JULIUS STABS JULIET

By Femi Abulude

    The school was on vacation and my husband, Julius, had gone to work. I am a school teacher while my husband is a management staff in an engineering company. I was re-arranging the bedroom when I saw the briefcase he always carried to the office . on a closer look, his office keys were also lying there on the table.

      How did it happen? Julius was not the forgetting type . what could have made him forget these important items? I made frantic calls on his mobile phone  but it was switched off! This was also strange. Julius never switched off his phone. I kept on doing my household chores.

       When I was through, I tried his line again, I got the same dead response. I decided to make a call to his office’s switch board. The receptionist connected me to one of his subordinates. The youthful voice that answered was enthusiastic.

        “congratulations madam! We would soon be on our way to your house.”

          “please I don’t know what you are talking about. Where is my husband?” I queried him. He fired back, “madam, are you pulling my legs?”

           I was getting irritated. “young man, I should be the one asking that question. What is going on?”

          “madam, are you not the one that gave birth to the baby that we are celebrating the naming ceremony today? We’ve …”

     I dropped the phone and fainted. Only God knew for how long I had been in that state. When I woke up,I started crying.

      Julius and I had been married for over twelve years without a child. He was my first serious boyfriend on the campus and was the one who deflowered me. Our initial attraction to each other was the similarity in our names. He was Julius while I was Juliet. Our love eventually evolved and we were the reference point among our mates, some were even calling him Romeo.

      Pressure started mounting barely two years after our wedding. The embarrasement and insinuations from my inlaws could be better imagined. He was the only male child and second among his other four siblings. These ladies had ganged up against me. My offence was my inability to provide a baby for their brother. These my arch enemies and few other family members were the ones who followed him home after the naming ceremony in the evening.

       Probably, the boy who spoke with me on the phone had spilled the bean. This crowd did not come for settlement or appeasement. They charged at me rudely. You would wonder if these ladies were wives to some husbands.

       “Juliet, you are a wicked woman! You are a witch! You are not producing and you dont want our brother to produce!” Do you want our father linage to end in our town? …”

   They were all talking at the same time.  “ if you want to die, go and commit suicide. This child has come to stay.”

It was the most senior of them that was talking. I braced up myself. I made frantic efforts to suppress the tears that were swelling in my eyes. I was not going to cry in the presence of these unruly inlaws.

        I answered them calmly. ”Congratulations. it’s a thing of joy. This should not lead to quarrel. Where are my own share of the food and drinks shared at the ceremony? Or have you forgotten your senior wife at home out of annoyance?”

   My unexpected response pull the sail out of their boats. They became calm and were looking at each other. In their confusion, I fished out their brother who was by the main door hiding behind them.

          “Honey, congratulations!  I dragged him towards the bedroom. He followed me sheepishly. I turned my head and stole a parting look at the crowd of angry hyenas and closed the door and locked it firmly from behind. It was Julius I had a word or two with and not them. This is my home , when they are tired of waiting, they will go to their own houses.