Thorns and Roses

Chapter 19

Eyram laid in bed with her eyes tightly shut. She didn't want to wake up. Not to the reality that she had fallen into this trap again. She could hear him snore lightly. She guessed it was a few minutes past 11 pm. She sighed loudly and turned to her side.
Eyram replayed the earlier events in her mind. She remembered how Jake had appeared just when she had made the final decision to walk out of the house, leaving Kojo behind. She remembered how he pulled her into a tight hug that made her feel like she was suffocating. She remembered trying to speak, to tell him she had to leave but her body and mouth prevented her from doing so.

Jake had lifted her up in his strong arms and led her first to the hall. He had set her down gently onto the carpet and kissed her till she was breathless. Then he lifted her up again and sent her to the room. It had all felt so wrong yet so right too.

'Are you ok?' She was startled when she heard his sleepy voice ask.

'I...I am fine...I need to go home. It's late.' She began getting out of bed.
Jake grumpled a response and turned to continue sleeping while Eyram stood and stared at the large mass on the bed. She remembered the truce she had made with her conscience that hours ago and clenched her fists.

She forced her feet into the small bathroom slippers beside the bed and stomped out of the room. It was obvious Jake's wife had very small feet. Eyram walked into the hall and slumped her body into the couch.

'I needed a man and you brought him Lord...if you knew he wasn't right why did you make me meet him! I need a man Lord! I need to feel accepted and warm and...' Eyram' s voice trailed off at the sound of Kojo' s voice.

'Auntie?...' the little boy whispered from the other couch.

'I put you to bed...what are you still doing up?' Eyram asked in confusion as she rose and moved closer to him.

'Mummy...I miss my mummy...' Kojo began to sob.

The sound of his painful sob sent shivers down Eyram's spine. Was she breaking up a family just because she needed a man? A man who was already taken.

She lifted Kojo off the seat and sat down with him on her laps. Eyram pulled him in and patted his back.

'Your mummy will be home soon. Please don't cry.'

***_***

'Good morning Esi Brandful. I hope you had a restful night. Seems like we will be discharging you today.' The young doctor on duty said and smiled broadly at Esi.

Esi smiled back weakly. Her night had been fitful as she had battled within her on whether to divorce Jake and move on with her son or to stay on.

'Have all my bills been paid please?' Esi asked the doctor.

'Yes ma'am...your husband made payment. We will need to refund some money back though. I will have to speak to the cashier so she makes a refund of the balance to you before you leave.

'Sure. Thanks.'

'So I have signed you off... You are now officially discharged. Have a lovely day Mrs. Brandful.' The doctor placed Esi's patient book in the nurse's open hand and walked out of the ward.

'Can you please belp me get a taxi as you work on my balance?' Esi asked the nurse who was following the doctor out.

'Yes I will ... give me 30 minutes tops.' The nurse gently shut the ward door.

'Ok.'Esi replied to the shut door.

Last night she had made a decision to stay again. She wasn't going to break her marriage vows just because her husband was doing so. And she wasn't going to allow herself to fall into adultery or become closely attached to any other man. She knew she had to create some form of space between Doctor Samuel and herself. Esi knew it was the right thing to do even though it hurt.

'Father...please give me strength for this. I am weary and in pain. I hear how other women enjoy their marriages and I wonder how I got here. I won't use my present situation to sin against you but Lord please make it better. This marriage is no more a rose, it never even was. Father, I am putting my attraction to Samuel on the line because I am a married woman. Please do something so I don't fall into sin with this man. Please. I don't want to repay all of Jake's evil with evil. What good will it do to my son and Jake himself?

***_***

Esi slowly let herself down onto the bed in the guest room. She had done an inspection of the house and realised another woman had been around. It showed in how the place had been well kept while she had been away. She knew her husband wasn't as tidy as the house looked now.

Esi refused to think more on the matter and forced herself to conclude that her husband had brought in a maid to clean up the house and take care of Kojo.

Esi picked up her phone from beside her and began to dial her boss' number.

***_***

It was 5:10pm.

Jake sat quietly in his last meeting of the day. He remained oblivious to the presentation being made before him. He had woken up with a lot of guilt in his heart. He didn't want to blame it on the dream he had had the night before because he vaguely remembered it or on his encounter with Eyram the previous night.

Eyram had been nowhere to be found and this had forced him to get Kojo ready for school. He had been at his wits end when it came to deciding what food Kojo will eat for breakfast. After settling for Milo and toasted bread with a layer of jam and peanut butter for his son's breakfast and warming the jollof from the previous night for Kojo's packed lunch, Jake got into the shower. He had shut his eyes and allowed his mind to wander and remember how he had first met Esi.

'Mr Brandful, do you have any questions or opinions to share with us?' A colleague asked, jolting his mind back to his present environment.

'I think it was good.' He cleared his throat and responded.

'Great job guys...keep it up.' Jake stood from his seat and began gathering his items.

'I think we can call it a day. My wife is ill and on admission at the hospital. I need to go and see her.' Jake continued and began moving out of the board room.

Just as he stepped out, he heard his phone ring.

'Hello?' He answered without looking at the caller ID.

'Hello Kwabena. I am home. What would you like for supper please?'

Jake frowned. Esi sounded cool and collected again. His mind began to race along with his heartbeat as he tried to remember if he had left everything in its right place so Esi won't find out another woman had been to the house.

'Hello? Kwabena?' Esi repeated over the phone.

'I thought you had stopped calling me that.' Jake replied in an unamused voice.

'I just resmuned...what will you have for dinner dear?' Esi replied in a hearty voice.

'I will eat anything. Is Kojo home yet?' Jake replied.

'No...I thought he was with either you or your mum.'

'Lemme call you back.' Jake responded abruptly.

He was sure Kojo had been picked from school already. What he wasn't sure was where he was:with Eyram or his mother.

Jake dialled his mother's number and waited for her to answer on the third ring.

'Mum...is Kojo with you?' Jake demanded.

'Eyram just picked him up...she is sending him home. She mentioned she had to get there early enough to prepare supper for you.'