“Babe, I am home. Couldn’t you smile at least?”
“What does it matter, Vincent? You barging in on me like this? What does it matter?”
“What do you mean by that, Rose? I have come back for you.”
“That’s right. My name is Rose and not Baby. Address me right. And if we keep on firing questions at each other, we wouldn’t get anywhere.”
“Sweetheart, I know I have wronged you—”
“But I should please forgive you and that you would not hurt me again, right? Vincent, you are forgiven. I forgave you over 5 years ago for every pain you have caused me, so please, don’t beg me for forgiveness. I am pleading with you.”
“So, what is it to be now?”
“What it has always been, Vincent. Your unmistakable absence. Let’s not change the energy.”
“It has not always been like that.”
“It has always been like that. When have you ever been here for me or for the kids and you show up out of nowhere and except me to fix you with a smile because you are back. My dear, you must be joking.”
“You talk as if you are the only one that needs someone to be there for her. Have you ever been there for me?”
“Vincent, I think you have overstayed here. Please, go. I am glad that you are alive and well, but just go on back to where you have been all these years. I beg you. Don’t come and discomfort my kids.”
“They are my kids too, Rose. You have no right to do this!”
“You won’t raise your voice at me. You hear that? You won’t shout at me under my own roof! So, before I call the police on you, get out of my apartment!”
“I am sorry, Rose.”
“And I have heard you, but go!”
“Rose—”
“Don’t take another step close to me. I will bash your head in with this vase!”
“You won’t do that to me, Rose.”
“Try me and see. Hell hasn’t as much fury as I do now. This time, I will make sure you die properly.”
“Rose, I never scorned you.”
“Ha! Guilty conscience. I didn’t accuse you of anything, Vincent.”
“So, why are you asking me to leave?”
“You don’t have the right to hurt me or my loved ones anymore. Leave!”
“Rose, don’t make this difficult for me! Those kids need me.”
“Would you recognize any of your kids if you saw them now?”
“That’s not the point. I was away in the Army, but I am back. They will understand.”
“Dammit! Your comrades were back long, long ago. Is your own Army different?”
“I died, Rose. I died.”
“So, why do you look so flesh and bone to me? Ghosts don’t look so alive, do they?”
“Call this resurrection.”
“Vincent, you really think this is funny, right?”
“Rose, I was into comedy before. Even in the face of death, I made my colleagues laugh. While we got slugs in our bellies, we died laughing because there was a Vincent. I am sorry, baby. I am back now.”
“Vincent, you are a dead man to me. Dead, do you get it? Dead!”
“You can’t say that. I saw how your eyes lit up when you saw me walk through that door, baby. You miss me. You miss how my hands—”
“I swear to God, Vincent, if you open that trap of yours again to spew nonsense, you would regret it!”
“Rose, it was difficult for me too, you know.”
“I am pretty sure that life now is difficult for you, but leaving me wasn’t so difficult for you. Leaving your twins who weren’t up to two years old wasn’t difficult for you. I know, Vincent. I know.”
“Duty called, I had to heed. I was only being patriotic, Rose. I left for our country’s sake.”
“You are a bastard, Vincent. And I say that again, you are a cursed bastard! Do you think I am a child, really? Do you take me for a fool? Was this your plan? Come home after five years and give me a crap like this! When I found out what you did I waited two years, praying my life out, and wishing you came to your senses. If you had come then and given me this crap, I wouldn’t have had it. It’s now five years and your excuse is this? You are a bastard!”
“I am sorry if I took a long while to come home, but just know I almost died, Rose. And I am still dying, Rose. I am dying. I just want you and the kids back. You are all I have now.”
“Vincent, it would have been better if you stayed dead! I mean, how could you? How could you? You went off to war, have I any reason to stop you? None! The day you joined the Army, I already knew what my lot was. So, I accepted every thing. My husband was serving his country. And then, the war was over. Everyone returned. Odenigbo, Ajuna, Adebayo, they all came home. But you were nowhere to be found. The next thing I heard was that you had died in the line of duty. I never believed it! But everyone was saying the same thing. You had died. I know how many days I slept on Commander Ojo’s porch, begging him to show me your corpse at least; that they should honor you by bringing you home to me at least, for a decent burial, but no! He said you were dead. It was Ajuna… Ajuna told me what you did. And how everyone helped you to lie to me. You had taken your packet and the visa you were awarded as a war-hero, and the best you could think of is abandon your wife and two babies. Vincent, you are a devil! But I forgive you! Now, get out of my house.”
“Rose, I am dying! I suffered trauma after that war. I fell with PTSD.”
“Why didn’t I know at least?”
“Rose—”
“You know what else Ajuna said?”
“Rose, I am sorry.”
“You had found a new woman! A Brazilian with whom you travelled to Canada. Vincent, I don’t care what you are going through now. I take it you have run out of funds and perhaps your lover has abandoned you, and so, you are back. But I swear on both of my parents’ graves, you won’t come close to my children or anybody else I love. I am done with you.”
“Rose, I don’t know what came over me. These past two years, battling cancer, I have realized that you were the one woman that truly loved me. And I know that love for me is still there in you, baby. I am sorry. I haven’t run out of cash. I have only run out of time. The doctors say it’s terminal. The last thing I want now is you. Rose, I am sorry for all the pain I have caused you. If I could take back the hands of time—“
“Just shut up, Vincent! Shut up! Do you know you are very evil? You are wicked! You have cancer, and you have a short time to live, and you still want us back. What nonsense are you saying? If you get into the lives of my kids now just to go later, wouldn’t that be the most wicked thing anyone has ever done? Just go ahead and enjoy the short time you have left, Vincent. We don’t need your money or anything!”
“I have been searching for you, Rose.”
“I didn’t travel out of space. And I remained in contact with Ajuna. One letter to him and you would know my whereabouts. So, don’t give me that crap! Just go. Stay away from my kids.”
“Rose, they are my kids too, and you are my wife.”
“Vincent, your emotional blackmail will fail woefully. If you haven’t noticed, let me tell you right away. I am not the same girl I was five years ago. The one you beat up whenever you had a glass too many of whisky. The girl you—”
“Rose, haven’t you noticed something about me too? I have changed. And all I really want is you, baby! I miss us. I miss you. I want you. It may sound like a terrible lie, but I haven’t been with any woman after the Brazilian. It’s been three year since I touched a woman and you are the only one right for me. I am back.”
“Vincent, well, I won’t lie to you. I have been touching a lot of men, and the sex was great! There’s no hope for us anymore. Your change came a little too late. Another man saw me, and while you called me a prison, he called me a church, a sanctuary and I will let him worship.”
Johnson Onyedikachi is a teenage Nigerian creative writer who has unpublished manuscripts of poetry and plays. He recently picked interest in crime fiction and in August 2019, enrolled in an online course where he gained proficiency in article/journal writing including the use of referencing formats (MLA and APA style). He wrote in via johnsonshaqs@gmail.com
