Thorn between episode 53

TITLE: TORN BETWEEN

WRITTEN BY OGECHI ALABI

LIFE GOES ON 5

Thelma presented another matter before the family. She said, “There is another problem. Nda, Adim did not sleep in the house last night. He did not sleep in the flat either. I do not know where he slept and he has refused to disclose this to me. I am worried he might have been with a woman in the village.”

“Adim, what is she talking about?” his uncle asked.

Adim looked at Eucharia and she removed her face before she got up to enter the kitchen. Njideka and Prisca caught the look. “Uncle, she locked me out of the room. I have two wives, so I went to my other wife’s room to sleep. Is there anything wrong with that?”

There was silence in the room. Thelma could not believe her ears. Adim and Eucharia. She stood up angrily and asked him, “You slept where?”

Peter responded, “Why are you asking him? If Eucharia was asking these questions and closely monitoring her husband, would he have had the opportunity to get you pregnant? He went to sleep with his first wife. No wonder Uk took off from here. I saw her dress today and I wondered what was special about today. Adim kept going into the kitchen, hmmm. Wonders shall never cease. Papa finally got Uk to agree for Adim through his death.”

Thelma could not believe her ears. If Adim starts having sex with Eucharia, her control over him will reduce and she does not want that. Why would Adim go to her and why would she agree? Njideka assured her Eucharia would never sleep with him again, so why did she last night?

Adim replied smiling, “I do not know what you people are talking about. I slept in Eucharia’s room because I was locked out and luckily her room was open when I got there. She wasn’t expecting me and she could not put me out. You know how she is now, she gave me a wrapper and a T-shirt and slept on the floor. So, stop making her uncomfortable with this conversation. Prisca, please go and call her, tell her I have cleared the air. Our private moments are not for family discussion.”

Prisca went to get Eucharia with Njideka and Flora behind her. They met her outside selecting snails and fish for soup that afternoon. Flora led the confrontation. “Leave those things let us talk. So, according to Adim, both of you were together last night. What happened?”

Eucharia was embarrassed and appealed to them to forget about it. They refused. They wanted to hear the details. They pressed on. “He came to my room while I was bathing. He said Thelma locked him out and he could not go back to the flat. He also bathed and I left a wrapper for him and left the room. When I came back, he was already asleep. So I took the floor.” she ended there.

“Was it on the floor two of you did it? Because I know Nda Adim will not allow you that close and not take advantage. I, Njideka, lived with both of you long enough to know.”

Flora looked at her as Eucharia couldn’t look them in the face. She knew what happened and then said, “You swore you would never allow Adim to touch you again, but yesternight you allowed him. Was it because he stood by you? You know he will not stop sleeping with her. Use your head. Hope it will last you a long time because I feel Thelma has an ace. Let’s go back inside, and please stop looking guilty for sleeping with your husband.”

Once inside Eucharia sat beside Flora and the conversation continued. They were away from what happened last night to something else. Eucharia excused herself again to go and cook. The aroma from the kitchen was tantalising. Adim went into the kitchen under the guise of getting drinking water. He went to talk to Eucharia. He smiled at her and told her he did not admit to them doing anything.

“But nothing happened between us, why are they acting weird?” Eucharia asked trying to feign ignorance.

“Yes, nothing happened. I am coming over tonight.”

“Don’t you dare come; I mean it.”

“You look so hot! The exercise is working, you were so light and ….”

“Adim! Please go back to your family. Biko, I cannot answer unnecessary questions.”

Adim laughed, gently squeezed her butt and then left the kitchen. He bumped into Prisca as he opened the door.

Prisca had a look on her face when she came in. She heard them and saw what happened but didn’t say anything. Eucharia was embarrassed already. She was worried though. Thelma was not happy at all and Prisca could sense it. She was also worried about how Adim did not care about Thelma and was willing to flaunt the resurrection of his intimacy with Euchharia regardless of her feelings. Thelma looked like someone about to explode. She told Eucharia, “Have you noticed Thelma has mentioned her hormones several times this weekend? I have a bad feeling about her. I told Nda Flora about it and she promised to get to the bottom of it.”

“What are you suspecting?”

“Let me wait and be sure before I say anything. What can I help you with?”

They all sat around to eat lunch. Their uncle and his wife (she joined later) sat with them and they shared interesting stories about Papa. It was a lively time and food was served to everyone. Immediately Thelma’s food was placed before her, she held her her hand over her mouth and ran out of the flat to the outside and threw up. All the women looked at each other. Was that why she refused to eat with them? Prisca was not falling for the gimmick and Flora was too. She had guessed what Thelma was up to when she kept mentioning hormones because she used the same lines when she miscarried the last time. Flora did not want to spoil the mood, but she could see Thelma intended to do just that. She decided to help her when she came back in.

“Thelma, I hope it is not what I am thinking. Adim asked you not to get pregnant again, he insisted on it. Are you pregnant now?”

Thelma looked up with a sober face and said, “Nda Flora, I did not know when it happened. You know your brother doesn’t allow me to rest, he wants it every time. Just one night of denying him, he ran to another woman.”

Flora ignored her last statement and asked instead, “How many months is it?”

“It is sixteen weeks.”

“That means Adim should know about it.”

Adim stood up angrily and said, “Now I have concluded that you are an evil and vindictive person. I took responsibility for the twins after you sought transfer to join me in Nnewi, you planned to trap me. I was stupid and I fell for it. I warned you that if you get pregnant again, I will not fend for you or the baby. I mean every word. You said all this because you thought I had sex with Eucharia. Because of what you have done, I will pursue her until she agrees. My marriage to you is over, I will request my dowry be returned. I will have nothing whatsoever to do with you. You want to disgrace me in the presence of my family, you are daft. I will take responsibility for my children and that is it. If you want to keep them away from me, feel free. When the boys are older, they will seek me. If they don’t, it will be their loss.”

Read – Dethroned episode 26 – 27

His uncle tried to calm him down. “Adim you cannot take such a rash decision when you are angry. Let us talk about it civilly.”

“Uncle, did she think before she came to embarrass me in the presence of everyone here, especially Eucharia? Eucharia made me pay her bride price so the boys can come back and I would be happy. You made me feel less than a man telling me my wife was controlling me when you had no idea what I was going through.” He turned to Thelma again and continued, “My being with you was because Eucharia refused to be with me. Whatever fun you feel we were having has expired, at my age, I desire my peace over anything else. If you continue with this pregnancy, know that you are on your own.” He turned to Eucharia and said, “Do not try to talk me into accepting this pregnancy, she planned to have a daughter to rival your daughters while you have no son to rival her sons. Your kind heart should not put you in harm’s way; she is envious of you.”

Mama spoke for the first time since the discussions began, “My spirit does not lie, my God has vindicated me. I said it, this girl came to destroy Adim. She knew his weakness and preyed on it. What she did in the church yesterday by insisting her sons sit beside her and Adim and wanting them to walk together as though Adim doesn’t have another family, shows how evil-minded she is. I was happy Uk stood up to her. Now she sees her husband and his wife are getting closer to the extent he chose to spend the night in her room, as he should, she decided to perform this drama of vomiting so she would let Uk know she is pregnant. A pregnancy she hid from her husband for almost four months. What does that tell you about her? When Uk was pregnant with Urenna, she could not wait to tell her husband immediately after it happened. She did not wait for a gathering to tell him. Adim abandoned her, maybe he was messing with you then until she could prove it wasn’t intentional. Yours is very intentional because he warned you when you got pregnant the last time and now. Well done. I support whatever Adim decides. Yesterday proved to me that you are not a good person and the days that will follow will continue to prove me right. You came for the money and not for love, unlike Uk, she does not deliberately hurt anyone.”

Mama’s words caused silence and thinking. Thelma had been a problem since she joined the family and this was proving to be the truth. She did not act as someone who wanted to be a part of the family but wanted to lord over everyone because she gave the first son male children.

Eucharia was speechless when she heard about the pregnancy. She had developed a soft spot for Adim after their encounter last night and his desire to see and talk to her since then. She did not expect the moment to be ruined by Thelma. What Mama and Adim said was true, it was malicious and vindictive. It did not stop her from feeling terrible. She wanted to walk out of the meeting, but she held back. She would not give Thelma the satisfaction she desperately wanted. If Adim was serious about divorcing her, then he should do it. She made up her mind she would never stand in his way. Why should she be jealous that she had sex with her husband? It was obvious she was a spiteful person. She kept wondering what Adim saw in her that made him want to be with her that often. What was special about her?

Adim was the first to leave. He walked over to Eucharia and asked her to come with him. She wanted to decline but Flora stepped on her foot and asked her to go. They left there together and went upstairs to his flat. Adim knew Eucharia was angry. He had promised her Thelma would not have more children and now she was pregnant.

“I swear Eucharia, I was set up. I used condoms with her and then withdrawal method, how then did she get pregnant if it wasn’t deliberate? I don’t understand her, why is she bent on destroying me?”

“You should have thought about that when your penis went wandering. I keep wondering if I was such a bad lover that you wanted another person. You made me feel desired and as though you enjoyed me but then you also desire and enjoy Thelma. I cannot bring myself to lay with another man. I cannot desire any other man but you, but you went for someone else. You did not need a prophet to tell you she was desperate when she left Port Harcourt to stay with you in Nnewi. She had her claws on you and I keep wondering why. Is what is between her legs that special? I want to know. You were my first and only, how is it different from what we do? I just want to understand. Tell me.”

“Eucharia, I would rather we don’t talk about that. I should have been faithful and loyal to you, but I failed you. For this, I will apologise for the rest of my life. You know I love you and if you had not restricted our intimacy, I would make love to you every day. Even when I was with her I still found you irresistible. It’s been years and you are sweeter than ever. I want to commit to you today, I want her to leave and I swear to you, I will never lay with her again.”

“You will.”

“I swear to you, it won’t happen again. No matter how hard she tries to seduce me, I won’t. I am ending my marriage to her.”

“Adim, don’t make promises you cannot keep. What about your sons? Are they going to grow up without you? Are they not the reason you married Thelma, what has changed?”

“I married Thelma because I was weak, I should have stood my ground and honoured you instead but I allowed the voices of those who do not understand us to influence my emotions and also my decision. It won’t happen again. I won’t listen to you too.”

“Adim, forget about us. Punish Thelma, but don’t divorce her. Those boys need you in their lives otherwise their mother will teach them how to be spiteful and poison their innocent minds against you and your first family. I will not tell you what to do, I will only advise you.”

“You have started, I have made up my mind. I want to be with you, last night was amazing and I want many such nights with you.”

“What was special about Thelma that you couldn’t help going back. I want to know. If I do not know, I will feel inadequate when I am with you. I already do. So tell me what I need to know so I do not feel out of place.”

“What she offered I do not need from you. You are what I need right now. I’ve missed you so much. If you had agreed, I would have stopped making love with her since.”

“If you want a relationship with me, you must come clean. I want to know why you stuck to her.”

“Are you sure you can handle the truth?”

“Yes, I can. It is better I know than to keep wondering.”

“Ok. She has more sexual experience than both of us. She did oral sex on me and taught me how to do things to her I had never imagined doing. She is spontaneous, we can have sex anywhere. It was always an adventure with her when it came to sex, and I was blinded by it and did not observe her character. I have been over it for some time now. She claims I am boring, but I told her I am too old for those things and so is she. Also, she is a wife and not a mistress that had to prove a point. She kept up the game because she was afraid another woman would come into the picture.”

“You did things to her she enjoyed and you never for once attempted to do them to me. I was the boring wife you kept at home that had no moves in the bedroom. Why didn’t you teach me how to please you? You know I would have learnt and done anything for you. Instead, you found pleasure in another woman’s arms while you still brought back the boring sex to me. I feel terrible that you had such a good time and I never did.”

“It was not a good time. Eucharia I enjoy sex with you, it is not boring in any way. This felt different and because it was sin, it was exciting. Now I wonder why I was carried away by it. After sex we talk until we fall asleep, with her there is nothing to talk about. She dwells on the act and not on the closeness it was supposed to create. I knew where my bread was buttered but I was being stupid. I regret everything. I just want to be with you. I swear to you today, it will be just the way it was in the beginning. I will win your trust back, and we will be lovers again.”

Eucharia walked towards the door, she was done listening. She was a novice and from every indication she could never please Adim the way he had experienced before. Chances Thelma would find her way back and seduce him were high and she was not ready to get her hopes dashed again.

“Where are going?” Adim asked her.

“To my house.”

“I wanted you to stay here with me.”

“I can’t. I can’t do this. Last night felt like a new beginning but everything has changed. I have not healed properly from your betrayal, I just stored the hurt away. It is time for me to grieve my loss and move on.”

“You have grieved for how many years, why waste more years? Everything I said to you today, I mean them. I stand by my words and conviction. I love you and I am ready to do whatever it takes for us to start over. If I ever betray you again, leave and do not look back. I will accept it.”

“Give me time to think. I need time.”

Adim came to her and took her into his arms ignoring the resistance she was trying to put up. “Don’t do this, do not allow Thelma to win. If you keep your distance, she has won. If you do not want sex, I will respect that but until we leave the village, I want us to be together. This is all I ask of you. Please.”

“Ok. But I will not be romantic with you even if you are with me. I want you to get that clear now.”

“Accepted.”