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| Ray |
Mr. Ray could hear his son wailing from a distance, he shook his head not knowing what to do as he walked home. It had been a bitter and sad experience for him that faithful morning. His mind was far away, thinking of his situation when his foot hit a loose sharp stone on the ground. When he saw the red trickle from his toe, he swore with a snarl on his face and everyone who looked at him, gave him a wide berth.
He had woken up around "four o'clock that morning and had hurried to the construction site where he worked, only to be told there was no slot at that moment that every artisan had been hired." What are you talking about? He asked the foreman.
"Sorry man, so many people were here as early as "two o'clock, you know how hard things are in this country.
This is not fair, Mr. Ray protests.
What is not fair?
How am I going to feed my family?
That is your problem.
And that was how Mr. Ray turned back home only to hear his son wailing from the entrance of his street. He looks at his toe with an angry stare and keeps walking home, as he turns a corner, his house comes into view and he can see his wife sitting at the front of his door, while his son sits on her knee wailing his lung out. He quickens his pace trying not to look at passersby watching the drama unfold.
"What is the meaning of this? He snarled at his wife as he came near enough to be heard.
What do you mean? She asked back.
Shut the kid up, you are embarrassing me.
The kid is hungry, so am I. What did you bring for us to eat? And why did you come back this early?
There is no work today.
No work?
Yes.
Then what are we going to eat?
I don't know please shut the kid up.
With what?
Give him breast to suck. His wife laughed a menacing laugh with a wild glint in her eyes.
Mr. Ray takes a few steps backward, she snarled at him with spittle flying about." Do you mean these dry and flat breasts? She asked hitting her chest." How dare you say such to me? Don't make me angry please, our son is five years old, did you know that?
So what do you want me to do? I have no money.
Are you not the man of the house?
Don't patronize me, please. He told her looking around at the small crowd of people congregating at the expense of his family.
Shut up! She shouted while standing up, her son fell on the ground and his wailing intensified, she looked at him and turned to her husband." I'm twenty-four years old, but I look like an old woman of eighty, I have only seen suffering right from the moment I married you, I don't even know how you tricked me into this hell you called marriage.
Stop it, please.
Stop what? She snarled bending down to pick her son.
You are embarrassing me.
Oh, so you still feel embarrassed? Wow, what a man you are, such a foolish and useless man, are you not embarrassed enough that you can't provide for your family?
What can I do?
You are asking me? Oh no how did I get into such situations? I hurried to leave my family because I wanted freedom as a young girl back then, and they disowned me for marrying you, I lost everything and you have the guy to ask me what should you do? You must be mad.
Don't say such words to me or you will regret it.
Regret what? Is marrying you not regret enough? Is going hungry every day not regret enough? Is seeing your child cry night and day because there is no food not regretful enough? You better do your worst Mr. Man.
And he takes a few steps towards her, but a man in the crowd stops him." What do you think you are doing?
This doesn't concern you, stay out of it.
Shut up, you fool.
How dare you call me a fool? I will teach you a lesson you will never forget.
Like I said shut up you fool if you know what is best for you. Mr. Ray stopped in his tracks and assessed the man, he looked in his early fifties and that suit could feed me and my family for six months he guessed in his mind, is that a Diamond Rolex am seeing? He looked around and saw a few security men." Who are you?
I'm Mary's dad and I changed my mind about disowning her, I have been sitting across the other side of the street observing how my daughter is fairing and how you treat her, it seems I made a grave mistake and I will be taking her and my grandson with me.
You will be doing no such thing Mr. Ray snarled.
I think you will find a fight you will never win if you try me.
They are my family, you can't take them away from me.
That I will do after seeing how you treat them and to think you could have hit my daughter, what sort of man are you? Trying to hit a weak and defenseless woman. At this Mary look up and was relieved Ray was not coming to hit her she felt weak and tired, she looked around and was surprised to see a crowd and a well-dressed man talking to Ray in an angry tune, she hurried over and was shocked to see her father, she stood there with mouth open.
Her father raised his eyes and looked at her, he flicked his finger in her direction and a car opened his PA rushed over to her and gestured her to the car she stumbled over not looking back at Ray who was shouting her name with tears in his eyes." Don't do this to me MARY!
Go and hustle and you will not be treated so. Someone in the crowd shouted.
That was how Mary and her son were taken and her father lectured her about what she needed to look for in a man before she could agree to marry him
and not to jump into something blindly.
