Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 38

4 years ago

Dysfunctional Family - Season 1 - Episode 38

Everything felt surreal to the bereaved until mourners begun to gather at Donald’s house.

Juliet sat in a corner alone, unable to fathom the terrible turn of events. Her only daughter was gone for good. Tears flawed but the pain still felt raw and the lump on her throat wasn’t helping matters. Her emotions were all over the place. She was slumped in her corner when Alice’s friend for quite some years approached her.

Bertha was clad in black from head to toe. She hugged Juliet and broke down.

“I can’t believe my friend is gone just like this..Alice can’t be dead..this must all be some sick joke or terrible nightmare.”
“I’m afraid it’s neither of those,” sobbed Juliet, clutching on to Bertha as if her life depended on the hug.

They broke the embrace seconds later and sat on the floor, crying and reminiscing together.

“I’ve done so many terrible things in my life, you know,” Juliet was saying. “Why didn’t God take me in place of her? She was only 28 and was full of life..who’s gonna take care of her baby now? What are we going to tell the baby when she grows up and asks about her mother? That her mother fell and died a few hours later? This world is cruel,” she beat her breasts in agony. “It’s cruel for leaving people like me and claiming my innocent daughter’s life.”

Bertha was vaguely listening as she too was too emotional by the sudden death of her friend. Somehow she blamed herself for it.

“Alice sure..why did you have to heed my advice and deliberately fall pregnant?” Bertha cried, not realising what she was revealing in the process. “Wemunandi sure ngepoli nga tawakonkele ifyabula amano ifyo nalekweba..nine nakwipaya, Alice (My friend sure you’d still be alive had you not listened to the nonsense I was telling you..It’s me who’s killed you, Alice.). Nine. (It’s me).”

“What did you just say?”
“Aunt Juliet, Alice came to me for help concerning getting Frank to marry her soon rather than later and I advised her to deliberately fall pregnant and trap him in the process. My conscience is eating at me, had I not-” she paused to sniff. “Had I not told her to do so, maybe, just maybe, she’d be alive as we speak.”

“Wensoka weh(You snake)!” Juliet rose and adjusted her wrapper. “You have no business being here as if to mock my daughter’s memory..get out.”

Bertha stood too and grabbed her clutch from the floor. “I am so sorry, aunt.”
“Sorry won’t bring back my daughter,” Juliet yelled. “Get the f--k out of my house before I wring your stupid neck and strangle the s--t out of you. Get out, Bertha!” Her yelling brought forth Lubesha, Donald, Frank and some other mourners.

“What’s going on here?” inquired a distraught Donald, holding Juliet back.
“This b---h here should be blamed for our daughter’s untimely death!”
“How so?” asked Frank who hadn’t spoken a word since they’d left the hospital 3 hours earlier. Alice’s death had shaken him to the core.

Juliet told them.

Frank was the most hurt amongst them but he said, “We can’t blame Bertha for Alice’s decision making. Alice was a full grown woman who was in charge of her own decisions.”

“I think Frank is right,” agreed Lubesha.
“Oh my God,” Juliet shook her head in disbelief. “Are you all even listening to yourselves? Why do I get the feeling you people aren’t mourning Alice as she deserves?”

“People have different ways of showing grief, Juliet,” came Donald’s reply. “Just because we aren’t shedding rivers like you’re doing doesn’t mean we aren’t hurt by Alice’s death. She was my daughter too..”

Not wanting to be the cause of the bickering, Bertha repeated that she was truly sorry and left the funeral house.

No Zambia funeral is without drama but Juliet seemed to be in the centre of all the drama that day. Next, she threw out a friend of hers for badmouthing Alice.

Juliet had caught her friend saying to someone, “The girl in particular just had a death wish if you ask me. I mean, who climbs stools while heavily pregnant?” “What did you just say?” Juliet exploded with fury. “Nana, you should be the last person on earth to judge my daughter! Aren’t you the same person who drunk herself unconscious despite being heavily pregnant when you discovered your husband was banging your maid? Aren’t you the reason you went into premature labour and your child died, paying for your reckless behaviour? Get the f--k out of this house this minute!”

Nana stood with immediate effect. “My condolences.”

“Keep them to yourself,” Juliet clicked her tongue.

“Wow,” Lubesha said to his uncle. “Alice’s death is doing a number on her.”

Donald remained silent and couldn’t fight the tears no more so he let them flow.
Lubesha gave the eulogy during Alice’s church service a day later as he was the only one who seemed strong enough not to break down on the pulpit.

After Alice was la!d to rest an hour later, everybody went back to the funeral house where it was decided that Frank and his family would look after the baby whom they’d already named Misozi (Tears) seeing as her birth had brought forth so much tears.

☆☆☆
Juliet and Donald watched as Amos was led towards the table they were seated on by a stern looking warden.
“Dad, mum, hi,” he took a seat.
Donald and Juliet said a gloomy ‘hi’ in unison.

“There’s something off about you two,” Amos noticed. “What’s going on?”
Juliet who seemed not to have control over her tears lately let them roll down her cheeks.
“Are you crying? Will somebody tell me what’s going on?”
“Alice’s no more..we buried her yesterday.”

“No,” Amos could not believe what his father had just told him. “How? Cause the last time I heard about her she was pregnant and happily married to a man she loves and who loves her as much in retain.” Donald told Amos how Alice had died and Juliet wept even louder.

People in the visiting room were beginning to stare but she cared less.

Amos felt a huge lump form on his throat and so much pain and sorrow gripped his heart. He tried to open his mouth to say something but no words came out.

They were on their way back to Lusaka when Donald said to Juliet, “Alice’s death got me thinking we all have such little time on earth.”

“I know right. Though I still think it should have been me in her place..there’s something really wrong with the fates for them to claim her life so soon.”

“Don’t say that, please.. Anyway, what am trying to say is that I want us to get back together and raise Junior together.”

That was the best news Juliet had heard in like forever. “In as much as I’d like us to get back together, I think it’s best we let Alice’s death settle first. Us getting back together days after losing our baby will seem wrong.”

“I know..I’m just happy to know you’re willing to move back in with me.”
“Trust me,” Juliet smiled, for the first time since Alice’s death. “I’m more than willing.”

Lubesha sat in his room going through photos of him and Alice together. He just couldn’t believe she was really gone. Unable to withold the tears no more, he wept with grief..staining the photographs with his fat teardrops.

☆☆☆

Sandra grabbed her purse and walked out the door, she’d made up her mind to go embarrass Tracy at her new workplace, all just for the fun of it.

According to her, the w---e had snatched her man from her and Sandra was still planning how she was going to make Tracy pay for humiliating and snatching her man from her on her wedding day and turning the day that was supposed to be the happiest day of her life into the saddest one.

It had been two months since the incidence but the shame Sandra carried with her everywhere she went made it seem like everything had gone down just a day ago.

People pointing pitiful fingers at her, shaking their heads and whispering to their friends saying how unlucky she was made Sandra want to go crazy but she stayed sane for the sake of the baby she was carrying.

Her father had suggested he murder Tracy right after the wedding.

“That will seem suspicious, Dad,” Sandra had argued.

“Who cares?” retorted a furious Enoch. “The police need incriminating evidence to prosecute someone and I can promise you they won’t find any..they’d have to be lucky to even find that b---h’s body!”

“This is my fight,” Sandra told him. “I’m the one Lubesha dumped..I’m the one carrying his child and am the one people will be pointing fingers at so let me be the one to deal with that Tracy b---h my way.”

“Just let me kill her, Sandy.”
“No, Dad. Promise me on mum’s grave you’ll let me handle this my way. Promise me.”

It was one of the hardest things Enoch had to do. “I promise.”

“Thanks,” Sandra hugged him and from there went into her room to tear her wedding dress to shreds. “I’m coming for you, bitches. Get ready cause you won’t see what hit you.”

She then decided to lay low and wait for the dust to clear so as not to raise suspicions when she actually decided to punish Tracy.

But before that day could come, Sandra decided to happily go stage some scene at Tracy’s workplace so she got into her favourite car and drove to the place.

She got out of the car and went into the building. She had been stalking Tracy for two months now so she knew where Tracy worked since the first day she had reported for work.

Sandra went to the lobby elevator which unfortunately wasn’t working.
“Stupid elevator,” she cussed. “Now I’ll have to use the stairs.”

Reluctantly, she headed towards the staircase and began her ascent. Tracy worked from the 5th floor and Sandra who wasn’t used to taking stairs was already tired by the time she got to the 4th floor. She paused to catch her breath and was about to continue her ascent when she saw Tracy descending the stairs towards her, files in her hands.
“Look who I just happen to run into,” Sandra said as Tracy reached the landing.
“You’re so petty,” Tracy chuckled. “What, you stalking me now?”
“Actually, I just came to tell you to enjoy Lubesha’s company while it lasts.”
“I ain’t got time for your bullshit,” Tracy curtly said, rudely shoving Sandra aside and attempting to continue her descent but for Sandra holding her arm.

“Nobody walks away from me whilst am talking!” “You know what, Sandra, I was initially feeling guilty for ruining your wedding day but after Lubesha told me how petty you’re, am glad I ruined your wedding and I’d do it a thousand times again given the chance. Now let go of my arm and watch how I walk away from you. You’re the biggest joke I’ve ever come across, mama.” Tracy yanked her arm free and began her descent but Sandra who was fuming for being called a joke caught Tracy by the weave and pulled her back.

“I’ll show you who the bigger joke between the two of us is,” she said through gritted teeth, relentlessly slapping Tracy hard across the face, sending the files she’d been holding flying.

Tracy slapped Sandra back and a fight ensued. Before the knew it, they were pulling each other’s hair and dragging one another from rail to rail and boom!

One of them was rolling down the stairs, their bones breaking while the other one stood at the landing, covering their mouth in awe and hoping they’d not just committed murder.