Dead Roses.

“Where were you when your phone was ringing?” He thundered the moment I stepped inside.
“Obim…I…” Why was it this time that my tongue decided to cease?
“You what? You know what? I am done with your rubbish! You wayward creature. I don’t know where my mother picked you from but, …”
“Jidenna, I would take every insult from you, but I won’t take this one. Why would you call me wayward? Why? Why? I just…”
“Why won’t I?! You said you were going to the store an hour ago. If you are not a whore, why would a 10 minutes journey take you one hour?”
“Well, maybe if you were man enough, I wouldn’t have to go about looking for who to satisfy me.”
“What did you just say?”
“Exactly what a who…” I don’t know how his hand came flying from where he stood. All I know is his right hand struck my face, and my eyes started to spin. That was the last thing I remembered.

-
“Sometimes?” Tunde asked me. He was one of my colleagues, the one who swears that if he had met me before my husband met me, he would have married me.
“Yes, he is good sometimes.”
“Maria sometimes is not good enough for you. You deserve a man that would treat you right all the time,” he said, holding my hands in his. I giggled a bit then, remembered that I was married, and quickly removed my hands.
Tucking my hair behind my ears, I stood up and dusted my skirt. “Thank you for Lunch Tunde, but, as I said, I am a married woman. All this is becoming rather too uncomfortable for me.”
“Your husband maltreats you!”
“I didn’t tell you that”
“You didn’t get that scar by falling off the stairs either.”
I looked away.
“Maria…” He attempted to hold my hands
“Tunde, please” I pulled away from his reach and walked away with shaky legs.

-
“I think she is waking up,” I heard a distant voice say and struggled to open my eyes.
The whole room was so bright “dim the lights!” I screamed. Where was I?
“Where am I?”
“I am Dr. Kachi. Your husband says you fell from the stairs.”
Common Jidenna, change the lie. But, how did a slap land me in the hospital?
“Although it’s vague how you fell forward from the stairs, and the injury is at the back of your head.”
“Err, she somersaulted a bit,” my husband quickly chipped in.
I what? I almost burst into laughter.
“Somersaulted? Madam? Did you know that you were pregnant?” My amusement ceased.
I was pregnant? Why is he using past tense?
“I was? I no longer am? Doctor, what are you saying?
“ I’m so sorry, ma.”
“Sorry about what?”
“You lost a four weeks old pregnancy.”
I lost a child before I even knew I had her?
Hot tears welled up in my eyes, heat spread through my body, and I…
“Can I have a moment, please?”
“Babe, I’m so sorry. I…”
“Jidenna, please leave. I said everybody gets out!”
The Doctors and his nurses scampered away, pulling Jidenna as they went.
I closed my eyes again and let darkness wash over me as my mind filled with thoughts of dead roses.