Chronicling the journey

They say time flies when you are having fun! That probably explains why one year feels like three months!

We are one year old!! Wow! God has been amazing!!

As a storyteller, it is only fair that I tell you the story of how it all began..

A year ago, I was at home, unemployed, bored and desperate to get into law school. I used to spend a lot of time on Facebook. Naturally, it became the ideal place to vent out my frustrations about trotro mates, mosquitoes, Mahama and of course my love for food! 🙂 Before I knew it, my friends started looking forward to reading my statuses. It started as a joke but I soon began to warm up to the idea of starting a blog. I downloaded the app on 26th October but I didn’t have the nerve to put up anything until 28th.

My first post was about my dad because it was easy to write about him, and I couldn’t think of a better way of eulogizing him than by making my first post about him. That’s how They don’t make them like him anymore was born. That evening, I plucked up courage to write a story inspired by a couple I had seen fighting- the guy was emotional, the lady was ‘hardcore’. He looked like he was the ‘girl in the relationship’, so yes once again, the title came to me even before the actual story did.

If you know me even remotely, you would have probably heard about my love-hate relationship with trotros. 50% of my Facebook posts are about my trotro adventures. After watching a trotro mate stand in the rain, looking for passengers, I decided to tell their side of the story, hence the rights of the trotro mate. Then Campus Romance came to me because I happened to be on campus during last year’s congregation. All those graduation gowns and caps sparked the story 🙂

Then I took a daring step to write a longer story. They say you write about what you know, so maybe writing about a widow came naturally to me. (No, I am not a widow 🙂 ) If you felt like crying during the burial scene from Till death do us Part I and Part 2, it is because I re-created the only two burial services I have attended in my entire life. The response was overwhelming!! That was probably what inspired me to start telling people’s stories. It felt like such an honour for someone to read a story and actually identify with it.

Things pretty much escalated from there and before i knew it, Three is a crowd was born, because really Three IS a crowd! My uncle called me and threatened to disown me if I didn’t finish it. In fears of being disowned, I wrote my second sequel. Accidental intention came from an article on domestic violence- I wanted to show people that the signs were always there and that it was never too late to get help.

Of all my posts in the last year, it appears Don’t judge me is the most popular story, followed by Call me Kwesi. I guess we can all relate to doing things that our hearts want and our minds probably don’t approve of. All the poems were spur of the moment things, but you are such amazing readers and welcomed the change with open arms. The story that received the most interesting reactions was The Help.

I can’t wait for year 2!!! When we started this, I had no idea how big it was going to become!

40,000+ views? Wow! I don’t even know 5,000 people! I definitely don’t know anyone in Trinidad and Tobago either and yet the stories are read there as well! Which brings me to my next point- you!

Yes, you!

I can’t tell the Kenikodjo story without talking about the whole new world of people it has opened me up to- all these amazing people who keep reading and reading, and sharing and leaving such amazing comments. My favourite group of people are those who I have never met and yet are such great Kenikodjo ambassadors. It is because of all of you that I keep writing- you make it easy to tell yet another story! Once again, you leave the most heartwarming comments! I’d love to hear what you hope to see in the coming year!

The thank yous are so many but of significant mention will be Breezebrand for designing the Kenikodjo logo and to Benjamin Anyan of Goldinwords for helping me set up the blog and the Facebook page properly. They have contributed so much to the Kenikodjo brand and I will always be grateful.

I am excited for the new year! This year, I hope to post more frequently (say a prayer for my procrastinating self!). I also hope to write a few children’s stories! I am also starting an SSS series- feel free to share your SSS experiences with me – from Nino’s night to Interco! Who knows, maybe your experience would inspire an episode or two! Hopefully our first book will arrive just before we turn 2! 🙂

I know! Super exciting times ahead! As you have probably noticed, we have a new web banner. Gerard Nartey of Epic Dreams graciously took that awesome shot of me. We’ll be changing a few things around here. Who knows, soon even our url will be customized!

Oh, and if you need someone to write customized wedding vows for you, you know where to find me! 😉

On my birthday, one of you sent me a tear jerking message. Yes, I am a cry baby!

‘No. It’s not just your stories we love. It’s you we love. And we love them also because we love you. We love them because they are our stories. You tell our stories. Far better than we could tell them ourselves. And it serves as a reminder that Someone is with us in our stories. That someone is writing our stories for us. And He’s not finished with us- neither is He finished with you.’

With your permission, I will keep telling your stories! It’s been an amazing one year! Let’s do thirty more, shall we? (Picture me on bended knee, proposing!)

Happy anniversary to us!!

I almost called..

Inspired by a song I accidentally heard today..

Hey

I almost called today

To say I was sorry

But I didn’t have the nerve to,

Or maybe it was pride.

I can’t tell the difference these days.

I know I should have called earlier,

But there were too many barriers-

Your mother, our many differences,

The things we both said to each other that I know we didn’t mean.

It’s a lot to work through, isn’t it?

I hope you know I miss you.

I won’t admit it to your face, but I hope you can sense it- how empty my life is without you in it.

You used to know me so well, so I am sure you can imagine how much I do miss you.

Every time I use the Haatso-Dome route, I think of you and what could have been.

Do you remember we used to fantasize about living there?

The Indomie woman still asks of you.

I know I don’t have a right to ask, but do you still like your fufu hard?

Are you still scared of spiders? Do you still sleep in on Sundays?

I finally got my driver’s license. You should see me reverse!

Sometimes I hear you laughing in my mind’s ear;

It creeps up so suddenly on me that I can’t help but just freeze.

Last night I dreamt about you, probably because of the rain.

When I woke up, I thought about what we had,

And what could have been,

If I hadn’t messed it up.

I couldn’t help but think,

‘What if?’

 

 

The Help III

Yes, for the first time, we have a Part 3; and it comes just two weeks before the blog turns 1! I don’t like stretching a story so I can confidently tell you that this is the last part of the story. I have never had a story move people as strongly as The Help and The Help II did! Maybe it is because many modern day families struggle to find a balance between maintaining a career  and a home. This story is fictional but it is also real. Enjoy the last bit of the triology! 😊

Aku adjusted the push-up bra and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied with what she was seeing, she slipped into the skirt that Agatha had given her last night and went downstairs to prepare breakfast. Agatha was the only one she had confided in, since she started having the dreams. Yes, she had been dreaming about Dr. Frank, dreams that would make Father Anthony bow his head in shame. Father Anthony was the Catholic priest that recommended her to the Tachie-Mensons when they were looking for a house help. He had solemnly looked her in the eye and told her to serve them with all her heart and love them as though they were her own family, the night before she left for Accra. The dreams she had been having and the places her mind had been wandering to during the day could equate her to that lady she had seen under the bridge, the night that she had gotten home late. The woman was busty and wearing a very skimpy red dress that looked like it was a Size 6, instead of the Size 10 she should have been wearing. She had leaned over and was talking to a man in a car with tinted windows. Her breasts looked like they were ready to spill out of the dress and into the car. The man’s eyes were on her breasts of course, and not her face. After a while, she jumped into the car and they sped off.

Prostitute. That is what Vanessa said she was called, when she asked her the next day. A woman who wanted the love of a man that was not hers.

The dreams had started the night that Dr Frank pulled her into his lap and begged her not to go. Racing out of his study, she felt a number of things- shock, fear and pleasure. Yes, pleasure. She had not felt like that since Kojovi asked her to see him at 7pm in front of the Methodist Primary School, five years ago. They sat in front of the school, holding hands and talking. He told her that she was the prettiest girl in the village and that he wanted their children to look like her. All she could do was smile and silently plead with her heart to stop racing. She never got to tell him that she liked him too and that he had nice eyes, because just then her mother appeared with a look on her face that would make the village fetish priest quiver in fear.

‘I will beat the demon out of you! Which demon taught you that it was okay to hold the hand of a man who had not asked for your hand in marriage? All he wants is to impregnate you!’

Every word was accompanied with a hefty slap. Mama was the one who prepared akple for the entire township anytime there was something to celebrate, so she had been ‘working out’. She had very strong arms. There was power in that hand that kept landing slaps on her body-each one more painful than the one before it. That night, with her whole body stinging from the beatings, she vowed not to let a man make her feel like that again. And yet here she was, fantasizing about Dr Frank’s bare chest. Every dawn at about 3:30, she woke up with a start, sweating profusely. Dr Frank was always in the dream. Always bare chested too. It made it difficult for her to look him in the eye, and that was why she told Agatha about it. Agatha had a lot of experience in this area, you see. She was sleeping with her master’s younger brother.

‘He did what? Aku, you are sitting on a gold mine! Chineke! Why didn’t you bring this one my way now? This is a jackpot waiting to be uncovered.’

Agatha had grown up in Nigeria and so her Nigerian accent kicked in by default whenever she was upset or excited. She leaped off the kitchen counter and pulled her kitchen stool closer to the one Aku was sitting on.

‘Listen, these men have needs and since we are in their homes to help, we must help in that regard as well. You barb?’

‘But he loves his wife and we don’t know if he meant to do that or not. He misses Auntie Korkor, that’s all.’

‘See this girl oo! Sometimes I don’t understand God oo, why didn’t He allow this manna to fall in my laps? Who cares what he intended to do? You think Koku intended to sleep with me? Men are like dogs. Give them a bone or even pretend to have a bone, they will wag their tails at you and completely be at your mercy. You think I got this iPhone by scrubbing floors and cooking jollof? Make him forget his wife. You even like his children so you don’t have to fake it. This is what they call ‘hostile takeover’ on TV. Your skirts must become shorter, your tops more revealing. If anyone asks why, tell them that the cloth was not enough so the seamstress made it smaller than usual. Send his food to his bedroom. Reach out and take something behind him and let your breasts brush against him. Drop things and bend over in the kitchen when he is there. Let him see you like a woman. The rest will fall in place by itself, trust me!’, Agatha exclaimed with a satisfied look on her face.

Without realizing it, Aku was beginning to warm up to the idea. She had always pretended that the house was hers anyway. She finally had a chance to transform wishful thinking into reality. Dr Frank was a good man. She tried not to think about what Mama would think. Agatha shooed her out of the house because it was time for La Gata and she liked to watch it without distractions.

The tables had turned and Frank didn’t even know it. The hunter had become the hunted. He was now her prey.

‘Last call for flight number DF2753 from New York to Accra. Boarding gate 3A’

Korkor heaved a sigh of relief as she boarded the plane. It had been a long three days, meeting with clients and finally closing that merger. When it was all over, she just wanted to go home. She skipped the congratulatory dinner and jumped on the first available flight to Ghana. Settling in her seat, she thought about her kids. She would have stopped to buy chocolates and toys in the duty free stores to make up for missing either a game, play or school programme.Today,she didn’t have that burden. Strangely, she missed it.

‘I should probably call them when I land.’, she thought to herself.

‘Hi, good evening! I am Atsu.’ The gentleman who had just settled into the seat beside her extended his hand in greeting.

‘Korkor’

‘My ex-girlfriend is called Korkor. I never got over her and she is not even half as beautiful as you are!’

Korkor was disinterested and it obviously showed in her face. The man took the hint and settled back into his seat.

Towards the end of the journey, Korkor dropped the legal magazine she was reading and he picked it up for her.

‘Lawyer? Interesting!’

‘I don’t look like a lawyer?’

‘No, you look like you should be on the front cover of Ebony. You need a rich man to take care of you so that you don’t have to work another day in your life.’

‘Actually, some of us enjoy working.’

‘Married?’, he asked, gesturing towards the ring on her finger.

She touched it, hesitantly. ‘Yes and no. My husband refuses to give me a divorce  and I don’t live with him. But yes legally, we are married.’

‘Wow! It is that complicated? Well, call me when you have had a long day and you need company. We can have a glass of wine or something.’

‘Will do. Take care, Atsu.’

‘You too, Ebony model!’

For some reason, she decided to pass by the house to see the kids.

They should all be home by now.

Aku was the one who opened the door. She didn’t look particularly happy to see her but Korkor was too exhausted to deal with that. All of a sudden, all she wanted to do was to embrace her children and ask them what happened in school that day. She was not ready for what was before her. Frank was lying in the sofa with his right leg bound up in a cast and the kids were sitting around him, because he was reading them a story. Junior’s eyes lit up when he saw her and he ran into her arms.

‘Mummy!! She came! Mummy came!’

Korkor blinked back the tears and planted a kiss on his forehead. Ever- forgiving Junior: he was probably the one who had suffered the most since she left and yet he was the first to welcome her back.

‘I missed you, Junior’, she whispered against his neck. He smiled a gleeful smile and turned to his siblings.

‘I told you she would come back!’, he announced triumphantly.

Vanessa was going to be the most difficult challenge to surmount. Her back was still turned to Korkor, her eyes fixed on her father- clearly sending the ‘you are not welcome here’ message. It would take a lot of time and effort to regain her daughter’s trust, she knew. Gregory was of course indifferent and he waved at his mum, revealing a smile that was missing his two front teeth. Then she turned to Frank and asked the question she had been meaning to ask since she entered.

‘Frank, what happened to your leg?’

Apparently, he had fallen down at work, reaching for a patient folder from one of the shelves. He had fractured his leg and had been bedridden for the last two weeks.

‘Why didn’t anyone tell me?’

‘Well, we didn’t want to bother you. Plus we are doing okay, as you can see. How was New York?’

‘I don’t want to talk about work. Are you okay? I know I don’t have a right to ask but is there anything I can do to help?’

Vanessa haughtily rose to her feet and walked away, clearly displeased at the way things were going. Another person was displeased- Aku’s hostile takeover plan wasn’t going to work if Korkor kept coming to the house with her voluptuous self. She had been making steady progress especially during the day when the children were not around, but up until now, the ‘dog’ had not fallen for the bait.

Korkor started coming by every now and then to check on Frank and the kids. She also noticed that Aku had become increasingly hostile towards her. She walked into his bedroom one day and saw Aku bending over in front of Frank to clean up the water he had spilled on the floor. The jealousy filled her so quickly that she didn’t have time to process her actions.

‘What do you think you are doing? Get out of here. I will clean it myself. And oh, don’t come back to this room unless you are called or the kids are here. Is that clear?’

‘Jealous much?’, Frank asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

‘It is not jealousy. I am just setting boundaries in place. She can’t waltz in here like she is some madam.’

‘Oh wow! What have you done with the Korkor I know? That Korkor had no issues with Aku doing every thing except warming her husband’s bed.’

‘Have you slept with her?’ , she asked with an ashen look on her face.

‘Nope, but I have been tempted- more than once. She is also on some ‘mègye wo kunu*’ agenda but I have turned a blind eye to it. I have more than enough on my plate. These kids need me to be there for them. I can’t mess that up- not for a girl who doesn’t have an opinion on the effect of colonization on 21st Century Africa.’

‘What is that about?’

‘It is an inside joke I have with Mark.’

‘Frank, I am sorry. I should done better. I can take a few days off work if you need me to.’

‘Don’t worry. I didn’t say that to make you feel bad. And you are right- Aku needs some boundaries. I’d send her away if I thought she could not be controlled, but then again, seeing as keeping her around makes you jealous, I won’t send her away. It is cute that you still get jealous when it comes to me. Maybe I should exploit it. If there is anyone you need to direct your efforts towards, it is Vanessa.’

‘Yes, I need to win back my daughter’s heart.’

‘She is just hurt. Give her time. It is funny how we talk a lot more now that we don’t even live under the same roof. I could get used to it. Have a good day at work.’

The sunlight falling on Korkor’s face was what woke her up. She looked at the bedside watch- it was 6:32am. It was only then that she realized where she was- wrapped in Frank’s arms with barely nothing on.

‘Oh God! What have I done?’

Frank stirred and pulled her closer, still caught up in sleep’s grasp. The smell of his cologne triggered the memories from the night before. She had gone up the stairs to check on him. He was still in bed and his leg was propped up against a pillow.

‘You took the bandage off. Yaayy! That means you are getting better.’

‘Yep! I can’t wait to get back to normal life, and then you also won’t have to come back to check on us everyday.’

‘What if I don’t want to stop?’ It was more of a whisper but he heard it anyway.

‘I don’t want you to stop. I was half thinking of faking it so you could come around more often. I miss you Korkor.’

‘Me too, Frank. I miss all of you.’

He tried to embrace her and ended up dropping his reading glasses on the floor. She bent over to pick them up and put them on the bedside drawer.

‘You need to take better care of your glasses. You can’t keep-‘

Frank was smiling his ‘I am up to no good’ smile.

‘Why are you smiling?’, she asked with a quizzical look on her face. He didn’t like being scolded about his glasses so the smile was clearly out of place. She wondered whether the pain killers were beginning to mess with his head.

‘You are wearing waist beads, aren’t you?’

‘Ah! What does that have to do with anything?’ Now she was smiling too.

‘You are neither confirming nor denying. ‘Lawyer tins’. Are you wearing waist beads or not?’

‘Yes, I am. Now can we move on to talking about your reading glasses?’

‘We can talk about anything you like, Kay!’ Now, it was a goofy grin that made his boyish features light up.

They never got to talking.

‘Oh God! What have I done?’

She was beginning to panic because they had not really spoken about all the things that they had to deal with- her career, the kids, everything. Vanessa for one, had still not forgiven her. She still wanted to work but she also wanted to share in the children’s lives- she had already missed out on so much. She also wondered if the drugs were what amounted to what happened the night before- maybe it was a mistake.  Then she looked at him. He was snoring lightly. That used to annoy her, but now she realized that she had missed even his snoring. She stared at him for a few minutes and then settled back into bed beside him. They could deal with all of that when he woke up later on. Right now, all she wanted was to stay here- in their marital bed.

He was her husband, after all. It had been a while..

*mègye wo kunu- I’ll steal your husband

The End

The Help II

Hi there! This is where we left off, in the dimly-lit living room of the Tachie-Mensons. The story continues…

‘W-what did you just say? You have got to be the most selfish person on this planet right now! We have 3 children and you are just going to walk away because it is too difficult to balance being Mummy with taking care of all your beloved clients?! This is not the woman I married!’, Frank spat out the words at her, clearly appalled at what he was hearing.

‘There is no need to raise your voice, Frank. You will wake the kids up!’

‘You are such a hypocrite, Korkor! Suddenly our kids are a priority, aren’t they?’

“Listen! I know it sounds extreme, but this is the only way that I can be myself without feeling like some Wicked Witch from the West. It is the only way I can plunge myself into work without worrying about you or the kids. Plus, with that, we can work out visitation hours. I will get to see them. It won’t be so bad.’

‘No, you listen! All I hear is me, I, myself. What about our kids? Junior is just 3, for Christ’s sake! What about me? Are we supposed to just go on without you? You think it is that easy? What kind of mother casually talks about leaving her home as if she is thinking about changing the colour of her bathroom tiles?’

‘Maybe you should get used to the fact that not every woman is fulfilled by just being a wife and a mother. Some of us actually want more than that. Why should I be the devil incarnate just because I also want to be happy? I don’t want to go and sit in front of some stranger and tell him about my childhood, and watch him analyze why our family is not picture-perfect. I am done, Frank.’

Frank was suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling of hopelessness. He sat with his head in his hands. When she attempted to walk past him, he held on to her arm and whispered, ‘Don’t go, K. Please don’t leave me.’ His plea was met with silence. She waited until he loosened his grip and then she walked away. She stopped in the hallway and said over her shoulder, ‘Don’t wait up for me tomorrow.’

When he was alone, he quietly began to sob.

Real nigga tears, like Mark called them.

Mark had never been too thrilled about the whole Korkor idea. He had always said that Korkor was too opinionated to be a submissive wife. Mark was honest to a fault- he would never tell a lie even if it meant losing his job. He met Mark when they were both studying for BECE and while everyone was giving funny excuses for not finishing their assignment, Mark simply told the truth- ‘I forgot because I was watching a match.’ Not very smart, considering the beating he got afterwards, but it was admirable. They became friends soon after that and Mark was always the go to person for an honest opinion. No garnishing or editing. The truth served cold.

‘Ma guy, you sure she bi wife? I no get the wife vibe oo. I mean, don’t get me wrong. She is fiiiiine, and I have tasted her jollof. Plus you know what they say about Krobo women in bed. But she seems too ambitious to just ‘abandon’ her dreams to raise your kids.’

That was the first thing he told Frank the day he met Korkor.

‘Oh, we have talked about it. We will strike a balance.’

‘That’s not a smart move. Right now, both of you are on Cloud 9, so you are just saying things to make each other happy. I don’t mind an ambitious wife, but then again, I am not big on family like you are. What is going to happen when she has to make a choice? Can you guarantee that she will choose family over a promising career?’

Mark was right. How could I be this gullible?

Frank woke up in the arm chair around 4am. The painful memories from last night hit him, one after the other. He had cried himself to sleep- Mark would be disappointed. He quickly climbed up the stairs to take a quick shower before the kids woke up.

The room was empty.

She was gone.

Along with two weeks’ worth of clothes.

Typical! She didn’t even have the courage to face her children. Leaving me to do all the hard work.

He told the kids that she had gone on a business trip and that she would be back soon.

‘She didn’t even say bye-bye?’, Junior asked tearfully.

‘It was an emergency. She will be back.’

I hope so. 

He hated lying to the kids, but even he was not ready to accept the truth. He avoided Aku like the plague. This wasn’t the time for impromptu erections, he had a family to save. Of course, it was Mark who discovered his secret. He caught him in a weak moment- watching her sing and dance with Junior.

Mark pulled him to the study for a serious talking to.

‘Is this why Korkor left?’

‘Ah, but you paa? Korkor doesn’t know.’

‘Maybe that is the problem. If she knew that her absence from home was making you lust after the help, she would have moved back home tonight. Herh, we were all here when she came oo. She had body odour and she didn’t know how to use a toothbrush. Frank paa?!’

‘At least she loves my kids.’

‘Akwa wei paa! Listen to yourself! I also love your kids, does that give you an erection? Nonsense! I will not allow you to stoop this low. Look, I know you are in a rough place but even if, for some bizarre reason, we allow you to end up with Aku, you think taking care of your kids will be enough? I know you, bruh! Intelligence is your biggest aphrodisiac. Does she have an opinion on the effect of colonization on Africa in the 21st century?’

Frank laughed. It was his first genuine laugh in the longest time. It felt good.

‘So what should I do? Should I send her away?’

‘No, it is already tough on the kids without their mother. She knows how to take care of them. Work on yourself and quit losing your head just because your maid knows how to calm your 3 year old son’s nerves. We will get through this. Don’t make things any more complicated.’

That evening, Vanessa came to her father’s room and sat on his bed.

‘Mummy is gone, isn’t she?’

‘Nessa, why do you ask?’

‘Because it’s been three weeks since she left. She hasn’t called once and you are always sad. Don’t worry. We will be fine. We are not doing too badly, are we?’

Reaching over to embrace his daughter, Frank was struck by the strength that his children had displayed over the past three weeks. None of them asked too many questions or nagged. They weren’t perfect, but they were okay. As for Aku, she was none the wiser. There was a time when he had dreamt that he had a weak moment. At least, he thought so. Aku had come into his study to turn off the lights because he had fallen asleep behind his books. He pulled her onto his lap and said, ‘Don’t leave. Stay with us. The kids need you. I need you.’ She wiggled her way out of his grasp and made for the door. The poor girl was probably scandalized. Even now, he wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not, because when he woke up the next morning, he found one of her slippers under the table. She never brought it up and for that, he was thankful. If it ever came up, he could just feign innocence and say that he thought it was Korkor.

**********************************

Two months later…

Constance popped her head into Korkor’s office.

‘They would like to schedule a conference call at 8pm. Should I go ahead and confirm your availability?’

She stared at the family portrait they had taken last year- all 5 of them. They all looked so happy, all of them except her. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Sometimes she missed the kids crawling into their bed on Saturday mornings, and Junior’s peanut butter-stained fingers holding on to her, but it didn’t come with the aching loss that staying away from her job would have brought her. She would have probably always wondered, ‘What if?’

I made the right choice. At least now I am happy. 

Turning the picture face down, she smiled at Constance and said, ‘Sure! Why not? It is not like I have anywhere else to be.’

Story continues here…

Indelible

Inspired by an Instagram quote. 

I don’t think I want to imagine a time when I won’t be in love with you, or you with me.

I will love you until I have become a part of you, and you of me,

Until it is impossible to draw a line to show where you end and I begin,

Because we will be two and yet one.

I will stay with you,

Right by your side,

All day,

Every day.

We’ll work through it together- this life.

I will cheer for you from the sidelines, as you run this race,

And if you fall, I will be there to pick you up,

I’ll stay by your side until you heal,

Until you are ready to run again.

I’ll be your best friend, your cheerleader, your Dr Phil, your sounding board, your critic, your let’s-stay-indoors-all-day-and-do-nothing-partner, your let’s-eat-ice-cream-and-biscuits-at-3am-partner.

I will know all your insecurities and weaknesses, and love you anyway;

Thankful that you trust me enough to let me in,

Thankful that you trust me to remain by your side and not judge you.

And if you ever have to leave, I’ll leave my mark on you.

Imprinted so deep in your soul that it will be impossible to wipe off.

Indelible.

Unforgettable.

The ‘wanovakind’ kind of bond😉

I’ll be there,

A part of you,

Forever and always.

The Help

Frank sat in the dark, lost in thought. He absentmindedly ran his fingers along the rim of the glass of cranberry juice he was holding in his right hand. Cranberry juice was his new favourite thing, in Vanessa’s opinion. She and her brothers had already gone to bed, and he was grateful for that. He didn’t want them to hear his conversation with their mother. For some reason, he didn’t hear the gate swing open when Korkor got home. He only realized that she was home when the lights flickered on.

‘You startled me. I didn’t expect you to be awake at this time.’

‘I was waiting for you to get home.’

‘Sorry it took me so long. We were on a conference call with one of our clients in Tokyo. The day went by rather quickly today. I am sorry I forgot to call.’

‘Were you able to sort them out?’

‘Yep!’

‘Great’

Korkor kicked off her Christian Louboutin shoes and started making her way towards the bedroom.

‘I stayed up because I wanted to discuss something with you.’

‘Can’t it wait? Been a really long day. I could use some rest.’

‘No, actually it can’t. Do you know what your kids ate for dinner tonight?’

‘Seriously? Frank, I am really exhausted. Why are we discussing the children’s diet?’

‘Because your kids are growing up without their mother, that’s why. You are out of this place as early as 6am, before they wake up. You get home at 11pm, when they are already asleep. On the weekends that we are fortunate enough to have you here, you are constantly on the phone or responding to emails. Today Junior asked me why you never pick them up from school. I told him it was because you were very busy at work, and he asked when you were going to stop going to work so you could pick him up from school. It broke my heart. He is only 3 years old.’

‘Frank, there is no need to guilt trip me into spending more time with my children. God knows I love them. I just became Senior Associate at the firm. That comes with more work, longer hours, more responsibility. I need to show the partners that they did not make a mistake promoting me. And the kids are not alone. When you close from work, you pick them up every day without fail. Aku makes sure that they are fed, clean and loved. That is more than I got when I was a child. My mother was away all day everyday selling goods in the market. We had to fend for ourselves. We survived. I’m pretty sure they will be just fine.’

‘Oh, great. When it suits you, we refer to the background of the great Korkor Tachie-Menson. I know your mother worked hard to cater for you but that was only because your household could not survive on the remnants of the salary that your father brought home, after drinking away a great chunk of it. You do not have that problem- you can choose to retire today and we will still be OK for the rest of our lives. Your mother didn’t have a choice-you do! And don’t get me started on the Aku subject. Aku does a fantastic job when it comes to taking care of these kids but a house help cannot replace their mother! Junior is struggling with wetting his bed but you don’t know that. You probably won’t even notice it when Vanessa starts menstruating. She is not as important as your clients in Hong Kong, is she?’

‘Frank, enough! I don’t have the energy for this tonight.’ She picked up her shoes and whirled out of the living room. Frank sat still for a long time. This had not gone the way he had planned for it to. He had allowed his emotions to get into the way, but then again, how could he broach the matter of his absentee wife without getting emotional? Life hadn’t quite turned out the way he planned it. He loved his wife, without question. She was the strongest woman he knew. She had grown up with her parents and her seven siblings, in the one room they were entitled to in the barracks. Mr Azu had one weakness- the bottle. It was hard to tell when he was sober because he reeked of liquor all the time. Korkor was the second and last daughter and she was determined not to end up like her mother, who slaved day and night to be able to take care of her children.  Her journey from a single room in the barracks to Senior Associate of Adutwum and Koomson Chambers was marked with many roadblocks and disappointments but they didn’t stop her from fighting her way to the top. He knew that sometimes she forgot that she didn’t need to fight this hard any longer, but it was no excuse for abandoning her home. Besides, there was another reason why he desperately needed her to stay at home- he was beginning to develop feelings for Aku.

 

Aku sat at the edge of her bed, waiting for the quarrel to end. Her heart started racing,especially when she heard her name. She closed her eyes and silently prayed that the children would not hear their parents arguing, particularly Junior. He was the sensitive one and he didn’t like conflict at all, especially when it involved his family. Anytime Vanessa and Gregory got into a squabble, he would burst into tears and insist that they hug and make up because ‘brother and sister don’t fight’. Aku loved her job. Not only was the Tachie-Menson home a big step up from the mud hut she grew up in all the way in Atiavi, she had also grown very fond of the Tachie-Mensons. Dr Frank, as she called him, was the only man she knew who could cook an entire meal unaided. Where she came from, all the men did was to bark for their food if it was five minutes late. Not only did he dash from the children’s hospital to pick his children up from school, he also had time to help with their homework. If she ever got married, she wanted a husband like him. Auntie Korkor was also nothing like a regular wife. She was rarely ever home and she hardly ever came to the kitchen- not even to fix a cup of tea. Aku knew her mother would not have approved of her, but she liked Auntie Korkor. She was very kind to her and she allowed her to draw up her own menu for the children. She had also picked up little things about each of the children. Vanessa was observant and opinionated, Gregory was calm and indifferent- Mr Anything Goes, Junior was the sensitive one who could sense it anytime someone was sad.  He was the one most affected by his mother’s absence. On some days, she liked to pretend that this house and the children were hers. She listened again- it was quiet. ‘Thank you’, she mumbled to nobody in particular. If the Tachie-Mensons split up, she would have to go back to Atiavi, where there were no paper napkins, hot water showers or slightly salted butter. She honestly hoped that would never happen.

 

He had never actually planned to fall for Aku. She wasn’t his type- she was scrawny and fair. He preferred his women dark and bountifully endowed like Korkor. Aku was uneducated but she was eager to learn. She had grasped how to poach an egg with just one tutorial. That girl could cook, no doubt about that. Korkor’s palmnut soup used to be the best soup in West Africa until he tasted Aku’s soup. Aku loved his children as though they were her own, and for some reason, he found that sexually stimulating. It had been at least a year since he and Korkor had been intimate. She was either busy, too tired or simply not at home. She had even stopped wearing the waist beads he liked so much. He cradled his head in his hands, suddenly overwhelmed by a tide of sadness.

‘God please help me. I am trying so hard but I am tired of holding it together by myself. You know I love my wife. Please help me.’

He got up and made his way to the library. He needed to read on urinary tract infections before he met his new patient the next day.

Korkor was uncharacteristically distracted at the team meeting that morning. Her mind kept drifting back to the conversation that she had had with Frank the night before. He was rarely this forceful- she was the stubborn, opinionated one. He wasn’t happy, she knew that. When they were on campus, they spent a lot of time talking about raising kids and at the time, she was definitely looking forward to it. However, she soon realized that being an excellent lawyer was far more exhilarating than cleaning runny noses and changing diapers.  She enjoyed going to work, overcoming challenges and solving problems- it made her feel like she was doing something worthwhile with her life. It wasn’t that she didn’t love Frank and the kids, but if she was going to be brutally honest, she loved being good at her job more. She was  always finding an excuse to spend more time at work- one last email, one more case review, yet another phone call. It was selfish, but it made her happy.

At breakfast, Frank tried to be as cheerful as possible to avoid questions from either Vanessa or Junior. He watched as Aku served them eggs and toasted bread with Milo. Gregory of course quaffed down the drink while Junior fussed about how yellow the yolk was. Vanessa’s head was buried in a book about vampires. Aku was bent beside Junior, explaining to him why the yolk was yellow and how eating it would make him a big strong boy. Ignoring the growing bulge in his trousers, he headed outside and shouted, ‘Kids, we are going to be late. First person in the car gets ice cream today!’ Once outside, he chided himself, ‘This craziness had to end. I cannot be entertaining feelings for the help!’

That night, Frank waited for Korkor to get home once again. As soon as she entered, he spoke.

‘I think we should get counselling. I am tired of fighting.’

‘Frank, I have also been doing some thinking and I want a divorce.’

P.S: Whose side of the story can you identify with and why? I’d love to hear your thoughts😊😊 Story continues here

I never stood a chance

Based on an almost true story 🙂

I heard that you guys had broken up- you and Aboagye.

It filled my heart with hope for a few seconds- until reality hit me.

You see, the thing is, with you, I never even stood a chance.

We are on two entirely different planets, you and I.

Your legs have never been bitten by mosquitoes, whereas every mosquito in the Greater Accra Region knows my blood type.

Aboagye gave you the Accra-Dubai-Paris-Accra life. I need to save to buy a bus ticket to Kumasi.

You are way out of my league.

And even though I’d do one hell of a job loving you, you will never give me a chance to.

But then again, that’s your loss.

You’d never know what it feels like to be loved by a poor man.

I don’t have money to shower you with.

I can’t afford a bouquet of roses, a Louis Vuitton bag and Christian Dior perfume.

But I will love you with the love that walks some extra kilometres in the scorching sun to your house just to see you.

I will love you with the love that whips up poems to make Shakespeare feel unaccomplished.

Unbridled love.

Passionate.

Intense.

Real.

The kind that money cannot buy.

You will see that love in my eyes when I buy you a dress, because you will know how hard I worked to be able to pay for it.

You will feel that love when I stand by the urinal outside my house at 11 pm to say goodnight to you because that is the only spot with good reception.

I will give you random hugs- hugs for no reason, hugs when I remember how lucky I am to have you, hugs to let that guy who is admiring you know that you are mine, all mine.

You will feel the love in my voice when I say I love you.

I will look at you like you are my most prized possession- because, indeed, you are.

Yes, that kind of love.

Even if I can’t be the one to love you, I hope you find someone who can love you even half as much as i would have, if i had been given a chance to.

Don’t judge me II

I don’t like sequels, because I feel like they are never as good as the original story, but I love my readers. I am happy when you are happy, so here you go! -Keni

N.B: Just in case you have not read Part 1, here you go. It will make a lot more sense if you read it before coming to this.

If you met me through Kobby, you will probably call me Clara. You probably know half the story already, but I will just start at the beginning.

I have always been the wild one. In school, my name was crazy Okailey. I came up with all the daring pranks. My name was always on the list of talkatives. In fact it was through one of my escapades that I met Bryce, my husband. He was protocol prefect and I was in trouble for leading my class in a karaoke session during prep. Don’t ask me what I was thinking. At the time, it felt like a great idea. Anyway, Bryce was in the middle of scolding the class prefect and I, when he noticed that I had an insolent smirk on my face. The poor guy was besides himself. He punished me to scrub the entire dining hall myself before lunch time the next day. I had obviously bruised his ego.

I wasn’t going to let him win this one. I woke up at 3 am and marched over to the dining hall, bucket and scrubbing brush in hand. I was bent on finishing before 6am because I didn’t want to miss my Literature class- it was the one class in which my mind did not wander. I was so engrossed in finishing as quickly as possible that I didn’t hear him enter the hall. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be in bed?’ He startled me and I nearly knocked over the bucket of soapy water. I turned to face him, all 5′ 8” of him. His eyes were slightly red, probably from cramming the contents of the tattered GAST Biology textbook he was carrying into his head. I ignored him and went back to scrubbing the discoloured floor.

‘What? You are going to keep ignoring me? Unbelievable!’

‘What are you going to do next? Punish me to scrub the whole school?’

‘You are something else, aren’t you? Let’s start afresh. I am Bryce’

‘Okailey’

‘Okailey the troublemaker. Friends?’, he asked with a smile.

‘Friends’

‘Shouldn’t we shake on it?’, he teased.

‘If you don’t mind the medley of powdered soap and fermented food particles, why not?’, I replied with a smile.

‘Victory! She smiles! See you around, Okailey’

That was it. No fireworks, nothing spectacular. We lost touch when he finished school and I didn’t see him again until we met at a school reunion.

‘Troublemaker’

‘Protocol Prefect. You look nice.’

He did. He had lost the stern Protocol Prefect look, and was wearing glasses now. Something about that nerd look did it for me. We talked the whole time and afterwards, we exchanged numbers. My stubbornness amused him, probably because he had been prim and proper all his life. Bryce asked me to marry him a year after that. I didn’t say yes immediately. I had always thought I would end up with a man who was just as crazy as me, so that we could have equally crazy children. Bryce was Mr Practical, Mr Nothing out of place. After thinking through it, I decided that it won’t be too bad to have some stability in my life.

We got married in March the next year. It was a small private ceremony- Bryce’s choice. I wanted a party with lots of dancing, but Bryce was not good at dancing and he didn’t want to make a fool of himself. I didn’t want  to dance alone either so I went along with the private ceremony idea. I didn’t take his last name- there was no reason why, at least not a conscious one. I know what you are thinking, and you are probably right. After a year, I felt stifled. Ten months after we got married, I discovered that Bryce didn’t mind having a  crazy girlfriend, but he definitely didn’t want a crazy wife. We were going out and I was running late. When I came out of the room, he took one look at me and said, ‘Where on earth are you going, dressed like that?’

Bewildered, I looked down at my outfit and looked up again. I was wearing high waisted jeans, a crop top and suede ankle boots. My hair was held up in a bun. I honestly didn’t know what had warranted the ‘omg, you just resurrected from the dead’ look.

‘You can’t continue to dress like a university girl. You are a married woman now, more importantly my wife! Go and change or we are not going at all. I have stomached this ‘carefree girl’ act for too long. No self-respecting wife will walk around exhibiting her belly button for the world to see.’ I was stunned.

‘Then maybe you married the wrong woman. Some men will give anything to have their wives dressed in anything other than kaba and slit’, I said quietly. He looked at me for what felt like a millennium, picked up his car keys and walked out. Things pretty much spiraled out of control after that. We barely said two words to each other everyday. One day, I asked for a divorce. He looked up from the book he was reading, like I had asked for the most bizarre thing in the world.

‘A divorce? Okailey, now you have outdone yourself. Why on earth would you want a divorce?’

‘Bryce, do you live on another planet? We don’t say anything to each other, save ‘Excuse me’ when we pump into each other in the bathroom each morning, and you don’t think that warrants a divorce? Even my least favourite roommates and I got along better than this!’

‘If you are tired of the marriage, you can leave, Okailey. You have always made it seem like I was stealing your joy anyways, but I am not giving you a divorce. I won’t become the man with a failed marriage. I won’t become a statistic.’

‘Unbelievable! Your marriage is on the rocks barely a year after it began, and you are more concerned with what people will think. Because you just have to be Mr Perfect, don’t you? Mr Everything in place, Mr I have got it all under control. Well, I am sorry to ruin your perfect life. This is as out of control as it can get.’

‘Enough, Okailey! I said you can leave if you want to.’

‘I will. Don’t expect me back home’

I moved back in with my parents that afternoon. He called several times, I never picked up and after a while, he stopped calling altogether. One day, he sent a text message: ‘Funny how often I think about you now that I don’t live with you. I miss you, Okailey. I am leaving for the UK tonight. Finally going to get that Master’s degree. I would love to say goodbye to you. Flight leaves at 7.’ I prevented myself from thinking about the possibility of going to say goodbye the entire day and yet by 5pm, my car was heading in the direction of the airport.

I sat in the parking lot and watched him drag his suitcase to the departure hall, flanked by his parents and his elder sister. I watched him say his farewells to his family. He looked at his watch every now and then, and looked around, presumably searching for me. After a while, he headed inside, his shoulders stiff the way they were anytime he was sad or disappointed. When the doors closed behind him, tears rolled down my cheeks, uninvited. I sat there for a long time, just thinking and wiping my silent tears. Then I drove home. I cut my hair the next day. I was ready for a new beginning.

When I met Kobby, I had no intentions of falling in love. I was just having fun at Akwele’s engagement. I must admit, I took a second look and perhaps a third. He was SO tall! At a point, I wasn’t sure if he was also checking me out or just catching me in the act of checking him out. I decided to find out and I made my way to him. He was pleasant but shy. I was flattered- most men would try to impress me, he didn’t.

I was happy when he called me that night. I thought my forward nature might have spooked him. At first, I didn’t think it would be anything more than a few dates and phone calls. That’s what happened most of the time- the men usually got bored, or I did. Not with Kobby. He was every woman’s dream- romantic, patient, thoughtful. He made me feel like he could stop the earth’s orbit if that was what I wanted. I didn’t plan to fall in love with him but I did. Maybe that was when I should have told him about Bryce, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. The timing was never right. I was so afraid that it would change things.

That night when Kobby said he loved me, I panicked. I knew then that I had to tell him. He deserved that much. My heart wasn’t ready for how crushed he looked. I wanted to put his head in my lap and stroke his back. He pushed back when I touched him, almost like he had been scalded. I cried myself to sleep. I had never been this terrified in my life, not even when I had sickle cell crises.

Every morning when I woke up, the first thing I did was to check to see if he had texted me. I would drift off in meetings, wondering if he had eaten, or if he was ok. I missed him terribly- the way he mentioned my name, the way I had to tiptoe to be able to hug him well, the way he folded the sleeves of his shirt after work, the way his nose twitched when he was shy. There was this ache in my heart that worsened everytime I realized that there was no message from him.

The day I had the crisis, I was lucky to be close to the hospital. I parked my car and got into a taxi. The doctors fussed over me and tried to alleviate my pain. Even in that excruciating pain, all I could think of was Kobby. When they asked for an emergency contact, I gave them his number. If I was going to die at any point, it was his face I wanted to see. I tried to fall asleep. When that didn’t work, I started thinking about him- the look on his face just before he stole my last piece of chicken, the glee in his voice anytime he called me Clara, the day he cooked yam and corned beef stew for me, the day our car broke down on our way back from an adventure. The memories were endless and somehow they seemed to soothe the pain.

When I opened my eyes, he was sitting in the chair beside me. I had never been this happy to see anyone in my life. He was clearly distraught-probably blaming himself for my crisis.

‘How long have you been sitting here?’

‘Long enough to know that you are masking the pain so that I won’t worry’

The nurse came to replace the IV bag. We sat in silence for a while and then I spoke again.

‘I meant what I said, Kobby. The last few days have been pure torture. I know I don’t deserve a second chance, but I want this. I want you.’

‘What about Bryce? We can’t pretend he doesn’t exist. I don’t want to be a homewrecker.’

‘That home was wrecked a long time ago, long before I met you. He came back just like I said he would. It didn’t work out. We will both be happier apart, trust me!’

‘Is it because of me? I know you can do anything you put your mind to, Clara. I would hate to think that you lost your second shot at happiness because of me’

‘Kobby, nobody makes me as happy as you do. I can’t possibly imagine-‘

The pain ripped through my back unexpectedly and I whimpered. Kobby yelled for the nurse and asked me to stop talking.

‘Clara, please relax. We will talk about this later. For now, just focus on getting better. I will be here for as long as you need me to.’

He came everyday, sometimes in the morning, sometimes after work. On some days, he even came twice. I looked forward to his visits because there was always a story to tell and he always snuck in a bar of chocolate for me. We never went back to our discussion- it was the elephant in the room. The night before I was discharged, I brought it up.

‘So is this it? Will I see you again when I leave the hospital?’

‘Clara, I honestly don’t know. I want to marry you, but I can’t. Not until Bryce gives you a divorce. This is really difficult for me. I guess this is how Moses must have felt when he saw Canaan, knowing that he would never get there.’

I expected that. An honest answer.

I stepped into his embrace, avoiding his eyes so that he won’t see that I was holding back the tears. I didn’t want to make this any harder for him than it already was. He kissed my forehead and whispered, ‘I am going to miss you so much, Clara.’ I could not speak. I knew my voice would betray me. I decided to just savour the moment.

Three weeks passed. I didn’t hear from him. I didn’t want to call and make it even more difficult for him. Then one evening he called.

‘Hi!’ It was hesitant.

‘Hi Kobby.’

That was it. We talked about everything and anything- just like old times. It was like riding a bike- you never forget. Initially, it was a little awkward but by the third minute, we were on a roll. At the end of the conversation, he said, ‘I miss you Clara. I have tried to keep my distance, trust me, I have! Why does it have to be so complicated?’

‘Kobby, we will take it one day at a time. It will only get as complicated as we allow it to. I am really glad you called.’

He calls every other night. When he doesn’t, I do. We don’t have a solution, maybe we don’t even need one. It’s as simple as that…