Joy was tired of the dating scene. She was over the numerous talking stages that yielded nothing. The pressure to settle down was beginning to kick in with her age mates having ruracios (traditional weddings) every other weekend. Her Netflix algorithm was also doing her no favours because she got many movie recommendations with storylines of the single 30-year-old woman. “If only she could find a decent guy,” she prayed to the heavens. Maina felt like the answered prayer.
He was charming in a subtle way. He never talked a big game, but he got things handled. You know how men make unprovoked promises and then go ahead to break them? Maina wasn’t one of those men. If he said he’d call later, he actually called. He wasn’t one to say, “I wanted to do X for you,” he would do it or not mention it at all.
Joy was just settling into the idea of dating him when she discovered something accidentally. They had gone for a staycation out of town when he left his phone charging to take a shower. A message came in, and she could see a list of things the sender, Sharon, had asked him to buy from the notification bar. The top two were diapers and baby wipes. She froze. In the few seconds she had to process that information before Maina came out of the shower, she had wondered whether Sharon was the wife, baby mama, or sister. The first two sounded like logical options, but she hoped there was a more palatable answer.
“Sharon has texted you,” she said to him.
He maintained his cool, although his eyes betrayed him. He then proceeded to read the message. Joy was looking at him expectantly. He sat down on the bed and faced her.
“I wanted to wait until I was sure we had something serious going on to let you know that I am a father to a two-year-old son. I’m not together with the mother but we’re co-parenting.”
With the horror stories she had heard about dating baby daddies, she needed a minute to take it in. She excused herself and went to the balcony for an hour. Maina joined her later.
“Do you have any questions you would like me to answer?” He asked her.
“Do you live together?” Joy asked.
“No, we don’t.”
“How often do you see your son?”
“Twice a week but I take care of him financially,” Maina responded.
After a lengthy discussion, Joy seemed convinced that there was nothing between Sharon and Maina besides parental obligations. She wasn’t thrilled about him having a child, but she also believed children are a blessing. The incident brought them closer as they dug deeper into each other’s lives- or so she thought. Maina openly talked about his son with Joy from then on. Their relationship also grew, and they even introduced each other to their friends and close relatives.
Six months into the relationship, the happy couple was indoors at Maina’s place. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. They had no plans of leaving the house, so they ordered food. As lovers do, they have found shows to watch together. Maina paused the show when the doorbell rang to give Joy time to pick up the food that was being delivered. Joy opened the door. It wasn’t the food delivery.
“Habari msichana. Huku ni kwa Maina? (How are you, young lady? Is this Maina’s house?)” A man in his early 50s asked. The man was accompanied by his wife, a young girl in her early twenties and a child who looked about three or four years old.
Joy turned to Maina. He walked to the door. The young lady with the child looked down shyly.
“Tumekuletea mizigo yako (We have brought your burden),” the man told Maina.
The ever-collected Maina didn’t make a scene. He looked as though he expected them to come. He didn’t try to deny the child but instead invited the visitors into the house. Joy felt a sudden weakness overcome her and ran into the bedroom. After the dizziness faded, she had to pinch herself to confirm that she wasn’t in a movie. She burst out laughing like a mad woman because the alternative was crying as she hummed the song Father Abraham had many sons.
Maina came into the room after the visitors left two hours later. He came carrying the food they had ordered.
“Babe, I can explain. She was a girl I knew four years ago. I swear I gave her money to buy P2s but I guess she didn’t use it for that,” Maina explained to Joy.
His explanation filled her with anger that she threw the food at him and shot him one more look before leaving his house. She blocked his number on all platforms and deleted his contact details. No amount of dating fatigue or pressure would make her settle for a man who had children popping up from all corners.
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