I was immediately exasperated. So, this was the nonsense he wanted to talk about. Before MD could respond, Aunty Lizzy quickly responded.
“And what if you have to take permission from me, am I too small to you in status to seek permission from me before you come into my house? This is disrespectful, to say the least!” She turned to MD. “Can you see the disrespect you have brought upon me in this house? Can you see how you’re disgracing me inside my own home?” she ranted like a wounded lion shot in the leg.
Ah! Disrespect? Over what? And why is she emphasizing ‘my house’ every time, or did she build the house herself?
“It’s okay, Lizzy, I am sure Anita did not mean it in that way,” MD tried to explain. But madam wasn’t ready to listen. She was still furious. “What are you talking about? You heard her yourself, didn’t you? She just disrespected me right in your presence and you sit down there and you tell me she didn’t mean it!”
“MD, please, tell me, what is going on here? Why is it looking like I am on trial here?” I asked MD, ignoring his wife completely. “Is this the reason you asked me to come, so I could be disgraced?”
MD’s eyes turned red. He was angry. “Listen to me, Anita, you must get hold of yourself, and let’s not allow things get out of hand,” he cautioned. “Nobody is disgracing anybody. But we must all behave like adults in order not to allow things to get out of hand. So, will you be quiet and listen to me?” MD snapped at me. At that point, I got really angry!
I got on my feet. “MD, I’m sorry but you’re really offending me right now,” I exploded. “Listen, I know I may be small in age but that does not mean my being young should be taken advantage of. I am young, yes, but not stupid!” I said to him, my gaze fixed firmly on MD. He was looking at me with disbelief. He didn’t expect I would stand up for myself the way I just did.
“If I knew you wanted me to come over to your house just to embarrass me this way, I would not have come,” I continued. “This is not right, I may not be legally married to you but I am still the mother of your only child!’ I didn’t know when the last sentence dropped from my mouth.
“Jesus Christ!” Aunty Lizzy exclaimed, her eyes red with anger. “Did you hear that? MD, did you hear what this little slut just said to me?” Aunty Elizabeth was raging mad. I’d just struck her below the belt and it hit her badly.
“Say to you?” I’d exclaimed, pretending I had no idea how hurtful what I said could be. “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to the father of my child!” I fired the second shot at her.
MD couldn’t take it anymore. “What is this, Anita, why are you doing this? Why are you behaving this way?”
“But she started it! You said nothing when Aunty Elizabeth was harassing me!” I’d thrown back at him.
“MD, can you see the humiliation you’re putting me through? Can you see how this little slut of yours is embarrassing me?” Aunty Lizzy exploded.
But I didn’t let her flex her muscles anymore, I turned to her immediately: “Well, thank you for calling me a little slut but the fact remains that it’s this little slut that was able to give MD the heir to his business empire, not you!”
And that was it. At that point, she couldn’t take it anymore. Aunty Elizabeth sat back on the chair behind her and broke down in tears….
…to be continued
