felt guilty about this.

Rita- ah, women! Hmm, I sighed and wondered about women and why God chose to make them.

I thought of stories of great men who had bad encounters because of women. Women! I thought of the stories about Solomon, Samson, David, Orunmila, even Clinton and host of others; their escapade with women, some of them lost their glory through women, I thought about Joseph who seemed to be the only one that was able to escape the hungry passion of his boss’ wife, I wonder at how he managed it. Joseph of this world of today would not have only slept with their bosses’ wife, but would have gained so much financially, and might have plotted along with the boss’ wife to kill the boss and become the heir.

I think Ann was supposed to have told me about her job loss, wouldn’t she have said it if was an accident, regardless of whatever was happening.

“I’ll see you soonest”. I said and hung up the phone. I thought it was very bad of me to have treated her badly, she must believe I didn’t care about.

Now I feel repentant and sober. Nothing has happened again after that last time between Rita and me, but we’ve both been deeply involved in the business.

It would be a great idea to close early and arrive home early so I could be with Ann. I owed it to her on her birthday. She has the right to be happy, it was my duty to make her happy, and I mean to do exactly that.

I was supposed to see Rita that night but I cancelled my appointment with her immediately. That night I took Ann out but I guess it was a very big mistake, because I over reacted over an issue.

While we were entering the lounge of a hotel, someone, a man stopped to talk to Ann. This man did not bother to notice that she was with someone not to talk of the fact that the person was her husband. Was he even aware that she was married? I wondered when she started associating with men, and even men that doesn’t have respect for her husband. Thousands of thoughts slipped through my fast thinking brain. Was she seeing someone, was she balling? My heart skipped, no she couldn’t be.

“Hi, Ann. It’s a long time we’ve not seen’. He said and I could see that he was very excited. I felt something ran down my spine I was angry, perhaps the way the man blundered on us without taken notice of me, nor even saying sorry after blundering on us in the manner he did. I thought of how manner less some people could be, even if he was balling my wife- that’s already a disrespect, now disrespecting me to my face was another ball game altogether.


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