Broken vows(completed)

Father's arrival

Fred a heard a knock on his gates. The loud sound coming from the gates was already giving him migraines. He rushed downstairs and ran towards the door. 'I need to get myself a gateman one of these days ', he thought. He opened the door and found Austin standing outside, smiling at him.

" Hey man. Where have you been? I have been calling you the whole of yesterday, but I never got through to you. What happened?" Austin complained.

" Well, why don't you come in first? I almost thought you were my father. He is arriving today", Fred opened the gate and Austin walked in.

" Did you not come with your car, today?" Fred asked.

" No, I am having problems with it so I decided to pick a taxi. Anyway, why weren't you at work yesterday? Did you forget we had a meeting with the boss?" Austin asked, when he got inside with Fred.

" Something happened. Something terrible happened. But, anyway, why are you here at this time?" Fred asked, raising his eyebrow.

" I just needed to see you. I thought you were sick, you look terrible. Have you been sleeping well? And where is Junior? Is he with Linda already?" Austin asked, innocently.

Fred suddenly looked sad. He looked quite uneasy with the question and Austin noticed it.

" What happened, Fred? Is everything alright?" Austin looked worried.

" It's Junior. Junior is dead, Austin", Fred said, calmly.

" What?! When did this happen? Austin jumped up from his seat.

Fred was surprised he was this calm when he spoke about Junior. It's been two days since junior died and he had not even had the strength to go to work or do anything else. He had barely eaten anything ever since the boy died even though he had promised Linda and his in-laws that he would eat.

" It happened two days ago. He had one of his asthmatic attacks again and did not survive it", Fred explained.

Austin opened his mouth in shock and sat back down. " I am so sorry my friend. But, why didn't you tell me anything about this? I would have come to you immediately".

" That is what I did not want. I should have called you to tell you to cover for me. I guess was too distraught with everything that happened. And, I really did not want to distract you", Fred explained further.

" But still, you should have told me. Now I feel so bad, I was angry at you for not picking my calls", Austin said.

" I am sorry about that", Fred apologised.

" So, what next? Have you thought of any arrangements for the funeral?" Austin said, slowly.

" My father said he will be here this morning, I wonder what has kept him..." they heard a knock at the door.

Fred got up to see who it was. It was Linda and Mr Mensah was with her. Fred quickly hugged his father, who also held him tightly. Fred began to cry. His father hugged him and consoled him. They all went back to the living room and joined Austin.

" Good morning, Mr Mensah. Hello Linda," Austin greeted.

" How are you, son?" Mr Mensah asked.

" I am good, sir. We were just talking about you. I am so happy you are here, sir", Austin smiled.

" I am happy to be finally here. I met Linda at the bus stop, on my way here and she gave me a ride. So, Fred, my son, how are you?" Mr Mensah's face was suddenly serious.

" I am trying to hold myself together. It's not been easy", Fred replied.

" I really understand you. You know, that's how I felt when I lost your mother. I felt like everything was crumbling on me. It was hard for me, but little by little, I got over it and and put all my strength in raising you. I know both situations are not the same, but loosing a loved one is not easy. Remember that, you have all of us who love you very much. We will always be here to help you stand on your own again, okay?" his father said.

Fred smiled through his tears. "Thank you so much father. Forgive me, I forgot to offer you anything. What would you like to have, father?"

" Don't worry, dear. I don't want anything for now. By the way, where is Martina?" Mr Mensah, asked.

Fred looked at Linda then looked down. Austin looked at the floor, like it was the most interesting thing in the room.

" Why is everyone behaving weird?" Mr Mensah asked, looking confused.

" Erm... Father. I think I should help prepare breakfast for all of you. I am sure everyone is hungry by now", Linda spoke, breaking the awkward silence in the room.

" Wait, my dear. Before you do that, I need someone to answer my question. Where is Martina, Fred?" he asked again.

Fred raised his eyes and looked straight at his father. " Martina left me, father. She and I are no longer together".

" What do you mean by that? Where did she go?"

" She divorced me, father".

"What?! When did this happen? And why was I not informed about it?" Mr Mensah asked in shock.

" I though I could handle it. But, before I knew what was happening, everything had gotten out of hand. She one day decided to leave and she never looked back. She has never called to even find out how her child was doing. She does not even know her child is dead".

" This is crazy. So, all of this happened and you kept it all to yourself? Why didn't you inform me, your father?" Mr Mensah began raising his voice.

" I am really sorry, father. I did not want to bother you with my problems. I just really thought I could handle everything. I am sorry I made you feel I did not trust you", Fred apologised.

Mr Mensah got up, and sat down by his son. " Fred, I can see you have been through a lot recently. But you did not have to suffer like this by yourself. I am your father, please confide in me when you feel hurt or alone. I will not let you suffer alone anymore. This time, I am going to stay here with you and help you through this, okay?"

Fred nodded and hugged his father.

" So, do your in-laws know about the situation with Martina?"

" They found out yesterday. They were also disappointed I kept it away from them, but they understood my reasons".

" Those people are really good people. I am so glad I asked them to watch over you. Anyway, I will go and see them later this evening so that we can discuss the way forward", Mr Mensah announced.

" Linda, dear, I think you can make the food now, I'm really hungry".

Linda smiled and walked into the kitchen to make breakfast for all of them.