Dilemma Of Decision

6

Jeremiah
I came down from the car and walked to the huge black gate. The gate man poked his head outside and immediately he saw me, he smiled and let me in. I entered the beautiful compound and walked straight to the front door. I rang the doorbell and few minutes later, Mrs Mide opened the door for me and I walked in, greeting her.

"Good afternoon ma'am" I said, bowing slightly as she led me to their stunning living room.

"Oh Jeremiah how are you?" She asked as she ruffled my hair.

"I'm fine..." I said, laughing as I fixed my hair. Her lively demeanor and smile was contagious and for a moment I forgot my problems. "I'm here to see Melvin. "

Yup, you heard that right. He told me to address him like that even though I wasn't comfortable with it from the beginning because of how I was raised but I later got used to it. You know how Africans are with respect...

"Okay dear. I'll get him for you.In the meantime, would you like something to drink?"

"Oh don't bother...."I said, sitting down.

"Nonsense! I was just baking some brownies. I'll get you some." She winked at me and left. She knew I was a sucker for those.

"What's up boy! "Melvin greeted as I stood up to hug him. I've known this man for five years and he's someone I can trust and confide in.

"I'm good. You?" I asked as his wife brought the brownies and left us to talk.
Melvin's expression became serious after he took a brownie.

"So what's with the unexpected visit?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"What if I just came to check up on you?" I said as he smiled.

"I know your visit has a reason, Jerry. Now what's the matter? Everything okay?" He asked. I hesitated a bit before narrating the whole story to him.

"My dad's been acting different lately...and it's a bad different. I think he has issues with the company and it's taking a toll on him. He argues with my mum too often, he's vicious and last night...h-he-" I was already breaking down. Melvin leaned close to me.

"What happened Jerry? Take deep breaths, talk to me..." he said.

"He hit her...hard" I said, clenching my fists and closing my eyes as the scene flashed in my mind. Melvin put his hands on mine and I opened my moist eyes and he patted my back, coming to sit beside me.

"It's okay, Jerry..."

"No it's not!.."i snapped. "She's my weakness...my weak spot...i.watched how he hit her and I couldn't do anything about it." I sniffed, rubbing my palms together. I usually do that when I'm worried. Melvin sighed and was quiet for a while.

"Is she okay now? Did she sustain any injuries?"

"She hit her head on the wall and she fell unconscious..." I paused as I heard Melvin gasp.
"I called our family doctor to attend to her and dad left...I haven't seen him since last night." I said.

"Were your sisters around?" He asked.

"Jemima was out with her friends when it happened and i told one of the maids to take Josie out when they started arguing...when they both returned and saw the doctor attending to Mom, they knew something was wrong but I couldn't tell them what really happened...I begged the doctor to tell them that she was just stressed out and thankfully, they bought the lie."

"When was the last time you had a father- son- chat with your dad?" He asked. I looked at him incredulously. My dad and I used to be pretty close and he used to be a godly, patient father even when he had issues with the company in the past, he never let it come in between his relationship with us and he strived to make us a happy family. We used to play golf together, have lunch, alone and we bonded well but all that has been destroyed.

"Last Christmas....I guess. The point is, he's turning into a monster, he makes my Mum cry, he always has this tense atmosphere around him and he's not approachable at all. Infact, he's the exact opposite of what he used to be before." I said, exhausted.

"Have you been praying for him?"

c'mon! What's with all the questions?

"...No" I said, looking away as Melvin looked disappointed.

"Then go and pray. Get on your knees and pray for your father. Ask God to help him. Jerry, he's going through a lot and he's not handling it properly so you have to ask God to assist him and help him through what he's facing now..." Melvin said as he held my hands. I couldn't take it anymore, I pulled my hands from his and stormed out of the house.

I'm hurting...my Mom's hurting...my family is hurting and the only thing he can tell me is to pray for the man who's causing us pain?
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