The Valentine day divorce (Part 5)

By Chinyere Obi-Obasi

The Petitioner walked out of the court and waited for her lawyer. This was the third she hired since the idea of suing for divorce occurred to her.

The first one tried to talk to her about forgiveness after she laid her case bare to him. The next time they had appointment she did not show up.

The second lawyer was slow. He waited till almost one month to file a matter. Of course when he told her he was ready to file the action on her behalf she told him she was not ready.

As soon as she interacted with this particular counsel she knew he was the right man to represent her. He did not preach to her. He was not judgemental. He was not slow. He knew the law. He did not give her false hopes of when and how the matter was going to end. He did his work as professionally as possible! That suited her.

Her lawyer joined her outside and for the first time he apologized for the way the proceedings went. ‘Madam, I am sorry about all these. I want to understand what the judge is doing. Sometimes as a judge you want to be able to sleep soundly knowing you did your best trying to reconcile a problem. He doesn’t want to be the one putting asunder. Personally, I have never thought that it is the judges and lawyers that are putting asunder what God has joined together. It is either one of the parties or both of them that put asunder their marriage by their own actions. Madam am I right?’

Of course. If my soon to be ex-husband did not abandon me with the children for 5 long years, we will not be in court today.

Well my take as a lawyer is, I take instructions from my clients about what they want. For you ma’am at any point in time you are free to change whatever earlier instructions you have given me.

Thank you very much Mr Salami. I thank you for your efforts so far. What do I do now?

’It is almost 1pm, he said after looking at his watch. I think you can hang around somewhere around or better still sit in your car while I go to do some one or two things in the bailiff section for another case.

The idea of her car sounded nice. She was in the car with her head on the steering when she jacked up from her sleep. She perceived a very powerful perfume; one she got used to for many years. Her husband loved it and she made sure he never lacked it. She remembered the last time she travelled to Dubai, one of the presents she got for him was the biggest bottle of the perfume. She jerked her head up from her nap and behold it was her husband.

She made to ask him why he as disturbing her sleep when he said, ‘you have never looked more ravishing than now.’

She instinctively adjusted her turban and retorted, ‘maybe you thought when you left that my life would have crumbled. Thank God that it did not. Yes God has been so good to me.’

‘Then allow that God to minister to you,’ he said staring into her eyes.’

She looked into his eyes and retorted, ‘Angel Gabriel must have told you that it is devil that has been ministering to me.’

‘You are too beautiful to have anything to do with the devil, he said softly.

She almost smiled. He was always that man that didn’t take anything serious. She remember how she told him the boss said she was disappointed in her and without hesitation he said, and who on earth appointed her’ They had both laughed at the off-handed statement.

’I have been sitting over there watching you to make sure no miscreant came near you,’ he said to her.

She let out a cynical laugh, ‘my super hero that is exactly how you have been watching over us these 5 years. Please leave my  door. It is almost 3pm.