"Okoo mi, my dear. When will you start getting ready for your outing with your husband, na?" Marissa heard footsteps behind her as her door opened and her grandma entered.
She shook her head and laughed as she turned to face her grandma. "Ah ha, maami. This is just four thirty. And his name is Bernard."
Her grandmother smiled as she sat down on the couch. "Eh, look at you. "His name is Bernard," Mama mimicked. "Is he not your husband? Is it an old woman like me that is supposed to be telling you how long it takes for a woman to dress up when she is going out on a date?"
"Old ke? You are not old, you are sweet sixteen. Which of your friends can compete with you when it comes to dressing?" Marissa said she intended to distract her grandmother. Judging by the countenance on her grandmother's face, she knew the older woman had a mission.
Grandma knew her very well, so she merely shook her head. "Don't even try to butter me up. That won't stop me from saying what I came to say, so just save your breath already," she said as she readjusted her position on the couch.
"What?" Marissa said it innocently. "I was only complimenting you, na; can't I compliment my beautiful grandma, ag?"
"What is happening between you two now?" her grandmother said.
"Well, that was worth a try," Marissa thought as she realized that Mama would not let this matter go. Still, she said, "Me and who?" as she turned back to close her ledger. Though she has an app where she gets to do her inventory and calculations electronically, she still does her documentation the manual way as well.
"You know who I am talking about. Girl, will you leave that book and turn to me when I am talking to you?" her grandma said.
Marissa turned swiftly to her on the chair she was sitting on with a salute "Aye aye, captain grandma."
Grandma laughed and said, "Naughty girl, I see where that rascal gets his antics from. He is getting more mischievous by the day."
"I know, right? It seems like I can't keep up with him either. That boy is sure intelligent, and he is getting smarter by the day. Just the other day, he
"Ehn ehn, we are not going there right now. I already said you shouldn't try to dissuade me from having this conversation."
"I wasn't… Okay, maam, what do you want to know?"
"Why are you two not living together as husband and wife yet?" Grandma asked simply.
"Maami"
"Maami, what? Maami, what na? Is that a strange question to ask? What exactly is still stopping you two from living your life as a couple?"
Marissa sighed. "How can I tell Maami that I demanded a divorce from him? She thought. "She would certainly ask me why. How am I supposed to explain how I feel about this thing to her? She would never understand."
She sighed again.
"Okoo mi," Mama said again in a concerned tone. "I know, I know what you have been through and how this journey started, but you can't let someone so vile and something so tragic stop you from grabbing on to the happiness in front of you, can you?" Mama asked.
"Maami, I... how can you be sure of that? Have you forgotten what I told you about Evelyn? was what she intended to say, but she merely kept silent.
"Marissa, what is it? Are you saying that you can't share what is on your mind with me again now?" Mama asked when she saw that Marissa was still not saying anything apart from the occasional "maami".
"No, ma, it's not that. It's just that we still need more time to get to know each other. You know that the main reason why we got married before was because of the child and now..." she swallowed "Now that the child is no longer there, he has no reason to want to be with me. Though he said he loves me, but...
"But you do not believe him. Hmm, my child. Do you believe that a man like Bernard would simply marry you because of a child? I am sure that his mother is more than capable of taking care of a child if he only requested that the child be what he wanted. You need to have belief in your man and his love for you, my child. I have seen the way that boy looked at you when you were not looking, even when you were looking at him. It reminds me a lot of the way your grandfather looked at me back in our days. Also, may your parents souls rest in peace. Your parent's devotion to each other was so evident, even to strangers. You were small then, so you might not understand what I mean," Imama said.
Marissa had an idea of what her grandmother was talking about. She could remember that her parents had always had a smile for each other, and they were always looking for opportunities to touch each other and to do things together.
"My dear" Grandma's voice brought Marissa out of her reverie: "You know I would never lie to you; that boy truly loves you. Do you think that I urged you to marry him merely because of your pregnancy? No, my dear, it was because I see how he treats you and how you treat him. I still don't know why you don't realize it yet, but you deeply care about him as well. Why not stop wasting each other's time and start your life together in earnest? Neither of you is getting younger, you know, and don't you forget that Emma is also watching you as well. He asked me the other day if I think that his mum will start living with his new dad the way the Onwurahs are staying together.
Tears came to Marissa's eyes from Grandma's words. She knew that Emma was too inquisitive not to have been curious about that, especially since he had made friends with other kids now whose parents were staying together. She had convinced herself that it made no difference to Emma since he didn't ask her about it.
Hearing Mama say what the kid asked her now saddens her. She knew that rationally there was nothing to be afraid of, but it was a different matter with the feeling of apprehension in her heart. She had this inherent fear that the moment she gave in and they finally got together, things would change between them. She cared about him too much to be able to bear it if things got ugly between them.
"Isn't it better to part ways now when we are still on good terms and could stay friends than for us to do it later when there would be irreparable differences?" she thought.
She looked at her grandmother, who was looking at her in concern. "I asked him for divorce, maami," she said quietly.
"What?" the old woman jumped up and sat down back as pain shot through her legs at the abrupt movement.