The Mistress

driveway two houses before the end of the street. The driver, Gershom lost in his thoughts, did not realize that he was the only house that had no power

d, snoring loudly. She wore a large grey t-shirt, pulled up on one side exposing her large b

oomstick skirt she wore woke her up. It was then that she realized she had fallen asleep while brea

een flashed the name ado

hoping he wouldn’t take long so she could go back to sleep. She had had a long d

at the gate? How long do you expect me to

tail end of his tirade. Expecting her husband to speak to her kindly e

at? Open the gate already.’ He barked

the evening when she had called him at work to find out what time he would be getting home? M

lips against her daughter’s chubby cheeks; however, her voice was laced with sadness. Bertha, their third child was conceived as an act of desperate attemp

oser, only the opposite had happened. The day she had confirmed her pregnan

ir third child. She had wanted to die in shame at that very moment when he had accused her of trying to tie him down while looking at her as

is mind and thoughts were always with his other woman. Whenever he was home, his eyes always glued to the screen of his phone and laptop with a goofy smile on his face, his family became a second priority. Moreover, when

nd him had celebrated the good news, Gershom ha

r kiss on the baby’s cheek, she promised the barely two months old sleeping baby that she would give her, hundred and ten per cent o

d pulled the curtain aside to check the gate. Light seep

rapped it around her waist. She reached for her phone, switc

Gershom, she was not a woman but rather something unsightly and appalling. Compar

year. At first, it had hurt but with time, her skin had thickened and she bore it all with a smile. Even on the days,

hurt aside, she greeted him respectfully a

ed his head out of the window. ‘What took you so long to open the gate

y? Was it not he who came home at witching hours? Who among them had turned the other into a gateman

s to throw the keys to his face and yell at him to open the gate for himself the next time if h

ered if he had fought with his mistress. If so, how long would they be at odds? Should she be glad that at least her children would get to spend

hrough, she pulled the ga

ouse without waiting for her. Feggy was used to this type of tre

and a quick kiss on the forehead or lips, all she got from him were looks of contemp

d walking at the same time as he had just realized with the

ut even as he asked that his eyes had already roved to hi

ng else, she said to herself but di

r making her heartache. Taking a closer look at him, she realized he wasn’t wearing the shirt he had left home with earlier

power? Didn’t we just b

g that the units were not enough to last till the end of the day

e last time that he had bought enough power to last them for the month. He expected the power of fewer than a hundred kwacha to last them for the whole month, forg

you a bath? There is no hot wa

something and we

he had already slipped into the blankets and had turned his back to her his eyes

stfeed her. Baby B sucked hungrily on her mother’s milk. As Feggy breastfeed and sung a lullaby to her daughter, she subtly lifted her head to look over at h

wife’s nagging voice, Gershom had inserted

n causing Gershom’s already sour mood to take a deep dive. Yolanda's coy look as she stared at the young man made Gershom want to snap the neck of the other man. How dare he look at his woman like that.

usy, Gershom’s fingers flew o

- seen.

blue tick

e. Delivere

one. For an hour, he waited for her to pick up his calls. He could see that she was online but she

*