If you haven’t read the first part of this story, here’s the link. Kindly read it before starting this one.

I went to bed each night thinking how the next day was going to be like. I was a disturbed man and it showed. It showed in everything—it showed in my attitude, it showed in the way I reasoned, it showed in the way I related to people. I was always thinking about something that was not there. At one point, I decided to call a longtime friend for help. I called. We talked. I told him everything. He said, “Don’t worry. Call me next week same time and I will work something out for you.” The following week, I called. My calls went unanswered. “Maybe he’s busy, let me wait until evening,” I told myself. I called in the evening. I called the next day. He didn’t pick my calls. He didn’t return my calls. I got the message. I stopped calling.

One evening, I saw my wife talking on the phone. She said, “He lost his job last month. He had been trying but nothing works. And you know schools are on a break so I don’t receive a salary.” The voice on the other side said something I didn’t hear. My wife responded, “We need help. Soon I will deliver and I don’t want a situation where we would be stranded, that’s why I’m telling you.” Before she cut the line, she said, “Thank you. I will be waiting.”

I asked, “Who were you talking to?” She sighed. I asked again, “Was that your mother?” She said, “Since you don’t want me to tell her anything, I decided to speak to my father.” I asked, “So what did he say?” She answered, “He said he’ll send me something tomorrow.” Not too long afterward, we saw her mother’s call on her phone. My wife said, “I suspect my dad has told her everything that’s why she’s calling.” She picked the call and the first thing her mother said was, “So why haven’t you told me all this while?” My wife said, “We thought we could handle it.” She said, “I will come for you tomorrow. You’re about to deliver and you need able hands to take care of you.”

When the call ended, I told my wife, “That’s a good idea. When you are with her, you’ll be ok. I will come there often to see you.” She said, “What about you?” I said, “I’m a man. I will find a way.” The next day her father called. He said, “You’re not coming here to deliver. Stay with your husband. After delivery, your mother would rather come around. It’s your first child, both of you need that experience.”

One evening in June, my wife said, “I’m not feeling well. My abdomen. The way it’s doing, it feels like the baby is coming.” She couldn’t sit and she couldn’t lie down. She kept walking up and down until I said, “Let’s go to the hospital.” She walked with me to the station and we got a car to the hospital. They took her in immediately and started preparing her for delivery. I called her father, “She’s due. I brought her to the hospital.” He said, “Really? Let me know when she finally delivers.” Minutes later, her mother called her number. I was holding her phone so I answered. “She asked, “I heard your wife is due. Which hospital are you in?” I told her. She said, “I’m coming there very soon.”

She was there right on time. When the nurses presented us with the things to buy, she walked with me to the dispensary and paid for them. My wife delivered a baby boy later that night. When she was discharged, it was her mother who settled the bill for us.

At the hospital, when we were waiting for my wife to deliver, we talked a lot. Surprisingly she was very cordial with me. She asked about the job situation and I told her everything. She asked, “How are your parents taking it? I hope they are not overburdening you in your situation?” I said, “They understand me.” She said, “Good. If there’s something you need, tell us. I know it’s hard but talk to us. You have our daughter so we are one family. Don’t be shy, asked and we’ll be there for you.”

For the next four months, she stayed with us helping with the baby and helping with the finances of the house. I didn’t rest, I kept talking to people I knew could help me get another job. They all made promises but nothing came out of it. One evening I called our senior pastor and told him everything. He was sad for me. He said, “I will be praying for you and talk to people on your behalf. If anything comes out of it, I will call to tell you.”

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We kept living in uncertainties until December thereabout when our pastor called. He said, “Someone wants to help. He said you should call him. Call and let me know what happens.” He gave me the number and I called. The man said, “It’s an estate job, can you handle it?” I said, “Yeah, I can.” He asked, “Have you had a job like that before?” I said, “I was a hotel manager. I supervised room and building maintenance so I believe I can work in an estate firm just fine.” He said, “Send your CV and let’s see.” I sent my CV that very day. I didn’t hear from him again until February this year.

When he called, he said, “I’ve done my part. You’ll get an interview with the HR department. When you impress them, I know you’ll get the job.” I said in my head, “But I thought you were supposed to give me the job?” I prayed about it and that day I sat in front of the interview panel and answered all questions to the best of my knowledge. A week later, I was called, “Congratulations, you had the job.” You should have seen me in the house…I jumped, I fell to the ground, I prayed, and thanked God. My wife simply said, “Things are getting better, we praise God.”

When school reopened, my wife went back to work as if nothing had happened. But through all this I’ve learned one lesson; to improve myself each day through skill learning. When everything came crashing down, if I had any other skill, I could have survived on it. Now, I’m learning other things. My wife has started doing some courses. We’ll be better than this in the near future.

–Arthur    

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