Smash

Their separation came about in a bizarre way
He went to work that Monday morning with
springs in his feet
She had just given the good news
She was nine weeks pregnant
He was on top of the world, grinning from
ear to ear
She had taken some time off work to
be able to adjust to the morning sickness
They had assumed it was malaria
In fact, she was rushed to the hospital
from the office because she
started throwing up in the middle of
a presentation
The hospital did their test
Malaria was confirmed
Typhoid was confirmed
The pregnancy test also turned out positive
The doctor told her she would need a
lot of rest
Her boss told her to take all the time she
needed
She called her mother immediately
to give her the good news
Her mother had been waiting to hear that
news for thirteen months
Her mother screamed for joy
As soon as he left for work, his mother
arrived like a storm
She had heard the good news and wanted
to come around to see her daughter-in-law
She hadn't even told her
She had planned to visit her later during
the week to tell her the good news
Two hours later, her mother arrived
Both mothers were supposed to be
educated
Both mothers were Christians
She made lunch and they all ate
They smiled and related quite well
She went upstairs to take a nap
By the time she woke up around 6 pm, 
his mother had left
She didn't see it as anything out of
the ordinary
Later that night, her husband arrived 
home in a very foul mood
He walked into the house and barely
paid her mother any attention
He greeted her through gritted teeth
and went straight to the room
It was so unlike him
She sensed something was wrong
She went upstairs to see him
As soon as she walked into the room
She asked him what her mother was
doing in his house
"In his house"
It was rude and practically categorized
her as a stranger in her own home
She took a pause
She didn't want to be too quick to speak
He saw her hesitation as a guilty conscience
he said "Cat got your tongue? What right 
does your mother have in this house that
my mother does not have?
My mother came into this house and you 
treated her with disrespect
You shunned her and went off to sleep
You made her stay uncomfortable just
so that you can get rid of her for your
own mother
Do you guys think you can put my head under
somebody's bosom
Do I look like a needle without a thread
Do you ever think I will allow anybody to
trash my mother and go scot-free?
His voice was loud
He was raging
She was stunned
His mother had told him so much
The problem was, she had no idea what
he was talking about
She was collecting her thought,
trying to give a measured response when
her mother burst into the room
"Why are you shouting on her like that?
Is she your housemaid?
Is she your slave?
Did I sell her to you?
Does she look like a goat without a leash?
You are a mere boy!
No man would listen to his mother's pathetic
lies and unleash wrath on his wife
You were not well trained
You walk into this house and insulted me
Then you insult your pregnant wife
Do I look like a beggar
Have you been told I do not have my own 
home?
I told my daughter not to bring any stray
dog home
She was the one that didn't listen!"
He had kept quiet out of courtesy
He picked his shirt and walked out
That was the end of their marriage!
It has lasted thirteen months
He went to a hotel to pass the night
He told his mother everything that
happened
His mother told other family members
The matter became complicated
As soon as it was morning, she told her
mother to leave
Her mother had always been hot-headed
She was disappointed and hurt
Her mother felt she was rolling over and
needed a champion
Her mother's problem had always been
picking wrong battles and fighting wrong
fights
Her mother's marriage to her father lasted
for less than two years
Her mother had married thrice and had
five children
Her mother's longest marriage lasted ten
years
The man she lasted that long with was
a military man who only spent a few months
at home in a year
None of her siblings involved their mother
in their marital issues
Only God knows what his mother did to her
mother-in-law to provoke the misunderstanding
Her mother left reluctantly
She called her husband
She wanted to apologize
Her husband refused to pick
She called his siblings and some of his older
relatives
His father had died in Britain when he was
twenty-two years old
A simple disagreement dragged on and on
Her husband simply turned his back on her
He refused to see her or pick her calls
Whenever she heard from him, it was through
a third party
It was the darkest season of her life
Her siblings blamed for being so foolish
"How could you bring "mummy" to your
matrimonial home?"
Eventually, a meeting was called
She was six months pregnant by then
She had her strategy well planned
She would get to the meeting, fall on her knees
and beg
She was tired of living alone
She was tired of the separation
She was willing to do anything to fix the
damage caused by her mother
She got to the meeting
She fell on her knees and cried
She was sorry, she was so sorry
Her husband's uncle said "We will like
to talk to your mother. 
We will like her to assure us that our 
son is safe, we will also like her to 
apologize to your husband's mother!
Did your mother tell you what she did
to your mother-in-law?
She shook her head.
"Your mother-in-law dozed off in your 
home and your mother took a blade
and cut some hair from her head.
Your mother-in-law caught your mother
red-handed.
She carried her bag and left immediately!
We want your mother to return the hair
and explain to us why she did what she
did!
We want her to assure us no evil will come
to your husband and his mother!"
WOW!
She knew the marriage was over at that
point
Her mother would never apologize or
explain herself to anybody
She looked at her husband and called
his name
He was a good man, the best of all men,
he had kindness in him and his love was
genuine
She knew he could overlook the faults and
hold her again
But he didn't!
She told the family she would try her best
Went to her siblings and asked them to
intervene
None of them wanted anything to do with
their mother
She went to see her mother
Her mother walked her out
She delivered the baby nine months later
The naming ceremony was done in the
hospital
Her husband came in, named his baby,
dropped a fat cheque for her and left
She was expected to move on
She was expected to marry someone
else and bear children everywhere like
her mother
She was expected to say "such is life"
But she was determined to find a way
She was determined to do something
When her son was a year old
She organized a birthday party
She invited her husband and his relatives
By then she had changed her strategy
Usually, she would call him and his mother
once every week and cry
She felt she could cry herself into their
hearts
It didn't work
So she stopped calling them 
She gave them some breathing space
The party was "out of the blue"
A statement of freedom and acceptance
She took her time to dress that day
She wanted to see him, she wanted to
get to him
He arrived around 4 pm
She didn't fawn on him too much
She told one of her friends to wait on him
while she attended to other guests
By 7 pm, guests started petering out
He wanted to leave but she asked him to
stay a while
She told him their son had requested that
he wanted them both to put him to bed
together on his special day
He smiled
By 9 pm, they told their son a sweet story
and tucked him in
As they walked out of their son's room
She took his hand and said "Don't be offended.
I am not asking you to marry me or come
back home. That is gone now.
I accept that i dropped the ball!
But I want you to touch me again, kiss me
again, if only for just one more time.
Please"
She had tears in her eyes
She wanted desperately for her plan to
work
He saw her heart, her pain, her need
He kissed her and they tangoed!
That was how it started
The season of sneaking around like
teenagers... they became friends with benefit
She would send him a message
They would meet somewhere and smash!
He would send her a message, she would
meet with him and smash!
She was thirty-two, he was thirty-five
She was the girlfriend
He was the boyfriend
No encumbrances, no strings, no nagging
no couply problems
Just meet, talk a little and smash
She controlled her instinct to turn it into
anything more than what it was
She didn't want to chase him away
She didn't want him to think she was
using guile and wile on him
She just decided she could as well be
sleeping with him instead of anyone 
else
They sneaked around for seven years
Then she met the Brother in Jeans and
T-shirt and told him her story
She told him how she had been managing
her life since her scandal of a mother
ruined her marriage
The Brother in Jeans and T-shirt asked her
why she didn't get pregnant, have another
child
She told him her husband has told made her
promise not to use pregnancy to trap
him into coming back to her
And she agreed
She told the brother in Jeans and T-shirt that
everybody knew they were sleeping with each
other
His mother and relatives, her mother and 
relatives
After seven years, it had become an open secret
But he had refused to take the next step and
the ball was in his court
The brother in Jeans and T-shirt prayed with
her that the Holy Spirit will set right what had
gone wrong
Then she got pregnant
It was unplanned and totally unexpected
She didn't tell her husband at first
but she was determined to keep the baby
Her mother-in-law was the first to notice
Her mother-in-law told her husband
One Saturday morning, her husband
moved back home
There was no announcement, no meeting
no fanfare, nothing
He just moved back home and they
continued to live their lives as if
the past never existed
She delivered a baby girl in August 2018
The baby was named "Irorunoluwa"

Ps: The event happened in Magodo Phase 2
She said her mother was shocked to see
that she and her husband came back together
but she had learned her lesson and made
sure her mother does not come to her
home
Even her mother-in-law gave them some 
distance
She paid a steep price to keep her home
and she was not ready to lose it again
There are some people in this world
whose primary mission was to wreck
havoc and cause chaos
Many of us allow these evil ones to shape 
and colour our realities unnecessarily
We give them power by playing by their 
rules!
We have the power to refuse to play by
their rules
We have the power to say NO!
We have the power to recognize the devil's
antics and wave it away
The choice will always be ours
As believers, when we find ourselves in a
tight spot
Let us turn to the Holy Spirit
He has a unique way of solving complex
problems