Ours

Chapter 20: mixed feelings.

I woke up at 9:30 am the following morning. I shrieked because I was going to be so late for work.  In a haste, I jumped from the bed and my foot caught in the blanket sending me face down on the floor, Bam! I lay on the floor writhing in pain when he rushed to the room. He started laughing when he saw my disheveled state. 'How did you even end up on the floor?', he asked in between laughter. When I told him I was in a hurry to get to work, he laughed again and said he called the front desk to seek permission for me to be absent from work that day and since I hardly took a day off, his request was granted without further delay. Back to sleep,  we both went. Our slumber was disturbed by the door bell ringing. There is no way I was getting up from bed so I kicked him out of bed to check who it was. He came back after some minutes with a sunken look on his face. When I inquired who the caller was, I was told it was Ama and that she was very disturbed so I had to keep my cool. I grabbed my morning robe and stepped out of the bedroom into the hall. There I found her shedding tears uncontrollably. My first instinct was to think someone died and I was ready to offer my condolences. Duke sat beside her, rubbing her back and trying desperately to calm her down.
'What is the problem?, I asked.
All I got in response was silence and a grunt. When Duke asked her what was wrong, she delved into how she started dating Stanley and how he  dumped her a  few days ago.
'Tsww no surprise there. what were you expecting ? A happily ever after? With him?", I laughed. 

"Don't talk about my best friend like that please. Go back to bed", Duke replied.

"I know you don't like me and the feeling is mutual but I didn't think you would be heartless even when I'm in pain", She replied. With that, she stood up and left even before I had the chance to say something.

"Are you happy now"?  Duke asked.

'Yes, I am. Do we mend broken hearts here? Is this enough reason to wake someone up from their sleep? Why did she even have to come here in the first place?  Doesn't she have a family or friends?!
I was so angry at this point that Duke didn't say a word but went straight to the hall and switched the TV on to watch football. That annoyed me the more so I also went back to the room to try and sleep. Immediately my back touched the bed, the bell rang again. I rolled my eyes and lay down anyway because Duke would probably answer the door and I'm sure it was Ama coming back for something she forgot. The bell continued to ring for three consecutive times without him answering the door. I guess this was his way of showing me he was annoyed too. Well who cares? Begrudgingly, I stood up from the bed to answer the door and in my mind I was ready to give it to Ama if she was  at the door. I flung the door opened, clearly annoyed and ready to lash out only to find the original Mrs Mensah, Duke's mom at the door and with her were the twins. I immediately flashed a smile and exchanged greetings with them but she didn't comment on my angered look. Apparently, they were in the vicinity and decided to pass by and see if we were both around. The rest of the day was spent cooking with his mom and gisting with his sisters. Throughout our interaction, it was very obvious there was tension between Duke and I. Before they left, my mother-in-law called me aside and told me she didn't need to know what was going on between the two of us but whatever it was, we should talk it out instead of going to bed annoyed. She gave me a final hug and signaled Duke to meet her outside. I guess she was going to give him the same piece of advice as well. I resolved to apologize when he comes back in. That resolution was thrown out of the window when he came back in annoyed more than he previously was. He didn't even take as much as a glance at me and all he did  was to murmur about how he can't believe he got scolded for something he didn't do. If he was bent on ignoring me, then I was also going to do same because sweethearts two can play that game. We didn't even have dinner together and for the very first time we both went to bed with a huge space between us. I guess the vacuum was filled with our ego. I just kept tossing in bed all night because my conscience wouldn't allow me to sleep peacefully. It kept pricking me to apologize. I peered at his side and found him deeply asleep. How dare he fall asleep peacefully, I wondered out loud. So much for spending a day together at home. I should have just gone to work. In the middle of the night, I woke up and sat staring at the back of his head with a frown that can kill. I was still annoyed that he was asleep. When he started to snore lightly, I threw a pillow at him but he didn't even budge. It was then that I knew arguing with someone who doesn't respond to arguments was exhausting and infuriating. The following morning he asked if I had a good night sleep and left for work,  laughing.