#WTF Preamble

Serwa lounged on the sofa, sucking on an ice cube while watching a comedy on TV. Kekeli and Elinam were doing their homework at the dining table while Apefa who turned two a few weeks back, was banging her doll’s head against the center table. 

Having been through the noisy toddler stage more than once, Serwa could not be bothered. She could hear the other two fussing about a pencil or was it an eraser? She decided not to find out as long as it didn’t overshadow the TV’s volume. But she knew it was only a matter of time. 

“Give it back!” 

Serwa rolled her eyes. “Eli?”

“It’s Kekeli; he has taken my pencil!”

“K?”

“Yes mummy.”

“Give it back.”

“Mummy, she took my pencil the last time…”

“K?”

“Yes mummy.”
“What did I say?”
“You said I should give it back.”
“So have you?”

She heard it being thrown across the table. 

“K?”

“Did I tell you to give it back or throw it?”

He mumbled.

“K! If you make me mention your name again, you’ll be crying next. Now be a gentleman, pick up the pencil, and hand it over to your sister like you come from a decent home.”

The boy did as he was told. 

“And what do you say to your brother, Eli?”
“Thank you.”

She turned her attention back to the TV. After a couple of minutes, she realized the room was quieter than usual. She turned her neck to find where the baby had walked off to. 

“Peffie?”

She ran to her, with her phone in her little hand.

“Thank you,” she said, taking it from her. 
“Ahhh…” The girl had been sucking on it like a lollipop. She wiped it dry with a tissue.

This phone has surely seen better days, she thought. Perhaps it was about time she got her husband to buy her a new phone.

Serwa was going over the children’s assignments when her husband arrived. Apefa dropped the TV remote she was playing with and ran to him. He lifted her and she squealed.

“And how has my beautiful Peffie been today?”
“She has been naughty, daddy. She tore my book,” Elinam reported with a mock frown. 

“And that is what my pretty Peffie does, huh?” he said as he gave her a loud kiss which made her squeal again. He tried putting her down, but she held onto him tightly. He conceded and kept her on his arm.

“Hi guys. How was school today?”
“It was okay.”

Serwa handed Kekeli his homework book.

“Well done. But your handwriting still needs improvement, dear.”
“Yes mummy.”

She gestured to him to kiss her on the cheek to which he complied. 

“Showered and had supper already?” Edem asked the kids. They replied yes.

“Take your sister to bed with you,” he said, handing her to Elinam.

“She is not sleepy, daddy. She wants to play.”
“You hold on to her for some time. Mum and Dad need to talk. I’ll come for her when we are done, okay?”

Elinam gave her sister a stern look. Apefa only chuckled. 

“All right, good night, guys,” Serwa hugged and kissed the children and they left the room.

Serwa sighed.

“How was your day?” Edem asked.

“Wasn’t bad. Yours?”

It was his turn to sigh. He sat down next to her. His phone beeped. 

“Have you eaten already? Let me get your sup…” Serwa was saying, about to get up when he stopped her.

“Please sit down.”

“What’s wrong?”

Edem was quiet, contemplating how to break the news. He started fidgeting with his wedding band.

“You didn’t get fired, did you?”
“No, I didn’t get fired.”
“Oh thank God,” she sighed in relief. “Are you in trouble at work?”
“No. Work is fine.”

“What is it then?”

“I want you to know I love you; I love you very much.”

Serwa sat up. “What did you do?”

His phone beeped again. And again.

“Are you going to take a look at that, or should I?”

He took the phone, gave it a cursory glance, and muted it. 

“So I’m going to be a new dad…”
“Oh honey, as much I’ve enjoyed having your kids, if you think I’m ready to go through it all again…”
“…by another woman.”

His last words hung in the air for a minute. Serwa chuckled.

“What did you say?”
“Another woman is expecting my baby.”
This time, Serwa burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?”
“This right here is funny. Who’s she and where did you meet her?”
“She’s Afriyie. Met her about eight months ago.”
“I see…and she says the baby she’s expecting is yours. That’s not possible.”
“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is…” Edem’s phone vibrated again.

“And what does she want?”
“She wants me to fund her relocation to the United States or else she will tell you about us.”

“I see…so what now? You call her bluff?”

“Actually, I was considering it.”
“Sending her abroad? What for? How sure you’re even responsible for it? What at all were you looking for that I couldn’t give you? All you had to do was ask, Edem.”
“I know. You remember the work trip you took sometime back?”

Serwa blinked.

“You couldn’t hold yourself for me for ten days, Edem? Just ten days?”
“Actually it was twelve but it’s not that anyone’s counting.”
“So what, it was a ‘sort-me-out-in-the-meantime’ sort of thing or are you two really a thing?”
“It was supposed to be the former but she wanted us to be the latter and I entertained it for a while. Just when I was stepping back from it all, she hit me with the ‘hey, I’m pregnant’ news.”

“And I’m telling you it’s not yours.”
“As much as I’d love that to be true, what are you trying to insinuate? That I’m not man enough to knock up a woman? I’ve given you three kiddies in case you have forgotten.”

Serwa swallowed. How was she supposed to say it without letting the cat out of the bag?

“Tell me why you’re considering setting her abroad when your own family is here.”
“Because I’m relatively known, and I don’t want to risk my reputation being dragged in the mud because I have a child with another woman who’s not my wife.”

“Interesting…you’re more bothered about what the world would think instead of asking how I, your wife, your faithful wife for that matter, feel about the news. How considerate of you, dear husband,” Serwa said.

“I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t hear the cynicism so high up in your voice, dear wife, and I’m extremely sorry. Trust me, I am. I wish I could turn back the hand of time and not give in to my urges but now that there’s a baby, I can’t help but be happy about it. Children are a blessing.”

“I didn’t want my children to have stepsiblings, Edem.”
“And what’s wrong with that? I’m a stepson and my stepmother was incredibly supportive of me.”
“So what, you wanted to repeat history? You planned this, didn’t you?”
“No, I didn’t. I’m just saying it’s not the end of our world. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I know you’ll see to that. No matter what I do for Afriyie, know that all that I’ve toiled for and own is for you and our children.”
“And your unborn baby.”
“There’s more than enough to go round the table, honey. You know that,” Edem said and attempted to brush his palm against Serwa’s arm. She shrugged him away and got up. 

“Please, honey.”
She ignored him and entered the master bedroom. She leaned against the door for a few seconds and tried to calm her heart which was beating madly.

It was not possible. It couldn’t be. She was sure of it. They say every woman knew the father of her children and she was no exception. She started biting her nail nervously.

If it were to be true, though very unlikely, then she had been wrong. If that was the case, she had messed up. Big time. 

She walked to the mirror in the bathroom and stared hard at her image.

“Don’t let it be true. No, it can’t be.”

(c) 2024 Josephine Amoako

Read Chapter 1 here.

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