Life Support 2 (Sons & Daughters)
Contd. from part one
“Sure, and you are …?”
The woman paused. “You said you’re his wife?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“My daughter, I had no plans of telling you any of this. But I’m a mother, and a wife. And if my husband was doing something like this, I’d want to know something.”
“Mina.”
She stared at her husband. Crouching before her, he was the picture of guilt, and she hadn’t said a word. It had to be true then, what this woman said. But she needed to hear him admit it.
“How long?”
Philip ran sweaty palms over his thighs, wondering how in less than an hour, his life had taken such a swift turn.
“I never meant—.”
“One more lie, and I’m done. Do you understand?”
“Okay.” He licked his parched lips, reaching into the recesses of his memory. Details weren’t necessary. He just had to tell her enough, so she knew it was all a mistake, an inconsequential piece of history.
“Two years.”
Mina stared, unblinking. An affair. He had an affair.
“Two years?”
“Babe, it’s not what you think. I didn’t step out.” Philip measured his words. “When I met Brenda, we weren’t together.”
For a moment, Mina hoped she was wrong, that this was all a misunderstanding. But his demeanor said differently. Because it wasn’t a mistake. She gripped her ankles.
“You were with her when you asked me out.”
It wasn’t a question. Philip nodded. “Yes.”
Her head bopped up and down, like she had no control over its movements.
“You were still seeing her while we dated.”
“Yes.”
“Sleeping with her.”
Philip bowed his head.
She clutched her chest, forcing air into her lungs. Then she was shaking, tears racking her body. Philip reached out to hold her but thought better off it. He had done this. He was tearing her apart and all he could do was watch.
***
Mina wiped her fingers across her face, steadying her breathing. Her head was swirling with questions she didn’t want answers to. And yet, she needed to know everything even as she fought to hold on to the pieces of herself. Philip was still staring, sitting on the floor, the bottle of water he’d gotten for her still in his hand.
“Are you still seeing her?”
“No!”
Of course, he’d say that.
“Do you love her? Do you want to be with her?”
“I love you.”
“Answer the question.”
He sighed. “Mina, Brenda died last year.”
“Huh…” She smiled. “Lucky me.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“But that’s what you said. You’re not with her, because she’s dead.”
“I ended things with Brenda before we got married. I never saw her after that.”
“And yet you know that she’s dead.”
Philip reached for her hand. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted to be with.”
“You should stop talking.”
“When I chose you, that was it for me. I ended it. I chose you”
“Seriously.”
“Marrying you was the best decision I ever made. I’m not the same person I was before that. I committed to you, to our family. Seven years and I’ve never looked at another woman.”
“Wow!” She pulled her hand out of his. “That is …fantastic. You didn’t break any vows. Congratulations. Why don’t you wait here while I go for your crown.”
She pulled herself up and stormed out of the kitchen. Philip sighed. He had to make her understand. There had to be something he could say to make this right.
God, please help me.
Mina was sitting on the bed, hands over her ears, eyes shut. Philip stood in the doorway, not sure what his next action should be.
“Last year, your company retreat. You said a job came up and you had to extend your stay. Were you with her?”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“And I’m supposed to believe that.”
“It’s the truth. I would never—”
“You missed my graduation. You spent two weeks in Oda because your mother was sick.”
She turned. “Were you with her then?”
He stared at her. There was no need for words.
Mina hurled a shoe across the room, hitting him on the head.
***
Philip wiped blood off a cut on his temple, vaguely recalling the joke he had made earlier in the day. An hour ago he’d felt like the luckiest man in the world. And now, his wife wouldn’t even look at him. He sat on the bed, beside her. Almost instantly, Mina was up. A bag was opened and clothes tossed in from their wardrobe.
“What are you doing?”
“What do you think?
Philip got up, riding on a sudden surge of courage from the reminder. Mina loved him. That couldn’t have changed in such a short time. He could get through to her.
“You’re the one who made me promise we’d talk about anything and not let things fester. If you leave now, we’re not going to survive this. You know that.”
“I’m sorry.” She stuffed the bag. “Did you have something else to add, beside the fact that you definitely did not break any vows because at the time you were sleeping around, you hadn’t put a ring on it?”
Philip winced. “Okay. You’re angry. I get that.”
“Am I? What gave it away?”
“Leaving now is only going to make this harder. I’m begging you, please calm down and give me a chance to make this right.”
Mina zipped the bag and heaved it off the bed. “I did, Philip. I gave you a chance to tell me your side of the story, and you decided you would lie some more because apparently I’m an idiot who believes all the BS that comes out of your mouth!”
He took a step closer. “I’ve told you the truth. If you doubt it, ask me whatever you want. Whatever you need to know, I’ll tell you. Ask me.”
Mina folded her arms. “Okay, let’s recap. Ten years ago, I met a nice guy. He was everything that I was looking for in a partner. So, for two years, I committed to building a life with him. I opened up my heart to him, invested in him, loved him. And I believed him when he said loved me. But now, he’s telling me that all this time, he was seeing another woman on the side, sleeping with her. But by the special grace of God, he gallantly chose to be with me. Committed to me. And that’s something I should be grateful for. Does that cover it, Philip? Is that all?”
As she spoke, her voice shook, tears pooling in her eyes. Philip was overcome with a need to have her believe him, desperate to get things back to the way they were.
He held her by the shoulders.
“I love you, Mina. I have always loved you and that will never change. Brenda was a mistake I held on to for too long. And I should have told you. I know that. But I was afraid of losing the best thing that ever happened to me.”
He blinked the tears away. “I know I messed up, and it kills me to know that I hurt you this way. But I’m still the same man you’ve known and loved all these years. And I need you to remember that. Please.”
Mina shook her head. Did he really not get it?
“Philip, you just told me that throughout our entire relationship, you lied to me, manipulated me, cheated on me. Every memory of you, of us, is now tainted with that information. You’re not the man I thought you were. None of it was real. You’re a …snake, dishonourable, disloyal and unfaithful. That’s not a man I could ever love.”
Philip’s arms dropped to his side as the magnitude of the situation dawned on him. He made no effort to stop Mina as she pulled the handle of the bag and headed out.
Mina stopped at the door, turned to his frozen form, deciding in that moment to let him know that she knew.
“You should probably call your girlfriend’s mother.”
Philip turned.
“Your son’s in the hospital.”
She didn’t wait to see his reaction. Maybe he’d always known. Maybe he really was clueless. It didn’t matter anymore. She wasn’t sure about anything.
In the back seat of a Nissan Micra Taxi, Mina shut her eyes.
Okay, what now?
She slipped her wedding ring off her finger, the symbol of their love that was now a horrid reminder of what she had signed up for. She knew what she was supposed to do. She’d told others many times, all the reasons to stay. And her vows. For better for worse. Till death do us part. She’d meant every word. But she’d never imagined for a moment that she’d be here. Never thought the man she’d married was capable of hurting her this much.
She wanted it to be over. All of it. It had to be. That was the only thing that made sense to her. It was what he deserved, what she deserved. Fair. It would mean going against everything she believed in, against the word. But right now, in this moment, she didn’t care what God had to say.
Photo by Caroline Veronez on Unsplash
