The cloak of darkness

Unmarried

“Good afternoon o!” Mrs Alfred shouted for the umpteenth time and gave the door a tug to see if she could force her way in but the door had been firmly locked and her efforts had been abortive.

She had left the heart of the city that Saturday morning to attend the wedding of a friend’s son in the suburb and she had decided to use the opportunity to check on her son who also resided in that area. She had called earlier to inform him of her intentions but the phone went unanswered and she just found her way there. She had been knocking for what seemed like eternity and would have given up but her gut feeling kept telling her that her son was inside.

Steve and Frank had been childhood friends and they had remained so close since then, doing everything together. They were both working together in the same industrial estate, though for different companies, and they lived in the same house.

It was a beautiful bungalow with a nice exterior and it was standing alone towards the end of the big compound. The compound had about six other bungalows that were individually constructed and carefully fenced with wire to mark out each person’s space to avoid unnecessary rift. Steve and Frank had moved to that house to escape the scrutiny eyes of their parents and they specifically chose the building standing alone and facing the back as against others that were facing the gate, to make sure none of their neighbours got into their business.

Frank heard the knock on the door more clearly that time than the first time when he thought he was suffering from hallucination as an effect of the life-threatening beating he had received the previous night. He lazily rolled out of the bed and walked out of his room that was opposite his friend’s and towards the living room where the knock was coming from. He could not hide the displeasure on his face and he matched to the door to give the person a piece of his mind. He and Steve had no relationship with their neighbours and even though they had been living in the house for over five years, they could not even recognise their next door neighbour. They had deliberately avoided any occasion that might make

them relate with their neighbours and the only time they came eye to eye with them was during the monthly meeting with the landlord which they hardly attended.

Frank opened the door with a frown plastered on his face like a second skin and he was surprised at who the intruder was.

Standing outside the door was an elegantly dressed woman who was beautifully dressed in lace and had a wrapper that would definitely had cost a fortune to purchase and her beautiful high-heeled shoes and the number of jewelleries on her neck, hands, fingers and nose made her look like a young woman but a closer look at the wrinkles that were starting to form on her face would give her away and one would be able to tell that she had aged.

Frank recovered from the shock and prostrated to greet his friend’s mother.

“Good morning ma’am,” he said with all the courtesy he could gather and immediately put on a smile.

“Morning ke? By this time?” Mrs Alfred said and walked into the ever messy house her son lived in.

She had lost count of the number of times she had visited her son since he moved out of the family house about five years ago but she could count the number of times she had met the house clean and well-arranged. It was always dirty with used plates littered around and worn clothes thrown carelessly on the floor and wraps of fries, bottles and many other things would graciously decorate the room. Their kitchen was always an eye saw and she could remember running out of the kitchen on a particular day she visited them because of the stench that welcomed her. Their rooms were also no go areas as everywhere

was always littered and unkempt. She had talked them into employing a maid to help out with the chores but they had declined the advice because they wanted their privacy and she wondered what they needed privacy for since they were men.

Frank took a glance at the time and saw that it was some minutes to 4pm and he knew that the beating had made him sleep for that long and then he remembered his bruised face and arm and tried to hide them to avoid answering more questions.

“Sorry ma, I didn’t check the time,” he said and smiled. “You are welcome ma,” he added.

“Where is Steve?” She asked him as she tried to push some clothes off the sofa to afford her enough space to sit and rest her back from the slight ache she was feeling from having knocked at the door for so long.

Frank had no idea whether Steve was still sleeping or he had left the house and he didn’t know how to answer the question.

“Let me check his room,” he said and dashed off before she would say any other thing.

The walk from the living room to Steve’s room seemed longer than it ought to and Frank bumped into everything on his way. He quietly entered the room and an air of relief blew on him as he let out a sigh.

Steve was quietly sleeping on the bed and a look at his calm face would melt anyone’s heart as he looked like a perfect gentleman that he was not and Frank smiled at his own thoughts. He gave Steve a gentle tap and watched him roll to the other side of the bed without opening his eyes. Frank climbed the bed and gave his friend a big slap on his bare

back and that sent him off the bed and Frank had fun watching his friend get mad at him.

Angry would be a mild way to describe Steve’s mood at that time. He was furious and in rage and he didn’t spare Frank from receiving a big blow as pay back for aborting his sleep aggressively.

“I should also give you a blow for how your mom aborted my sleep,” Frank said as he sat on the floor nursing his shoulder where the blow had landed.

“What the hell are you saying?” Steve asked with anger still layered in his voice.

“Your mom is here, man,” Frank said and watched his friend jerking and stiffening up.

“Are you kidding me?” He asked and gave Frank a stern look to read the expression on his face and see whether he was serious or was playing games with him.

“I wish I was,” Frank said and Steve could see that he was serious. He went over to the big mirror in his room to see his reflection and he knew his mom would have a heart attack if she should see the bruises on his face but he had no way to conceal them. Those were one of the days he wished he was a woman and would have easily concealed them with heavy make-up or a veil would have done the job. He wore a long-sleeved shirt to cover the wounds on his elbow and hands and he just hoped his mom would not ask too many questions.

“Good morning ma,” he said with courtesy as he made his entry into the living room with Frank following like a fly would follow a man with sores.

“Morning!” His mom repeated and gave him a funny look.

“A lazy man would even greet you ‘good morning’ at 10pm,” his mother added and he knew that she was referring to the disgusting state of their apartment.

“What can I offer you ma?” He asked with a smile to make his mom wipe off the irritation on her face.

He was her only son and his mom had a special fondness for him which made it impossible for her to stay mad at him for too long and with just a smile from him, she would forget all her anger and fall for his charm.

It was not only his mom that do fall for his smiling face as he had used that same tactic to capture many girls that would just start smiling at him sheepishly once he captivated them with his killer smile.

“If you have any clean cup, then get me a cup of water,” she replied with a frown and Steve knew that his charm did not work that time which meant that she was extremely furious at him.

And he also felt the blow of her statement as an insult on their personalities and he gave Frank a knowing look but the latter, who was seated at the dining table, did not seem to care about their ruined reputation.

After exchanging pleasantries and catching up on old times, he asked his mom why she was in their area and once she started, he immediately regretted his actions and wished he had never asked.

“You will not believe who just got married today,” she started and Frank wished he could walk away but it was too late and he knew the conversation can never end in their favour.

“Who?” Steve asked reluctantly when he noticed his mom’s gaze and he just had to pretend to avoid offending her.

“Samuel,” she said and looked from Steve to Frank to see if either of them remembered the person but their expressions implied they didn’t.

“The son of Mr & Mrs Chuks, our neighbours then at the estate. The one you used to teach how to ride a bike,” she said with so much enthusiasm and the men had no choice but to remember the said Samuel.

“He is five years younger than both of you and he has settled down,” she continued and Steve knew that that was where the conversation would head.

“You need to see how happy Mrs Chuks was and she even asked after you but what can l tell her? That my son is still busy sampling all the women available in the market and has not found any one to tie the knot with.”

“You see my children,” she said passionately and turned from Steve to Frank to make sure that she had their rapt attention before continuing. Meanwhile, the men could not wait for the lecture to end as they were not ready to go into the life imprisonment called marriage.

“You need a woman in your life to give your life meaning and direction. Any man that wants to be responsible in this life would definitely have a woman he is accountable to and that woman is not his mother but his wife. You think I didn’t notice the wounds on your faces or because I didn’t talk about it you thought you had successfully concealed it?” She asked, sighed and continued

“If you have a woman and children waiting for you at home then it would be impossible for you to keep late nights or be gallivanting around town like manner less children.”

“Look at your apartment looking like the pen of a pig. If you have a wife to help you clean up after you then your house would always be a nice place to come into.”

“You are both gainfully employed and I don’t know why you would still want to remain unmarried at 35,” she said and broke into tears.