home. I forgot to give him a call, and he called,
and I was like, oh sorry sweetie I had to rush
home. I just caught up with one of the buses,
and I’m heading home. Then he asks me, what
are you cooking for dinner tonight? A question
that he never asks me. I told him, I am cooking
rice and beans and he tells me to prepare Ugali
and fried meat (that’s one of our type of food
here). So, I told him, no problem, I am going to
do exactly that. So, I rushed to go and prepare
everything and then he comes from work.
Suddenly someone banged the door. In Kenya,
we have policemen who go to ransack houses,
and they would bang the door. And I thought,
oh, are there houses that are being ransacked
today? When I peeped through the living room
door, I found it was my husband. I was
worried, why is this man doing this today? I
took the keys and opened the gate for him. He
came in, and he didn’t want to talk to anyone.
My children came to receive him at the door
the way they were used to coming to receive
DOZ Magazine | April 2020
him. He told my children; can you go back to
your mother? And my children were so sad;
they had never seen their dad in this mood.
And you know, in the African culture we are
always told the way to a man’s heart is through
his stomach. So, I went to the kitchen, warmed
his food, served his food, and brought it to the
dining table and went to call him. And to my
surprise, he tells me, I don’t want your food. I
am so shocked, and I am asking myself, how
does he afford to say that he doesn’t want my
food, yet he is the one who asked for this meal?
I was not preparing this meal. My husband
leaves the bedroom; I am helping my house
girl to fold the clothes that she has ironed. So,
my house girl tells me, mama Praise, I have
seen baba Praise pick all the keys, can you look
and see? And you know women, when we love,
we love with all our heart, mind, and soul. I
asked my house girl, what is wrong? This is his
house; he can do whatever he feels like doing.
There is no harm with him carrying the keys.
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