Chains That Bind Us - Episode 1

 

Chidinma stood in front of the full length mirror in the room she shared with her husband Debo. Just like every other day, she had the top of her well sewn Ankara pulled up to reveal her flat stomach, wishing, hoping and praying that a child is in there somewhere but so far her wish has not been granted.
Chidinma Bankole; an Igbo girl from Owerri got married to an Ekiti man and is yet to be blessed with the fruit of the womb. Her husband has low sperm count but how many people would they inform about the problem of their marital life . They all call her a barren woman right to her face and she never says anything to stop them because it is of no use. Stopping them would only fuel their insults and make them more determined to talk and put her down. It is like pouring petrol inside fire. In this part of the world, it is always the woman’s fault. 
Her mother-in-law has totally refused to believe that her son is not a complete man. She claims he is only claiming to have low sperm count so as to direct the fault away from his wife; it is her entire fault they cannot have a child. If she had been a Yoruba woman rather than Igbo, her mother-in-law would have probably helped out in any way she could. The main problem between them is not the fact that she is unable to give birth; the main problem is the fact that she is from a different tribe.
She rubbed her stomach in the way pregnant women do as a way of protecting and connecting with their baby and pretended that she is actually pregnant

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. Pregnant; not just because her in-laws wants it but because she craves it and can’t seem to stop the itch.
Debo is on drugs; has been on it for the past two years now but they do not seem to work at increasing his sperm count since she is still not pregnant. The fear creeps in quite often; what if the drugs never work? What will they do? She tries to put a lid on that thought and close it up for life but it is a fact that they might eventually face.
She tells herself whenever the fear creeps in that she just wants a child to call her own so they would just try other alternatives. There are so many in the world today; science has ensured that. But there is nothing in this world like the feeling of having another life inside you. Growing and breathing through you. 
The door suddenly opened so she quickly pulled her top down before whoever it was came in; not wanting to be caught day dreaming in front of the mirror once again. Debo entered and she placed a smile on her face as she turned to face him. She knew it was of no use because he always saw beyond her façade. He walked up to her, pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. He kissed her hair and whispered into her ear “I love you”. She smiled a really genuine smile as she pulled a little out of his arms in order to be able to look at his face. He had a really straight face on and Chidinma could not tell what he was thinking from his expression because it was so blank but she knew one thing and she was sure of it as much as she was sure of the fact that she loves this man whose arms were hugging her; he wasn’t happy. 
“I know I am pretty awesome and irresistible.” She told him which earned her the rich sound of his laughter. It was melody to her ears and she knew she would do anything just to be opportuned to hear the melody for the rest of her life. He kissed her on her lips and she melted in his arms immediately as she returned his kiss nibbling on his moderately thick lips with a smile on her face; all her worries and sorrows forgotten because all she could think of at that moment was the man currently biting her painted red lips playfully in the process kissing away her makeup. Make up! Then it registered.
Chidinma quickly pushed him off her in the process making him fall on the bed. “Debo, you are such a devil, we are going to be late.” She turned back to the mirror and tried her best to rectify the damage her darling husband had done to her make-up. She watched him through the mirror as he lay with his arms under his head as a pillow; feeling really comfy.
“Do we have to go today, I am tired.” Debo said as he made a tired and drowsy face at her through the mirror. She shook my head at him through the mirror and turned to face him after she was done reapplying her makeup which was just the ruined lipstick and a little bit of powder. “Debo, get your butt off that bed right now.”
“So you can stare at my ass on my way out and whistle at it that what a fine butt you married, gladly.” He said as he stood up and walked to the door. When he got to the door, he turned back to face her where she stood with her back facing the mirror while she watched him with a smile on her face. “i haven’t heard the whistle yet.”
“Eya, sorry dearie but you should have asked before concluding that you will hear a whistle because I don’t know how to do it.” Chidinma said as she picked her bag up from the couch in their room and walked up to him. When she got to his side, she leaned close so that her lips were temptingly close to his ears. “But before you start crying, your butt did me in.” With that she left the room swinging her hips temptingly giving him something to stare at.
Debo stared at her as she left the room, she is so beautiful and till this very minute, he still wondered what she ever saw in him. He watched like a stalker every tempting sway of her hips and how her robust ass cheeks moved rhythmically. It was like she was dancing, a private dance just for him. She knows how to keep him entertained so he doesn’t have to go out to look for things that are not missing.
She is now out of his line of sight and the fear he has always been keeping on hold suddenly creeps in. He knows she is probably just in the living room or any other part of the house but he still fear the day she would say she has had enough of everything and walk out that door leaving him out in the cold. She is strong or rather she pretends to be strong. He saw the look on her face when he entered the room even though she quickly covered it up, he could still see the strain on her face. He knows how much she craves a child and he has witnessed firsthand the insults people rain on her just because she has been unable to conceive.
She has never blamed him or rather she tries not to but Debo blames himself because he has failed her. She doesn’t even ask for much from him. She only wants one thing, one thing he should be able to provide if he is actually a true man but he probably wasn’t a man. ‘I am a woman with a man reproductive organ’, he thought to himself.
The noise woke him up from his day dream. Only one voice could be heard; his mother. Debo didn’t need to be told before he knew she was attacking Chidinma again. When would she ever accept that he has low sperm count and stop attacking his wife who as usual would only bear all the insults and abuse rained on her in silence? He rushed out of the room meaning to get his wife out of there before his mother took it to the next level. His darling mother has decided to take up permanent residence in their house and he couldn’t do anything to stop her without making it look like he was choosing my wife’s comfort and happiness over hers so he lets her be but made sure Chidinma was never home alone with her for too long because his mother’s ranting could affect her mental and emotional state of mind since she never wants to talk about it.
Debo entered the living room to find his mother standing over his wife who was sitting on one of the leather couches with a straight face. He didn’t want to say anything to his mother because it would only prolong the whole scenario more than necessary so he walked up to his wife, pulled her up, picked up her bag and his car keys from the table and dragged her out of the room.
On his way out, without looking back, out of courtesy and respect, “Mummy, we are going out, we would be back late so don’t wait up.” Debo called out already knowing the reply he was going to get and his mother has never disappointed him before and he was sure she was not about to start.
“I know you are taking her away from here, you don’t want me to tell her the truth. I warned you against marrying an Igbo girl but you would not listen. I am sure she has aborted all the children in her womb before she married you. If you had married a Yoruba woman, this house will be in happy disorder with cry of your children; my own grandchildren.” She continued ranting all the way to the car. He unlocked the car and signalled for Chidinma to get in before turning to face his mother who was behind them.
“Goodbye mummy, see you this night or tomorrow morning.” He said as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. 
“Adebowale, do not disrespect me in front of that man you call a wife.” His mother shouted making him groan inwardly. How can he settle this without prolonging the issue unnecessarily? 
“Mummy, I am not disrespecting you. I love you too much to do that and I will never pick a woman above you but you just have to understand, it is God that gives a child and he has his reason for ours not coming yet. Please try to understand.”
“You think I don’t know that, you think I am dumb?” She said taking things to the next level. Debo needed to get them out of the house before this turn into a full fledge war of words. 
“No mum, you are the smartest woman I have ever met and I am proud to call you my mother. I would love to stay and tell you all the different ways you are smart but we are really running late for our appointment.” He kissed her cheeks this time around and entered the car not saying another word and not waiting for her to say another word. With a wave goodbye, he drove them out of the compound. Unfortunately, his wife was giving him silent treatment which he totally understood. It is his entire fault that they do not have a child.
They have been in the car for over ten minutes now and Chidinma was still not talking to him. He knew she only needed space, space to think, space to relax her mind but he was still scared of whatever is going on in that mind of hers. He was scared that she was thinking about how fed up she was about the whole situation. He was scared she would decide to opt out. He couldn’t afford to let her think; he couldn’t give her space from him. He has to take responsibility before she decides to leave him so he parked the car by the roadside and removed his seatbelt and hers. She looked shocked and puzzled as to why he had parked the car and unbuckling their seatbelts since they were not even close to their destination yet. He didn’t provide a verbal answer to her question but pulled her into his arms; as close as the car barriers could allow and whispered into her hair, loud enough for her to hear him. “I am sorry, please don’t leave me.” He didn’t know when the tears started falling. His father used to say a man never cries but he does; not because he is not a man but because he is too vulnerable and scared about the thought of losing his wife.
“Leaving you is not an option, I love you too much and I know one day we shall overcome and I will have our child.” Chidinma whispered back. Her voice was foggy like was sobbing internally. Debo wished she could just open up to him more frequently than she actually does.