For good 5 minutes, Mrs. Ada and I starred at her and it soon became dawn to me that she was definitely not a ghost.
“Is this a dream or what? Cynthia is this really you?” I asked as I drew her closer to my chest with my trembling hands. Mrs. Ada directed me back into the living room as I carried Cynthia on my shoulders.
“Lay her on the couch for now while I go get some water.” She said. I did as she told me and as soon as she left for the kitchen, my phone began to ring. I took it out from my pocket and it was Vivian who was calling. I looked down at Cynthia and then back to my cellphone. 6 months into my recovering from the accident, the relationship between Vivian and I started to take a new turn from just our normal doctor and patient thing. I was more thankful to her at the beginning for how well she took care of me but that night after she came over to celebrate my one year out of recovery, things got complicated. Vivian is a beautiful woman with all the curves in the world and I am a man. Sex seems to always complicate things and in our case it was no different. After that night, we woke up and everything changed.
“Victor, is this really you?” Cynthia asked in a whisper. She brought me back to my senses and in that moment, everything was decided. I turned off my phone, laying it carefully back on the floor.
“Yes, it’s me.” I smiled down at her. She looked fine to me except for some few bruises that were on her cheeks. A million questions were running through my head. Just where in the world had she been for the past years? Why did she choose now, today to come back? My chest was hurting seeing that she was in pain. I was about to start beating myself up for the answers when Mrs. Ada appeared back into the room with some hot tea, a bowl of hot water and a towel.
Cynthia moaned quietly in pain as Mrs. Ada laid the hot towel on her cheeks. I was going to begin asking her questions after she finished with her tea but the sad puppy face she gave me reminded me of our old days. Looking at her, everything rushed back in. Every feeling I had been trying to do away with for so long began to bang at my door. I swallowed it all in and allowed her to sleep.
As I watched her sleep, I still couldn’t believe it was her. I raised her blouse up in search of a tattoo she had gotten a few months after we started dating. The letter V was lying underneath her flat tummy and I was sure this was my Cynthia.
The next morning, she was the first to wake up. The first thing she asked about as she made her way into the kitchen was her daughter. There was something seriously awkward about her. The way she walked and seem to always smile just didn’t settle well with me. I felt disconnected with her and there was no rush of emotion in me as I watched her pick iffy up. She looked like my wife, but this was a newer version of her. She wept as her daughter began to cry, not familiar with this strangers touch. She held my hands in hers as she cried some more, saying she had missed Iffy and I.
“Cynthia, we need to talk.” I couldn’t get those words fast enough out of my mouth.
She looked distracted with trying to pet the baby. “Victor, can we do that later, I need to spend time with my child.” She smiled done at Iffy who was still trying to remember who Cynthia was.
I was so irritated as I watched the whole scene play out.
“No, it can’t wait.” She looked up at me as if to second my order. I called for Mrs. Ada to come get iffy as I took Cynthia by the hands into my bedroom.
“Who are you?” I asked furiously. I wasn’t planning to shout at her but I just wasn’t happy for some reason.
She laughed, repeating my question.
“Yes! Who are you?” My palm was sweaty as I began to scratch my head looking for how to handle the situation. “Why come back now, after 2 years? Why are you doing this to me?” I began to scream at her. “The hospital said you were dead!” She didn’t know what seeing her again did to me after I had thought she had died. I couldn’t sleep that night she showed up; I was excited, and confused at the same time.
“Victor, are you out of your mind!” she yelled. “How dare you ask me such questions? Who are you to tell me not to come back to my husband and my child?” but something in her voice just wasn’t convincing enough.
“Victor, I missed you… ” She continued. “I have been through hell and back just to come back to you, please don’t turn me away. We can make this work; I am still your wife in every way victor.” If only she knew those 2 years was a pretty long time for everything to change.
“I don’t remember anything that happened the night of the accident just that when I opened my eyes, I was somewhere in a place I didn’t recognize. Some people who had heard me screaming your name came to my rescue. I was in their care for some time until I decided to find my way home again. The journey wasn’t easy,” she pointed to her cheeks. “but I made it home.”
She moved closer to me, playing with my emotions. She tip toed to match my height as she drew me in for a kiss. Yes, my Cynthia was a woman with great passion and in no time, she soon proved herself to be my wife. I fell for it, she has always had her way with me and never once could I deny her of what she wanted. I soon realized just how much I had missed her.
We were getting ourselves back in order when I heard the doorbell ring. I hurriedly put on my trousers and rushed to see who was at the door. Cursing as I opened the door, I wasn’t surprised when a worried Vivian barged in.
“Oh my god! What happened to you last night? I waited and waited, not counting the number of times I called your cell phone without any answer from you.”
I had already been dreading this moment and decided to stick to my first plan. Lie to her to get her away from the house then later I would meet her somewhere and explain our current situation to her. When Cynthia called out my name from our bedroom, I knew I was finished.
