Ezeabata In A Golden Marriage

CHAPTER 4

Heaven and Obianauju ran quickly to the door of their parents room.
"Daddy!" Heaven calls out, "what's going on?"
"Mummy are you okay" Obianauju inquires
"This marriage should have been over a long time ago!" Shouts mrs Okafor.

"Oh i agree with you" says Mr Okafor
"Just that after i became born again, my heart rules out what my head wants and what more it's for the sakes of our children who shouldn't have to suffer the results of a broken home that i am still here."
"I was the one who showed you the way to finding Christ and being bornagain otherwise you would have perished!" Nkechi (mrs Okafor's first name) shouts
"So i should eternally be grateful to you or God! Tread softly please"

"I don't know why you are always head strong and too strong willed. I have always told you that as parents we must find a common ground to work on inorder to move the family together as leaders and that common ground is our new found faith in Christ else what we preach to the world will be meaningless if our lifestyle doesn't show it"
"Do you think you are in the right position to preach to me" mtschew she hisses

"You are simply over bearing sometimes l am tempted to say unmarriable!" He says
"Whatever!" She shouts.
Meanwhile in between thier arguments Heaven and her sister keeps hitting the door calling out to them to open the door.
Finally mr Okafor heeded and opens up as Heaven and her sister made their way into the room, their father went downstairs leaving them with their mum. He got to the living room and saw Echeta still in his confused state standing akin bow with his head dropt.

"You're still here son?" Inquires Okafor
"Yes... sir"he says stammering as he lifted his head still in shock
"You look like you saw a ghost Echeta" he added.
Echeta sighs admissible "it is well sir" he replies
"You will make me uncomfortable if you keep looking that way" he says
"Do me a favour please? " he added
"Anything sir" says Echeta.  Mr Okafor walks over to where Cheta was standing and putting his hands on his shoulder he says
"Relax it happens we all are humans. Aren't we?"he says

"We are sir" replies Echeta as he already took note of the bruises on his would be father in law's knuckles
"Can i get the first aid box to have that cleaned sir?" Okafor looks at his knuckles and told him where to get the first aid box on the big fridge at the dinning area. He got it and they sat down as he attended to the injury,while the ladies talks upstairs.

"What happened mum?" asked Heaven checking around for what crashed to make the noise they heard which  made them run upstairs.
"Were you two in a fight?" Uju (abbreviated from obianauju) asks also looking around.

"Is it not that father of yours, in anger he pounced the dressing mirror and it shattered. It was then Heaven and Uju looked towards the dresser area and saw the missing mirror which  is now broken with it's pieces littered all over the floor area of the dresser. After a pause Uju asks

"What happened? Was that punch meant for you?" She went to her mum checking if she is hurt
"Let me check daddy fast i will be back yeah" Heaven says
"Go i know that is where your heart is, it's not like you care for me" mrs Okafor says
"Mum! Dad is human too with blood in his veins inasmuch as i hold you both responsible for whatever happened here, till i find out the truth i must check his hands to see he has no injuries to be treated. Moreover did you forget Cheta was here? This is not the time to play victim card please."

She went downstairs and saw Cheta tending to her father's injury while the father was trying to apologize for whatever he witnessed
Heaven held on a bit by the living room door listening without them knowing.

"Am so sorry Echeta, for everything that happened this evening, you shouldn't have witnessed that, i feel so messed up."
"Well aren't we all?" says Cheta. "I think i have studied you long enough to undertand that whatever happened must have been something strong to make you react that way so it's okay sir, This too will pass." He says

"I think i would like to go for a ride to ease the tension i feel" Okafor says standing up to go get his car keys.
"Don't you think its late sir?"Echeta disagrees
"Believe me son it will relief me" replies Okafor. It was then Heaven came out from where she was
"Daddy i agree with Cheta it's late" looking at the clock she points that out.
"It's 6:30 pm Heaven Okafor says. "It will be a brief drive and i will be back i promise, it stopped raining already" he added.
"Let me take you instead sir" Echeta counters
"I insist he takes you daddy, that way i will have peace of mind." Says Heaven persistent
"Okay" mr Okafor reluctantly agrees.
They left in Echeta's car with Heaven telling them to be careful.

She goes upstairs to to join her mum and sister.
"Uju can you go get the broom and let's start with cleaning this mess" she says looking at Uju while pointing at the broken pieces of glass on the floor.
"Okay sis" Uju replies and left to get it.
"Where is your husband Adaeze?"(Heaven's native name)
Inquires Nkechi Okafor staring at her daughter
"He stepped out with Dad for a drive,  to help clear his mind" she says.
"More like to clean his mind" Nkechi scoffs
"Whatever you say mum" Heaven smirks and turns away to start picking the larger pieces of the broken mirror with her hands before Uju will come with what she was asked to get.

"I have noticed that you are always strongly behind your dad, no problem  you are a woman like me and what more i am your mother"

"Mummy haba! (An exclamation in hausa language, northern Nigeria)
"First it was a victim card now feminist and mom cards. At least look from a neutral ground please"

"Which is?" Her mother cuts in and at this time uju comes in with broom  and parker as Heaven puts the large  broken pieces of glass into the parker and asks Uju to go trash it and bring back the parker.  She collects the broom to start sweeping.

"Mummy do you know that  when i got downstairs to check on on dad, i met him apologizing to Cheta and i know he will do the same to me when he comes back. I consider that as one being selfless.I am not saying dad is better than you just pointing out that as much as i know dad is not flawless in fact no human being is not even me or you but i will like to see you selflessly working hard towards this marriage. Nothing about you takes dad unawares and that is where i think his strength to deal with his marital issues without blowing them out of proportion comes."

"Are you saying..." cuts in Nkechi
"Let me finish mummy please you know i like to express myself well i might be wrong but the way i see it mum,i expected that after 25 years of marriage you would have known dad very well and find a way to deal with his excesses by now but no you keep thinking that you can change him. I feel that change will come when not noticed if you handle it well to your advantage. This i say severally but may be because you gave birth to me and saw me grow, you don't see me adult enough to freely discuss these things with you. The energy i get from you mum to be honest is that of a man living with a man not a woman living with a man and i feel dad senses that as you challenging his leadership." Moreover mum men don't joke with their respect

"Does that mean a woman should wipe herself all over the floor for her husband all in the name of respect?" Counters Uju who came back with the parker tending to the heap of broken glass Heaven swept together on the floor of their parents room. Heaven to the sister
"So that is your translation from all i have been saying, really?" Heaven says shaking her head.
"Does he respect me his wife?" Shouts Nkechi

"And does the left hand fight the right hand when the face needs one of them to tend to it?" Heaven replies sarcastically
"What are you saying?" Asks Obianauju looking at her sister
"What does that mean in fact what does it have to do with anything please? "
"It's a proverb mum" says Heaven
"Meaning what wise woman Adaeze?" Asks her mum

"I am simply saying either of you can do so without pointing or waiting on the other person" concludes Adaeze
"More like i should be the first to do so okwa ya?"(it's that not so? In igbo language)
"You are reading meaning to it mummy. Can you please tell us what happened between you and dad.