Short Story
Full circle
By Lawrence Kadzitche
The house was large and set in large garden with a beautiful lawn and a lot of flowers. A large black Mercedes Benz and a Toyota Camry were packed in an open garage. A sporty red BMW pulled up in front of the mansion’s imposing entrance.
Tadala preened herself in the mirror, patting her hair and adjusting her sunglasses. After splaying herself with some perfume, she stepped out of the car and waltzed towards the house, singing a tune heartily to herself.
“Babe, I’m back,” she said as she swept into the lounge. “Look at my hair, don’t you think…”
She broke off when she saw her husband was not alone in the lounge. “I didn’t…” she said as she took in Henry’s mother sitting on a sofa watching TV. Without another word she proceeded to the bedroom.
Henry followed her into the bedroom. “What was the meaning of that?”
“The meaning of what?” she shot back.
“Why didn’t you greet my mother?”
“What does she want?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” he insisted.
“I’ll not answer your stupid question until you tell me what she’s doing here,” she replied with marked insolence.
“Tadala, what have you got against my mother that you do not even want to see her?”
“You want to know? It’s because every time she comes here, I know she is looking for something,” she explained contemptuously. “Like this time, what does she want?”
Henry lowered her voice. “She wants some money to buy fertiliser.”
“And what’ve you told her,” she asked viciously.
“She arrived this morning just after you’d left for the hair saloon,” Henry explained irrelevantly. “I told her I’ll give her the answer after I’ve discussed her request with you.”
“Well, the request has been discussed,” she spat. “The answer is no.”
“Tadala…”
“I said we are not going to give her anything!” she shouted.
“Look, dear. She isn’t looking for much. Just six bags,” Henry pointed out. “It’s something we can easily afford.”
Tadala raised her hand. “It’s not a question of whether we can afford it or not. It’s the principle. Our money is for this family. And this family means you, me and our two children.”
“I understand that,” Henry said placating. “But…”
“No buts, Henry. Your mother should learn to take care of herself. Our responsibility is to our children not our parents.”
“I know your views on this subject. But as I’ve said countless times my mother could not save anything because she spent all her money towards my education.”
Tadala glared belligerently at him. “Are you trying to say she sent you to school as an investment?”
“No, but…”
“Then this discussion is over. Don’t forget we’ve to send Jonah to England for secondary education. And I’ve to go to China for shopping. We also need to save money for our holiday at Victoria Falls.”
Henry took a deep breath. He wished to scream that they could afford all they had because his mother had sacrificed all she had to send him to school. Without her sacrifice, she couldn’t be talking of sending Jonah to South Africa or going shopping to the UK let alone wasting money on useless vacation in Zambia.
But he didn’t say anything. He was a henpecked husband. Wish as he could, he could not gather enough strength to go against his wife’s wishes. All he could say was, “Ok. We’ll not give her anything. But at least you should’ve greeted her.”
She laughed harshly. “You don’t throw bones at dogs you don’t want around your house, do you?”
Henry closed the bedroom door and went back to the sitting room. He looked at the lavishly furnished lounge and was filled with guilt. How was he going to tell his mother they couldn’t afford to give her money to buy six bags of fertiliser when they could manage to buy every conceivable modern convenience for their house?
“Amama…” he begun.
His mother cut him. “Don’t bother, son. I overheard everything. I’ll be leaving now.”
“No, mum. You should leave tomorrow.”
“No, son; a dog does not stay where it is not wanted, does it?” she said with a sad smile. “Call Jonah’s mother. I want to say bye.”
He called Tadala. She came, all smiles now knowing that her mother-in-law was leaving.
“My children, you’re still young. But one day, you’ll grow old as I’m now,” she told them. “One day when you’re old, you’ll remember what you’ve done to me today.”
She left without another word. The next time they heard about her was when they got a message nine months later that she had died.
They went to the funeral accompanied by their friends in expensive cars. The expensive cars and glittering casket they bought for her contrasted sharply to the grinding poverty that was evident around her dilapidated house.
Soon they forgot about her and went on about their lives. Their sons Jonah and Phillip grew into adults. Jonah completed his schooling in the UK and came back with a white wife. Phillip got a job as a manager at a big company.
Henry retired and opened a business which collapsed a few years later. Creditors moved in and grabbed his personal property. He soon died a heartbroken man.
Tadala, now an elderly woman, found herself destitute with no source of income. But she was not overly worried. She had two educated well-to-do sons. They would take care of her.
She went to see Jonah. His English wife told her to her face that they were not a charitable organisation. To her great shock, Jonah sided with her.
She went to see Phillip. He told her he would discuss her request with his wife. “Don’t worry; I’m sure she’ll agree that we assist you. She might even suggest you come and stay with us.”
But the words she overheard from the bedroom dashed all her hopes. “You tell your mother that she should look elsewhere for help,” Phillip’s wife screamed. “Our money is for our family and that is you, me and our children.”
The words jolted her. Where had she heard them? Then she remembered. It was the time her husband’s mother had come for money to buy fertiliser.
Tears started streaming down her cheeks. It was as if her mother-in law was there. She vividly recalled her parting words. “My children, you’re both young. But you’ll one day grow old as I‘m. One day…”
How prophetic. She had come full circle!
End
