Dejected, sorriful on her face with a feeling of guilt, mother slowly made her way, closer to her son Bob Lee.
"I understand your pain," apologetically, she stated.
"Look son," in a low spirit she narrates to him, "your mother here grew up with struggling parents way back in times, swimming in poverty to an extent of not being able to even afford a three course meal. When I grew into an adult and met your late dad, and luckily out of hardwork managed to make a fortune for ourselves, I never wanted a child of mine to lack a thing the same way I did. This was exactly why day by day, as a mother, I made sure your world is a living paradise."
"I thought it was the best of life to give you," on a downcast face, as a mother she regretted, "now I see It's all my fault."
But then she raised her head bravely straight and looked him in the eyes, "punish me instead and not your wife! I am the one who failed my duties as a mother, spoiled you to become this kind of a shameless person you're today _ didn't guide you to be a better version of man instead raised you on a silver spoon!!"
In the midst of yelling angrily, mother began to cry.
On seeing his mother's drastic reaction that abruptly tears streamed down her cheeks, Bob Lee got perturbed enough that he unsettledly moved his head rounds, side to side, touching on his mouth like, "now why the hell is this happening?!!"
He didn't see it coming. Matter of fact, he's never seen his mother crying in his entire life and this is why it was so disturbing to him.
"Look mom, I don't think it's necessary for you to cry. I'm a boy child and I think it was my father's duty to raise me into a man you assume I was meant to become!"
"You're father is not to blame. He had to do what he had to do to for us not to lack. He sacrificed himself for his family; no holidays no nothing just to make sure we were part of the rich society."
"Okay, but what you're doing right now is making me feel some type of way_ you're not supposed to shade tears infront of me!" Confoundedly he said.
"Perhaps if I trained you well, my daughter-in-law wouldn't have been in miseries she's in right now, she would have been in her matrimonial bedroom enjoying her husband's company, don't you think so?" As a mother, intelligently she had herself to blame.
"Alright, I know it all comes from me clearing it to you that I don't like this adopted child of yours as my wife," Bob Lee's words were so unkind, proving him to carried a long history of enmity on Ishtar.
"Adopted?!" Of course the words landed in Ishtar's clearly and was dead shocked to hear such coming from her husband's mouth for all the time they had spent together and the wishes he made to her as he was proposing.
It was indeed absurd.
However, before going any further with the meeting, his careless words won him an immediate and heavy slap on his left jaw direct from his mother who was standing right infront of him.
"Did any one force you to marry her?" She asked in an outburst of anger, "before you speak recklessly, don't forget that she is the woman you're married to, the same reason you're who you're today _ a multi-billionaire, and the same reason you're a father right now after her going through the most painful process in an ICU on that dead or alive hospital bed _ the very process that resulted still from your carelessness!"
Mother couldn't tolerate her son's indiscipline; the thoughtless of such childish insults on her daughter-in-law.
Too improbable for Ishtar to believe, "how life can drastically change so unfairly like this in a blink of an eye!"
Ishtar was drawning in a heap of thoughts and tears kept streaming down her cheeks.
And as for Nadia Browne the heavy slap that landed on Bob Lee's jaw got her so scared that she nearly turned to take off, finding the same route that brought her upstairs.
"So this is it!" Bob Lee smiled indifferently, remorseful about the heavy slap as he kept on scrunching his smacked cheek.
"You've never hit me before mom," in a very calm voice he said, "anyways, as we take our oath at the altar, that's 12:30 Wednesday, we expect you to show up. I'm taking my leave right now from this embarrassment you've deliberately subjected me to this afternoon _ see you in the town church on Wednesday."
But mother was not at all ready to carry another guilt of punishing her son, as her son wanted her to feel.
"To tell you the truth son, I am not in support of your marriage," firmly, she poured soil on Bob Lee's request and turned to walk away, out of their sight and the shameful decisions.
Loudly, "I'm so serious mom, whether you bless us or not, I'm marrying Nadia Browne," words of determination from her son's mouth escorted as she was walking away.
Mother turned and refuted, "You think this is Africa where you can marry as many wives as you need and no body has a problem with it?"
"Divorce papers are already in my car Ishtar, you must sign them today," Bob Lee turned and gave a furious burst of flame to his wife, ignoring his mother.
W What?!" Ishtar stuttered in another shock, still with streaming tears on her cheeks.
Still in griefs for loosing one of her twins, this was yet another piercing truth, hard to take, that was striking and thought-provoking, the least thing she could expect to happen to her at this moment.
And just like a juvenile, she whined, calling upon her mother-in-law in depths of despare to help.
"Mother, please say something, he can't do that to me!" Ishtar whined more and more.
However, her mother-in-law was also thunder struck, shocked by her son's sudden move, a thing that couldn't cross her mind among all the reckless decisions she expected him to be doing. With rage in mother's eyes, she looked at both of them standing boldly, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, more so at Nadia Browne.
When Ishtar turned eyes at her husband and Nadia Browne, both of them were attentively watching her like a complicated dramatic TV serie on the screen.
She walked onto Bob Lee nervous and afraid, but boldly.
"Remember this?" She showed him the ring on her finger, painfully, "look at it clearly," she emphasized, "remember when you went down on one of your knees and asked me to accept it! Have you forgotten? Inside that jewelry store _ when every one had their eyes on us? I had refused this ring remember! But you knew how much I was soft in your eyes, always yearning for you _ you saw the fea in my eyes and the disbelief in my gestures on that day... you went ahead to promise me Bob!!! Was you who promised nothing but to love me dearly; everyday!" Ishtar was getting insane at the moment, "I've never at any time removed this ring off this finger Bob because to me, it was the best gift I've ever received in my entire life _ this ring is a treasure to me."
She loitered in one place, facing her mother-in-law, and then turned to her husband confoundedly.
"I know our good times still have a thick mark on your heart. You can't forget us too easily just like that honey!" Her desparacy was seen and felt by everyone.
It wasn't over yet.
Face covered in dripping sweat and tears, Ishtar laughing indifferently and then bursted out angrily, "Take a good look at me," she pulled up the dress and opened her abdomen for Bob Lee to see the fresh wounds of cesarean section; how she was surgically opened to deliver their babies.
"Look me in the eyes," lowered her voice in a very humble tone and said, "and tell me that I didn't matter at all in your life."
Ishtar, desperately crying and yearning, at a certain point caught Bob Lee's emotions that he began to reflect, somehow getting back to his senses.
His eyes began to dim pitiable. But he gave no response.
She turned to her mother-in-law, grabbed her by the hand as she whined confoundedly, "Mother-in-law, please say something. I don't deserve everything I am experiencing right now... my life is meaningless if I don't have my husband with me..."
The only one she had in this trying time, to at least defend her rights as a married woman.
"I don't want it to sound like I'm cursing both of you. But remember, what goes around will always come back around," mother warned her son and Nadia Browne and then turns to talk to Ishtar who was all drowned in heartbreak tears.
"My daughter-in-law, we as parents only give birth to bodies and the universe prepares the souls. Just hung in there _ cry if it will relieve part of your pain _ I'm here to take good care of you."
Ishtar's Mother-in-law's words were too emotional for her to handle.
"I can't withstand this pain mother."
Heart broken in disbelief, a mixture of tears and sweat was the identity on Ishtar's face.
Will she sign the divorce papers?