Aunty Meg, again, was right. She is always right. As hard and bitter as she sounded, it is the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. As a woman, I would have to keep fighting to protect the man I love. If I don’t do that, some very smart babes will take him away from me. Like I took him away from Aunty Liz, right? Well, maybe not exactly in the same way because last time I checked, the man still made it clear to me what her place in his heart is. She is his woman, the only one that would matter to him before any other woman. Whether I liked it or not, I had to take second place in his life, even if I am the one that has given him his only child. So, that means I have to play second fiddle. I may have to accept that and settle for my position. But, now, the question is, can I stop another woman from coming in to take my own place, especially if she gives him another child?
It is going to be very tough. I do not have any other choice but to be ready to cope with it and hold my own. What I am not very sure of is if that is what I want for the rest of my life. Won’t I rather have my own man to myself and not share him with one or two other women? Am I not too young for all of this pressure I have got myself into? Is this what I really want for myself?
“You seem very lost in your thoughts…” Aunty Meg’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I had totally forgotten she was still in the room with me.
“What are you thinking now?” she asked, gazing deep into my eyes.
“Everything, Aunty Meg, everything,” I said to her. “I am wondering if this whole thing is not too much for me? I mean, am I mature enough to handle this kind of situation? Am I not too young for this?”
“Too young for what?” she’d quizzed me, a puzzled look on her face.
“Too young to be fighting another woman, a much older woman for that matter, for a piece of her husband, I just don’t feel right about it anymore,” I could be falling mentally and physically apart inside.
“Well, yes, I may agree with you that you’re young but it does not change anything. The fact remains that you’re already in it, neck deep in it if you ask me because, just in case you have forgotten, the little boy in front of you belongs to that man, so there’s no turning back for you now. Or you’re ready to become a single mother and raise your boy all by yourself?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. She knew the answer to that question.
“Fine, so, I take your silence to mean, no, you don’t want to be a single mother,” she returned. “So, if that’s the case, my dear, then you had better dust up your fine ass and roll up your skirt because there’s still a lot of fighting ahead of you,” she reminded me yet again. “If your child means a great deal to you, then you will fight to keep his father, no matter the shit his wife or any other woman throws at you. But if you do not give a damn about your boy’s future, then you might as well take that bold step and walk away from his father forever, if that is what will make you happy….”
Of course, that was the last thing on my mind. That was the last thing I will do. MD is not just my son’s father, he is also security for me. If I walk away, who pays the bills? Who will see to my boy’s well being? How will Junior go to a good school, one that’s befitting of the son of who he is? Who will take care of me?
I thanked Aunty Meg. “I really appreciate your time, Aunty, I will digest everything you have said and act accordingly,” I assured her.
“Are you sure you will be good?” she asked, genuinely concerned about my well being?”
“Sure, Aunty, thanks,” I answered. She gave me a hug and left for her apartment.
I was tired. Mentally, physically, I was drained. I needed a lot of rest. I needed time to process a lot of things. I needed to know how to go about handling the situation I have found myself in. I can’t afford to make any mistake. The last thing I want now is to trigger a major rift between MD and I. A lot of things were running through my mind. MD would definitely come to see me at home later in the day, how should I handle him when he comes? Should I play the victim by acting angry, frustrated and cheated, or I play things cool with him and be apologetic? I didn’t know what to do but I was sure of one thing though, when that moment comes, I would definitely know how best to approach the situation. And besides, everything would depend largely on how MD relates to me.
Just like I anticipated, MD showed up at my door in the evening. He obviously came straight from the office. He was still dressed in suit and had clearly not gone home yet. He wore a serious look on his face. He didn’t come beaming his big smile at me, he had a big scowl on his face that showed clearly that there was a lot on his mind. This was not going to be easy.
“How are you, MD?” I greeted him as I opened the door for him. “I was starting to think you might not come and see me today,” I said as I turned to allow him come inside.
“Oh, really? And why would you think that way, because you know I must be very upset with you?” he shot back at me.
I shrugged. “Well, I don’t know about you being upset with me but perhaps that makes two of us because I am upset too and you know it!” I returned, looking straight into his eyes.
“You are upset? With whom?” he snapped back at me. “Let me ask you a question, Anita, do you even have any idea what you did at all? Do you know the damage you have caused?””
…To Be Continued
