I was conducting the weekly meeting in my office with the interns when my phone rang. We have a no-phones policy during meetings unless it was an emergency and therefore I didn’t even glance at the phone when it first rang. But on the third call and I noticed it was my brother, it was time to break the rules. However, the details of that call were far from expected emergencies and we were off to a bad start.
“Man! Why do you have to be so weird?” Tony said as soon as I picked up the call.
“This coming from the family clown is rich,” I joked. “Where are your morals?”
“Perhaps I should ask you that,” he answered rather seriously.
The interns were still in my office for our weekly brief, so I thought I should ask Tony to call later because it seemed he had something serious to put across. Usually, he would roll with the banter, but his response was an indicator that things weren’t funny.
“Why is your wife getting married to someone else?” Tony dropped the bombshell, he didn’t even give me a warning.
“Tony, are you so high that you think it’s April Fools?” I asked, even though the question had thrown me off the board.
“Charles, I’m at the Attorney General’s office. Your wife’s name and her picture are hanging on the notice board, she’s getting married at the end of the month.” Tony sounded very concerned.
“Could you please stay on call, let me clear something up around here,” I asked politely. I didn’t wait for him to respond, even though I heard him say “Sure,” I was already motioning the interns to leave my office and shut the door behind them. They all noticed something was amiss so they all made for the door without cracking our usual expensive sugar jokes.
I rose to my feet to ensure the door was properly locked, then I took away the keys, threw them in my breast pocket and sat on top of my desk. I sighed heavily before I began the conversation again.
“Tony? You still there?” I asked.
“Where? At the AGs? Yes!” He responded hastily.
“I meant on call, Puga! Fool.” I answered in a desperate attempt to prove to myself that I was okay.
“Are you sure it’s her?” I asked. My heart was beating heavily and I never wanted something to be a mistake so bad as I wanted that to be. I was already in turmoil and I could feel my head going round in circles.
“Her picture is here. I’ve seen it on Instagram before. Come on Charles, I know my sister-in-law. Not unless she has a twin with similar names, I’m positive it’s Winnie bro.”Tony said.
The air in my office was suddenly humid and it was hot. I reached out for a big brown envelope on the desk to fan myself, settling uncomfortably on the chair. I was struggling to untie my tie when Tony suggested that I rush into town, to ascertain that it was really my wife. I didn’t even think about it. I simply reached for my car keys and told Tony I would be there in less than thirty. I arrived in seventeen minutes.
Tony was seated in the waiting lounge when I arrived and the long queues must have been the reason he idled around and ran into this wedding poster he was talking about. On my way there, I really battled with the decision to call my wife and question her, because what if I was wrong and it annoyed her instead? Also, what if she agreed, what would I do? However, I was confident that it wasn’t my wife, because Winnie had prepared me a nice egg curry and rice breakfast this morning, it would impossible that she was contemplating marrying someone else, let alone leave me.
Last night, we talked extensively about our daughter’s education, as we have been contemplating transferring her to a different school because of her asthma. We were both alarmed when the last attack happened and we both agreed that it would be best if she studied in parts of Western Kenya because parts like Kakamega weren’t as cold as compared to Nakuru. So who, in their wildest dreams would think that a parent as invested as Winnie was planning to leave her marriage and children to go away and start a new with someone else?
“Tony, where’s the notice board?” I asked as soon as he stretched his hand to greet me.
“This way,” he pointed down the corridor and we were already walking towards that direction, my palms sweaty. I imagined everyone could hear the sound of my beating heart, and that probably everyone in that place knew that my wife was making a fool of me.
We stood in front of a white large board in a well-lit corridor and I saw Winnie’s picture even before he pointed at it.
“This is her right?” He asked, tapping on the photo. They were photos she took while at her sister’s wedding. In a maroon dress, nice afro bun and a Masaai headpiece. I was quiet. It seemed so unreal until I read the name of the man she was getting married to, and something in me moved.
“Tyson? She’s marrying Tyson?” I shouted in shock.
“What? Do you know him?” Tony asked.
“Damn right, I do! That’s her campus sweetheart. The guy went abroad years ago, he even started a family with a white lady, I guess. Who cheats on their husband with their ex?” I bemoaned.
“You!” Tony said with a stupid loud laugh and he stopped giggling when he realized that I was cold to that comment. Those were secrets we never talked about openly. Especially when my family was in shambles at that time.
How is this possible? She’s still married to me? How can she plan a whole wedding while still married to me? We are not divorced. The word has come up in our conversations several times, but none of us ever made the step. Even at that, I never recognized Winnie as a quitter. Things were pretty shaky in our earlier years of marriage but over time, I thought we had grown tolerable to each other and divorce would never have to be something we talked contemplated ever again.
“Well, I already asked the questions for you, so you don’t have to trouble yourself when you arrive here. As it turns out, Winnie did file for divorce but her lawyers never served you. This explains your shock; you aren’t even aware your wife already filed for divorce. The courts then gave her a decree, which kinda gives her the leeway to be married again in due course.” Tony was busy spewing all this nonsense, irrespective of my emotions and how this stupid it felt to learn that my wife has been cheating on me. Besides, nothing made sense, nothing!
“The lawyer wonders about your lack of knowledge in this case because for the decree to be issued, you ought to have signed some documents. Please tell me you looked at everything you signed, Charles?” Tony asked.
“No—” Tony interjected before I finished talking, I was still gathering my thoughts.
“What do you mean No? Dude, at this rate, you’ve probably signed your death certificate already!” He added, leaning on the cream wall next to the notice board.
“Let me speak Tony!” I paused and his eyes widened, waiting for my explanation. “Winnie knows. She knows how to write my signature, so she probably faked it?” I began to entertain that thought. “I need to speak to my wife. I need answers. Why in the world is she getting married to another man while still living under my roof and how long has this been going on? Tony, let me rush home. Thanks, buddy!” I said as he escorted me out of the premises to my car.
“Tell me how it goes. Meanwhile, I will alert the family—” Tony said before I cut him short.
“Tony, please don’t tell anyone else till I get to the bottom of things. It’s humiliating, I will let them know as soon as I take control of the situation. Okay?” It was an order, but I sweetened my voice so that it sounded like a request.
Speeding down Mombasa Road, I’m not sure why I desperately want all of this to be a prank. Although my marriage hasn’t exactly been a smooth ride, I’m convinced that we can do better than divorce, we are better than divorce. My heart is racing and I’m uncertain of what to expect when I get home. I don’t know if I will get an empty house, but I’m determined to make sense of the situation. I have questions, but I’m not sure the answers will make things much worse than they already are.
This story was inspired by a tweet we found on Twitter about a man who found out his wife had divorced him and he didn’t know. Here is the tweet.
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