“But you know, Dela, it’s really interesting how this program has opened my eyes to so many perspectives and issues I never even considered before.”

“Oh, really. Like what?”

“Well, for starters, in the past few weeks, we’ve been delving into the intersectionality of gender and conflict resolution. And babe, it’s really fascinating how factors like race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status can influence the dynamics of peace and security efforts on a global scale.”

“Oh, wow. That’s interesting. Tell me more.”

Deladem might have had his eyes on the road, but his ears were fully fixed on Olivia’s voice as she filled him in on what she had learnt the past week in her Master’s program. There was nothing more enjoyable than watching his beloved girlfriend speak passionately about all she was learning; it was obvious how much she enjoyed the course and was looking forward to leveraging it in the near future.

As they spent that Saturday afternoon on the road to Estella’s house, it was just another day where boyfriend and girlfriend shared a moment of intimacy.

“So yeah, it’s slightly better than before, but as far as including women in peace negotiations is concerned, the world still has quite a long way to go.”

Deladem nodded. “Yeah. You’d think we’re in the 2020s and things should be far better, but chale, certain archaic mindsets remain entrenched in so many parts of the world. It’s crazy.”

“Very crazy,” Olivia agreed. “But well, we keep doing what we’ve got to do. Anyways, how’s Delasi doing? You mentioned she’s supposed to be starting her leave next week, right?”

Deladem nodded curtly, his response lacking any kind of enthusiasm. “Yeah, she did. She’s doing well, thankfully.”

Olivia sensed his guardedness at the mention of her name. There it was; that attitude of stiffness whenever his own sister’s name was mentioned. She decided to gently push a little further. “Is everything okay between you two still?”

Deladem’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, but forced a smile in an attempt to hide his discomfort. “Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. All good, chale. We’re just really busy, you know. Them things some.”

Olivia raised an eyebrow, unconvinced by his deflection. “You can tell me if something’s bothering you. I’m here to listen.”

Deladem sighed, briefly glancing at Olivia before returning his focus to the road. “I appreciate that, but honestly, there’s nothing worth worrying about. Everything is fine. Like I said, I’m not still peeved with her. I let it go a long time ago.”

Olivia nodded. As she anticipated, he’d still resist any suggestion that he was still peeved with Delasi, even though his body language told an entirely different story. With her sisters’ advice in mind, though, she recognized that pushing further might only cause more tension, so the plan was to relent for now. She shrugged. “Alright, if you say so. Just know that I’m here for you if you ever want to talk about anything.”

Deladem stared at her briefly and shook his head and smirked, just as they were a few metres away from Estella’s home. “Sure, sure. I know. Don’t worry.”

A minute or two later, and Deladem’s Corolla pulled up to the house. As they stepped out of the car, they were greeted with the sight of little Lee, Estella’s three-year-old son, who standing by the front door with his tiny hands waving at them.

“Auntie Olivia! Uncle Dela!”

“Hey Leeeeeeeeee!” Olivia gushed excitedly, walking over to embrace her nephew, eyes lit up with joy at the sight of his beloved aunt and her boyfriend. “Awwww, baby boy, I’ve missed youuuuuu!”

The little boy giggled as he hugged his auntie back. Then he suddenly pointed to the front door with a determined expression on his face. “Open door!” he demanded in his adorable toddler voice.

Olivia had a raised eyebrow. “Ei, young man, open door as in I should open the door, or that it’s my year of open doors? Coz me, if it’s the latter, I need God to open some doors in my life ooo!”

Deladem, standing nearby, rolled his eyes and did a facepalm.

This girlfriend of his could never resist the chance to be silly, could she?

“Herh! Young lady! Will you open the door for him and stop being silly over there!”

Olivia snickered as Estella’s voice rang from inside the house. “Wow, sis, wow. That’s how you’re talking to visitors? My goodness, Estella, I am terribly disappointed…”

“My friend, my friend, the only visitor here is Dela! Open the door and stop your nonsense life! Dela, please come in, you’re welcome, okay…”

***

“Absolute bulls**t! Absolute f**king bulls**t! The nerve of him to walk in and behave like we have no right to be angry! What nonsense!”

If Amankwaah thought that a couple of weeks would have been enough to get his sister to cool down, he was seriously wrong.

After that disasterclass of a reunion, he had decided to give Becky some space. Knowing how angry she already was, he didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that their father’s despicable defence would marinate in her spirit for a while, and that she would pop off at him if he attempted to engage her. Hopefully she’d be in a slightly better mood after a while.

Oh, how mistaken he was!

Becky’s rage had not lessened in any way, and from the moment he entered the house, the dark shades on her face made that perfectly clear. Her immediate reference to their father had not helped, either.

“I hope that man didn’t send you to come and see me.”

Of course, he hadn’t; Amankwaah simply wanted to see his sister. But, she went off on a tangent, and it was hard to calm her down.

“Just imagine! You have the f**king nerve to tell me that men aren’t built to stay with their families when the going gets tough. Such rubbish! So as for people like Clarence’s father who stuck by his mother through her sickness di33, he’s a hermaphrodite or a transgender? Kwasiasem aa kwakwa!”

Amankwaah winced. Trying to dodge that pop off had certainly not been successful.

“Becky, please, I know you’re still upset, but I beg, calm down,” he pleaded.

Becky shot him a dirty look. “Calm down for what? Anaa you didn’t hear that nonsensical gibberish he spewed on that day?”

“Becky, I did, obviously, I did. But please, I beg you…”

“Beg me that what? That it’s not right or what? Look, the last thing I want to hear is that foolish talk about how you must honour your father no matter what. I don’t want to hear that bulls**t. Everyday, this our culture makes the offended people the bad ones for not sweeping everything under the rug. No accountability for the offenders! Every time, we should just forgive and forget and pretend they’ve done nothing wrong. Please! Please and please again! I don’t want to hear that.”

Amankwaah shook his head. “That’s not what I was going to say…”

“Then what were you going to say? Huh? After convincing me to come and hear such rubbish from that pathetic excuse of a father, what were you going to say? See, you ankasa, I’m trying hard to understand you. Is it a man’s thing or what, because the way you seem to be at his beck and call, defending him at every turn…”

“Becky, I’m not defending him…”

“… like, I really don’t understand…”

“Becky, just listen to me…”

“… what has this man said that you’ve welcomed him back like this…”

“BECKY! ENOUGH ALREADY!”

Becky went silent. Amankwaah did not often yell at her like this. The direction of her rant had certainly struck a nerve.

Standing in a bristled stance, Amankwaah stared her down, staying silent for a few minutes before taking a seat in the couch. He looked up at her, took a deep breath, then opened his mouth.

“Becky, I know you’re angry. I know you are. And I get it, of course I do. You know we’ve been through all this BS together, along with Arabee and Owusuaa. I know it all. But your anger gets the best of you sometimes. Calm down! I know how you can get when you are so overtaken by anger, that’s why I tell you to calm down. It has nothing to do with ‘honour thy father’ matters, not at all.

“And besides, you think I enjoy having him around? The only reason I do all these things for him is because I’ve got Cindy and our pastor constantly telling me to just treat him well because he’s our father and he’s ill. Becky, you have no idea how much I’m holding in. Every time I have to deal with that man, do you know the kind of hurt I have to swallow up? Every time I deal with him and he rattles off that nonsense as if I should understand him, you think it’s easy for me? Especially when I can’t talk about it with my own wife, because she’ll just tell me to endure and that God sees my heart and will reward me? Becky, I’m going through a lot! If you didn’t know, I’m telling you now, I’m going through a lot!”

Becky’s hot head had cooled drastically. She looked forlornly at him, realizing for the first time in a long time how stressed and unhappy Amankwaah looked.

“Becky, there’s nobody I can properly vent to. But I’m still hurting! I’m the one who held the phone and listened to him when he said he can’t be held down. I’m the one who, despite everything, still tried to reach out to him when I was getting married, and got ignored. This man neglected me too. And I haven’t forgotten that. I’ve been hurt, too, and I still am to this point. You think it’s easy doing all this for him, only for him to behave as if it’s my obligation to do so, and he owes me no thanks whatsoever? You think I don’t get pissed and frustrated whenever he talks to me as if my hurt at his actions are invalid? I do, sis, I do! My emotions are a mess, thanks to this man! An absolute mess!

“But nobody wants to acknowledge that. Because I’m a man and I’m the firstborn. And a Christian on top of that. So I have to suck it up and just move on. Forget about all the pain this man has caused me and just be nice to him. Now I don’t open up to Cindy about it. I can’t even be vulnerable before my own wife, because I’ll be shushed with how God doesn’t bless bitter hearts. I’m going through a lot, Becky. And I only wanted to come here and be open with you, but you just continue to rage about at me as if I’m him. I’m tired, Becky. I’m really tired…”

He ended his monologue with a sigh, then leaned back.

As he finished speaking, Becky felt a lump form in her throat.

He was right; she had been so wrapped up in her own frustrations and anger that she hadn’t fully comprehended the depth of her brother’s pain. She watched as tears welled up in his eyes, mirroring her own emotions. Seeing him vulnerable like this shattered her defenses, and she realized how much he had been hurting all this time.

Memories of him unable to hold himself together at their mother’s funeral came to mind. The sheer anger and frustration he had let out the Sunday after his wedding at how Mr. Victor aired him totally.

He was right. He truly was in a lot of pain. And it was even more surprising to know that he couldn’t fully confide in his own wife.

Without a word, Becky moved closer to Amankwaah on the couch, her own tears now streaming down her cheeks. She reached out and gently took his hand as she sat next to him.

“Amankwaah, I… I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper. “I… I didn’t realize all this. I’ve been so caught up in my own anger that I failed to see how much you’ve been hurting. I should have been there for you. I didn’t know you were going through all this, honestly… I’m so sorry…”

Amankwaah shook his head. “Yeah, I just didn’t want to share it with anyone until now. I’ve just held it all in, thinking I’ll get through it. But it’s hard. Nobody understands me or wants to understand me. You’re the only one I can turn to. You can understand how I feel, how… I just want that man to understand how badly he messed up. I just want to be free of all this. But… I… I don’t know, I just don’t know…”

Becky nodded, her throat tight with emotion. She understood him perfectly.

What had been done had been done. Inasmuch as they despised the man for how his selfishness had torn the family apart, they couldn’t do anything else about it. But some level of accountability would be a salve of sorts; it would be soothing to their embittered hearts if Mr. Victor Owusu-Bempong simply acknowledged he had done the wrong thing and left a trail of broken hearts. Because the more he doubled down and acted like he was blameless, the more difficult it became to uproot these roots of bitterness.

She leaned in, wrapping her arms around her brother in a tight embrace. Amankwaah hesitated for a moment before returning the embrace, holding onto her as if she were his lifeline.

And for a while, they simply sat there in silence, holding onto each other, sharing their pain and offering silent comfort. In that moment, they both realized that they didn’t have to face their struggles alone.

They had each other.

And that was enough comfort for that moment.

Hmmm, it’s tough for them, isn’t it? If only their father would recognize his folly…