The Silence Within

Chapter 53

After dinner, most of the family members sat in the living room. They were dispersed on the Italian chairs, deep into conversation as they examined the lace material that circulated around. Their laughter filled the sweet scent of the living room. The material will be is for a wedding coming up the following Saturday which the Kola-Daisi's are invited to. Aunty Dammy skimmed her eyes through everyone in the room. They seem so busy and happy. Their laughter reached their eyes. The joy they felt could be sensed in their voices. But is she happy? Does she feel as carefree as they all are at the moment? No one have a perfect life. Everyone got a problem they are battling with personally but they still have a reason to laugh. She can't even find anything funny in what they are saying. The past few days of her life have been grief-stricken. There was nothing to laugh about.

"I want to say something" Aunty Dammy announced. That got everyone's attention especially her mother's. Rebecca who was in a deep conversation with her second son, Aaron, looked at her only daughter. She saw her take in deep air and exhale. She understood and her nerves tensed. Her daughter does that only when whatever she wants to say will make all hell break loose. "I am getting a divorce"

Just the way she expected. Rebecca threw hand. "What?" Rebecca asked, frozen with shock. She lowered the great grandchild in hand to the seat next to her.

The people who looked at Aunty were frozen with numbness. She saw the surprise that dropped their jaws. It's meant to shock them. She can imagine the thoughts circulating their head. Why does she want to end her marriage of fifteen years? Aunty Dammy shifted her eyes to her mother. The woman gritted and had her hand closed tight on her lap, her eyes hard and displeased. "You heard me, mum. I am getting a divorce. I am ending my marriage to Leke" As much as those words break her, she held herself together.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"No. I am okay and in my right senses"

"I doubt it. Listen to yourself, Damilola" Rebecca stood up. "You are getting a divorce. A divorce? You are ending your marriage to Leke" She said like she can't believe her daughter is going to do such thing.

"And nothing you do or say will make me stay in that marriage"

"You are not ending that marriage"

"You have no right to tell me that" She fired at her mother.

"I am your mother"

"And that does not give you the right to tell me if I am to stay in my marriage or not. It's mine and not yours" Frustrated, she threw a hand. "God mum! Are you sure you are a mother? I have been in that marriage for fifteen year, fifteen long years and nothing came out of it. Leke has lost interest. He is living a happy life with his baby mama. He does not care about me again. He does not even come home. I barely see him. I informed him about the dinner and his excuse was he can't leave a pregnant woman for some useless family dinner. Why do you think he's not here? He does not care about you, about me, about anything that has to do with me. It all happened because I can't give him a child" Emotions welled up in her nearly making her gag.

"Then you should have also gotten pregnant" Rebecca fired at her.

Few members of the family cringed at such sensitive words especially Cynthia. The old woman is a terrible mother in law and mother. She's a failure at both. She scoffed inwardly.

"And you think I did not try to?" Aunty Dammy rumbled, aggravated and riled. Tears filtered from her eyes. Her mother's sensitive words cut her like a knife. "Do you know what I am going to and what I had to go through? Do you know how it feels to have hope and then have that hope shattered? I thought I was pregnant but I was not. Of what help have you been?" She cried. Now, she stood face to face with her mother, pouring out her emotions. "You did not support me physically or emotionally. Those days I cried, I could not cry to you because you don't give a damn about me. It's my fault that I can't give my husband a child. Those were your words. Every time I called and cried to you, you always make one painful remark or the other. I had only Tanwa to cry to. She has been there. She is doing what you, my mother, should be doing. I have asked myself thousand times if you are my mother. Are you? You don't act like one. You don't give a shit about me that's because you are selfish. Leke has given up on having a child with me but that will not make me give up on having my own child because I am going to adopt a child"