Baskadia

The House Wife

Episode 1

"I don't think I can do this. Please give me some time. Besides, I'm having headaches. The stress of preparing for the wedding is weighing me down. I don't think we can make love this night. There is pain all over my body. Honey please kindly allow me to sleep." Kassandra said to her husband, Ali. It was their first time of sleeping together in one room. It was their wedding night and Ali has waited for this awesome night almost all his life. It was finally the moment for him to have a taste of the wine he has been preserving, but his wife was refusing to open the bottle. He was devastated.

Ali dated Kassandra for six years without knowing the colour of her undies. They were both Christians and attended the same church. Not that Ali never felt the urge to do, it was just that it was not given to him. He had always begged Kassandra to allow him have a taste but she insisted it was improper since they are Christians. Ali was told to tie his throat and wait for the right time to eat the pie. Ali endured till that wedding night.

"What do you mean you are having headaches? I have waited for this moment all my life. I was even thinking of this night throughout the wedding. Don't even try to provoke me because I will force you." Ali said. Only men can understand what he was going through that night. His body felt like a pressurized gas cylinder ready to burst at the slightest spark of fire.

"Try it now! If you touch me, I will shout. I will shout so that everyone in this hotel will hear us and know that you are a rapist. If you are not ready for this honeymoon, I will just pack my bags and go home. Rubbish!" Kassandra said. Her voice sounded very harsh.

"What is the problem? What has come over you? Did I offend you in any way? Why are you treating me this way? Why do you want to turn our happiest night into a night of pain and sorrow? To be honest, this is not fair." Ali said. He was almost crying.

"Please, stop singing into my ears like a mosquito. Allow me to sleep and rest this night. I'm tired." Kassandra replied. For a moment, the room became as quiet as a grave yard. The only noise heard was that of the air-conditioner that hummed calmly and cooled the room. The room was very cool and soothing to the skin, but Ali was still sweating profusely like a he-goat about to be slaughtered for meat.

"Let me go and drink away my sorrows." Ali said to himself as he arose from the soft mattress and dressed up.

Ali went to the hotel bar and ordered a bottle of Mattel. He opened it and started drinking straight from the bottle. He ignored the waitress who was trying to give him a glass to use. Soon, the Mattel bottle was empty. Ali became drunk.

“If you beat a boy, you cannot stop him from crying. If you deny me my bedroom rights, you cannot stop me from drinking.” Ali said to himself. Soon, he slept off on the bar chair. He did not realize how long he had slept until the waitress came to wake him up.

"Oga, we are closing. It's 11pm. Can you please go to your hotel room? I want to lock up and go home." The waitress said. She looked radiantly beautiful under the colourful blue light that lit up the bar. Ali lifted up his head and looked at the waitress as if he was searching for something on her face. He was still drunk but he could think clearly.

"What's is your name young lady?" Ali asked with a shaky voice.

"My name is Nancy." The waitress replied absentmindedly. She refused to look directly into Ali's eyes because she knew he was admiring her.

"Nancy please, I need your help. Can you take me to your room? You see, I feel lonely and I need someone to talk to. I will just stay a few minutes and leave." Ali pleaded with Nancy.

“No sir! I can’t stay in the same room with a man I just met. Besides, I don’t have a room of my own in the hotel. I live in the town. Please, stand up and leave so that I can lock up the bar.” The waitress said.

“I can follow you to your house. Anywhere you go, I will follow you. Please, don’t leave me in this hotel. I just had a heartbreak and it’s depressing. Please don’t leave me.” Ali said. The waitress was surprised when Ali started crying with tears pouring from his eyes like tap water rushing in full force. His nose was also running with mucus like that of a child beaten by hamattan wind.

“Jesus! Why are you crying? Please stop, you are embarrassing me.” Nancy said. Ali was kneeling down to beg her, so she became touched and sympathetic.

“Ok, I will go with you. Can you stop crying now? Please stop and stand up let’s go.” The waitress said. She helped Ali to stand up and then they left the hotel bar and soon, they were outside the gate.

Nancy flagged a Keke by the roadside and they were driven to her house. Soon, Ali found himself in the waitress’ one room apartment. The room is completely empty except that she had a small mattress dropped on the floor. Her cooking utensils were poured in one corner of the room and her bag lay beside the bed.