AND SHE LETS OUT THE TEARS….

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I smiled wryly. “Okay, MD, I have heard you,” I said to him, a contemptuous smile on my face. “If that is what you want, then I will oblige you. But note that if she does not take back all the names that she called me, I will take my son and leave this house tonight, no matter how too late in the night it is for me to do so! So, what is it going to be, should I go ahead and offer my apology as instructed and pick up my son and leave here this very minute?” 

MD was speechless. Not only that, he was confused. I could see it in his eyes. He was like a man in absolute distress. He didn’t bargain for what had erupted in his house. None of us did. But now that it had happened, he just had to find a way to quell the situation otherwise he could have a really big problem on his hands. And to be honest, I didn’t pity him at all. 

“Anita,” MD finally found his voice, “Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to make things much more difficult than they already are? Why would you even think of leaving here at this time of the night with my son?”

“That is what she is using to blackmail you, dear, can’t you see?” his wife cut in, fuming like a bull on rampage. “She knows the only way she can get you to do her bidding is to dangle your son at you and she has just succeeded in doing that again! Why don’t you dare her to leave and let’s see if she has the guts to do so!”

I turned to MD. “Did you hear that? I’m sure you heard her, right?” I shot at him. And without waiting a moment more, I headed to the room to pack my things.

“Come here, Anita, where do you think you’re going?” MD ran after me, pulling back my hand to stop me from proceeding further.

“To pack my things, of course, where else?” I shot back at him. ”I think it was a big mistake asking me to come here in the first place. Your wife, obviously does not want me here. She is not happy I brought your son, our son, to his rightful place, the place where he should call home. So, if that is the case, it is only sensible that we take our leave before things get really bad.”

MD turned to his wife. He wanted to say something but decided against it. He was obviously displeased with her conduct as well but apparently didn’t want to scold her in my presence. 

“Elizabeth, please, let me handle this matter, I will appreciate it if you do not say a word more!”

“And you, Anita,” he returned his attention to me, “forget about leaving here tonight, it won’t happen. Not with my son. I suggest you calm down and let’s talk this over between us like the adults that we are. No more exchanging of words, no more abuses, let us sit down and talk like one family!”        

 As far as I was concerned, there was nothing to talk about. I had seen what I needed to see. I have seen that Aunty Meg was right. I needed to start thinking of myself and my son. I needed to start planning for life after MD. It’s clear for me to see that MD’s wife has a strong hold on him. I have always known that she does have some kind of hold on him but I had no idea it was this strong. 

“Anita, are you listening at all?” MD’s voice barged into my thoughts. 

I turned to him. “Sorry, I was not following you anymore, my mind was miles away,” I apologised in a tone that showed that I wasn’t really interested in what he was talking about. I could see he didn’t like the response I just gave to him, but there was nothing he could do about it.     

“So, you have not been listening to all I have been saying?” MD was trying very hard to conceal his frustration. 

“I was actually listening to you but at some point, I lost you, I’m sorry, so what were you saying?”

I heard Aunty Elizabeth give a loud irritating hiss but I pretended as though I didn’t hear her. She was inconsequential. And I was going to make her realise that fact in a bitter way. She is the barren one, I am the one with the child, the heir apparent to MD’s business empire. 

“What I am saying is that I want both of you to get along fine together and behave like the sisters that you are supposed to be. And I said I wanted you to apologise to her as your senior,” he said.

“So, we’re back to this apology issue again?” I’d thrown back at him. 

“Yes, Anita and I think it’s only fair that you apologise to someone who is not only your senior, but also one who accepted you into the family from day one,” he explained. “If she didn’t accept you when I told her about you and my son, there is no way we will be here having this conversation right now.”   

I looked at his wife from the corner of my eyes. She looked so old and unhappy. I had obviously cut her down to size. Maybe MD was right, I shouldn’t have lost my cool with her. She wasn’t such a bad person until now. Maybe it was the sudden reality that I had actually got a step closer to coming into her home to share her space with her that got into her. But still, she stepped out of line. She pushed my button.

“Okay, if you say so, maybe I overreacted,” I turned to Aunty Elizabeth, “I’m sorry, ma,” I said to her. And, surprisingly, she burst into tears…..    

    

 …to be continued