It was morning. A beautiful Wednesday morning.

To the outside world, at least.

In the Koomson household, the sunlight may have filtered through the windows, but it was as dark as ever, with anger still brooding over the atmosphere. With Nicky in the main bedroom, and Winnie in the guest room, both parties woke up still nursing the antagonism in their hearts toward each other.

As usual, they went about preparing for work, actively avoiding each other as much as they could. Nobody wanted to see the other’s face, especially after last night’s new fight episode.

Successfully dressed up and ready for another day at the office, Nicky was ready to go. Finishing his cup of coffee, he absentmindedly placed the empty cup on the dining table before heading towards the door.

Winnie, who had just stepped into the dining room, flared up at the sight of the cup left behind. Stopping in her tracks, her jaw tightened as she growled at the departing Nicky.

“Seriously, Nicky? You can’t even be bothered to take your empty cup to the sink?”

Nicky waved his hand dismissively. “Massa, massa, I’m in a hurry. I’ll get it later.”

Fuming already, she spat, “Of course, you’ll get it later. Just like everything else around here, you expect someone else to clean up after you!”

Nicky looked back at her, annoyance already written on his face. “Massa, it’s just a cup. Why do you always have to make a big deal out of everything? It’s not this trivial matter you’re coming to use to spark my temper this morning oo!”

“Because it’s indicative of a much larger problem, Nicky! You never take responsibility for your actions, and you certainly don’t consider how they affect anyone else!”

“And you’re never satisfied, Winnie! No matter what I do, it’s never enough for you!”

“Because you never put in the effort, Nicky! You take everything for granted, including our marriage!”

That brooding atmosphere had struck again. The tension between them had not taken long to reach its peak, with both of them glaring furiously at each other.

After a moment or two of silence, Nicky stared her up and down, and scoffed, “I’m leaving. I can’t do this right now.”

Nicky stormed out of the house, slamming the front door behind him. He briskly walked towards his car, muttering under his breath. “Unbelievable. Can’t even have a peaceful morning without that witch looking for a fight.”

He climbed into his car, the engine roaring to life.

Just as he was about to drive away, his phone buzzed with an incoming call. Glancing at the screen, he saw that it was his younger sister, Agyeiwaa.

With a sigh, he answered the call.

“Yes, Agyeiwaa. What’s up?”

Agyeiwaa’s voice was one of concern. “Ei, Nicky, what’s wrong? You sound quite annoyed this early morning.”

Nicky laughed scornfully. “Annoyed? Annoyed, you say? Oh, AJ, annoyed is an understatement. See, I can’t deal with that Winnie woman anymore. It’s like we’re living in different worlds. I’m tired. Every single thing has to turn into a fight for her. I’m tired of this witchcraft! I need to get her out of my life! ASAP!”

Agyeiwaa sighed over the phone. “Nicky, I’ve told you before, you both need to try and communicate better among yourselves. Divorce shouldn’t be the first solution…”

“Easy for you to say, Agyeiwaa. You don’t have to deal with her every day. She’s impossible!” Nicky snapped.

Agyeiwaa calmly responded. “Nicky, look, I know it’s tough, but… I don’t think rushing into a divorce will solve your problems. Haven’t you guys considered counseling?”

“See, see, you people should stop with this counselling nonsense! Ah, this one says counselling, that one says counselling. What is this? Yesterday, I went to see a lawyer to get the divorce done, and he suggested that too. You people should understand that it’s not going to work. We’re too far gone. There’s no hope for this.”

There was silence for a moment on Agyeiwaa’s end. Then she started again. “Nicky, I just want you to think about this carefully. Divorce is a big step, an irreversible one, and I don’t want you to regret it later.”

Nicky rolled his eyes. “I appreciate your concern, Agyeiwaa, but you just don’t understand. It’s over. I’m filing for divorce. That’s it. That’s final.”

Agyeiwaa fell silent again for a moment. Then she softly spoke. “Nicky, you know I’ve tried my best to help both of you, and I’ll continue to do so. But please, just think about it, okay? Take some time. You’re angry, and probably rightly so, but really think about this-“

“I’ve thought about it enough, Agyeiwaa. And I can’t keep living like this. I need to divorce that woman, and I’m going to do it. I’ll talk to you later.”

He ended the call, staring at the screen with scorn. “Think about what?” he muttered. “Do you know how much thinking I’ve been doing before coming to this decision? Were you there with me when I’ve spent nights on my back thinking about this? Please, nobody should disturb me. I’m going to get this divorce done. Period.”

He shook his head and drove away towards work, determined to move forward with his decision.

***

Agyeiwaa sat in her living room, her phone cradled in her hands as she debated whether to make a call that could potentially shake the foundations of their family. The morning sunlight spilled through the curtains, casting a warm glow on the room, but Agyeiwaa felt a heavy sense of responsibility weighing on her.

She had known about Nicky and Winnie’s marital troubles for the past few months through Winnie, and had done her little part in trying to get the two to work on their marriage. None of them seemed willing to budge, however; it was nothing but complaint after complaint about the other. They didn’t seem interested in actually solving their problems, they only wanted to complain about each other as much as possible.

And now that her older brother was talking about contemplating divorce, she was starting to consider a certain option.

One that Nicky had explicitly told her not to think of.

Talk to their parents about it.

“I promised Nicky I wouldn’t do it, but things are getting out of hand,” she whispered to herself, shaking her head. “The way he’s talking about going for a divorce is not good. He too, he won’t make the extra effort.”

She took a deep breath, contemplating the potential reactions if she went ahead with this. She knew that Nicky valued his privacy, and he would not appreciate her involving their parents at all.

However, she also couldn’t bear the thought of things deteriorating further between him and Winnie. They had both indicated by their actions that they weren’t willing to let a trusted, experienced and reliable third party help them out. And considering how their parents had not only been happily married for almost thirty-five years, but were also marriage counsellors at church, this stubborn decision bordered on madness, in her opinion.

A few more moments of contemplation, and Agyeiwaa shook her head.

She was going to do it. It would have been better if one of them had done this, but they were acting too headstrong. And the anger that Nicky would spray her with would be nothing compared to the guilt she’d feel for the rest of her life if she watched this marriage hit the rocks without some level of effort in making things work.

“Mummy and Daddy can help. They’ve been married for so long, and they might have some advice for them,” she said to herself.

With a determined resolve, she took up her phone and dialed her mother’s number.

The phone rang for a few moments before Mrs. Adeline Koomson answered cheerfully. “Hello, Agyeiwaa! How are you, dear?”

Agyeiwaa gulped nervously. “Hi, Mummy. I’m fine, all is well. Um, I need to talk to you about something important.”

Mrs. Koomson’s cheery voice changed to one of concern. “Of course, sweetheart. What’s going on?”

Agyeiwaa hesitated for a moment, grappling what she was about to say. Choosing her words carefully, she began. “Mummy, there’s… there’s been a lot of tension between Nicky and Winnie. They’ve been having problems for a while, and it’s been quite ugly. They had a big fight last night, and Nicky just told me he’s thinking about getting a divorce.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and Agyeiwaa could almost feel her mother’s concern through the phone.

“Jesus! I had no idea things were going bad between them. Why, what happened? How did it start?”

“Hmmm. Mummy, it was about four months ago. Winnie called me, complaining that Nicky has been talking to her roughly of late, and that he’s not been acting his usual self. Nicky too came and said she keeps talking recklessly to him, and since then, the two of them just keep complaining about each other. And the way they’re talking, it’s like they’re not interested in solving their issues. You mention counselling, and they blow up.”

“Ei, are you serious? They don’t want to consider counselling?”

“No ooo, Mummy. I said it this morning, and Nicky wanted to swallow me whole. It’s serious. The way he’s talking, he just wants to get a fast divorce. That’s what pushed me to get in touch with you.”

Mrs. Koomson gasped over. “Ei! How? Hmmm. This is bad. Very bad.”

“Very. And per what I hear from both of them, it’s not like anyone is cheating or is being abusive. It’s just fighting that they are fighting.”

“Hmmm. Thank you for telling me, Agyeiwaa. Your father and I will have to handle this situation as soon as possible.”

Agyeiwaa added apologetically, “I know Nicky will be upset with me for involving you, but I couldn’t stand by and watch everything fall apart.”

“Don’t worry about that. You did the right thing. We’ll find a way to help them. Family has to be there for each other in times of need.” Mrs. Koomson replied reassuringly. “He’ll understand eventually. So don’t worry about that, we’ll handle it.”

“Okay, Mummy. Thank you very much.”

***

Mrs. Adeline Koomson sat in her garden chair outside the elder Koomsons’ house, her thoughts swirling with concern for her son and daughter-in-law. It was only about two years ago that God had brought her joy in the form of seeing her firstborn get married to an absolute queen she adored. To hear that they were on the brink of becoming yet another unpleasant statistic was very worrying.

A few hours had passed after ending the call with Agyeiwaa, and after spending the first two or so praying about the situation, she knew it was time to involve her husband, Mr. Philip Koomson. She picked up her phone and dialed his number, anticipation building as she waited for him to answer.

Mr. Philip answered on the third ring. “Hey, Adeline. What’s up?”

“Hmmm… Philip, we need to talk. It’s about Nicky and Winnie.”

There was a shift in the atmosphere, and Mr. Philip’s tone became serious. “What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

Adeline sighed. “Hmm, apparently, Nicky and Winnie have been having big fights for a while now, and it seems like their marriage is on the rocks. Agyeiwaa just called me to let me know.”

“Oh! Oh no, that’s not good. That’s not good at all. What’s happening?”

“They’ve been having problems for a while now, and Nicky has decided to seek a divorce. Agyeiwaa thinks it’s best if we step in and talk to them.”

“Why, did someone go and cheat or something?”

“No ooo, with what she said, it has nothing to do with that. They just have some arguments all the time, and now they want to split. And can you imagine this, they don’t want to try counselling or anything. Just straight divorce.”

“Ahhh! Are you serious?”

“Oh, Philip! Hmmm… I can’t even understand. After the pre-marital advice and all… they don’t want any help. Just straight ending the marriage. The way it has disturbed me since she told me…”

“Nahh, not possible. This isn’t right. We can’t let them go through this. We have to do something.”

Adeline nodded, a determined look on her face. “Exactly, Philip. I think it’s time for us to put on our counseling caps. We need to talk to Nicky and Winnie, help them find a way to navigate through this difficult time.”

“Absolutely. We’ll do whatever it takes to help them. Let me reach out to Nicky first and see if I can get a way to bring them over so we can talk to them.”

“That’ll be perfect. Thank you, Philip. The way Agyeiwaa described the matter, I can already tell it won’t be easy, but we have to try. You know your son and the way he can get sometimes.”

“Oh, we will, my dear. We certainly will. We’ve done it for so many couples, why not our own flesh and blood? We’re not gonna let them give up on this marriage without a fight. That marriage is God’s will, and we won’t let it crumble without doing our part to rescue it. You can be assured of that.”

Well, let’s hope the senior Koomsons can do something. Might be a bit intrusive on Agyeiwaa’s part, but yeah, this couple needs help…