Jude
and Juliet had been married for 25 years. Their children, five of them, were
graduates of Ivy League colleges and employed in blue-chip companies abroad. Jude,
an astute businessman, was not doing badly in his business either. He was
counted among the wealthy in the society and not a few lobbied to be associated
with him.
Juliet, his wife, who he befriended 10 years
before they got married, managed an oil and gas business, which was jointly
owned by the couple. It was indeed a family to be envied.
But Juliet, now a grandmother, nursed a
pain. For a society woman, whose friends longed to be in her shoes, she could not
reveal the cause of her pain to anyone except her diary, which she found
succour.
She met Jude as an undergraduate when she was
admitted to study Zoology at the University of Ibadan. He was already in school
and as the tradition was, he joined in the ‘October rush’ whereby new
undergraduates were wooed by guys on campus. She fell for Jude’s charms and
they became an item on campus. Three years after, Jude went to observe his
national youth service in Bauchi. Upon completion, he returned to Lagos and was
lucky to get a job in an oil servicing company.
Juliet
also graduated and had her national youth service in Lagos. They were in love
and could hardly let go of each other when Jude travelled abroad for his
postgraduate studies. Luckily, he got a good job and Juliet joined him in the
fourth year. They both agreed to return to Nigeria for a formal wedding.
They returned to Nigeria, had their wedding but
Juliet felt they had to relocate. To her, their business would thrive more in
Nigeria and they would make more impact than just living abroad. By the time
they had their third child, they had started plans on relocation.
“Maybe the mistake I made was the relocation I suggested.
I should have allowed the family stay abroad. Initially, he didn’t like it but
I persisted. We had made enough money and I knew we would succeed in Nigeria
with the experience we had garnered abroad. Meanwhile, my father had died and
bequeathed my siblings and I some property and lump sum of money. With all
these awaiting us in Nigeria, Jude reluctantly decided to relocate. Our
marriage was less than six years when we returned. Then, our third child was
barely a year old,” she recalled.
It was
blissful coming to Nigeria. Their business boomed, they diversified into the
oil and gas sector and became affluent entrepreneurs. To Juliet, it was no bad
idea to have more kids as she enjoyed her husband’s support, attention and
love.
“But by the time we were to mark our eleventh
wedding anniversary, I observed something very queer about Jude. He would ask
that we played x-rated films before or while making love. I agreed because I
wanted him happy and satisfied. Then, I noticed he started watching the films alone
whenever I was out of the house. I bumped into him one day when I came to dress
for an event I had to attend before the close of work. I was not really
bothered because we ended up in bed and I went for my meeting feeling happy.
“Though we didn’t work in the same office, our
office buildings were on the same premises and either of us still called in
whenever the need arose. While I managed the oil and gas subsidiary, Jude supervised
the import, export and general merchandise. As a matter of policy, I never
interfered with who visited my husband, male or female. So, when I noticed a
handful of ladies thronging his office, I didn’t raise the alarm. Instead, we
exchanged pleasantries whenever we met by chance. But a particular visitor made
appearance more than others. Tall, plump
and quite pretty, I was told by one of the loyal staff that Tessy (that was her
name) was more than a business ally.”
The mother of five decided not to ask her husband
because she wanted him to be happy. But when he stopped watching the x-rated
films with her and stopped the lovemaking, she sensed danger. Not only that, he
barely stayed at home or had time for his family again.
She reminisced: “He always had one excuse or the
other not to be around me or the kids. Our eleventh wedding anniversary was celebrated
without him! That day was when he had to be at a business meeting in Dakar. I
believed him and celebrated with family members and a few friends. Later, when
I saw stumps of air tickets (for two) to Paris in our library at home, I could
not take his lies again but didn’t confront him. I knelt down and begged him to
remain faithful to our marriage because that was all I had after losing my
parents. He assured me of his unending love and we were back on track.”
If she thought her plea and his promise would
make him turn a new leaf, she was in for a surprise. Again, I saw some stumps
of air tickets to London in one of the files he brought home from the office.
Meanwhile, I saw him escorting Tessy out of his office earlier in the day and
they drove off in her car! This time, I didn’t keep quiet. I confronted Jude.
“He was angry that I had been snooping on him
and threatened to deal with me. I begged him to stop philandering and make our
marriage work. I was on my knees begging him to leave Tessy and other ladies I
have been seeing him with at the office. I observed he was furious when I
mentioned Tessy. He stormed out of the
house and didn’t return until two days after. Initially, I was scared and
called his personal assistant who told me my husband had travelled!
“Jude came back with a bigger surprise for me.
Since the older children were in boarding schools, I was home with the last
two, who didn’t know what was happening. Whenever they asked after daddy, I
would tell them he had travelled. We
were on the terrace enjoying brunch when his car was driven into the compound. As
usual, I made to welcome him but stopped when that lady alighted from the car.
Tessy? Yes, and she made her way with my husband into the house. I was
dumbfounded, then, confused and when I came to, I made for the bedroom, where
they were.
‘Can someone explain to me what is happening
here?’ I asked Jude, who was changing his clothes and chatting excitedly with
Tessy. She sat on one of the chairs in
our bedroom and I observed her closely. Obviously Jude was enchanted by her
beautiful face and well sculpted frame. I hissed and turned to Jude, who was
already naked. “Since you already know that Tessy is my friend, I don’t think
there is the need for an introduction. She is not your rival, and would not
live here with us, therefore, don’t panic, Juliet. I have brought her home to
help you in my quest for sexual satisfaction. She is just a sex mate and you
have to accept that,’ Jude said.
“At that moment, I saw my life crumbling like a
pack of badly stacked cards. I have had everything going well for me—graduated
before I was 21, married before my 25th birthday, a thriving
business, a good husband, beautiful children, who were doing well in school
coupled with my rating as A-list celebrity in the society— and I thought
nothing would stop anything now that I was in my late 30s. But this lady seated
in my bedroom had done just that.
I was helpless. I became dumb, deaf and dead to
all that happened that day in my matrimonial bed while I was present. Jude
slotted into the video player one of the x-rated films we used to watch
together and he invited me: ‘Juliet, come, let’s play together.’
· To be continued
Note: All names, characters and events are
fiction.
No comments:
Post a Comment