Mr lecturer episode 29 – 32

Mr. Lecturer

Episode 29

“God i can’t believe this. what has come over you my dear?” she asked slowly. I knelt by her side and held her softly, breathing deeply.
“please don’t leave me here all alone, unless you want me to go with you where ever you go” i repeated once again. She shook her head and looked into my eyes.
“see it isn’t as if i’m happy leaving you and everything behind to start a new life. I just have no choice” she said softly.

“no dearest, it’s still between us to fix. We can change everything together. We can reshape our destiny” i pushed on, more tears dropping from my eyes.
“you just have to let me go. My heart is still very broken and my spirit is also very weak. I promise to be back whenever i recover. Just let me go for now. I just can’t stay here with you at the moment” she begged seriously.
“nooo” i sobbed.

“yes you have to my dear unless you want to find me dead in your bathroom” she insisted.
“so how long do you intend staying away from me?” i asked sorrowfully.
“I don’t know, but i’ll be watching from a distance. How you tackle this situation will determine a whole lot of things” she answered with tears.
“okay. It’s fine by me” i muttered with resignation. She smiled, pecked me and finally left without another protest from me, leaving me all alone to carry my load of problems.

I surely had a lot to do, which comprised getting my emotions under control, opening up to my parents and making plans on how to see Comfort’s family the coming Sunday. I couldn’t help but think of the Priest’s words over and over as i planned on how to see my parents. Of course his words were a bit confusing to me by saying that Comfort and the baby weren’t in my future but still turning around to say that i should care for them because that alone will set things right.

“how on earth will i care for her and the baby yet they won’t show up in my future?” i wondered over and over.
The very next day, I headed home to see my parents who couldn’t believe their ears when i calmly told them what brought me home. My mum was overly shocked and angry, while dad simply frowned with disgust.

“i can’t believe you are asking me to be part of this nonsense development. If not that you are my son, i would have walked you out of here, but no matter my disappointment over your action. I still have no choice than to do whatever necessary to help you out. You are my blood and your life is very much important to me than mine and for that reason i will go with you on Sunday to see the girl’s parents” he accepted just like i expected but unfortunately things didn’t go as i hoped on Sunday evening when we arrived Comfort’s house.
Her family insisted on a full fledged traditional marriage between me and their daughter before any form of compromise could be reached, putting me in another dilemma.

Episode 30

Comfort’s family ruined the Sunday by insisting i marry their daughter, a demand which didn’t go down well with me.
My father however tried his best to get them listen to us but unfortunately all they wanted was marriage and refused listening to anything contrary to it. We were left with no choice than to head home hours later, extremely angry over the futile journey.
“so what’s your next move?” my dad asked curiously as soon as we got home. I looked at the old man with pity and regret, shrugging slowly.
I truly wasn’t happy about getting him involved in my mess. I wasn’t happy about dragging him to Comfort’s village where he was almost insulted because we refused the proposal the silly people came up with.

“seriously Dad, nothing is in my mind for now, but concerning Comfort. She can now go to hell for all i care. I can never marry her. The best i can do is to take care of her child, nothing more, nothing less” I answered with resignation.
“well i pray things go well for you. Try your best and come home for Christmas and don’t run away from us because of your problems” he advised like a good father.

I returned to my apartment the very next day, to continue with my life. I threw my problems with Comfort to the back of my mind and faced the new week with a new mindset. Of course i knew Comfort was going to come back to beg on behalf of her parents, an opportunity i hoped cashing in on to give her my own conditions.

I needed being in control of the game, i needed being the captain of the whole affair. Her parents behaviour really opened my eyes to a new reality. They taught me that no matter the condition of things, one should still hold up his head high as if he was in control of the situation.
Just like i expected, Comfort showed up at my office, early Tuesday morning. I calmly offered her a chair, she sat down and stared at me with a visibly coloured face.

“i’m sorry about how things went with my parents. They can be annoying sometimes” she muttered nervously.
“that’s their own business, now listen to me. I have decided on how to care for you and your baby and if it isn’t enough for you, then you can go to hell” i said a bit rudely, shocking her with my words.
“i will rent a self contained room in a very plush neighbourhood next year for you, plus fifteen thousand Naira {about a hundred dollars} monthly allowance till you deliver the baby. After delivery, the s-x of the child will determine my next plan for you. My offer isn’t open for debate. You either take it or leave it” i said seriously, searching her eyes for the much expected reaction.

I felt my offer was a fair one or isn’t it??.

Episode 31

Comfort simply stood up after listening to my proposal, came towards my chair, stopped and stared at me for some seconds.
“your offer is quite a generous one even though you sounded harsh with it. Nevertheless, thanks for coming up with it but another important thing i must emphasis on is nothing else but having you around at all times. No matter how you try shaping the situation, you will never deny the fact that we are starting a family. From next year, your presence will matter a lot to me. I feel you already know the other necessary roles you are to play for the safe delivery of our child?. It’s not all about money” she asked softly. I drew back my chair and stood up.

“you are not my wife Comfort. You can never be my wife. The best i can do is to support your pregnancy with money. Any other thing you are trying to add won’t work. Believe me i will throw a party if you even lose this pregnancy” i said harshly, melting her eyes with my words.

“okay, fine thanks for everything” she said softly, turned and slowly left my office without another word.
I always felt bad after using harsh words on her but most times i couldn’t stop myself from being harsh to her.
I equally thought about my wife at the same time. I couldn’t imagine what she was going through nor were she was staying. My life was totally empty without her, just as the previous week was quiet messy. I couldn’t imagine how to survive the new week all alone, moreover my house was slowly getting untidy with lots of unwashed clothes, plates and pots pilling up everyday, no companion to hold at night and share my stories with. Nobody to serve me dinner with a sweet smile.

“d–n” i breathed hard.
The rest of the week however was totally uneventful. I tried very hard to establish contact with my wife but was unsuccessful and so i managed myself all alone until 22nd of December when i got a surprising phone call from my father. He told me that my wife’s family were inviting us for a family meeting on the 26th of December which was four days away. At first i was a bit happy over the news, thinking that perhaps we were being invited in order for us to put heads together and settle my marriage problems but on a second thought, my heart skipped as i remembered the words my father inlaw used on me the first time he confronted me over what i did to his daughter. I quickly realised that perhaps they were inviting us in order to finally cut ties with my family.
I travelled home on the 24th of December with a very anxious mind but unfortunately my fears turned out to be true, when we got to my wife’s family home.

“i guess you already know why we invited you all here” my wife’s father asked as soon as we settled down in his sitting room..

“Anyway let me hit the nail on the head. Your son destroyed the relationship our families enjoyed by getting another woman pregnant. My daughter has no choice than to move out from his house. We already know she has no child and probably may not have a future in the house she helped build. Anyway let’s avoid long talk. How much do we refund you?” he asked, looking directly at my father and jolting us with his words.

Episode 32

“c’mon Prof. You shouldn’t be making such statement. What we are supposed to do in this case is to find a peaceful way of helping our children out of this mess” my dad cut in, but my father in law wasn’t ready to listen to anyone.
“i warned your son. I advised him right before he married my daughter that i won’t take any nonsense from him. Just take a critical look at everything happening right now. Your son got another woman pregnant barely a year of marrying my daughter. Isn’t it an insult to my daughter and my family?. Aren’t you ashamed of your son’s action?. Isn’t his action a prove that he never loved my daughter?. We are talking about a marriage barely a year old?. C’mon let’s be realistic, your son probably married my daughter just to boost his career in a job i helped him get. He never loved my daughter and i will see to it that he loses that silly job of his” the old man barked, silencing my father with his words while his wife stared at him with great concern. There wasn’t any doubt he was highly annoyed with me.

“prof we have been friends for a long time huh?. Right from when we worked together at NITEL and we have maintained the relationship till now. Don’t let our children ruin our friendship. Ever since this problem reared up, you have been avoiding me, but please let’s go to your balcony or bedroom and put heads together like men” my father begged calmly. The old man stared at my father for some seconds before shrugging.
“i have always respected you chief. Even though you made a mistake of choosing politics instead of furthering your education” he said humorously, reducing the tension in the room with his words. The two men laughed while i watched on nervously.

“okay let’s go to my bedroom and talk” he finally accepted and slowly led my dad to his room, leaving me all alone with my mother and mother in law.
My mother in law fixed her eyes on me, saying nothing but the venom in her eyes were enough to kill silently. I quickly became very uncomfortable.
“please ma, how about my wife?. Is she in the house?. I’m dying to see her” i begged softly, desperate to get out of the sitting room. She hesitated for some seconds before pointing towards the bedroom.

Read also – CHRONICLE OF A TEENAGER (episode 1)

“she’s In her room” she said carefully. I quickly rose up and headed to my wife’s old room without another word, opening the door without knocking and coming face to face with the poor woman who was sobbing uncontrollably on her bed. I was shocked to see her in that condition.

Of course the whole affair was paining her much more than it was paining me, but instead of stopping her father or returning to me she preferred dying silently with grief.
My eyes quickly melted with tears.
“dearest” i called with a deeply shaken voice….

Tbc