Shocking resolution

“I have something I need to tell you, and I thinks Liz is the only one who knows because of her proximity to the people involved,” she starts. Both Jo and Mariam lean forward. ILLUSTRATION | JOSEPH NGARI

What you need to know:

  • I run my Saturday shopping errands as usual, but the entire time, thoughts of Fatma fill my mind. By the time 3pm rolls around, I am about to burst with anticipation, which is why I am knocking on her door at 2:56pm with a bottle of wine and tub of ice cream.
  • I am impatient but I cannot do anything else but wait. And so it is with much gladness that I hear the doorbell ring a few seconds later. Fatma goes to open the door – halleluiah, both Jo and Mariam are here at the same time. We can now start with the business of getting to the bottom of Fatma’s decision.
  • When a man cheats on you so blatantly, there is nothing else to do but leave him. But rather than open my mouth to protest, I put my glass to it and apply some wine.

It’s been two days since I last heard from Fatma. I have tried calling her but she does not pick up. I have called her office and been informed that she has taken emergency leave. I am at the end of my tether, but I appreciate the fact that she wants some time and silence to work things out.

I am sure that if something happens to her, I will find out. And therefore I wait for her to reach out to me and try, in the meantime, to silence the urge to drive over to her house and check up on her. This is what I would want a good friend to do for me – to leave me alone to sort it all out, I say to myself.

In the meantime, I call Louise daily to find out if everything is going all right on her end; Steve has been to visit every single day, she says. He has helped her get discharged from hospital and made sure that she and her baby Zawadi – as she has finally decided to call her – are home.

He has settled them in and made sure that she has a nanny to help her. I am glad for Louise but every time she tells me about how present Steve has been, my heart aches for Fatma.

Eventually, on Saturday morning, Fatma calls me. “I have really missed you,” I tell her by way of greeting. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“I’ve been all right. Just taking time out to think about my life.”

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

“Yes,” she says. “I am calling to ask if you have time to meet me and the others this afternoon. I want to talk to all of you about my next move.”

I tell her that I am available – even if I wasn’t, I would drop everything for this – and she tells me that the meeting will be at her house at 3pm. I let her know that I will be there on time.

I run my Saturday shopping errands as usual, but the entire time, thoughts of Fatma fill my mind. By the time 3pm rolls around, I am about to burst with anticipation, which is why I am knocking on her door at 2:56pm with a bottle of wine and tub of ice cream in hand just in case it is a critical situation that needs alcohol and sugar intervention.

FATMA'S DECISION

“Where’s everyone else?” I ask as I walk into the living room and note how empty it is. Mariam and Jo are not here yet.

“Steve’s at ‘her’ house-,” Fatma rolls her eyes as she alludes to Louise, “-and the others are still on their way. But it’s fine. This gives you and I the perfect opportunity to have a chat before the rest get here.”

I nod, sit down in a couch and wait for Fatma to finish opening the wine I have brought so that we can have our chat. She emerges from her kitchen with two glasses and hands me one. “So I have decided not to leave him,” she says, after taking a long sip from her glass. I am gobsmacked. I can do nothing but stare at her with my mouth open. When a man cheats on you so blatantly, there is nothing else to do but leave him. But rather than open my mouth to protest, I put my glass to it and apply some wine.

“I know you don’t agree with my approach, but I need you to hear me out,” she says.

I nod. I have to admit that this is Fatma’s life, not mine, and the best I can do is support her through her decisions even if I don’t agree with them, because she is the one who will bear the brunt of it.

“I’ll fill you in when the others get here,” she says.

I am impatient but I cannot do anything else but wait. And so it is with much gladness that I hear the doorbell ring a few seconds later. Fatma goes to open the door – halleluiah, both Jo and Mariam are here at the same time. We can now start with the business of getting to the bottom of Fatma’s decision.

After the welcomes and hellos, Fatma goes off to pour everyone else a glass of wine. Then she comes back into the living room and sits in an armchair.

“I have something I need to tell you, and I thinks Liz is the only one who knows because of her proximity to the people involved,” she starts. Both Jo and Mariam lean forward. “Brace yourselves, this is going to be quite the revelation,” she continues. I sit back and wait for the proceedings to unfold.