The Lady who refused to bow
After those remarks Joe had called for the bill and paid. He got up after giving the waiter a handsome tip and then helped Sandra to her feet as he led the way out.
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As they left the restaurant he told her that he had to see one of his clients whose case was due for hearing in court the following day. So driving in complete silence he had dropped her off at her flat without a word and the cold war had continued in earnest after that.
The minister’s thanksgiving party had been just what she needed to bridge the gap that had been widening between them those few months, she had reasoned when she received the invitation.
The new Minister for Local Authority was a friend to both Joe and Sandra and he had invited them to his thanksgiving party after being sworn into office.
Sandra was exhilarated when she received the invitation. She had taken the trouble to dress to please Joe. However, Joe as usual said he had to see a client before arriving at the party so she could take the lead and that they would meet at the venue later. She had noticed earlier that Joe was regularly seeing one client or the other anytime they needed to spend time together and whenever she called at his house the answering machine was always on so she could not reach him on phone.
She suspected that he was having an affair but since she could not be absolutely sure and could not prove anything, she had kept quiet about her suspicion. She knew she was losing Joe like several others before him and she was worried. He was so far the first to have taken a bottle of schnapps to her parents to express his serious interest in her, but that was not marriage, she had reasoned and explained to Joe who had been displeased with her stance.
The sound of shattering glass brought Sandra out of her reverie. She got up and mechanically swept the pieces of broken glass and then picked her tooth brush and again mechanically brushed her teeth.
She decided to have a cold shower although the morning was still chilly and the clouds were dark, threatening a heavy downpour later in the day. The cold water bit her skin and she gasped as the water run down her smooth dark skin.
She decided to have a cold shower although the morning was still chilly and the clouds were dark, threatening a heavy downpour later in the day. The cold water bit her skin and she gasped as the water run down her smooth dark skin.
The cold water somehow invigorated her and encouraged by that she decided to shampoo her hair and give herself a thorough scrubbing too, if for nothing at all, at least physically wash away all the betrayal, pain and hurt of the previous months.
It was when she stepped out of the bath that her phone beeped to remind her that it was August 16, Belinda, her big sister’s wedding anniversary. She looked at her phone for a long time wondering what she should do. She was not in the mood to chat with her sister but she knew that she had to pull herself together and call her.
After several minutes hesitation she finally dialed her sister’s number and wished her the happiness which she knew may never be hers.
As Belinda, who was bubbling with excitement, came on the line, Sandra, overwhelmed by a cocktail of emotions, burst into uncontrollable tears.
She wished herself to stop the flood but the burst dam could simply not be stemmed by an act of her will as she discovered.
“What’s wrong with my darling sister?” Belinda asked with concern. ”Now come on, girl, you don’t tell me that you are shedding tears of joy! Those tears are not a celebration of big sister’s wedding anniversary, are they?”
After a while Sandra found her voice and apologised. But Belinda insisted on getting to the bottom of the problem so she narrated in the best way she could manage, her bitter story.
“Sis, Joe has left me,” Sandra began.
“Was it because of the same old story?” Belinda asked.
“Yes, Sister. And could you believe that Joe went in for one of my junior colleagues at Q & R? Sis, how can I face the others? By now, the story might even have gone out already. Oh my God!” Sandra burst into fresh tears. After a while, Belinda got her sister to calm down and then over the phone, she prayed with Sandra asking God to comfort her. Later when Sandra had calmed down, they talked about matters of mutual interest.
To be continued.