Marriage Chronicles - Season 1 - Episode 16

Episode 5 years ago

Marriage Chronicles - Season 1 - Episode 16

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continues..

..CEPHAS..

“Which ones do you prefer, sir?” The female florist asked me, showing me lilies, roses and tulips.

“I’ve never bought flowers for my lady but I think any will do. If your man was buying them for you, which ones would you prefer?”

“Roses are my favourite so I’d love em’. I suggest you get roses.”

“Thanks, you’re a blessing. Roses it is then.”

“Great..” she handed me a bouquet of red roses, my receipt and change.

I got only the receipt and roses. “Keep change.”

“Um..thanks,” she blushed with gratitude. “And all the best with your girl.”

“Actually, she’s my beloved wife.”

“Wow, am jealous,” she giggled. “Your wife’s one hell of a lucky woman.”

“Am the lucky one, sister.”


I walked out of the store wearing a huge grin..I was just so happy things were going back to normal between me and Coreen. My God, I loved that woman!

I got into my Allion and hit the road, listening to some tracks on the radio. And then Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ played and I had to immediately turn off the radio.


“Nothing will ruin my jovial mood today,” I mumbled. “Not even one of Lubuto’s all time favourite songs!”

When I arrived home, only the maid was around.


“Is your madam around?” I asked her.

“Are you alright, sir? Madam hasn’t been around for weeks now!”

“Coreen came home with me yesterday so I know what am talking about. You know what, you’re hopeless. Just go back to whatever you were doing!”


She shrugged and headed to the kitchen. With the roses in hand, I walked towards my bedroom while calling, “Coreen! Honey!”
Silence.

“Baby, am home!”

I wrenched the door open and I immediately knew, she had gone back. That cunning b---h! So she wasn’t satisfied with everything I gave her? All the love I showered her wasn’t enough? No, all she wanted to know is what had happened to her bitchy look alike Lubuto Bwalya.

I got my phone and hastily dialled Coreen’s line which went straight to voicemail. I was in no mood to leave a message so I hang up and threw the phone on the bed. I looked at them flowers and tossed them to the floor where I crashed them with the heel of my shoe.

I was surprisingly outraged. Why would Coreen lead me on last night and just walk away this morning? I rushed to the bar and got a bottle of Jameson. I went back to the bedroom and locked myself in, and drank. Until I was drunk.


“Boss,” called the maid who was knocking on the door. “Your lunch is ready.”

“I don’t want it,” I slurred. “And please leave me the f--k alone, Rosemary.”

“Yes, sir!” she knew better than to agitate me when I was in such a mood.


I staggered to the bedside cabinet and took a photo of Coreen. “It’s amazing how you look exactly like that witch Lubuto, my Coreen. But you two have parallel personalities, you really do…”


And I went back to when Lubuto was still alive…


She had just been at my parents’ place for a few weeks when one day I arrived home to a heated argument between her and my young sister Marjorie.



“What’s going on here?” I asked.

Marjorie who wasn’t an argumentative type said, “It’s this under age wife of yours, bro. She knows I’ve got class this evening while she’s got nothing important to do but she wants to be the first one to use the bathroom. Like really, who does she think she is?”


“You better watch your tongue you stupid spoilt b---h!”

“Whoa..” I came between them. “Can’t believe you two are fighting over the bathroom!” I turned to Lubuto. “Marjorie has a class to attend, can’t she bath first?”

“Over my dead body, Ceph Donut.”


Marjorie rolled her eyes. “You see?”

“Just use mum and dad’s bathroom, sis, please.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “You’re spoiling this opportunistic w---e way too much if you ask me, brother. You better open your eyes and see through her, she doesn’t love you!”

“You better watch what you say before I shove my thong down that throat of yours which has swallowed only God knows how many men’s sperm!” Lubuto yelled.


“Enough!” I yelled too. “Marjorie, do as I say and Lubuto, shut the hell up and watch what you say to my sister!”

They both angrily stomped their feet, snarled and cussed before heading different directions.



“Gosh,” I wearily pressed my eyes.

Must be the hormones working Lubuto up, I tried to convince myself.


But the arguments and complaints kept on hitting me from all angles. Be it mum, my elder sis Ethel, Marjorie, our neighbours, who didn’t she quarrel with over trivial matters like somebody using her make up or mum adding too much salt in the food she cooked and so on and so forth?


Dad sat me down one evening and spoke to me man to man.


“I do realise you’ve failed to keep your girlfriend or wife or whatever we can call her in check, son. I don’t blame you though cause that girl is a nightmare! I feel sorry for you but you’ll have to take her away from here before she brings my entire house down one of these days.”

“I understand, paps. Guess I’ll just look for a house and move in with her.”



There was silence for a while until Dad spoke up, “Do you love her?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. At first I thought she was this fragile thing that needed utmost protection but now am not certain what to think anymore.”

“Maybe it’s the pregnancy working her up, she’ll probably come back to her senses soon.”

“Am hoping that’s the case, Dad.”

“You’ll be alright,” he assured me.

I found a self contained apartment good enough for Lubuto and I where we moved into a few days later. It was when I came back from class two days later when I learnt Lubuto had been playing me all along. She hadn’t heard me come into the house that’s how come I was able to eavesdrop on her phone conversation with her supposed unbearable adoptive mother.


She was seated on the bed with her back facing me, “You really are a genius, mum. Now all that’s left is for this dummy to marry me and we’ll be flourishing in riches soon! Yeah…our plan is really working..I can’t be happier..will talk to you later, love you too.”

She hang up and was startled to see me standing in the doorway when she turned. “How..For how long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to know you’re nothing but a calculative b---h who’s leaving my house and life in the next twenty minutes!” I went to her closet and begun throwing her clothes out. “Start packing, mummy, your time here is over! Game’s over, you lost.”

“Really?” she smirked, folding her arms across her chest. “Ceph Donut, as soon as I leave this house, am going to the police station to file for defilement or rape or whichever sexual assault is done to a 16 year old girl..Let’s see how lenient the judge will be towards you. You’re stuck with me, baby.”

I looked her straight in the eye and knew right there and then that I hated the b---h so much I might as well just strangle the living daylights outta her. “Not for too long,” I clearly told her. “I’ll have the last laugh, Lubuto Bwalya!” I kicked some of her bizarre clothes out of my way and stormed out of the house.



For the next two weeks I was planning on how to get rid of Lubuto but no plausible idea was popping up. I was seated in a bar when this guy approached me, I knew him from the neighbourhood.



“Cephas, can I join you?”

“No problem, Richard.”


We talked about soccer for a while before he abruptly asked me, “How would you like to make some fast cash?”

Being rich and making my own money had always been a fantasy of mine. “Everybody would love that..But it all comes down to what they have to do in order to make that money, don’t it?”


“You have a point there,” he took a drag from his Castle Lager bottle. “Am talking about a human heart here, bro. And we’ll be millionaires!”

I choked on my beer for a while before gaining composure. “What makes you think I’d kill someone for money?”

“Because you have it in you,” he stood and patted my shoulder. “And a friendly warning, repeat this conversation to anyone and it’ll be one of your precious sisters’ hearts I’ll be donating!”

I wouldn’t repeat the conversation to nobody and neither would I kill anyone, of this I was certain.


The following day, I came up with an idea to rid myself of Lubuto the witch.



“Why hadn’t I thought of this brilliant idea earlier?” I asked myself as I bought the drugs from the drugstore. The plan was simple, drug Lubuto and make her lose her baby and walla, am free!


Once at home, I slipped the pills in Lubuto’s open Pure Joy bottle.


I was intently looking at her as she drank the juice later that evening.



“What?” she irritably asked me.


I shrugged. “Nothing.” and inwardly, Your time’s up, b---h!

“Cephas! Open the d--n door!” someone b@nged on my door, interrupting my memories. “Open the door, its Coreen!”

I’d deciphered it was her..But did this mean she was back to me for good this time around?
.