A bed of trials episode 4
A Bed Of Trials (episode 4)
Sometimes, it’s the little things that matters the most in relationsh¡ps. Those things you feel are insignificant are actually the ones that makes the greatest impacts; most especially if it comes form the heart. The fact that Edward thought about making provisions for his wife and daughter with the very first significant sum of money that entered into his hands since over a year he lost his job, showed how much he carried them in his spirit always. The foodstuffs he brought home from work that evening weren’t the biggest they had ever bought from a grocery store, but it was the thoughtful gesture behind his actions that swept Olivia off her feets. She was amazed and didn’t know how to process everything her eyes had seen.
Immediately Olivia expressed her gratitude to Edward, he felt appreciated and somehow wanted to do more to keep that smile on her face. The fact that he was able to provide for his family after a very long time somehow made him feel like a man again. It was such a good feeling that can’t be properly explained with mere words. After the expression had died down a bit, they did other important things before retiring to bed. From that day henceforth, things began to change in their union and it was for the better.
As Edward got better in his job as a fish farmer, Olivia slowly redrew every attempt to get him a befitting job with her connections. To be fair, he actually wasn’t interested in any other job at that moment due to the sudden love he developed for his new job. This new addiction for fish farming was highly commendable and Olivia cheered him on all the way.
As time went on, Edward’s friend advised him to start up his own fish farm since it was clear that he was now well informed about the business. The idea was brilliant and after giving it much thought, Edward decided it was time to go into the business fully by owning his own ponds but the problem now was that he had no finance to support such new business venture. Requesting a loan or asking for help from Olivia was out of the option for him because he felt she had gone through a lot already, so the last thing he wanted to do was bother her with money issues. On seeing that there was no other place to raise the money he needed to invest in his new found career, he had no option than to sell his beloved G-wagon (car).
That decision was one of the toughest decisons Edward had ever made in his lifetime but there was nothing else he could do asides that to raise the money he dearly needed. Olivia wasn’t aware that her husband had sold his car till she returned from work one fateful evening and found Edward at home but didn’t see his car in their compound. “Hi darling, where’s your car?” She asked after receiving a welcome peck from him. There was silence for a while before Edward finally spoke. “I sold it” he replied and she froze.
For over four minutes, Olivia was dumbfounded and couldn’t say a word. The only thing she manged to say after being speechless was ask “why?”. One look at her and Edward could see the shock on her face. He knew how much easy ‘mobility’ meant to her and their marriage; however, he knew she would understand his reasons for selling it after he was done explaining everything to her.
Without hesitating, Edward began to tell Olivia why he sold his car. He informed her that he needed money to invest in his new business venture and the only way he could raise the money was to sell his car. Despite giving a good reason for selling the car, she wasn’t happy about the decision he had made. “You should have told me you needed money and I would have lent you the money to pay back after the business blooms. I see no reason why you didn’t talk to me first before selling your car just because you needed money that I could have comfortably lent to you. Anyways, it’s fine. I just hope this new business is worth it as you have made it seem” she calmly said.
When Olivia was done talking, Edward apologised for not informing her before making such a huge decision to sell his car. He informed her that he didn’t want to get her worried or stressed out with his ideas and business ventures. After initially disagreeing, they finally arrived at a mutual understanding. No one knew what the outcome of this new business venture would be, but they believed and took everyday one step at a time.
Shortly after Edward invested all his money in the fish farm business, it wasn’t long before he began to see excellent results. The money he raised from the car sales was enough to build 5 fish ponds and fill them up with fishes. He employed few staffs for the business but was always present at the farm. The fish business was lucrative to the extent that people booked the fishes before they were fully mature enough to be sold. In a short while, significant amount of money began to pour into Edward’s pocket and this time around, he was now able to assume back full responsibility as the sole provider of his family.
Due to this new development, Olivia gradually took the back seat when it came to providing for the family because her husband was now capable enough to handle majority of the bills like he used to. Who would have thought that the rejected job offer will later become the chief corner stone?. At this point, it’s safe to say that life was smiling back at the couple as their paths began to fall into pleasant places. What used to bring uncertainties, tension, frustration and anger in their marriage was no longer evident and this led to a more peaceful home than before. However, just when it seemed as though these two lovebirds would never have anything to worry about in their union again, since they already passed the hærdest test they had faced as a couple, something unexpected happens out of nowhere and changes everything.
It happened one fateful day that an elegant lady who owned a renowned restaurant came to Edward’s fish farm to make a bulk purchase for her restaurant. When she first walked into his office and set her eyes on the handsome married gentleman, her heart instantly dropped. Turns out she was in her late twenties and was instantly attracted to him.
The sad thing about this wh0le situation is that the mysterious lady knew Edward was married because his wedding ring was glaring enough for everyone with a good eye sight to see or notice. The fact that she saw his ring and didn’t tame her feelings towards him was not acceptable, but it’s apparent that she cared less.
Immediately Edward set his eyes on the elegant lady that majestically walked into his office, he did well to boycott her beauty and face the main reason she visited which was to purchase most of his fishes. “You are welcome, kindly have a seat” he said after giving the mysterious lady a harmless handshake. “You look finer than you sound on phone” she said as she slowly sat down. The compliment seemed off but he smiled faintly just to maintain a welcoming atmosphere.
After both parties had settled down properly, they began to discuss business. Their conversation lasted for about 40 minutes before the business deal was finally sealed. “By the way, my name is Maya and it is nice doing business with you” she said as she got up to leave. Edward immediately reciprocated the gesture and told her his name too. They shook hands for the last time and as she walked towards the door, she knowingly twisted her ankle and fell on the floor. Without hesitating, he ran towards the door to help her up to her feet. “Are you ok?” He curiously inquired, “I wish so because my ankle hurts” she replied in a distressed tone.
Being a gentleman, Edward helped Maya up on her feet and she tightly held onto him as she got up. Before he could figure out what to do next, she reached out to his ears and gently whispered “Thank you” in a sed-ctive manner and tone. She looked fiercely into his eyes afterwards, smiled and walked away.
As Edward stood there looking utterly dumbfounded, confused and shocked, he held his slightly er-cted manh-od and gently muttered “what just happened?”.
End of episode 4 😉
Stay tuned tomorrow for the next episode to see what happened next.
✍🏼 Written by Sonia Okehie