BOOMERANG!

THE LAST STRAW,

…After a long sigh, he muttered to Cassie, “Look, I don’t think this is working out the way it should. Don’t you think that, maybe it’s time for us to go separate ways? We are not doing each other any good, especially me, and I need you to save yourself from this madness before it gets messy.”

Sniffing and wiping off her tears, holding on to her cheek that was now hot from the slap she received. She then let out a weak shriek and said,

“I don’t understand what has come over you lately. Maybe we can consider getting help. I love you, I want us to,,,to,,,, in between sniffing and blowing her nose, to, maybe,, we could give us a chance to go back to how things were, we can still go back to being team Amil and Cassie once again. Remember those days when everyone called us the dynamic duo? Why can’t we work on going back to that?”

“Look”, She said, rummaging through her purse, “I got the contact of Maggie, she can slot us in sometime soon, “I still think we need to give ourselves time to go over what has been happening to our relationship. Your sister recommended counselling, maybe this counselling will help us understand each other and what has been happening to our marriage.”

Looking up and commenting sarcastically, “Do you believe talking to a stranger about our marital affairs is going to work miracles for us? You think so! Just go ahead then, attend those, those counselling’s or whatever’s but for me, I am not lifting a darn foot to see a shrink who will internalize me. In fact, were it not for your stubbornness, we would not be here, pshhtt!” He muttered walking away from her.

Amil never liked being confronted about anything. In fact, he never envisioned himself being helpless. He did not believe he could ask for help, let alone get one. So anytime they got into an argument and he felt defeated, he just shrugged, and always walked away,,,,,,,

“Hallo, Mackenzie, its Cassie…”

CHAPTER 1- PLOT

They had been married for thirteen years before she finally conceived. They never knew they were trying, but indeed they were. Family and friends came at them severally, asking, whether they were okay, whether they needed to get checked or something because it had been way too long. Others even recommended special fertility doctors, some even proposing traditional healing to open her womb. Little did they know that she had been on her pills and she was too careful not to conceive. Especially at that time where her husband had been away on travel for work and only occasionally came home once a year. She had thought that it would have been a bad idea conceiving and carrying her pregnancy to term all by herself. She never thought she was that strong or capable even. So, when he told her, on his last visit that he was no longer going back to Wotown, and that he would now be stationed back home, she thought that, maybe, it was about time. Time for her to conceive and start a family. Their perfect family.

Within three months after that annunciation, they got to ‘work’ and in no time she became pregnant. The news of her pregnancy travelled far and wide, with her every kith and kin offering unwarranted advice, of how she should carry herself during the pregnancy. Some even recommending that she ought to step down from the Mayoral position which seemed stressful at that time, to enable her to carry the pregnancy stress free. Well, while some meant well, she was still convinced that not all of them did, especially where she might have overheard some rumours spreading about her being barren. They referred to her as the Barren Mayor. After the first trimester, she took a rest, and her deputy took charge of the town.

“Selpha, you have made me the happiest man on earth, I am very elated, and I am looking forward to the birth of our son.” I will name him after my maternal grandfather Lieutenant Amil. He always took me for fishing and camping when I was a little boy whenever he was off duty”. “Look, he even gave me this fishing rod that I had mounted on this wall. What a way to remember and honour him. I am sure he would be proud, may his soul rest in peace.”

Selpha just smiled as she stirred the pot of boiling soup, while she made them dinner. “You are going to make a good dad too Jethro, I certainly have no doubts about that”, he let out a big smile too, planting a huge kiss on her forehead as he caressed her tummy which was now beginning to show.

The next couple of weeks, Selpha’ s sisters and friends trickled into their home, with pots of hot cooked food, freshly baked breads, and soups, just to ensure that she had enough food as she waited for the d day. They really cared about her and were happy that she was soon going to be a mother just like them. Her belly was now fully grown, her feet swollen, her face and eyes puffed. The little guy had been kicking profusely in anticipation of the day when he would finally be out of the womb and straight into the world. As fate would have it, just as Jethro walked into the house that evening, shortly before she served him the food that her sister had brought for them, she tried getting up to reach for the plates on top of the cabinet, her water suddenly broke. Letting out a big gush. It was a painless moment of confusion at first, luckily Jethro was able to rush her to the Health Centre in good time. Her midwife had already been informed of her massive dilation, and she made it just in time for the delivery. Four painful breath-taking pushes, amidst two heavy feisty wails, he was out. A tiny little boy. He came out with his hands folded into a fist. Small tiny fists. Like he was ready to fight the world or with the world. He let out beautiful cries to signify that he was finally around and at the same time to dramatically usher his own entry into the world. When the doctor came in to review the health of mother and child, he said to her, “Congratulations Selpha on delivering a beautiful healthy baby boy, have you thought of a name yet?” he asked, “Yes I have, he is Amil, Amil Sandey”, she responded, as she struggled to offer the baby the breast.

In a couple of days, it was life as usual, trying to embrace the joys of the birth of their son. More family members and friends trickled into their home, with them, they carried all types of gifts and food to welcome the birth of baby Amil. Some said he took after the mother, some said after the father, and some even witfully said he looked like the Sherriff. One of the market women shyly said that, but Selpha never took her remarks any seriously. The Sheriff had grown so close to Selpha since she spent time with him solving a couple of cases at the town council. The two had been seen together several times, sometimes just the two of them, sometimes in the company of her deputy, but never did a relationship spur between them. It somehow seemed like a miracle that a couple as old as Selpha and Jethro were able to conceive in their mid-forties. Some even told her that she shouldn’t wait for too long before she got her second child.

After seven years of having little Amil in their lives, Wotown came calling, and Jethro had to take up another assignment, which meant leaving Selpha all by herself once again. Selpha had long since resumed her Mayoral duties at the town council. The decision to move to Wotown again was met with a lot of resistance by Selpha who claimed that she needed Jethro back home. She needed him even more now that Amil was growing up and needed his father’s presence. They spent that night arguing and bickering at each other.

 “Why is it so easy for you to just pack and leave? she asked, don’t you ever think of little Amil and I? You promised that you will not be going back to Wotown, and that we shall make do of what we have here in Wanda Jeth”, She usually calls him Jeth whenever she is either too angry to complete his full name or either too in love and she just needed to express her love by referring to him by his puppy name Jeth. So, this time she was angry. He couldn’t even look at her, but just mumbled a few words beneath his hat, “This time I will try to be around often whenever I can”.

With Jethro gone, Selpha had to take up duties of being both mother and father to Amil, who was now almost approaching his teenage years. He had watched how his mother and father had related over the years and never envied their relationship one bit. He watched how his mother had always taken the lead in roles of the household with his dad only making a few appearances. Selpha became sterner in terms of how she raised Amil. While he appreciated her sternness, which at times came out too strong, he would have loved her to be gentler and soothing just like other mums as he had observed from his friends. He also wished that his dad had been home more often to watch him grow and become the man he was almost turning into. He wished he had been more present to offer support to his mum who seemed to be constantly overwhelmed by governance and parenting roles. His dad would make appearances into their home, and each time he left, he would always leave in a fight. Selpha always accused him of neglecting the family and refusing to own up to his responsibilities. He never liked making decisions, especially where Amil was concerned, and that he left all the parenting and upbringing work to Selpha. What they did not know was that, shortly before Jethro returned home at that time when little Amil was conceived, he had met a woman in Wotown. Maya was her name. She had some random affairs with Jethro, got pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl called Huddah.

Maya was the daughter of the Chief Commissioner of Wotown, the office where Jethro worked. He was his Deputy. She had threatened him that she would reveal that he sired a child with her and left her. So now she threatened him that if she doesn’t take up the assignment in Wotown once again, where he would be near their daughter, she would be forced to reveal the truth to her father, and he could lose his job. Losing his job was the least of things he needed happening to him at that time and so he decided to leave Wanda and move to Wotown again. Huddah was a couple of months older than Amil. Amil only got to learn about Huddah when he went to study for his Political Degree in Wotown Campus. Wotown was the main city of their province. They met over coffee and a couple of lunches here and there. They got to know each other well and sanely chose to leave behind their parents’ past and become the half siblings they were. Huddah always had her dad around, something that Amil secretly envied. They spent most of their time discussing their father Jethro.

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