Good and attractive as the marriage institution is, records still show that most homes break these days long before they were made.
Of course, it is no longer news that many couples who appear soft, delicate and harmless on their wedding days turn monsters days after their union Although, this may sound unnecessary still but a careful attention paid to the story of Gideon, a teenager may save a doomed day for couples who are always at each other’s throat.
Gideon’s story occurred on a Monday morning.
While their mates were being pampered to enjoy the day, the day kicked off on a bad note for them. Telling his story, he said,
” As kids, we were never in happy moods . Our parents were always fighting, tearing at each other. This particular one remains unforgettable for all of us. It was a Monday morning and we were all set to go to school.
By seven o’clock, we were waiting in the sitting room. I was dressed already prepared for school. My three younger ones, Samson, Victor and Rita sat across the armchair. They too were ready and set to leave.
Since they seemed not to have their mother’s attention as they would have wanted, being the eldest child, Gideon tried to use his initiative to fill in the gap. ” My mother did not wake up to make breakfast. I sensed when it was past six that she and my father were probably at it again.
When it was a few minutes past six and I began to hear noises from their bedroom, I quickly went into the kitchen and began to prepare some noodles with fried eggs which we would all take to school that morning.
I put the food in different food flasks for all of them and arranged them in each person’s basket. Rita was the first to finish bathing. She came to join me in the kitchen as I was dishing the food. Little did I know that no one was going to eat anything that morning.
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Noting the drama.going on between their parents, the.only girl, Rita, who was.obviously saddened by.what was going on said, “These people have started again this morning.” Her eyes showed that she was not happy. “When will they ever stop quarrelling?”
“I don’t know,” the brother mumbled dryly. “Maybe when they begin to grow grey hairs that is when they will stop. Sometimes I feel very ashamed of myself. They are the only adults in this estate that are always fighting. This is not proper.”
Rita shook her head. “The fault is always from Mum. When I grow up, I will not quarrel with my husband.”
She looked at me in a manner that suggested how troubled she was. Parents should know that whenever they quarreled, their kids suffered the more.
The girl who by that time, had teary eyes looked helplessly at her brother and asked;
“Will you quarrel with your wife when you grow up?”
“I will never going to fight with my wife,” was the answer she got from her brother.
The situation, according to Gideon was bad enough for the kids to have wished their parents go their separate ways.
His words: “Sometimes I felt like suggesting to my parents to annul the union if they both could not manage their differences. But who was I to complain?
I was only a child. I was ten years old. Rita was eight. Samson was seven and Victor was four.”
“When we were all prepared and my father hadn’t yet to come out, I sent Samson to go and knock on their door.
“Daddy, we are ready.” We heard him say. The screams and chants of scorn increased. My mother’s voice was high-pitch. She raved and vituperated endlessly.
“I regret ever agreeing to marry you. You are a very stupid man. You think I am as stupid as you are? Look at you! A hopeless man!”ranted their mother.
The father who could not also contain his anger retorted, “you call me a hopeless man and yet you have gummed yourself to me like a leach. Leave, you will not leave. Get a divorce, you will not get. Who is now hopeless between you and me?”
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“The door creaked open and we all heaved sighs of relief. My father was wearing a pair of camouflage knickers. That was what he wore most of the time if he didn’t go to work. He was not a soldier. He had never been one. But he had a friend who was a lieutenant cornel and it was this friend of his that had given Daddy the knickers. I remember the day some soldiers were trying to harass him and he had promptly called his friend who spoke to the military men on the phone and brought the situation to normalcy.
“Are you all ready? Gideon, hope you have made breakfast for everyone already.”
“Yes Daddy,” I nodded.
“That was very thoughtful of you. May God continue to give you more wisdom as my first child to always do this in spite of the fact that your mother would not let us have breathing…”
The words were still on his lips when he grabbed my younger brother’s arm to lead him out of the house. I took the car keys from the TV stand and as I was about to stand up from the chair, I saw my mother storm out of the bedroom. Her eyes were red like embers. In her hand was a big bottle.
“Are you trying to turn my children against me? Useless man!” she barked like a rabid dog.
But hell was yet to let loose. ” Like a hill melting down the valley in an earthquake, my mother jumped on my father with all her might. Samson was in front of them. When I turned back, all that I heard was a loud bang. My father came crashing on the ground. My mother still held a bottle in her hand.
