THE PERFECT WIFE

Chapter Two

Ebere tried her best not to allow Amaka to sense what was happening between herself and Nonso. Meanwhile Nonso was in the arms of his mistress. Ebere had tried calling him several times but his line was switched off. Ebere decided to play the good wife and not attack him when he comes in. After Amaka fell asleep, Ebere sat down to wait for Nonso. She even slept off and when she woke up, Nonso was at the door knocking. She looked at the wall clock and saw that it was past ten already.

“Welcome home honey.” she greeted, throwing her arms around him. Nonso was shocked to see his wife not mad at him nor barking at him. He held her close to himself and not knowing what to say, he felt guilty. He was expecting her to raise her voice and attack him like a predator would attack its prey but that didn't happen. He never expected a warm welcome from Ebere.

"I miss you so much honey." She finally said.

"I know the past few months have been tough for us and I'm really sorry if I have not been a good wife. I'm a human being too and. I'm not perfect. I really miss you."

Nonso stood with mouth agape. He didn't know what to say. It was unlike Ebere to welcome him with so much love and affection after staying out late on purpose just to get her pissed off.

"I'm sorry too honey." He managed to say.

"Thank you sweetheart." Ebere said and kissed him. She took his bag from him and led him to the bedroom.

That night, Nonso couldn’t sleep. He remembered how he had met Ebere when they were in the university. That fateful day he had gone to withdraw money from the bank. He was broke and was glad to receive an alert on his phone that his account had been credited with the sum of N2000 by his mom. He knew his mom had really tried raising that money. Since their father died life had really been tough for himself, his sister and their mother. The members of his local church from the village were the ones paying his tuition fee in the university while his family took care of other expenses. It was his third year in the university when he met Ebere.

On getting to his turn to withdraw, the machine lost its service. He had a test the following day and needed to make photocopies of some materials which he needed to study for the test. In his state of confusion, he didn’t know when he stepped on Ebere who was sitting by the flower lawn.

“I’m sorry.” he quickly apologized and went ahead not waiting to see if the lady he had stepped on was hurt or not. Ebere wanted to rant on him but seeing his countenance, she knew he was disturbed. She just smiled and said nothing. When he had gone a little farther, Ebere realized he had dropped his student’s ID card probably when he was removing his ATM card from his pocket. She tried calling to him but he didn’t hear her. It was the following day that she ran into him in the DSA building making a complaint about his lost ID card and was glad that Ebere was the one that found it. They became friends from that day and their friendship blossomed into a kind of romance that he never saw coming. He had really loved Ebere when they were still in school. The very same thrill he felt towards Sandra was the same thrill he had for Ebere back then. The only difference was that Ebere was chaste and never allowed anything to happen between them until their wedding night. He could still remember how beautiful Ebere looked on their wedding day. He remembered how he couldn’t wait to tie the knot with her and to have her all to himself. He could still remember how sweet their marriage had been in its early stage. How they would kiss right from the sitting room and then he would carry her in his arms all the way to the bedroom. How he couldn’t do without setting his eyes on her. Even after Amaka was born, things still went on fine and the love that they had at the beginning still remained. He tried to trace where the problem started from and all his mind could come up with was the recent nagging attitude of Ebere. There was nothing he would do that pleased her anymore. When he calls her, she never sounded like the Ebere he got married to. It was in his vulnerability that Sandra struck and now he is all into her. He wanted his wife back but his mistress was displacing her from her rights as a wife. What Nonso failed to do was to ask Ebere why she was behaving strange. Ebere had lost a huge some of money to some online fraudsters. She was hoping to get a 60% returns from her investment only to find out that she had been scammed after investing the huge sum of 1.2 million naira. It was the money she received from her elder brother Ndubisi. She was planning to invest the money and then get a property for Nonso as a surprise birthday gift if what she was expecting comes up. When she discovered that she had been swindled and won't be able to get the property for Nonso again, she felt bad and being the emotional type, it distorted her emotional sense and led to her being paranoid for no good reason. It was all these that led to her nagging attitude as she was hoping for Nonso to at least sense her pain and ask her what the problem was but instead, he saw it as an avenue to give her space.

Even if Ebere was in his arms that night, all he could think of was Sandra. He didn’t want to but his mind kept playing those tricks on him. The following day, he tried to keep a distance from Sandra at the office. He was getting mesmerized by her presence so he thought staying away from her might be the best solution. He knew what he felt for Sandra was not love but uncoordinated and uncontrolled hormonal response. He still loved his wife.

Sandra had come into his office as usual but was surprised that Nonso did not give her the usual welcome party he always gave her.

“Honey, don’t tell me you didn’t see me walk into your office.” she said.

“Sandra, I think we should stop this. I’m a married man and I love my wife.” he replied.

“I know that and I’m not taking you away from her. All I want is you to be by my side whenever we are together. You can always return home to your wife.” she said.

“That’s the problem. Don’t you get it? As long as you are there, my wife can never have enough of me. So let’s stop this now.” he said.

Sandra couldn’t believe her ears. She wasn’t ready to let him go especially after all the fun she had had with him.

“you think I'm one cheap w***e that you can just use and dump? But I’m sorry it’s not going to happen.” she said. Nonso tried hushing her so she wouldn’t create a scene but it appears she was ready to make everyone know that she and Nonso had been having an affair.

“I am sorry dear but I am pregnant and you are responsible” Sandra said and walked out of the office

The last statement sent hot sweat from Nonso’s body almost immediately. It couldn’t be true. Sandra couldn’t be pregnant. If she is, then he is doomed. He had never planned on having a child out of wedlock that was why he maintained abstinence with Ebere when they were dating and he never planned on having a second wife. He called Sandra using the office landline and asked her to come to his office.

Sandra told him she was pregnant and that he was responsible for the pregnancy standing akimbo.

“If you are thinking of making me abort the baby, I’m sorry, I won't.” she said plainly.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to abort the baby because my parents didn’t abort me.” he said.

“You will keep the baby and give birth to it.” he added.

“You have to come to see my people and pay my bride price,” she said.

"Is that really necessary? You can just give birth to the baby and leave the responsibility to me."

"Of course it is. What do you take me for? A w***e? A baby making machine? God forbid! If you want peace of mind then come and pay my bride price if not I'll tell your wife everything." Sandra threatened.

"I didn't say that. Just that I didn't plan on marrying a second wife. You and I know were just having fun and never planned for this."

"Then you should have thought of that before taking me to bed and not using protection. I demand you come to see my people and do what custom and tradition demands."

"Alright dear, I'll see to that but for now, no one should know about your pregnancy."

"Thank you so much darling. I love you." Sandra said and kissed him on the cheek. Nonso was left speechless because he knew he was in big trouble. How would he explain to his wife that he got another woman pregnant and that the said woman was about becoming his second wife? With these thoughts running through his mind, he couldn't get himself to work at the office. At that point Nonso knew he was doomed.

It was Saturday and Nonso had decided to take his wife and daughter out. He had finally come to know why Ebere had been exhibiting her nagging attitude lately. He couldn't believe Ebere lost so much money trying to make him happy. If only he had known, he wouldn't have gotten himself in the web of romantic relationship with Sandra. He decided they’d visit the mall and then the fancy restaurant downtown. Nonso was beginning to regret his actions and tried bonding with his wife and kid again. His only mistake was not asking his wife the reason behind her always nagging and letting his guards down.

Ebere had already apologized for being too offensive lately but Nonso didn’t know how to tell her that things had gotten out of hand and that he was expecting another baby soonest.

At the mall, Ebere got a new pair of shoes and a wrist watch for Nonso. She told him it had been a while since she bought him gifts. Nonso couldn’t help but smile. Ebere was really a wife material and he had been stupid not to have seen that.

After shopping at the mall, the family decided to have lunch at the “Delic cuisine” which was one of the best restaurants in town. As they sat to eat, Nonso’s phone rang and it was Sandra. Nonso hesitated to answer the call especially since Ebere was there.

“Honey, answer your phone.” Ebere said. Ebere was expecting Nonso to answer the phone call right there but he stood up and excused them.

“Baby I am all alone and I need you to come over. I am missing you already.” Sandra said.

“Look Sandra, I am spending today with my family and I don’t want it to be ruined.” he replied.

“What about me honey? Am I not your family too? I'm carrying your child remember? So I deserve to spend time with you too.” she said.

“Since the argument at the office, we have not been together again and I really need you.” she added.

Nonso had to hang up on her and then returned to his family. The family sat to eat and while they were eating, Sandra sent him a text telling him how much she missed him. Nonso didn't know how to act at that moment. He was happy to be with his wife and daughter again seeing how happy his presence made them especially Amaka but he was afraid that if he doesn't respond to Sandra's call, she might tell Ebere everything. He wasn't ready to let Ebere know what was happening yet. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep the secret for ever but he was also aware that it wasn't the right time to tell Ebere of the mess he had gotten himself into.

"I'm sorry Ebere." He whispered to himself as he returned to join them at the table.

"Who was it?" Ebere asked.

"It's my secretary. She called to ask me to help her sort out some documents in the office." Nonso lied.

"Here honey." Ebere said handing him a piece of meat which she had picked up with her fork telling him to open his mouth while she feeds him.

Nonso smiled after taking the meat and Ebere pecked him on the cheek causing Amaka to smile. She really missed her parents going out with her and was really glad to see them together again. The family came together for a selfie and it was indeed a very happy day for both Amaka and Ebere who had really missed the company of Nonso. As for Nonso, he wanted to leave to meet with Sandra before she decides to do something stupid.