LET IT GO 1. Mrs. Lara – William continued to wave, standing at the foyer of her luxurious apartment at the car driving away from the apartment towards the entrance gate about fifty meters away from the building. She kept waving and staring at the rare of the BMW X6 at it glided along the driveway towards the gate, even though the occupants of the vehicle were not aware she was still standing there; they had assumed she would have gone in, considering the fact the weather was getting breezy and tiny droplets of rain came as midst with this wind now getting stronger. Mrs. Williams looked at the envelope she had been handed by the gentleman that drove the car, she opened it, it was a cheque for five hundred thousand naira; her arms dropped to her side heavily and suddenly in remorse and exasperation still holding on to this cheque on her right hand and she tightened her lips as she struggled to fight back the tears now welling up in her eyes. The second cheque for this same vale in eight weeks! ‘O God forgive me’ she said out loud and as the tears began to roll down her cheeks, there was a rumbling, loud sound of thunder and lightning and the rain began to pour, she turned around and walked slowly into the house, went to the first sitting area and sat on her favourite sofa. She picked up the cheque again and was peering at it, just then there was a loud thunder and lightning and the rain began to pour more heavily; then power cut occurred. Everywhere became dark; it was 9:15 pm and as Mrs. Williams waited for her security to put on the generator, her mind wandered way back several years to a season and that occasion; that even making her remorseful and filled with regret today. Mrs. Williams then was thirty five years old, exactly half her age now, as she just clocked seventy years three weeks ago, she was then a very ambitious woman. She was raised by her so called exposed and civilized parents who were strong advocates of man/woman equality in marriage as they were very western in their values and belief systems. As popular as there advocacies were; they failed in striking a balance; they wouldn’t make their daughter understand that in Africa, we have our own peculiar ways of doing things especially the family life and the need for a woman to take care, protect and preserve the interest of her husband. She was a typical Mrs. Independent, her career was her number one priority; everything else did not matter. Her husband, her children were not even on her priority list. It was all about her job, her networks, connections and ambition. She was never around, always travelling and she believed she had as much right as her husband to do anything she wanted. She didn’t believe in the principle of the man being the head of the home and the woman submitting to her own husband, she believed everything was about negotiation, discussions and agreements. Her husband and children hardly saw her; she was absolutely an absentee mother to her two daughters and was never there for her husband. Her husband had to slow down on his dreams and ambition and passion to pay attention to his family and growing daughters as their mother wouldn’t. Mrs. Williams never cooked for her family, she never had time to discuss with her daughters, she was always in a hurry; dashing in and out of the house, in and out of the country on business and official trips. Many times her husband had complained about this behavior but she wouldn’t listen; her parents even made the matter worse when the husband complained and they put it to him he wanted to stagnate their daughter and frustrate her career ambition. She rose very fast and became the regional finance director for a leading multinational company. The region covered Africa, Europe, the Middle East and consequently her trips abroad increased significantly; she would at times spend several months in the UK, South Africa and Dubai. Her family kept complaining, her husband missed her a great deal, her daughters needed her but unfortunately, they were not her priority. A couple of years after the appointment as regional director, she was in south Africa for about six weeks and upon her return, she discovered the 18 year old maid in the house looked a bit different; was fat, fairer and was kind of sluggish. She began to observe this very hardworking house help and it suddenly occurred to her, this girl, could be pregnant. She took her to the hospital for check-up three days later and her suspicion was confirmed. Angela; the maid from the middle belt region, who’s been with them now for three years had become pregnant! Mrs. Williams was so disappointed; this girl had been so useful and responsible. A very hardworking maid who knew so well how to manage the home, a fantastic cook who was very neat and took care of her two daughters very well. Why would this Angela girl do this to herself? Worse still, she Mrs. Williams was in another week due for a four weeks project in Qatar; how would this pregnant maid effectively take care of her home in her absence? No Angela would have to go, she needed a replacement fast, a pregnant woman can’t pay anyone attention in fact a pregnant woman needs attention and no one can take care of Angela now. But more importantly, this Angela needs to disclose to her people Musa has impregnated her; Angela doesn’t go out as such and of course it’s either Musa or is it Donald the Gardner, wait a minute, she’s yet to even tell her who’s responsible for the pregnancy. Three weeks after the visit to the hospital with Angela, Mrs. Williams was sitting curled up in a single seat sofa, weeping profusely; her husband was standing across the sitting room, pacing back and forth, Angela was kneeling in front of the parents of the couple sobbing and the daughters; the girls were in grand ma’s house for the weekend. The matter had to be discussed, this is just unbelievable, Angela pregnant for her madams husband! How? why? For what? How could my husband descend so low? Mrs. Williams kept thinking and weeping. Mr. Williams felt sorry but wasn’t ashamed of what he did, in his opinion his wife abandoned him and the family and her responsibilities at home and Angela the maid; who took on Mrs. Williams responsibility in that home unfortunately or incidentally probably extended it too far - to her madam’s matrimonial bed; probably to provide total care for Mr. Williams so as for him not to cheat on Mrs. Williams with other women due to her frequent travels and absence and this incidentally is the outcome of her considerate venture. The parents of both couple are here because Mr. Williams is insisting Angela must remain in the house and Mrs. Williams is insisting Angela must go! After much discussion, flaring tempers, cursing, anger and negotiations it was agreed Angela would remain with Mr. Williams mother until she birthed the baby, then she could leave but they would keep the baby. After all, it’s their baby; it’s a Williams! Mrs. Williams had no choice but to agree to this arrangement. Eight months after Angela birthed her lovely daughter. Mrs. Williams paid her a visit at her in-laws, angela was quite glad and had been so grateful to God that Mrs. Williams forgave her and has been extremely kind to her since she had the baby, Mrs. Williams had been so generous and caring; called her several times daily to ask how she was doing and advise her on how to take care of herself and her baby. On several occasions she would bring her clothes and a lot of money. Mrs. Williams has become really kind. That woman na child of God o! Angela would often tell Mr. Williams mother who took her in when she became pregnant. Angela on this occasion was all by herself with her baby at home; Mr. Williams’s parents had gone on a journey to the village for a burial ceremony. Mrs. Williams dropped in to check on her as usual and brought along fruits and fruit juices. Angela was glad to see her and received her warmly. Though she wondered why she’ll come and see her this rainy night all the way from Victoria Island to Aguda in Surulere, she assumed it was love and care and was glad to see her anyway considering the fact that she’s been bored and lonely. Mrs. Williams offered Angela a particular pack of juice saying to her, this will help you gain your energy fast as a breast feeding mother and you’ll get all your vitamins and minerals quickly. Take, drink it now. Angela took it, drank right from the pack and thanked Mrs. Williams. 11am the next morning, the security guard at Mr. Williams parents’ house at Aguda Surulere noticed Angela hadn’t come out of the house all day and her baby has been crying for hours. He called some friendly neighbours and together they had to break down the front door after knocking for several minutes and Angela wouldn’t open even though her baby was crying nonstop. After they went in, Angela was lying on the floor in the sitting area face down, her baby was on the carpet next to her still crying, a neighbour called her, moved close and touched her feet, it was cold and stiff, Angela had been dead for several hours. The loud sound of the generator brought Mrs. Williams out of her thoughts, the lights came on, she stood up and walked slowly across the sitting area towards the wall by the dining, she peered at the photographs of her two daughters; Her first daughter died almost twenty years ago; raped and shot by armed robbers at her home in Warri while she was serving and her second daughter has been in prison for fifteen years in Brazil over drug trafficking issues. Her husband Mr. Williams eventually divorced her and married a much younger lady; a fresh graduate who was posted to serve as a corp member in his office almost 18 years ago and till now lives in Ibadan. Here she is, age seventy, career over, she lonely, no one around, her daughters gone, her husband gone, her parents dead and the only person checking up on her and catering for her is late Angela’s daughter and her husband. She looked at the cheque again, Angela’s daughter taking care of me now; oh my God, had I known. I should have let go, I should have allowed things to just go as the almighty would have it; had I known. She looked at the cheque again, this will be sufficient for my next chemotherapy appointment next week. The doctor says I have about six months; it is well. She walked slowly across the sitting area towards her lonely and damp bedroom, she had become very lean and pale, she walked gently, and she was in serious pain. Ladies and gentlemen, let it go, forgive, let it pass. No matter the offence, nothing heals, sustains and empowers like a good conscience. Peace of mind and rest of mind are critical states of mind for a life of good success and great achievement. The ultimate approach to a mind full of peace and rest is in letting go. Hold no grudges, let it go. Ladies and gentlemen, think it, do it, achieve it and be the ultimate, it’s all in your mind!
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 07:52:33 +0000
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