Episode 4
Back in Zambia Joe’s parents insisted that he took another wife. “It has been three years my son, you cannot wait for a woman who abandoned you and her son. It’s time you moved on and found a woman. You need her to help you raise Nathan. ”His father explained.
“I don’t know dad”, Joe told him.. I have tried to look around but I cannot seem to find the right person. I will marry again when time comes” he had told his parents.
One day he decided to go back to Jessy, he tried getting serious and take their relationship to another level but unfortunately she was not as interested as he thought she would be. She was still making demands of money and things but when he proposed marriage to her, Jessy declined..
“I’m sorry Joe ”she told him..
”I can’t marry you.” Joe who had planned a r0mantic dinner at a hotel with a live band playing some music, looked at her shocked. His knees still on the floor as he extended a gold ring to her. He was shocked she declined. “But I thought you loved me” Joe complained, lifting himself from the floor and trying so hard to compose himself and conceal the shame from those watching. Others with eyes wide open whilst other murmered. Joe couldn’t discern whether the murmuring was for pity or disappointment.
“I can’t” Jessy told him in his face. “you… Joe cheated on your wife with me and now what guarantee do I have that you will not do the same to me? ” She asked pausing as she finished her sentence, as though to give Joe a chance to explain himself or something. When she noticed his face bowed down, she continued .. “besides I am engaged to another man, at least I love him and I know he loves me back genuinely. Am sorry Joe” she added, “you are handsome and so giving and I appreciate it. but I cannot be your wife.”
Joe looked at her face she was serious.
”But Jessy” he asked almost in a whisper. “I thought you loved me, you even made me neglect my marriage and contributed to my wife leaving me. How can you tell me you don’t want to marry me now?”
Jessy shook her head.. ” I’m sorry” she said again. “just find another woman” she said before standing up and grabbing her hand bag. Joe Watched her as she walked away pulling down her mini skirt which had moved up slightly, her high heels making some soft noise as she walked passed the reception and out the glass door..
That night Joe didn’t even go home early, instead he went to the nearest bar and drank his mind off, he shed tears as he remembered his beautiful wife Rachael. The hurt he felt in his heart made him to drink even harder, fortunate enough, his friend who had gone to the same place that night grabbed him to the car park and drove him home.
I have lost it all he cried in his drunken state. I had a woman who loved me genuinely but now I’m even being rejected by a woman I have spent so much money and the valuable time i could have put into marriage. ”oh Joe what can i tell you?” his friend told him as he helped him in bed. ”just sleep and tomorrow is another day. Sit down and find a way of raising your son properly.”
“Oh my son Joe murmered his eyes closed. He’s the only blessing I reaped from my marriage with Rachael. I wasted the rest of the blessings God had given me.” He cried.
His friend patted his back and walked out leaving him murmuring and groaning to himself…
Two years later, Joe had managed to remarry, unfortunately to a person he didn’t love. He was just hooked to her by his mother, after she saw how her son had started running up and down drinking and sleeping with different women. She assured him Nancy was a good woman and a Christian too. Joe agreed just to ease his parent’s minds, but deep down he was still lost and couldn’t find exactly what he was looking for.
Being a christaian and praying woman, Nancy, over the years successfully brought Joe back to his sanity and he started committing himself to work in his father’s company as he did before. He was still drinking though but he was better than before.
All this time Nathan his son had grown and was doing so great at school. His step mother was so good to him and raised him as her own. In fact, Joe never told Nathan that Nancy wasn’t his biological mother, all Nathan knew was that he was the only child of Joe and Nancy since Nancy could not have children of her own. All efforts to bare a child failed and this somehow made Joe dislike her even more.. Though he never said it but he never developed any special feelings for Nancy.
Ten years later, Nathan had turned 17 years old and was admitted in the university to study medicine. Efforts by his father Joe to make him do some business courses so that he could run the business after him failed..
Since his grand father had passed on the whole company now belonged to Joe and he had expanded it over the years ..
Unfortunately, Nancy didn’t live long to see the graduation day of Nathan who she had encouraged and motivated to follow his heart and dream of becoming a doctor. She would always tell him. “My son, the passion you have to save people’s lives is the way to go. God has blessed you with a heart to help others” she would say. “So use it and let God work through you”
So even when Nathan graduated from the school of medicine he dedicated his certificates to his late mother Nancy. He had mourned his beloved mom for years. He loved his father of course, but Nathan felt so much connected to Nancy. She was always there for him and inspired him in a good and christian way. Nathan grew up respecting women and living an honesty and decent life. Even though he never had the guts to confront his father about his life of drinking and having other women besides his mother, Nathan hated the fact of his father betraying his mother Nancy and when Nancy died, Nathan had blamed his father..
“You didn’t love her enough and you were always running up and down with women ” he accused him.. ” no wonder my mother had developed BP and died ”.
Joe felt ashamed but couldn’t bring himself to tell Nathan Nancy wasn’t his mother and that his biological mother was the only woman he had loved sincerly.
The gap between them grew as years went by, such that Nathan decided to move out of his father’s house immediately he completed his course and leaving Joe all alone made him go back to his heavy drinking way of life.
Despite the fact that his businesses were progressing, Joe’s life remained stagnant. He had lost all connections to his personal life and each day that passed. He felt his inner sadness grow, the more he drank, the more he got even lost and the more he pushed his son away..
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