A bed of trials episode 2
A Bed Of Trials (episode 2)
You never know how blessed you are if you have just one loyal person in your life that you can always count on no matter the situation or circ-mstance you face. Loyalty is very scarce and can be equated to diamonds. If you are fortunate enough to have a partner that holds you down no matter the situation, count yourself as the luckiest man/woman on earth because what you have is what most people might never have nor experience in their lifetime. The sad test that Edward and Olivia’s marriage was about to go through would determine the extent to which they meant every vows said to each other on their wedding day. Losing a source of livelihood can be extremely frustrating and depressing so it’s safe to say that Edward was about to hit the lowest point of his life. At this point, all we can do is hope that Olivia stays faithful, supportive and loyal to her beloved husband through the bad times. This was a test in their marriage and one thing is certain: they can either come out victorious or defeated. Fingers crossed!
Immediately Edward broke the sad news about losing his job to his dear wife, she was utterly dumbfounded and completely shattered. The only thing Olivia found herself doing at that moment was ask questions that Edward had no answers to. The tension in the atmosphere was enough to neutralize every joy the ‘once happy’ Olivia had when she found out earlier that same day that she was pregnant. The happiness that initially eluded their living room instantly died down due to the tragic news.
After taking few minutes to process everything, Olivia was finally able to put her emotions together and lower the tension she was feeling. She gave Edward a tight hug afterwards and guided his head down to her shoulder. Due to the emotional rush Edward was feeling at that moment, he began to sob bitterly. Without hesitating, Olivia ran her fingers through his hairs and patted his back lightly to calm his nerves a bit. She lifted his head up and looked into his teary eyes. “Baby, you don’t have to shed another tear because everything is going to be alright. I am your strength when you are weak and your greatest cheerleader when no one is there to support or cheer you on. Is this news a tough one for me to bear? Yes it certainly is but I won’t let it break me nor you. We are in this together so there’s no need to feel miserable. I am equal to any financial task till you can get back on your feet and I believe we can look for a good business to invest your savings on till you can find another befitting job again. Let’s not let the decision of a mere human steal our joy and happiness away. I still love you the same way I did when you had a job and don’t plan on loving you any less. We gat this babe and just so you know, I am pregnant with our bundle of joy. I just found out today that we have an addition on the way. Let’s focus more light on our blessings and pay less attention to our problems. I love you so so much my husband” she soberly said.
Olivia’s pregnancy news instantly eradicated every sadness Edward was feeling at that moment. The speed at which his mood Lit up for good when she revealed that they had an addition on the way was truly heartwarming. Every sadness suddenly turned to joy as the couple began to shed tears of joy. Edward carried Olivia like a baby in his hands and planted several k-sses on her cheeks. She wrapped her arms around his neck with smiles all over her face. A night that started with tension ended with rejoicing. The couple forgot about their problems and just dwelled in the moment.
After that day, Edward began to send his resume(cv) to many companies he had connections in but every job application came back with a sad reply. “We are currently not hiring” became an anthem in the l-ips of every employer he contacted. Initially, he wasn’t too bothered about the rejection he was getting but as time went on, he began to get frustrated and scared. It’s been three months since he was fired but still no fruitful outcome in his job search. At that time, Olivia’s baby bump had began to show and the thought of not having a job to support his family was a nightmare to him.
While Edward was busy with his job hunts, Olivia financially ran the household and paid all the bills. She didn’t want her husband to spend the money he had saved up over the years because he was at the verge of starting up a business since no one wanted to employ him. Edward planned on opening a real estate agency and a cafe since he had little experience in both areas. He used to work at a cafe back in school and also had friends that were thriving in the real estate world. With all this on check, he invested all his life savings in both businesses but they came crashing barely few months after they were set up.
The cafe was situated in an area with low customer turnout and this affected daily sales. The money they made off sales a day wasn’t even able to cover up the daily expenses the business needed to thrive. On the other hand, the real estate wasn’t doing any better either because they weren’t selling any property. Despite having two self-owned businesses, Edward couldn’t boost of any money in his bank account and due to this sad fate, Olivia was still in charge of running the household expenses despite almost due for delivery. Everything was becoming extremely frustrating for both parties and in no time, Edwards fell into depression.
The simple reason why Edward failed in business was because he had no first-hand knowledge or experience of what it meant to be a business man. He was used to the safety and security he got from working in a system that guaranteed a paycheck (salary) at the end of the month. He wasn’t mentally a businessman even though he was physically one. This negatively affected his approach to business and in-turn yielded fruitless results. It was such a trying period for the couple and just when it seemed as though they had seen it all, more was coming and they sadly wasn’t prepared for it.
Due to the stress Olivia had been going through as the new breadwinner of the family, she hærdly had time to do the domestic duties in the house. Edward took it upon himself to do the domestic house chores since he was mostly at home. He was understanding and didn’t want his wife to feel unappreciated, hence the reason he took it upon himself to wash the dishes, tidy the house and cook. They used to have a domestic staff but had to lay her off after they realized that it was unwise to put anyone on salary when they had limited source of income and a baby on the way whose future depended on them too. Olivia was able to save money by cutting unnecessary expenses off.
Finally, it was nine months and the sound of a bouncing baby girl was heard in their family. The joy their beautiful daughter brought to their lives was unexplainable. Olivia was on maternity leave to takecare of her baby and Edward was there to help all the way. For a while, they forgot about their problems and just focused on the arrival of their bundle of joy.
With Olivia at home, Edward had to put in double effort to takecare of his wife and new born baby. Olivia’s mother stayed with them for a while to help her daughter through the early stages of motherhood. They all lived like a happy family till something happened one evening that pierced Edward’s soul.
It happened one evening that the couple got into a big argument because Edward had transferred a huge amount of money to a scammer who disguised himself as an investor that promised 50% ROI (ret-rn on investment) to those willing to invest in his Ponzi scheme. After a brief research, Edward blindly fell for the trap and transferred a huge sum of Olivia’s money that was in his account to the scammer. He was hoping to get the money back with an additional 50% interest so he could successfully replace his wife’s money and use his share to get some baby items and household needs. His intention behind the investment was pure and genuine but all things fell apart when the scammer disappeared with the money. He tried reaching the scammer but all to no avail and that was when he had to come clean to Olivia about what had happen to her money. It was when he broke the unfortunate news to her that all hell broke loose.
“How could you fall for such a cheap trap? I thought you were smarter than this. How could you use my money for such a thing and didn’t even bother telling me first. I am highly disappointed in you. Why would you throw away money when we are dearly in need of it in this house. This is totally annoying and I don’t feel like looking at you right now. How many more things will I do to keep this marriage together? I pay the bills, takecare of our needs, provide for our baby and now I have to babysit you too? Oh please! Now I can’t trust you anymore with my money. How can I blame you when you didn’t work for it. If only you worked for it then you would have thought twice before falling for such a cheap scam. Nonsense!!” Olivia angrily said and stormed out of the living room. All those while the couple were arguing, Olivia’s mum was at one corner watching the manner at which her daughter spoke to Edward. It was such a humiliating thing to witness and it instantly broke her heart to know that Olivia would use her husband’s condition against him in such manner just because he made a mistake. Too bad!!
When Olivia entered her baby’s room and banged the door, her mum followed her into the room while Edward sat on a couch in the living room with his head bowed downwards. Immediately Olivia saw her mum’s countenance, she instantly knew her mum was disappointed in her. The elderly woman sat down close to Olivia and began to speak wisdom into her. “My daughter, I never thought I would see the day you would speak to my son-in-law in such a manner. That man doesn’t deserve all the cruel things you said to him. Imagine if he uses any of your weakness against you, how would that make you feel? That man is going through a lot already and the last thing he needs is to be called a failure by his own wife who is supposed to be his peace, supporter and friend. We both know that Edward is a good man and very hærdworking too. It’s just sad that life chose to torture him this way but I know it won’t be for long. Since I came to this house, Edward is usually the first to wake up and make food for everyone. He sleeps last but wakes up before everyone. He is always with the baby because he wants you to rest. I have never seen such a selfless man like this all my life. Don’t lose a good man because he is going through a difficult time now. Tomorrow might change everything and have the tables turning. This is the only time you might ever have to show your husband that you meant every word when you said ‘for better and for worst’ on the altar. Be his source and sustainer without making him feel like a failure. This is only temporary and not forever. Be wise my daughter” the elderly woman said and walked away.
With the door shut, Olivia began to cry bitterly because her conscience started pricking her. She got up and walked back to the living room in hopes that her husband was still there and fortunately he was still seated on the couch with his head bent downwards.
Immediately Olivia got to where Edward was seated, she knelt down on the floor with tears falling down her eyes and soberly said; “Baby I am so sorry”.
End of episode 2 😉
Stay tuned tomorrow for the next episode to see what happened next.
✍🏼 Written by Sonia Okehie