Vote Fancy Goodman Entry #1 Baba Isheri Has Gone Deaf - Like, Share, Follow

When her grandaunt left, she returned to the dining where she had left the plates and began cleaning up. As she carried the plates to the kitchen, her grandaunt Yemi's words echoed in her ears. But she was not a blind wife, and Baba Isheri was definitely not deaf. Although, when she gave it much thought, she concluded that her husband could actually pass for a deaf man since he always fell on deaf ears to all her complaints. When she settled down into the sofa in the living room she turned on the TV, as was her custom every Thursday night, and watched Joyce Meyer preach. Joyce Meyer had been preaching on love and relationships, and just in a moment, she turned to face the camera and as if she spoke to Bimpe directly, she said 'some of you want to be treated right but don't treat other people right. The bible says we should do to others as we want them to do unto us....' She was still talking as the auditorium roared with applause but Bimpe's mind already came to a halt. 

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'Oh my God', she gasped. That hit her hard. She had spent so much time complaining about her unattended needs that she had failed to attend to her husband's needs. She was so focused on the things he should be doing for her, paying no attention to the things she should be doing for him too. A relationship, marriage, in this case, was all about two people, after all.

'I have been so selfish', she whispered to herself. That night, she made up her mind she was going to change things a little. She tried to stay up till Baba Isheri returned, but she found out she was just cheating her body of the sleep it deserved. She could not deny the fact that she was tired and it was already well past 12 midnight. She said a short prayer:

'Lord', she prayed, 'I just discovered that I have been doing it wrong this whole time. I have been such a selfish wife. I just want to be loved but I don't want to give love. I am sorry. From today I promise to be a better wife and to love Baba Isheri the way you love. Please, help me God', she used a hand to wipe a tear from her left eye, 'please'. Before she knew it, she was drifting in and out of sleep.

In the morning she turned to find her husband lying next to her. Finally, it was time to begin executing her plans. She came closer and pecked him on the cheek. 'Good morning love, she said'. Her husband opened one eye, obviously surprised. It had been ages since she showed any form of physical attention to him.

There was no 'why did you come in late?' Or 'you are drifting away from me, baba' from her. No questions or complains at all this morning. Her next question was in fact 'would you prefer bread with eggs or yam with eggs for breakfast?' Bimpe was acting strange, and Baba Isheri could not pretend to not notice.

'Why are you acting so strange?', he asked.

'I'm just being a wife', she let out a laugh.

Baba Isheri arched an eyebrow and let out an unconvincing 'okay'. He was already seated on the bed with his bed against the headboard. When the food was brought into the room, Baba Isheri could not take it any longer.

'What happened to the dining table downstairs? '

'Nothing, why?'

'I'm just wondering when we started eating here in the bedroom'

'Well, a change won't hurt', she replied with a sweet smile.

Baba Isheri could not bring himself to eat the food. He was so convinced that his wife had finally run mad and decided to kill him through the poison she had put in the food.

Baba Isheri complained to Segun, his long time friend when they went out to watch football that evening.

'My wife has finally lost it'.

'What has she done again?', Segun asked laughing. 'Hope she didn't pour too much salt in your food this time ehn?'

'No', Baba Isheri replied, troubled.

'Then what? She hid your phone again?'

'No', he paused to think, then continued, 'this morning she was unusually sweet and calm. She didn't complain or ask questions. There was this soft tone to her voice. She even kissed me before I left for work. I mean, do you know the last time I got a kiss? It's crazy. It's like something has gotten into her'.

Segun raised an eyebrow before commenting. 'Now, that's strange. Maybe someone has finally spoken sense into her.'

'Maybe. Let's wait and see where this leads.'

Bimpe was relentless. She gave her husband a nice meal each night when he came back from work, kissed him goodbye before he left from work in the morning, and sent text messages from time to time to ask him how his day was going. This she did every day for one month.

One Saturday morning, instead of going to work, Baba Isheri decided to stay at home. This was the first time in almost a year that he did this. Bimpe came back from the market and was surprised to still meet him at home when it was already past 11 o' clock.

'Ahn ahn,' she said, 'no work today dear?'

'Can we talk?', her husband asked, ignoring her question. He was obviously nervous. He was still talking, patting the space beside him on the bed, inviting his wife to sit next to him. 'There has been something troubling my mind for quite some time now'.

'Oh', she replied with parted lips and sat down.

After a long silence, Baba Isheri broke the silence. 'What has happened to you? You have changed. You no longer nag or act so grumpy about everything.'

Bimpe smiled. She already knew where this was leading. 'Dear this is the first time we are having a real conversation in months', she chuckled before continuing, 'do you know how happy this makes me feel? I was so tired of the loneliness. You were no longer paying attention to me and the kids, always so busy with work. I wouldn't bore you with that. I'm sure you already know because like you said, I was always nagging. I decided I was going to give yo you what I wanted. If I wanted love and affection, I would have to give you exactly that. It's just how it works dear.'

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'Wow', 

Baba Isheri whispered, breaking away from Bimpe's gaze. He brought his hand up to his head. 'I didn't t mean to hurt you so much Bimpe but I was having a difficult time at work and instead of giving me support and encouragement when I needed it the most, you just kept demanding so much from me. You would complain instead of trying to understand things from my point of view. You would go on and on about how I was a terrible husband and father. So I just stopped listening. I pretended not to care about you or the children anymore when deep down, I really missed you. All of you.  Because my wife didn't give ame companion, I turned to my phone and played games when I was bored. I am sorry'.

'I am sorry too. I can't believe I took things too far by hiding your phone sometimes.'

To lighten the mood, Baba Isheri said 'but who knew all of this would bring out the angel in you'. He winked.

Bimpe laughed and elbowed his arm. 'Not funny, young man'

By now, they were both laughing. Oh, they forgot how good it felt to laugh as a couple. Soon, they were hugging each other warmly and exchanging 'I love you'.

'Can this moment last forever?', asked Bimpe.

'Oh it will', her husband replied pecking her, 'every single day of our lives we would love each other.' After a few seconds of silence, he added 'I promise'.