Kamiah never expected how busy she would be. She is at work 9 hours a day and 6 days a week. She only has one day off. And she doesn’t even spend it relaxing but doing all the household chores that keep piling up. This is because she prioritizes Kai like any other mother would do. She leaves everything when she hears him cry. She would sometimes forget to eat but not forget what she has to do as a mother.
One night, Acwell came home finding dishes unwashed, laundry not folded and the apartment a little dirty. He saw Kamiah was in the rocking chair, feeding Kai.
“Hello!” he said, but with an unhappy tone.
“Hello, honey! How are you?” she answered with a smile.
“What have you been doing?” Acwell raises his voice suddenly.
“What do you mean?”
“Why is the apartment dirty, dishes are still unwashed and laundry not folded?”
“Oh, Kai had been fussy almost the whole day. I could barely put him down.”
“He is only 5 months and you can’t handle him? What if he turns 6 how would you do that?“
She only looked at him with sharp eyes. She did not respond. But he continued by saying,
“Her son is only 5 months and she can’t handle it. My daughter’s mother is alone, and she is doing everything. But you, you have me here but you can’t seem to handle your son and the household chores.”
This made Kamiah’s blood boils out of anger. “What’s up with you? Why are you yelling?”
“You were not this lazy. What happened to you?”
“You think I have been sitting here doing nothing? Do you think I feel good leaving the house dirty or the dishes unwashed? I don’t!”
“Then, why?”
“Because of our son! I am not a mother who will neglect her child for the sake of finishing the never-ending household chores. He is my priority!”
Acwell was stunned that Kamiah yelled back at him. He made her so angry. She has always been calm except now. This is the first time she had been like this to him.
“You think I am just sitting here doing nothing. Why won’t you try taking care of your son the whole day and do the household chores in that way you would know what I go through? You are just working and do little here at home, yet, you complain about how tired you are. What about me? I worked, too. But I still have other things to do. For you to call me lazy, that is so inconsiderate of you. Your daughter’s mother was brilliant at deciding to raise her by herself. She is strong in doing that. But for sure, she will have moments similar to mine. And for the record, I did not choose for her to be alone. You both made that decision. So you do not have every right to throw it against me.”
Then she storms out of the room carrying her sleeping son. There she is again on the sofa, crying while looking at the wall. Acwell hears her but prefers not to talk. He is still angry. He wanted to calm himself before he even could talk to her. He doesn’t want to make the same mistake of saying something that would deeply hurt her. He went straight to the front door to go for a walk and reflect on what he did.
Kamiah watched him open the door and leave. This is the second time they argued. The second time her daughter comes into the picture. And now, he has the nerve to walk out of the house.
“Why is this issue always coming back? Why there is no end to it? What I did for me to get blamed for what her daughter’s life turns out?” she asked herself. “Can he not see how much it hurts? He just doesn’t know that whenever she remembers he has a daughter, it pains her a lot. All the more to be blamed for her daughter to grow up without a father.”
She cried until her eyes are painful and swollen. She felt exhausted that she has to drag herself to the bedroom so she can put her son in the crib and she can lie down to sleep.
Acwell arrives home and went to the kitchen to drink some water. He was washing his hands when he saw the sponge on top of an unwashed plate. He touched and felt how the sponge is still wet with soap.
He was about to head to the bedroom but he saw a mop near the dirty floor and on the sofa, there is a mix of folded and unfolded clothes. Kamiah had tried to do all of this but was unable to finish. He imagines her running to Kai almost all the time. But earlier when he arrived, he did not see that she had tried to do all of this. All he saw was how messy the house was. And not how much effort his wife puts in doing these.
He did not mean to hurt her. Catrina has sent her messages earlier that made his mood shift. And got him thinking a lot about his daughter. He picks up his phone and reads her messages again.
“Acwell, I need your help. Amara is sick. I need to send some money for her again. But I have nothing here. I have sent almost all my salary, and it is almost about to be finished.”
“But I just sent some money just a week ago.”
“I know. I am sorry my mother got sick before Amara. They have used the money I sent for her treatment. Now, Amara got sick and they have little money left.”
“Catrina, the money I sent wasn’t enough for Amara’s needs?”
“Are you counting how much you are sending to her? If that is the case, it is so ridiculous! How could you do that? She is growing up without a father and I am alone providing most of what she needs.”
“Calm down, Catrina! I am not counting. I am just wondering that how come I just send it last week, and it's almost gone. "
“Please, I am begging you. I am begging not for me but for her.”
He did not reply. But before going to bed, he sends her money again. The money that he was saving to buy Kamiah a wedding ring.