COSTLY BLUNDER
(II)
Funke
who seemed not unlike soured yellow pap packed in an old dish, was speechless
as she stood right before the dude, Kunle who just heard the unspeakable.
“Did I hear you right?” Kunle inquired,
still sitting in the three-in-one upholstery chair.
Funke became mute as she stared unfriendly at
him.
Little did the television, which was
being viewed by the lad, knew that it was now all alone; suffice it to assert
that no one recognized its presence at the moment as it kept displaying the
football match.
“Funke,” he called calmly. “Did you just
say you are pregnant for me?”
“Of course nah.” she answered frankly,
hastily folded her arms. “Didn’t you know when you did it?” she added in a
jiffy, fixed her gaze on him.
“Something I did just once..?”
“Oh,” exclaimed Funke. “Just once?” she
echoed.
“Of course,” quoth Kunle, furiously
stood up. “Wasn’t it once?”
“I don’t care about how many times you
did it.” she ranted. “All I know is that I am pregnant.” She supplemented,
paused. “And the baby belongs to you.”
“You are not serious.” he said. “Are
you?”
“Oh,” responded Funke. “You think I am
joking?” she said, stood still. “Do I look like one who is cracking a joke?”
The last clause came as a shocker, thus
he became more bemused as he kept foreseeing the dire consequences having
seemingly absorbed the reality. “Oh my God…!” he shouted, frantically resumed
his seat.
There was a brief silence.
“So,” he broke the muteness. “What do we
do now?” he uttered, looking up to her.
“Now you have come back to your senses,
right?” She rhetorically murmured.
How on earth would she talk to him in
that manner if not that he had already sold the unreserved respect she had for
his person by allowing his libido to yearn for her seeming-succulent
endowments? Notwithstanding, he had no other option than to ignore her
rudeness.
“You have not still answered my question.”
He reminded her.
“What kind of silly question is that?”
“Silly question?”
“Of course,” she said. “Doesn’t it sound
silly?” she added, paused. “When you were doing it, did you ask how we were
going to do it?”
“You must abort that baby.” He
pronounced with alacrity.
“What..!” she roared. “Me, abortion?’ she
uttered, placing her right hand on her chest.
“That’s the only option.” He thought
aloud.
“I can see, you are joking.” quoth
Funke. “How dare you suggest abortion for me?”
“So, what’s your plan?”
“I don’t know,” she replied, stood
still. “But all I know is that I am not committing any abortion.”
“So you want to keep the baby, right?’
“I wouldn’t blame you.” she continued,
ignoring the question. “Because you don’t have a baby yet, so you wouldn’t know
what it means to kill one.” She said, faced the other side.
“Funke…!” Kunle exclaimed at the top of his
voice. “How dare you say such a thing?” he supplemented, stood up again.
She was quiet, still standing.
“Do you realize I am your sister’s
husband…?”
“Sister’s husband my foot.” She
interrupted, hurriedly turned her back on him and walked away.
“Funke, Funke!” he called as she walked
out on him.
* * * * *
“Your sister is pregnant.” Kunle notified
Kemi, facing the ceiling as they lay in their matrimonial bed in the early
hours of Saturday.
This was coming after several failed
persuasions targeted at making Funke terminate the baby she was carrying in her
womb.
Kemi who was equally facing the Polyvinyl
Chloride (PVC) ceiling, hastily looked at Kunle on hearing the news that could
best be described as a shocker. “What did you say?’ she verified hesitantly.
“I said, your sister is pregnant.” He
reiterated, still facing up.
“Which of my sisters?” she enquired.
“Bisi?” she supplemented, referring to her elder sister who got married
recently, though marveled why her hubby should gather the news before her.
“No,” he responded. “I mean, Funke.”
“Funke
what..?” she shouted, shocked, and slightly raised her head from the bed.
“Yes.” he said, nodding. “She is
pregnant.”
Kemi couldn’t believe her ears. More
confusedly, she could not fathom why her husband should be the one informing
her on such development. “For who?” she managed to utter.
He was silent.
“I said,” quoth Kemi. “For who?”
“I think I am responsible.” He
eventually confessed, still lay in the bed.
“You think you are what…? She roared,
rose up.
“I am sorry.” quoth Kunle. “I am really
sorry.” he added, paused. “It was all devil’s handiwork.”
“Enough,” Kemi urged fiercely,
gesticulating. “Enough of this.” She warned, paused.
There was maximum silence.
“So, after all I did for you,” she
broke the muteness. “You had the gut to cheat on me?” she said, paused. “And
among all people, you chose Funke?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Spare me that, please..”
After all the hullabaloos, Kemi asked for a
divorce, which was eventually granted by a court, thereby leaving Kunle and her
younger sister to continue from where exactly they stopped. Prior to their
divorce, when the news of the abominable act got to her parents, they felt like
strangulating the parties involved, particularly Funke; Kunle’s aged parents
equally felt same.
Months later, Kemi got married to
another lad and she took in immediately after their wedding. Years on, the
couple was blessed with children and was happily married.
On their part, Kunle and Funke who were
forced to marry each other never had it so good. Funke had stillbirth in the
pregnancy that prompted her elder sister’s departure; and after that, she never
took in again. Kunle lost his job with the telecom firm and thereafter couldn’t
secure any other meaningful job; needless to assert that his financial status
was drastically reduced to zero.
Fred Doc Nwaozor
Executive
Director, Docfred Resource Clinic - Owerri___________________________________
Twitter: @mediambassador
http://facebook.com/TheMediaAmbassador
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