Synopsis: A story about marriage, love, storm and HIV.....

EPISODE 1

Jumoke finished looking through her schedule for the next day around 11:30 pm. She was shocked when she looked at the time. She wasn't aware it was that late. Where did all the time go? She gathered the papers on the table and then went to the room where her husband, Fred was lying on the bed.
"So you finally finished?" He asked in his deep baritone voice. Jumoke looked at him. He was sneering at her. She forced a smile and looked away from him.
"Yea. I will quickly have a shower." She replied as she removed her clothes and entered the bathroom. In a few minutes, she was out. She lay on the bed and switched off the light. Then she felt Fred's hands all over her. Jumoke recoiled. Not now! She thought.
"Baby, come to me." He said thickly with lust. Jumoke shifted farther away from him and switched on the light. She was surprised to see that he was already unclad.
"Sweetheart, it's late." She started.
"So?" He asked, staring at her.
"I have to be at work as early as 5 am tomorrow. Honey, I'm on the breakfast show." Jumoke said slowly. She knows how Fred felt about her job as an OAP.
"Jumoke! Really! It's always about your job, right? Nothing else matters to you!" He lashed out. Jumoke held her head between her hands. She was already feeling a throbbing headache.
"Babes, don't say that. It's not like that. You know I love you, and you know you are priority in my life. But I have to do my job too."
"You don't realise how arrogant you are, do you? When was the last time we made proper love" He continued.
"Fred, please come on! We made love yesterday. " She replied calmly. But Fred was adamant.
"That? You call what happened yesterday 'making love'? That was merely an impassive sex. A sex that lasted just 3 minutes because you had to rush back to work! It was like making love to a corpse!" Jumoke was hurt. She had specially made out time to be with her husband yesterday. She didn't know he had regarded what happened yesterday as 'making love to a corpse'.
"Fred, please let's talk about it when I return tomorrow." She pleaded, hoping he would understand. Fred glared at her and then quickly put in his shorts and singlet. Then he grabbed the sheets and stormed out of the room. He was going to sleep in the guest room. Jumoke watched him as he left. Their marriage was just a year old and she was sure the attention she gave to the marriage was enough. It was just that Fred was highly insatiable. The headache refused to go. She swallowed some Aspirin and set the bedside alarm as she fell into an uneasy sleep.

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EPISODE 2

The alarm bell woke Jumoke up from her uneasy sleep. It was 4 am. The Aspirin didn't do much as she still felt a bit of the headache. She had a warm bath and dressed in a floral white gown which her two best friends Hauwa and Cindy bought her as a wedding gift. The gown was her favourite. She wore a black leggings underneath. Fred was still not back to the room. Jumoke went to the maid's room and woke her up. The girl rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"Kate, wake up!"
"Madam! Good morning Mah!" She jumped up from the bed.
"Oga will leave for work around 8 am as usual today. Prepare Rice and Stew for him, and pack some in his lunchbox too. Do you understand? " She stressed.
"Yes Madam. I hear you! "
"Good. I am going to work." Jumoke said and stepped out.
"Bye Bye Mah!" The maid called after her.
Jumoke peeped inside the guest room and saw Fred snoring on the floor. She declined to wake him up because she knew he would begin his usual nags again. She sighed and left the house. They will discuss about the issue later in the day.
Jumoke was an OAP at Hearts FM; an academically sound young lady that finished with a First Class Honours in Psychology. She was an only child. After her NYSC, she got a job with a fairly handsome pay at the Radio station and it was one which she enjoyed thoroughly. She also had passion for writing. Back then in school, she anchored relationship and motivational shows and she believed a successful woman didn't exactly need a man for survival. That was until she met Fred.
Fred was a stunningly handsome man. He was very huge, grew thick beards and had obviously spent a lot of time in the gym because his biceps were intimidating.
Jumoke had said no to every attempt to start a relationship and the few she entered didn't last because she thought the men boring and dull. With Fred, it was different. She wanted to breath the same air he breathed. Her heart always missed a beat when he came around and she looked at him with sheer longing each time they met at the gym. Tall, debonair Fred with his caramel complexion and big muscles and thick thighs.

After her NYSC, he proposed marriage to her and she didn't know what to say. She loved him a lot and was always detested at the way most of the girls on the streets looked at him with sheer longing in their eyes. She consulted her friends about it and they urged her to say yes. They had never seen a man as handsome as Fred. Jumoke agreed and within a year, they got married. She was 27. He was 35. When she moved into his house, there was a maid called Kate and he wanted to sack her, but Jumoke refused. She would need Kate around because she will be too busy building her career to stay at home and cook for Fred every time.
Fred endured that for some months after the wedding but soon, his patience got thin. What kind of woman barely cooked for her husband because she was more interested in building a career? What was a career without a home? He tried to talk to Jumoke calmly about this but she was adamant and so he took the hard line. That was the genesis of the problem they were encountering in their young marriage.


That morning, Jumoke couldn't focus on her show no matter how hard she tried. When it was over, she sat back in the studio and thought about Fred. She married him because she felt they belonged together. She was also fascinated with his body but now, that body no longer had those effects they had during their dating days and it surprised her greatly. How possible was it for one 's feelings about something to change abruptly under a year?

She left the office around 5pm and when she got home, Fred was already back. He was sitting in the parlour and watching Television. Jumoke went to sit by him and gave him a peck. He ignored her. She looked at him.
"Fred, I am back."
"I know that." He said, his eyes fixed on the television screen.
"Won't you at least say welcome? "
"Welcome. " He mumbled and continued staring at the screen as if his life depended on it. Jumoke sighed.
"Sweetie, I am sorry about last night. I really am. I will make it up to you, Freddie." She begged. He looked at her and turned back to the television.
"I am sure you will. " He muttered. Jumoke smiled.
"Okay Freddie, tell me what you want and I'll do it for you. Mention any favour. " She said,smiling sweetly. She was sure he would ask her to cook something special for him. He had always complained of how he never ate enough of her dishes.
"Okay, Jumoke. I will name a favour and you'll have to stand by your word. Jummie, I want you to resign from your job and become a full-time housewife." He announced. Jumoke nearly choked. She couldn't believe her ears. She stared at him with her mouth wide open.

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EPISODE 3

"Bae, you heard me right. You are a woman! You are my wife. I earn enough for this house. You don't have to work. " Fred said.
"Fred, it hasn't come to this. I just told you I will make it up to you. "
"Jumoke, it has. I've told you what I want you to do."
"Honey, I've worked really hard for this. I can't just back out now. My book will be out in a couple of months too, Fred. I'm in the most challenging part of my career and I need your support now. You should understand that." She pleaded.
"The only thing I understand here is your ego. Your quest to attain celebrity status. I listen to you on radio and I hear how those male listeners of yours call you to comment on how lovely your voice is. I won't have that anymore!"
"Fred, don't be ridiculous! "
"Shut Up! You are the one being ridiculous here!" He barked in fury. Jumoke looked at him angrily.
"I am not ready for all these now, Fred. I'm not going to have this discussion with you." She ended and stormed out angrily.
Jumoke couldn't contain her anger. She picked up her phone and called Hauwa. Hauwa was one of her best friends and an Events Planner.
"Hi Jummie!" Her high-pitched voice rang out.
"Hauwa."
"Girl, it's been a while. We haven't seen you or heard from you in days! Fred just kidnapped you to himself, right?"
"Hauwa, it's nothing of that sort." Jumoke stuttered. She asked Hauwa if they could meet somewhere and talk. Hauwa replied that she was at home and that Jumoke can come over.
Jumoke arrived at Hauwa's place and met Cindy there. The three of them were good friends from their university days. They were in different departments, but the same faculty.
Jumoke told them about her ordeal at home. They both saw reasons with Fred, but didn't tell Jumoke openly. They've always cautioned her about her rigid stand concerning men. Anyway, she left Hauwa's house in a better frame of mind after talking to her friends.

The next weeks were the worst Jumoke ever had in her life. She did not resign from work and Fred resorted to giving her the silent treatment. He stopped sleeping in the bedroom and spent more time in the guest room playing video games when he wasn't busy with office work. He did not eat with her on the dining table. Instead, he instructed Kate to always bring his meals to the guest room. He removed his toothbrush and towels from the bathroom in their bedroom. Jumoke was aghast! They were virtually strangers living in the same house.
One day, she returned from work very early and deliberately asked Kate not to make dinner. She prepared the Egusi soup and semovita herself. When Fred found out that she made it, he did not eat. Jumoke was disturbed. She tried to approach him once or twice but he totally ignored her as if she wasn't there. She thought of telling her mother about it, but then she stopped. Her mother would find faults with her. She felt alone.
Fred have also refused to have any form of contact with her, which was very worrying because she knew he enjoyed sex. He has not even attempted to touch her in almost two weeks and he has developed another bad habit: he now returned very late. Once or twice, Jumoke could swear that she perceived a slight trace of alcohol in him, but she wasn't exactly sure. Fred was a self -assured man. A man who can never be drunk. She bought a night wear she considered sexy and approached him in the guest room but he got angry and tried to push her out. Jumoke was incensed.
"Fred, what else do you want me to do? Why are you treating me like this, Fred?" She cried out in frustration. He spoke to her for the first time in a while.
"If you don't resign from that horrible job of yours, then stay out of my way! And please leave the room, I want to sleep." He said. Jumoke looked at him sadly and left the guest room. She got to the bedroom they once shared and sat on the bed thinking. Fred was still insisting on her job. She knew that leaving her job was not an option. She had her own fair share of popularity and when her debut book comes out in some months time, she was going to be well-known over the country. She cannot throw that all away because of her husband's childish request! All the same, she loved her marriage but she could feel it tearing at the seams.