THE HARD WAY A SHORT STORY BY TREASURE EZURUIKE

THE HARD WAY A SHORT STORY BY TREASURE EZURUIKE

Shonda was a 21-year-old young Marketing graduate fresh out of school. After the National Youth Service Corps, she secured employment with one of the new generation banks.

She worked with them for two years before she met Tony a civil servant who worked with the ministry of health. They clicked and began a relationship that led to marriage.

Just after marriage, Shonda got pregnant and with a bank job, her husband insisted she resigned. She politely rejected the idea telling him it’ll make her pregnancy journey long and boring.

She told him she needed to be active, and her job gave her that avenue. She promised to leave the job if it got too stressful and Tony reluctantly accepted.

Shonda pushed herself through the 9 months pregnancy journey. Within that time, she established an online presence as an entrepreneur.

She offered financial services for a fee online and created some online courses. She marketed them until she gave birth to Dave. After the 3 months of maternity, she returned to work and put Dave in a creche.

Her husband did not like the idea of their 3-month-old son in a creche. He asked Shonda to resign from her job, but she refused.

It became a source of misunderstanding until Dave turned 18 months and Shonda was expecting another baby.

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Both families intervened in the misunderstanding and pleaded with Shonda to resign her job for peace to reign.

Shonda rejected the idea telling them she didn’t want to become a liability because when Tony met her, she was gainfully employed.

Tony’s family approached Akudo’s family for an out-of-court settlement. Her family insisted that he married their dead daughter according to tradition. Tony refused but his family told him that was the only way out.

Tony performed the traditional rites involved in marrying a woman. He collected the list, bought the items on the list, and paid Akudo’s bride price while she was still in the morgue.

After the marriage rites, Akudo was handed over to Tony as his wife. He and his family were stunned. They were informed that Tony had to bury her like he would have buried her if he had married her while she was alive.

She told them it was difficult for her to go from earning over 100,000 to earning nothing just sitting at home. She told them she wasn’t cut out to sit at home doing nothing nor would she want to start running a small shop.

They told her they understood her plight, but she had to save her marriage. She asked them why she had to be the one to save the marriage and make the sacrifice?

She asked them why her husband couldn’t meet her halfway and make a sacrifice or employ a domestic worker. Her husband told them the idea of a domestic worker was not on the table because he never approved of one.

Tony told her that he understood that she had been used to earning money and for that reason he would pay her what earned currently until she was through having children and they all began school if she resigned from her job.

She asked him to put it in writing and he did and signed before both families. She insisted he pay her 6 months’ salary upfront before she resigned from her job, and he agreed to it.

She resigned three months later because it was the bank’s policy. He did not pay her the 6 months salary upfront like they agreed but paid her monthly. She gave birth by the 4th month to Anabelle, their daughter.

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By the 6th month, after she resigned, he stopped paying her any money and started to complain that the financial burden was too much for just him to cope with.

She refused to quarrel with him as she earned money online from the online courses she had created.

One year after she resigned, he became resentful and bitter towards her. He called her a liability each time she requested money for either their children or their home.

She wanted to complain to their parents but changed her mind as she never liked the idea of third parties.

He sent her on errands while he was at work without caring to know what her schedule looked like and never provided any transport fare.

He never did “school runs”. He claimed it was a woman’s job. He never provided the money for her to board a Keke napep or take a taxi. All he knew was that he provided school fees and other financial requirements.

He insisted she attend events with him without asking if she had her events to attend. He knew she had activities to attend online but had no idea what exactly they were.

Each time she mentioned an online class he disrupted it by sending her on an errand until she learned to keep it a secret.

One day Shonda disagreed with Tony as he was at home and never brought in the dried laundry while it rained.

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She went to get the children from school and he was home on his annual leave. He let the clothes get drenched. She quarreled with him and they exchanged words.

She asked him how he could be at home and their clothes were drenched by the rain. He told her it was not his responsibility. She asked him if it was her responsibility?

He told her it was and called her a liability who only stayed at home and ate until she got fat.

She told him she didn’t blame him because it was her who agreed to leave her job and sit at home believing he would keep any of his promises of paying her salary until they were done having children.

He told her he even regretted paying her the 6 months salary he paid her because she didn’t deserve it and it was her responsibility as a woman to keep the home. She told him they’ll find out who would have the last laugh.

One year after Anabelle was born Shonda found out she was expecting. It didn’t make her very happy because she didn’t want to have another baby in the atmosphere of their home.

She became even more distraught when she found out she was having a set of twins.

Tony had stylishly abandoned some responsibilities for her like providing for their children. He only paid their school fees, every other thing was left in her care even though he knew she didn’t have a job or have an allowance.

She didn’t want to have any more children for that reason. She had a difficult pregnancy and received no support from Tony. He had no regard for her because she brought nothing to the table as he put it.

They ended up exchanging words each time he called her a liability who brought nothing to the table.

She reminded him it was him who made her a liability by insisting she resign her job. She told him he tricked her into resigning her job, making false promises he never kept.

He jeered at her telling her there was nothing she could do about it now. She told him to watch and see.

He never consulted her in any decision-making. He told her he provided all the money and her opinion didn’t count.

She gave birth a few months later to Daniel and Daniella. She did family planning to ensure she never had another baby. Tony taunted her and disrespected her. 

When Daniel and Daniella turn 1 year old Shonda told Tony she wanted to return to work.

He told her it was not his business. He called her old and told her how no one would want to employ a mother of four.

While at home she took a lot of online courses and got a couple of certifications to make her employable when she wanted to return to work.

She spent 6 months applying for various financial jobs until she secured one in the ministry of finance.

She secured the job after Daniel and Daniella started school. She informed Tony and he told her he did not care.

On her first day at work, Tony called her, asking her to check for a document in his official bag. She reminded him she was at work, and he hissed and ended the call.

He called her back to ask her if she could not go home and get him the document.

She told him she couldn’t because it was her first day on the job and she was on probation and couldn’t default. He told her she would have to choose between the job and the marriage.

Shonda ignored his threats and continued with the job. This time she was adamant about leaving her job.

She knew better and was resolved to leave the marriage instead of becoming a liability again.

Tony involved both families when she refused to leave the job. Shonda was asked to leave her job again and she told them she won’t.

She told them she didn’t want to be a liability like Tony had called her for over 3 years.

They seemed shocked as Tony told them he was taking good care of her. She told them Tony never kept his words even after signing the document in their presence.

They told her to pay the price for peace and she told them she had paid her price and it was time for Tony to pay the price.

Tony told them that if Shonda insisted on working that she would have to work from somewhere else, not his house.

Shonda told them she wasn’t going anywhere but knew she had to move out.

She just wanted to buy some time. Conditions in the home became unbearable for Shonda and their children.

She finally moved out and Tony asked Akudo to move in with him. He began a relationship with her after.

Akudo got pregnant with Tony’s baby. She wanted to keep the baby but Tony insisted that he wasn’t ready for a child. In their attempt to get rid of the baby with herbs, Akudo began to bleed.

The bleeding escalated and she was rushed to the hospital. She died as the doctors attempted to stop the bleeding.

Her family was aware of the situation as she informed them when she was taken to the hospital.

By the time they arrived, she had died. They had Tony arrested for the death of their daughter.

Tony’s family informed Shonda about Tony’s arrest but she turned a blind eye.

Tony’s family approached Akudo’s family for an out-of-court settlement. Her family insisted that he married their dead daughter according to tradition. Tony refused but his family told him that was the only way out.

Tony performed the traditional rites involved in marrying a woman. He collected the list, bought the items on the list, and paid Akudo’s bride price while she was still in the morgue.

After the marriage rites, Akudo was handed over to Tony as his wife. He and his family were stunned. They were informed that Tony had to bury her like he would have buried her if he had married her while she was alive.

Tony revolted and told them he never married her while she was alive because she was not his standard. They told him she was not his standard but he could get her pregnant and get her killed in a bid to abort a pregnancy.

They threatened to take the matter to the press if he refused to bury Akudo as tradition demanded. To save his reputation Tony buried Akudo and footed all the finances. Shonda never sympathized with him.

Akudo’s Obituary read “late Mrs. Akudo Tony, who was survived by her husband, parents, siblings, uncles, aunties and a host of others”. The funeral service was conducted in the church Tony attended. Akudo’s internment was done in Tony’s country home in his village.

The incident brought a lot of shame to his family. There was a lot of side talk about his family and how they supported him to marry another wife, while his first wife was still alive. They wondered why Shonda was never seen all through Tony’s predicament.

When the dust had settled, Tony’s family reached out to Shonda’s family accusing them of neglect during such a trying period for them. Shonda’s family asked them what they expected when they supported their son to misbehave.

They told them they knew their son was still married to their daughter yet they supported him to ask her to leave because she refused to leave her job a second time. They supported him to bring another woman into their home and called her their wife.

Tony’s family told Shonda’s family their son was no longer interested in the marriage but wanted their children returned.

Shonda’s family told them they would do what they say but would never return the children to them as their son had never shown concern for them since his wife left with them. They threatened to go to court.

Tony told his parents to step back because he never authorized them to bring his marriage to an end. He told them it was not their decision to make.

He was too embarrassed and ashamed to look Shonda in the eye after the death, marriage, and burial of Akudo.

The turn of events took him by surprise. Other men were unfaithful and could deny it, but he took him the whole 9 yards.

Shonda did not reach out to him nor extend an olive branch. To her, it was just too painful and she was not ready to acknowledge her hurt from all Tony had done to her.

Tony wondered what his children thought about him. He wondered if their mother had told them about all he had done.

He prayed that one day he can apologize to them for his absence but that day was just not now.

He also hoped Shonda would forgive him. He regretted letting “see finish” make him tear his home apart.

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Treasure Ezuruike

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