He rushed into the house and stopped in shock when he saw Nana Ajoa and Harold getting up from the floor. Nana Ajoa was wrapping a towel around her. Ato connected a couple of combination blows and would have continued hitting Harold if Nana Ajoa had not yelled at him to stop.
“What the heck were you two doing on the floor?”
Nana Ajoa ignored him and tended to Harold, whose face was already beginning to bear testimony of Ato’s attack. The size of his lower lip had increased by the size of a nut and seemed to be still swelling. Ato walked angrily past them into the bedroom and began pulling his clothes from the closet, dropping them on the bed. Nana Ajoa came into the room after him.
“What do you think you’re doing, Ato?”
“Your father said you want a divorce. At least you could have asked me nicely instead of putting on a porn show on the threshold.”
“My father does not speak for me. What you came to meet was an accident.”
“I would have believed you if I hadn’t seen the two of you kissing. Your dad gave me a copy of the picture.”
“My dear, stop packing and let’s talk,” she said as she plucked a shirt on a hanger from him and hung it back in the closet. “We need to talk. You need explanations. I can’t imagine what you’re going through but I know that if I came home to see a scene that suggested you were having sex with another woman, I wouldn’t be pleased. It seems to me my father is trying to pull us apart. He told Harold you had walked out on me and that I wanted a divorce. Harold came down here, hoping to help me cope with the heartbreak. When I heard him, I thought it was you so I ran out of the shower to come see how things went between you and my dad. I tripped and fell. He helped me up and then you walked in.”
Ato just stared into space, wondering whether her story wasn’t too good to be true.
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
He turned to look at her and asked;
“What about the kiss? Was that an accident too?”
“My dad took me to the beach to help me relax because of what I was going through, you know. I was missing both you and Baaba. The house had become too big for me. I was happy to get out there. Harold and his parents were also there. Harold asked me to take a walk with him. As we walked, we talked about you and Baaba. I became sad and I cried. He hugged me and let me cry on his shoulder. Before I knew it, we had kissed. It happened so fast. I had no idea my dad took a picture. I’m sorry. Please, forgive me.”
“Are you sure you don’t want a divorce?”
“Do you?” When he did not respond, she held both of his hands in hers and pulled him closer. “Ato, I don’t think I made a mistake when I married you. I still love you.”
“I love you, too,” he murmured. He wasn’t in the mood to say those words but he didn’t want her to think he didn’t feel that way.
He remembered that the briefcase containing the money was still in the car. In his haste to confront his wife and Harold, he had forgotten all about the money.
“Where are you going?” Nana Ajoa asked as he rushed towards the door.
“I’ll be right back.”
He felt relieved when he didn’t see glass on the floor to suggest a windshield had been broken. He was however alarmed when he realized that the door was not locked and that the briefcase was not in the car.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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