Poetherapy 2.0

This was horrible

To all my fellow men who are contemplating doing it, I urge you to cease forthwith because it won't be long before you are in tragedy. I was once of the thought that no one would divulge my little illicit paradise since it was a long distance away from my hometown. It is quite a noteworthy distance from Gweru to Bulawayo, or so I thought.

It was sometime in July when we left Harare for Gweru in preparation for the Midlands Provincial Agricultural Show as we normally did each year. He journey was ok although the temperatures were very low, especially when we got to the City of Progress. We booked accommodation at the Pangolin Hive, a few kilometres away from the city centre, along Gweru-Bulawayo highway.

We were geared up for a three-week hang about in the chilly cold weather of the Midlands. Despite the lower temperatures, we enjoyed our stay. The preparations went efficiently until he Agricultural Show commenced. The show was officially opened on a Friday, the very day I met Sharon.

I was sitting at the terraces of the main arena, the guest of honour blurring fourth his keynote address, when my eye landed on the most eye-catching of all women. She wash short, slender enough, light in complexion, slit eyes, full lips and hourglass figure. As soon as I laid my eyes on her, I believed what my eyes were telling me.

"I'm coming back," I told my friend I was sitting with as I lifted myself and headed for the dazzling lass. I sat next to her and without any further delay, introduced myself and she told me hers was Sharon. We got to know each other better and the fire grew further. We sat together all the way through the rest of the proceedings. We roamed about the showgrounds until she was supposed to go home. I let her go on condition that I was seeing her the following day. We met the following day and had the most pleasant of times together. One thing led to another until dusk. I departed for Harare the following day.

Sharon called me not more than two months later and told me that she was pregnant. Although I was not prepared for the news, I did nothing other than accept it as it came. Whenever I got time, I used to go and see her. I took the responsibility of the pregnancy, from food to clothing. Days passed and she gave birth to beautiful baby boy. Happy as I was, I tried as much as I could to conceal it from my wife. This continued on for almost five years.

All went smoothly until Sharon told me that she had been transferred o Harare by her company. She asked me to look for accommodation for her and the kid, Leo. I tried hard to find them accommodation but due to other commitments all my efforts were in vain. After my underproductive efforts, Sharon told me that she was coming to stay at her aunt's place. Her aunt was going to England and so Sharon would be taking care of her place. I agreed to that, not knowing I was throwing myself into deep trouble.

I went to Hwange the very week she came to Harare. I spent over two weeks in the coal-mining town before I came back to Harare. On my way back, I phoned Sharon and told her that I wanted to see her before I got home. The problem was that I didn't know where she was staying. She promised to wait for me in town, which she did. I asked her where she was staying and that is when I got the bolt-out-of-the-blues of my life. She was staying right below us – at the same flat! This was bad news and I knew very well that I was nailing myself to a cross. How could she stay at the same flat as my wife? She gave an excuse that she didn't know my place or else she wouldn't have come. She even blamed e for not finding her accommodation somewhere else. It would not be long till the cat was out of the bag. This was horrible.

We drove home and sneaked into her apartment. We made sure that we were invisible. I knew I would not be long before we were caught. I spent more than a few hours there and I could hear my wife calling Thandi, my daughter, on several occasions. I could even hear my television and all that happened in my flat.

The place was quiet, as I sneaked out to my flat, my heart pounding even more. I got home wearing a guilty face and my wife could tell that something was wrong. I just let her believe that it was a result of a long tiring journey. This routine continued for not more than three weeks.

Hell broke loose the following day when I got home from work. As I approached the place, I could see my wife sitting at the balcony with other women, including Sharon. They were chatting whilst the kids were playing near the gate.

As I opened the gate, Leo ran for me shouting, "Daddy, daddy!" I was dumbstruck. It got worse when Thandi followed in hot pursuit, got hold of Leo and quipped, "He is not your daddy, he is my daddy!"

"No!" Leo admonished sagely, "He is my daddy, and was even at our place last night. He comes everyday to our house."

I just stood there not knowing what to do. I could not utter a word. After some moments, I lifted my head to face the balcony and was met with pale puzzled faces. I grinned at them before getting hold of both of kids in my arms and heading for the stairs, gearing myself for some thorough explanation to my wife.