Life Support IV (Sons & Daughters)
Contd. from part 3
Felix sat across his daughter in a dining room, silent. A father of six girls, he had navigated many tempestuous waters in his lifetime. But as a matter of principle, he had never interfered in the affairs of his children’s marriages. He’d never had reason to. That is, until his youngest son-in-law called that day.
Like all the talks he had stumbled through in their formative years, nothing had prepared him for this moment. Mina’s eyes were fixed on the table. He wasn’t sure if it was out of shame, or she was just hiding the tears.
“Your husband called,” he started.
Mina swiped a thumb beneath her eyes.
“He told me everything.” With little regard for his life, Felix mused.
“You could have called me.”
“No, dad. You were right. There was a question mark and I missed it.”
“Regardless, this is on him, not you.”
“I was so sure I’d made the right choice. But now…”
Felix run his palm over the table. Of course she’d started to doubt herself and every decision she’d ever made.
“Tell me how you’re doing.”
Mina shrugged. “I lasted a whole day without bursting into tears so, that’s progress. Either that or I’m severely dehydrated.”
“You’re making jokes. That’s a good sign.”
She smiled. “I’ve had time to think, gain clarity.”
“And do you have a plan?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“You called a lawyer.”
“So he found out. That’s why he’s coming to you now?”
“He thought you needed some time alone. He did try to reach you.”
“Yeah, I got his messages.” She rolled her eyes. Clearly the fact that her husband didn’t know about the child beforehand made no difference.
“Are you here to ask me to go back?”
Felix cleared his throat. “You have to make a decision. Whatever that is, I will support you. But, I am your father, and I’d be remiss in letting you make that decision on your own. That’s why I’m here.”
“Dad, there’s no coming back from this. He cheated. That means something. If I just let it slide, what message would I be sending out?”
“Sending out to…?”
“You know what I mean. If I stay, I’m telling him what he did was okay. And what about the girls. What would I be teaching them? That if someone takes you for granted you you just keep going back for more. I mean, how do we move on from this, with a child who’ll always be a reminder? What if he does it again? What then? I just become another woman who looks the other way while her husband does his own thing. I won’t do that. That’s just not me. ”
If his wife were here, he could tell Mina how intimately acquainted he was with the pain and confusion she was grappling with. But she was gone, their past buried with her.
“Okay, here’s what I’ll say.”
***
Philip lay on a couch in his living room, his youngest daughter snuggled in the crook of his arm. It was past eight o’clock and he still hadn’t heard from his father-in-law.
His mother joined him. “Mina hasn’t called you?”
“No.”
“It seems strange that she’s been unable to reach your phone for three days. And yet, all her calls to my phone come through.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t know.”
“Kwadwo, either you tell me what’s going on, or I call her myself and ask.”
Philip sighed. There was no point in making up stories anymore.
***
“Mina, your husband made a mistake as a boy, an error in judgement that now brings into question the integrity of the man. Is he a sadistic narcissist or a mere human who made a mistake and like any of us, deserves a second chance. For what it’s worth, the man who showed up at my house today seemed broken and contrite. But I’m not the one who has to build a life with him.”
“This is your fire, and you know how it burns. You know your husband. You’ve seen him vulnerable, at his best and at his worst. Despite your apparent miss, you know enough to know if his contrition is real. And that’s important, because if it is, then you can consider forgiveness. Now, I know you love him enough to forgive him, over time. Love does cover a multitude of sins. So, if you can do that, then everything else is possible.”
“I wish I could assure you of a happy ending, but the truth is, I don’t know how this will turn out. You took a chance marrying Philip. And that’s what it comes down to. A step of faith. You have to answer some questions about your husband, about yourself. Are you willing to take that step for him, do whatever it takes? How far are you willing to go? Are you willing to do the work? Is he? That’s how you make your decision.”
Felix reached for his glass of water and took a sip.
“Having said all that, the bottom line, my dear, is you’re a believer. You made vows. Yes, vows that made because of withheld information, but vows nonetheless. And you can’t make decisions about your life independent of the beliefs you profess. To that end, God is a restorer. He can bring what is dead back to life. He can breathe into the worst situations and bring them to life. Trust me, I’ve seen it first hand.”
***
Philip ended a call with his father-in-law and turned to his mother. “They’re on their way.”
“Is she staying?”
“Yeah, she’s staying.”
“Well, I should say I’m surprised.” She shook her head.
“Maa, I know you’re angry–”
“I’m not angry, son, I’m disappointed.”
“I made a mistake, and I’m trying to make amends and get things back to normal.”
“Kwadwo, your marriage suffered what is akin to an organ failure. Your wife doesn’t trust you, and never will. All you can do now is prop it up and hope for a full recovery. You’ll buy her expensive gifts; you’ll be home more often and spend hours in counselling. That wound is never going to heal, but she’ll get better at pretending. Because you’ll get tired of being reminded of it every single time.
So, she’ll start to smile again, laugh even. She’ll let you touch her and maybe you’ll have another child that brings joy into your lives. It will seem to you that everything is back to normal because that’s all you’ll ever want to see. Not the tears she wipes away when you’re not looking, or the way she looks at you every time you walk out the door. You’ll live in your blissful world, free to do as you please, and she’ll always wonder if you’re the man you say you are. ”
“Maa, I’m not him.”
“I’d hoped not. I raised you not to be. And yet, here we are.”
Philip stepped out of the house as his father-in-law’s pickup truck rumbled down the street. He’d had a front row seat to his parents marriage so he knew his mother’s cynicism was not unfounded. But he and Mina didn’t have to tow the same path.
They had done better, knew better. If she was coming back, it meant she wanted to rebuild, just as he did. So even if his mother was right about their marriage being hooked up to monitors, they were going to come out of it. If they did the work, put in the time, they would survive this. As long as that was a possibility, they would not pull the plug.
****
Photo by Caroline Veronez on Unsplash
