The only explanation I could come up with was that she had pushed me with her remark about it being so difficult to get sex from me, but deep down I knew there was a lot more to it than that; and it all started with Julie.
It was Julie who had first made me feel like I was failing as a man, and Diane’s comment had just been the icing on the cake. She had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. My guilt and remorse felt like a ton of bricks and I had no way to assuage them, for there was no way to undo what I had done.
DIANE
I was up before six the next morning, and felt like I had not slept at all. In the bathroom mirror, I saw that my eyes were swollen, my eyelids dark, and I knew there was no way I was going in to work today; some things, even makeup can’t hide.
Still, I was desperate to get out of the house before David woke up, because after last night, I did not think I could bear to even look at him. I took a shower and freshened up in record time, and by the time I was quietly slipping out of the house, it was still dark outside, and the rest of the household was still asleep.
I knew David would be heading to work at about eight thirty, which gave me close to two hours to while away and try to make sense of what had happened last night.
I had tried so hard to win David back – surely it was not a crime to ask one’s husband for money – but now that I had, I was not sure I wanted him anymore. Last night David had turned into a monster I did not recognise, and while there had been signs of him changing before, none had come anywhere close to this.
I had never been frightened of him in the past, but last night, David had terrified me, and I was not sure I could handle that new dynamic in our marriage.
JULIE
I slept late the next morning, only dragging myself out of bed shortly after ten.
“Good morning; how are you feeling?” my sister greeted me as I walked into the living room.
“Still sore, but better.”
“That’s good; by the way, I talked to mum, she said you should call her.”
“What did you tell her?” I demanded, my eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“Just that you had been in an accident, but were okay and back home.”
“Alright, I’ll call her,” I sighed, and picking up my new iPhone, dialed my mother’s number.
“Julie! It’s good you’ve called, I was just about to call back. Sara told me about the accident, what happened?” she asked, her voice panicky.
“I was on a boda that crashed, but I’m alright; it wasn’t very serious,” I tried to reassure her.
“Oh, we thank God for that! Sara also said a friend took you to the hospital and did some shopping; was he from the office?” she asked with a clearly forced casual tone.
I rolled my eyes and gritted my teeth at Sara’s large mouth.
“Yes, they couldn’t reach me on phone, so they sent him to come and check, then later sent some things when they found out what had happened.”
“Well, that’s the least they could do after all the work you do for them.”
“Yes, Mummy,” I answered tiredly, having heard this song before.
“I hope they won’t turn around later and deduct your salary for the days you are off.”
“No, they won’t.”
“Because you know school is soon starting; so, we need to prepare your siblings’ school fees.”
“Yes, Mummy.”
“Alright, let me leave you to rest; get well soon my child.”
“Thank you, Mummy; take care,” I answered, and rang off.
I was not surprised that the call had wound up being more about money than the accident; what did surprise me was that David had not called yet.
After his over-the-top concern yesterday, I found it odd that there had not been so much as a text from him this morning, especially since he had gone to all the trouble to get me a phone just so he could reach me.
Probably just having a busy morning at work, I told myself and tried to push him from my mind, but for the rest of the morning, I found myself continuously checking my phone for any missed calls or messages. There weren’t any.
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