“Sir, sir, I am saying that, matters like this do not need to come before the court. This is a very sensitive matter, honestly. Matters between families are not matters I like to entertain. There’s no reason why you should bring your daughter to court, Mr. Manu. Honesty speaking, it should not have to come to this. If it’s about her occupying the room, there has to be a better way around this.”
“My lord, as for me, if he wants to bring me to court, it’s okay. He naa, he’ll see what a mistake he’s making…”
“Hey! Why are you interrupting the judge? Will you keep quiet?”
It was one of those dramatic mornings in Sowutuom Circuit Court. All cases that had lawyers on it had been heard, so the remaining cases had self-represented litigants on it. And this one in particular was not pretty at all.
An elderly man had brought his daughter to court seeking an order to eject her from the house. And as he had already stated, Justice Takyi was not enthused about dealing with such a case.
The fact that the young lady seemed to have a sharp tongue, and was all too eager to speak her mind regardless of the authority before her didn’t help matters. Wayne, Elias and Divine were not amused by her rude interruption of Justice Takyi, and sharply called her to order as her father began ranting.
“You see why I’m doing this? Your Honour, you see? This girl does not respect me one bit. A very disrespectful girl. Your Honour, this is why I’ve brought her to court. This is why!”
“Daddy, this is not a criminal matter oo, this is not a criminal matter! They won’t put me in jail for anything…”
“Herh, young lady, will you stop talking like that!” Wayne snapped at her, looking very irritated.
“This is a courtroom, young woman! Stop misbehaving!” Chief Inspector Sowah added.
As the young woman kept quiet, Justice Paul, who simply observed the madness before him critically, cleared his throat, then spoke. “Listen to me. Mr. Manu, I will tell you in plain and simple terms, I am not ready to deal with this case. These days, the courts are encouraging parties to settle where it is possible, by referring them to ADR. So please, that is where I am referring you to, because I do not see any reason why you should drag your daughter to court over a matter that can easily be settled amicably. I don’t. so please, you and your daughter should advise yourselves and settle this issue properly, because it’s not right. It’s not right for a father and daughter to be fighting each other in public like this. It’s not right at all.
“And young woman, listen to me. You had better watch the way you talk to your father. You see how we’re all watching you speak with such cheekiness? It’s a big dent on your reputation. If you don’t know, I’m telling you right now. We’re all watching you, and we are not impressed at all. You should go back and settle this matter well, and when you do, you must apologize to your father. Do you hear me?”
The young lady reluctantly nodded.
“Better. So please, Mr. Manu, I am referring this case to ADR. Do you understand?”
Mr. Manu looked very unsatisfied. “Me, I want to deal with her in court ooo. I don’t want this ADR whatever-“
“Gentleman, you talk like that to me one more time, and I’m going to deal with you drastically!”
The sight of Justice Paul flaring up instantly mellowed him. At that point, he knew he was going too far. He immediately put his hands together. “Yes, my Lord, I’ll do it. I’m sorry, please. I beg you.”
The sight of Justice Paul and the clerks looking very displeased was a very humbling experience.
Justice Paul shook his head, then turned to the book before him and began to write, while Elias, Chief Inspector Sowah and Divine continued to chastise the man for his uncouth remarks.
“The suit is hereby referred to ADR for settlement. Adjourned to 30th November for report to be given on the status of the case. Next case!”
The man opened his mouth to apologize again, but Chief Inspector Sowah gestured at him to move away.
He had done enough damage, he and his daughter. It was time for them to go.
***
“Hmmm. Some of the people that you find in court diɛɛ, havoc nkoaa they bring with them ooo,” Chief Inspector Sowah remarked, standing next to Natalie’s desk with another inspector. Proceedings for the day were done, and the topic around, as one would expect, was the case between father and daughter. Aside the fact that it was quite disgraceful in their sight that such a dispute had to come to court, everyone around was also highly unimpressed with the way the parties kept disrespecting the court with their conduct.
“It’s serious ooo, PW,” Natalie responded, leaning back in her chair. “Ei, see how they were shouting at each other. My Lord was talking, then they too, they’ll be talking. It was how the old man cheekily said he doesn’t want ADR that amazed me. Ei, this man!”
“It was so bad. You can see that really irritated my Lord.”
“Oh yeah, that really spoiled his mood. Hmm. Some people, eh. But these ones are good mpo. Were you around when one lady tried to attack My Lord in chambers?”
The police officers’ eyes bulged at that. “Ei! Seriously?”
“Yes ooo. Err, Divine! Divine! Do you remember that crazy lady, Lawyer Samantha’s client in that matrimonial case?”
Divine, who had made his way over to the desk, nodded his head. “Chale, Officers, it was serious ooo. I dunno what was wrong with the woman, but she was giving some attitude bi from the moment she stepped in. When I went into the chambers with them, I heard her saying to Lawyer Sama that she should tell My Lord not to ask her any questions, coz she won’t answer. Of course, she didn’t mind her. So when they sat down and My Lord did the entries and all that, Lawyer Sama mentioned some few things, then My Lord asked the woman a question. She ignored him, Lawyer Sama hissed at her to stop what she was doing. Then she gave some cheeky ‘No’, and My Lord was like, ‘Madam, please, we’re here to solve this issue. Acting rude to me won’t help you in any way.’
“Guys, before I knew it, this woman jumped to her feet, lunged at My Lord, and tried to grab him by the throat! Like, it was crazy. Lawyer Sama and I had to grab the woman and restrain her. Wayne heard the noise and came in, then went to call Nana Adjei. Chale, it was mad!”
Chief Inspector Sowah looked stunned. “Ei, that’s serious! So she was arrested, right?”
“Sharp, sharp! The way Lawyer Sama was embarrassed eh, she said she wouldn’t help the woman get bail. She was telling us the woman kept calling her to come and help her at the station, she didn’t go. The next day norr, she sent the brief back to the woman via Uber. Chale, crazy people dey this world inside!”
“Hmmmm. Wow. Crazy people ampa. But this family diɛɛ, they are another problem!”
“Seriously! Ah, the way the girl was annoying me, eh…”
As the conversation continued, Natalie noticed her phone screen light up. She quickly picked it up and checked.
A message from Naphtali.
I think we should talk to the counsellor about this. Let’s go see him this Saturday.
She snorted to herself.
The tension between them was yet to ease. While Natalie insisted that the big, lavish wedding was what they deserved, Naphtali remained resolute in his belief that they didn’t have to go that big. Nobody was ready to back down.
His message sounded like a good idea, though, she couldn’t deny. They hadn’t started counselling just yet, but seeing him and getting some help from a man who would most definitely be neutral was a wise choice. Hopefully, once she presented the facts to him, he’d see how unfair Naphtali was acting, and tell the young man to shape up and give her the dream wedding she desired. After all, it’s my day of glory, she reasoned to herself.
She opened the chat and immediately responded: Sure, no problem. Time?
I think 4pm will be good.
Fine. 4 pm it is.
Great.
***
“Here you go, honey,” Wayne said soothingly, opening the bottle of water and putting it to Alayaa’s lips. She had just been struck by a bout of dizziness, and was on the sofa, breathing slowly and trying her best to stay calm. This second trimester was not too stressful, but when it brought up some of these issues, they sure did knock her hard.
She obediently took the bottle and took some gulps before placing it back on the table. “Mmmmm, thanks, Wayne. That really took me out.”
“Don’t worry, you’re fine,” Wayne assured her, rubbing her back gently. “Like you said, you just need some liquids in your system. You’ll be fine.”
She nodded gratefully. “Thanks, honey. At least I’ve made it through the first trimester-“
“Nope, nope. We have made it through the first trimester,” Wayne corrected her. “Remember it’s us together in this. You and me. You might be the one carrying this baby, but you’re not alone. I’m always gonna be around to hold you up until the little one comes out. You are my queen, and I’ll be here for you no matter what.”
Alayaa looked at him, tears standing in her eyes. These words sure knew how to tug her heartstrings and remind her what a brilliant decision it was to say yes to this wonderful man. “Thank you, Wayne. I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. And I can’t wait to start this parenthood thing with you,” Wayne whispered.
She reached over and hugged him. They held each other for a few moments, just enjoying the silence and the knowledge of each other’s presence.
“Oh, by the way, I finally got in touch with a therapist,” Alayaa remarked as she broke away from him. “I gave her a little idea of what is going on with Nii Sodjah and his mother. And she’s ready for whenever they are finally ready.”
“Oh, good, good. Finally! That’s great. So at least there’s something in store for him when he’s finally ready. That’s great. I just hope he comes forward sooner than later.”
“Oh, he will, eventually. The fear is strong at this stage, but he’ll eventually come out of it. He’ll soon see that the silence won’t help. Trust me, he’ll come around soon enough. Let’s just be patient with him.”
Wayne nodded. “Sure. We’ll wait. Now take some more water, okay? I need you as well-hydrated as possible.”
“Yes, my sweetest husband. Sweetest husband in the world.”
***
“Oh really? So you’re not into football?”
Elias shook his head. “Nope. Not even a little bit.”
“Even Black Stars?”
“Even Black Stars. I dunno why, but the sport just doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve tried, but chale, I just don’t like it.”
Akyaa nodded. “I see. It’s always interesting to meet a guy who doesn’t care about football. Coz not too many guys are like that. And most guys too see guys like you as weird, you know.”
Elias shrugged. “Oh, I know. A lot of guys look at me someway when I tell them I don’t like football. They don’t know how I also find them weird for liking that boring sport. But yeah, each to his own, I guess.”
It was about 8 pm, and Elias was downstairs, having a chat with Akyaa. He initially was heading for the drying line to get his clothes when he saw the petite cutie standing on the balcony. She waved at him and beckoned him to come over, and now the past 20 minutes had been spent chatting heartily with her.
What a joy to finally have someone he could chat with in this apartment.
“True, true. We can’t all like the same thing. The old lady is always saying that if we all liked the same things in life, the world would be such a boring place.”
Elias nodded. Then he lowered his voice. “Umm… speaking of your mom and liking things, can I… can I ask a question?”
Akyaa’s face took on a look of concern for a moment, then metamorphosed into a sympathetic smile. “Lemme guess, you’re coming to ask why my mother seems to have a problem with you, right?”
Elias looked surprised for a moment. Then he nodded. Of course she would know, considering she had been unfortunate to hear her mother castigate him many times. “Akyaa, I don’t get it oo. I don’t know what I’ve done to your old girl that she dislikes me so much. I’m just a young man trying to survive in this Accra, running up and down, and for no reason, this woman is always giving me these evil looks and calling me arrogant and high-headed. One time I greeted her, the way she stared at me, as if I’ve given her two middle fingers. I just don’t get it, I just…”
“Easy, easy, easy,” Akyaa cut in gently, rubbing his hand on the railing, “don’t get worked up, okay? I don’t think she dislikes you, she just misunderstands you. As for that old woman, I’m always telling her that her assumptions are wrong. She’s stubborn, but chale, I know eventually, she’ll come around and stop misjudging you. As I’m here diɛɛ, trust me, I’ll make her come around. As you’ve got a friend in me diɛɛ, I’ll make her come around.”
Elias smiled.
It wasn’t just the sweet feel of her soft hand on his, but also the reassuring nature of her words. For so long, he had had to put up with being in a place with no friend. Nobody to really open up to and have a proper connection with. Now he had it in this sweet young lady downstairs.
He now had a friend. All was well with the world.
Finally.
“Ei, by the way, that guy upstairs, is his girlfriend around?”
Elias snickered at the rather scornful manner in which Akyaa asked. She was obviously not a fan of the Felix and Yaa love thing. “Nahh, she’s not around tonight.”
“Ahhh, thank God. The way those two are annoying, eh?”
“Oh, Akyaa! So annoying! Those two, they don’t know what they want in this life. Seriously…”
Well, looks like Elias is getting pretty fond of Akyaa. I wonder if this will be going any further. And for Naphtali and Natalie, let’s hope their visit to the counsellor is successful…
