Story - THE MAN I MARRIED (Part 8)

He came back at about 7:30pm. ‘Where is my food?’ he asked me. ‘Food? ‘I didn’t cook anything today because I didn’t know you are eating. I made noodles for myself and I can rush to the kitchen to prepare yours if you don’t mind.’ ‘Noodles?’ He asked frowning his face. ‘I can’t be eating noodles while I was single and continue while I am married. I have been fasting for some days now and I need good food not noodles.’ ‘What do you want then?’ I asked him. ‘I want pounded yam with egusi soup.’ ‘But you know we don’t have egusi in this house and it’s to 8 already, where will I get egusi tonight?’ I queried. ‘This is not how to be a virtuous woman, a woman whose husband has not eaten for several days should have everything at home in preparation for the day he wants to eat.’

I decided not to answer him again because he seemed unhappy. He continued to talk, rain insults on me and blamed me for all his woes but I didn’t alter a word again. He became more angry when I ignored him. He came closer and held my arm and said, ‘you made them cancel my slot for ministration at the prayer conference right? I thought you’re just a lukewarm Christian, I didn’t know you are also a witch and a bad omen to me. The Bible says “when a man finds a wife he has found a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord”. You are not a good thing at all, where is the favour? After ten months of marriage, I am yet to see any favour but bad luck. I was deceived into this marriage by your church attendance and punctuality. But now I know you are not a wife material. I felt like replying him but I was still in pain from the injuries I sustained in the afternoon when he struggled to collect the key from my bra.

I didn’t know they cancelled his slot for ministration at the prayer conference but I was sincerely happy about that.
My husband became a nag in the house, he complained about everything. While I was cleaning the sitting room, I carried his tablet up just to clean up the place but it slipped out of my hand and fell on the floor. By the time I picked it up the screen was shattered. I became worried because I knew what that tablet meant to him. I wanted to take it quietly to a repairer to get it fixed before he returned, but on the other hand, what if he comes back before me? I thought of what to do but my brain was blank.

‘You are welcome dear, I greeted him as he entered the house. ‘When did you start addressing me as dear? He questioned. I am sorry, I was trying to clean the sitting room earlier today but your tablet mistaken fell from my hand. I carried the tablet and pointed it at him as to see that the screen had been shattered. He put forward his left hand to collect it and his right hand landed on my face. My husband just slapped me, this was the hottest slap I ever received as an adult. ‘You slapped me Bro David? I asked surprisingly. Yes I did and I will do it to you again, you irresponsible woman. Do you know how much it would cost to fix the screen of this tablet? If I lost my documents inside this tablet I will show you hell in this house,’ he said and walked away.

He came back from work very moody on Tuesday. I couldn’t ask him because of the unresolved anger from the broken tablet but I knew something was wrong with my husband. I have never seen him worried in that manner before, he prays about everything but this time he couldn’t pray. He moved from the sitting room to the bedroom like a man whose wife is in labour. What’s the matter? I summoned courage to asked him but couldn’t get a word from him. While he was in the toilet, I quickly opened the brown short envelope he dropped at the dinning, I glance through the content and behold my husband was fired from work. A drop of tears found its way out of my eye but I wiped it off immediately.

‘So, you’ve been sacked from work? I asked him. ‘Who asked you to open the letter? Before I say anything he descended on me and almost beat me to a pulp. I struggled to escaped from his dreaded hand of anger and aggression. I went inside, locked up myself and wept badly. Nobody in church will ever believe me if I tell them my husband is a wife beater. They trusted him so much and saw him as a perfect example of a Christian but my husband was a different person at home. This is an indication that I am married to the wrong man. THE MAN I MARRIED is a wife beater.