It was a Tuesday evening, and Lydia was busy buying ingredients for her family dinner. Her primary school children accompanied her to the shop after completing their homework. Her husband would be home in about two hours, just in time for dinner. He would spend time with the kids before bedtime, something he hadn’t been doing recently. The children hardly saw him as he claimed he was working late.
“Mummy, could you make us mutton with some roast potatoes?” Asked Lydia’s younger child.
“Yes, mummy. Please make it the special way you do. Daddy also likes it,” Lydia’s other child seconded the idea.
“Okay. You’ll have to hurry up, though, so that we can go to the butchery we normally go to and make it back to the house quickly,” Lydia told her children.
They found only two customers ahead of them. When it was her turn, the meat seller met her with a huge smile. She had been his customer for three years since they moved to that estate.
“Hi. I’d like some mutton,” Lydia told him.
“Oh, just like yesterday’s? I see it was as good as I had predicted,” said the man selling with a big smile.
“Yesterday?” Lydia asked.
“Yes, I’m sure it was yesterday. Mzee bought some in the evening,” said the man confidently.
“Oh, that was yesterday? I’ve had such a long day I forgot,” said Lydia, trying to hide her surprise.
The man could also tell that she wasn’t the recipient of the meat. They had a moment’s silence before the man handed her the meat and free dhania. Lydia and her children left the butchery. Her heart was pounding. She hoped her children had not heard the conversation.
When they got back, they found her husband, Simon, in the house. The children ran to him excitedly. Lydia could not even look at him. She went straight to the kitchen and started cooking. Simon knew something was off but didn’t know what. Lydia made dinner and served everyone.
“I hope it’s as good as yesterday’s,” Lydia told her husband as she served him.
Simon froze. He could tell where that conversation was headed. The younger child interrupted the moment.
“Like yesterday? Kwani, you cooked for Daddy when he came after we were asleep yesterday?”
“It’s not time to tell stories. Finish your food first,” Lydia told her.
There was deafening silence after that. Lydia put the children to sleep immediately after dinner.
“Who did you take to the meat you bought yesterday? Simon! You’re cheating with someone from this estate?” Asked Lydia.
“I shouldn’t have bought it there. I’m just used to the place,” Simon said almost to himself.
“Wow! Do you think buying the meat there is the most important part of this conversation? You’re not denying that you were taking it to another woman?” Is she someone I know? If the butcher knows, how many other people know Simon? Who is she?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to find out this way. It doesn’t matter anyway, I’ll end it,” Simon told Lydia.
“Who is she?” Lydia asked him again.
“It doesn’t matter, Lydia,” Simon told her.
“Simon. You decided to embarrass me, and on our home turf, the least you can do is tell me who she is. People were probably pointing their fingers at me, gossiping,” Lydia said angrily.
“Fine. It’s Carol,” Simon finally admitted.
“Carol? The Mpesa one?” Lydia asked.
“No,” Simon responded.
“The one who works at the wines and spirit?” Asked Lydia.
“No,” said Simon.
“Which other Carol would that be? Wait, Carol, the hairdresser?” Lydia asked.
“Yes,” Simon said. His face was filled with shame.
“That Carol? The one who makes your daughter’s hair? I was at her salon two weeks ago!” Lydia screamed.
“Sshh! You’ll wake the children up,” Simon told her.
“Now you care about them after spending all your time with that woman? You lied to me that you were at work for weeks. I can’t even look at you,” Lydia told Simon.
“I know I have messed up, but I promise it will not happen again. I don’t know what came over me,” Simon told her.
Lydia walked into the bedroom and locked him out of the room. She sat on the floor and cried, trying to piece together the affair. She imagined how many times people in the estate knew about the affair.
The next couple of weeks were torturous for Lydia. She walked around with shame. Whenever she went to any shop, she imagined they also knew about her husband’s affair. Simon tried begging for forgiveness, but Lydia couldn’t take him back. Eventually, she moved out of the estate with her children.
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