Episode 14

Jordanna prepared the guest room for Deji and took his things there. She took her time to show him where to find things around the house and made him feel at home.

The next morning she had to leave for work early, she was a personal support worker, she worked in an old people's home and usually worked either morning, afternoon, evening or night shifts. Today, she was scheduled to work the morning shift and was rushing to catch the bus to the underground station but before leaving the house, she made sure to make some breakfast for Deji and leave it on the dining table with a note.

Deji was surprised to find breakfast on the table when he woke up, he was even more surprised to find that the breakfast was for him. He had not woken up to any breakfast in all his years of being married to Ama. Ama hated to cook so most times, he found himself doing the cooking. She also didn't consent to them getting a housemaid as she was uncomfortable with the idea. Most times she would buy take away meals or order bulk meals from a caterer and microwave it throughout the week. Little wonder it felt like such a big deal to him that breakfast was on the table waiting.

Within a week, Jordanna helped him get a referral for a work-from-home customer service job from one of her friends and in less than a month, he was hired and began working. The job was minimum wage but it was better than nothing, especially because all he had to do was work from the comfort of his home. It was a far cry from the heights he had attained in his career back home but it was definitely better than being jobless. He had begun to start experiencing symptoms of computer vision syndrome only a few weeks into starting the job because it entailed him spending hours in front of his computer screen without taking enough breaks.

Computer vision syndrome describes eye problems caused by the use of computers. It includes eye strain, dryness and discomfort and can affect both adults and kids alike. When we use computers, tablets or phones, our eyes have to focus and refocus when we are reading from the screens of these devices, this requires a lot of effort from the eye muscles. Prolonged use of these eye muscles will eventually lead to eye strain and discomfort. Furthermore, when we are focusing on the screen of computers and other similar devices, we tend to blink far less than we would normally do, this causes dry eyes and blurry vision. You can prevent computer vision syndrome by taking regular breaks from the screen, you can do this by looking away from the screen every 20 minutes for about 20 seconds. Reducing the brightness of the screen and adjusting font sizes where possible also helps.

Over time, Deji got to know Jordanna better and they got along really well, she was sweet, kindhearted and very supportive. She was also homely and unlike Ama, she wasn't selfish. He found out that she was single too, she had been taking a break from relationships as she had recently come out of a really bad relationship only a few months back. Once in a while, Deji could not help but notice how beautiful she was. Sometimes, he would feel himself getting attracted to her or get caught up admiring her beauty, but almost immediately, he would catch a glimpse of the ring on his finger which served as a reminder of his wedding vows and immediately snap out of any thoughts or feelings he was developing for Jordanna.

It was difficult for him not to develop any feelings for her, first of all, she was like the perfect woman and secondly he was practically stuck at home with her the whole day. The other day, she was watching a movie and Deji joined her. It was a great movie, they both laughed and got so comfortable with each other that somehow he found his arms around her while she found her head on his chest. They both didn't even realise their comfy position until the movie was over. Immediately after, Deji came back to reality and suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt, he somehow felt like he was cheating on his wife by being happy with another woman as he had never cheated on Ama. He immediately withdrew his arms from around Jordanna as she lifted her head gently, it felt awkward for him.

It had been at least 2 months since he started squatting at Jordanna's place and not once had Ama bothered to call him or look for him. They never bumped into each other because he hardly left the apartment because he worked from home. He missed his children badly and longed to see them. One day he decided to pay them a visit just to see their faces, he tried using the regular code to unlock the door but Ama had changed it as expected, so he knocked.

When she finally opened the door and saw it was him, she attempted to slam the door shut in his face but Deji had anticipated that move, so he pushed back immediately to let himself in.

"What do you want?" Ama shouted, "you abandoned us so why are you here?" , "I'm not here to see you, I'm only here to see my kids. And in case you've forgotten, you made it clear that I wasn't welcome here when you called the police on me and tried to frame me for a crime that I did not commit" Deji replied walking towards the kids' room. "Daddy, Daddy" they both shouted, running towards him and hugging him when they saw him.

"Common will you get back!" Ama shouted, pulling them away, "go back to bed" she said, shoving them back to bed, "I want to see Daddy" their daughter shouted, crying, "you can't" Ama responded sternly as she attempted to push Deji out of the room. Deji resisted her and refused to move an inch. "If you don't leave, I will call the police " Ama threatened, "of course! Go ahead and call them, it's what you know how to do best" Deji replied, sounding pissed, he did not want to risk getting caught up in another police mess, so he blew his kids a kiss and left the room.

"You have really crossed the line this time" he said looking sternly at Ama, "the next time you see me here, it will be to take my kids" he hissed as he walked out with Ama cursing behind him.

Ama saw him walk towards an apartment a few doors from her and ring the bell, she stood and watched curiously as Jordanna opened the door to let him in and closed the door behind them.

"Oh I see!" She thought nodding her head, "so this good for nothing idiot has been cheating on me all this time" she said to herself closing the door behind her. "I know what to do," she thought.

That night she barely slept, she stayed up all night, thinking of what to do to teach Deji and Jordanna a lesson. Every time she heard the sound of a door opening in the hallway she would open her door to peep and see if it was Deji or Jordanna coming out.

Finally, very early in the morning when she heard a door open, it was Jordanna stepping out to go to work. She immediately jumped out and ran to her pulling her clothes from behind. "So you're the prostitute sleeping with my husband right?" She said pulling a shocked and confused Jordanna to the ground and pouncing on her, "by the time I am done with you, you will never sleep with another woman's husband again" she said strangling Jordanna with one hand and dealing her several punches.