BECCA

Written by Jennifer Azubuike

Kai slipped his backpack onto his arm and looked at his wife again. She was still in the same position on the floor where he had left her to dress up for his interview. Her shoulder was hunched forward, one hand supporting her head full of scruffy hair. When was the last time she went to the hair salon to get her hair looking as lovely as it used to? He couldn’t recall, but he knew that going to the hair salon wasn’t the problem since Becca could make her hair look nice without a beautician’s help. The problem was that she had been sad for a while. He bit the corner of his lip as the same sadness permeated his being. He had promised to take care of her. 

“B, I am ready to leave.”

“Bye.” She replied nonchalantly.

Her reply was uninviting, but Kai wanted to let out the thought in his mind since he woke up that day. “Will you go see him later today?”

Becca lifted her head without looking at him. “Who?”

“Mr Johnson. Remember, his invitation is still standing.”

She hissed. “No.”

“B, please.”

“I said, no!”

Kai frowned and swallowed. He understood her reluctance, but he wished she would see that the creep was their hope of completing the month’s rent and paying bills.

“What, then, do you suggest we do?”

“You are going for an interview. Aren’t you? Let’s hope it clicks this time.”

“Right…even if I am offered the job today, it will at least take two weeks to get the first paycheck.” She didn’t reply to him. “What do we do in the meantime?”

She sighed and sat up. “I will use the last fund I have earmarked for groceries to trade instead. Purchasing fairly used household items and reselling them online, as I did last time, should make us some profit.”

Kai relaxed. He knew whatever profit she made would not be enough to cover their growing needs, but he also knew it would be unwise to argue. He heard the cry of their 9-month-old son coming from the bedroom and decided to slip away before he was delayed any further.

*                               *                               * 

When Kai returned, Becca sat on the couch with her crying baby. He lowered his bag to the floor and watched his wife rock back and forth, not exactly tending to the baby in her arms. 

“B?” He called, but she didn’t respond. He moved closer and collected the baby from her. As soon as he did, the whiff of his full diaper greeted his nostrils, and he immediately felt the long, tiring day he had had, culminating in anger. “Why is our son in a dirty diaper? Did we run out of clean ones?” She shook her head. There! At least she can still hear me. He thought to himself and took his son away to clean him up. 

The child was soothed when he returned with him. “Becca, the house is a mess. Did you even do anything today?” The words just left his lips when he heard her sniff and wipe her cheeks. He lowered himself in front of her. “Have you been crying? Why? What happened?”

“I lost it.” She said, almost whispering.

“What did you lose?”

“The money. All of it. I lost everything.”

“How? What happened?”

She wiped her face again and cleared her throat. “Someone online advertised a moving sale. He was moving out of town and said he had much to sell. I bargained with him, and he agreed to sell me some items. It was a good deal. He also offered to bring them to me, and I thought that would be convenient since you took the car and I have the baby, so I paid him, but he never showed up.”

“You paid him before receiving the goods?”

“He insisted that he would only reserve them if I paid him first. He was convincing.”

“You could have paid 50% if paying him upfront looked reasonable. Uh! So stupid!”

“Yeah, I know I was stupid.”

“Not you. It was stupid of that fraudster to take advantage of you.”

She sighed. “I’m sorry I made a bad situation worse. I’ll sell the baby stroller.”

“Our baby stroller? Why the stroller?”

“It was an expensive gift. It will fetch money for groceries.”

“And how do you intend to carry the baby when we go out?”

“Strap him.”

He took his seat beside her and adjusted their son comfortably on his lap. “No, B. Enough of the buying and selling. We need a better solution.” 

Both sat in silence for a few minutes. Becca was still rid of guilt but relieved that her husband was not as furious as she had imagined. Kai considered using his wife’s remorseful state to bring up Mr. Johnson again, but was unsure if it would yield the desired result.

“I was wondering about contacting the church welfare.” Becca finally broke the silence.

“No. I don’t want us to be a topic next Sunday. Besides, we have not exhausted our options.”

“What other option do we have? Did you get the job?”

“No. They said they will get back to me, but you know how that goes.” Kai paused and looked at his wife. “Babe, please go see Mr Johnson.”

Becca shook her head. “He is not the kind-hearted man you think he is.”

“I know, but he likes you. You can ask him for a favor, like a position in his company.”

“He would do it, but will ask for a favor in return. The kind you will not like.”

“What if you’re overthinking it?“

“No, I don’t think I’m overthinking it.”

Kai rubbed his head, feeling defeated. He watched his son suck on his pacifier as he drifted off to sleep. The pressure of people depending on him worried him more than the state of being broke. 

“Alright, I’ll go,” Becca said.

Kai looked at her, surprised. “You will?”

“Yes, but I bet he’ll also ask me out on a date.”

“Politely decline. We only need a few months. As soon as I get a job, you’ll quit.”

“Don’t be so fast. I don’t know if he’ll hire me yet.”

“B, that’s the goal. Take your CV with you and dress professionally. Ask him for a job. If he makes romantic advances at you, politely decline and insist on a job. He will have no choice. I will also come with you.” Kai rambled in one breath. Becca frowned. “Okay, I will stay in the car with the baby if you prefer.”

*                               *                               * 

When Becca knocked on the passenger door, Kai was in the car, playfully engaging his son. He unlocked the door to let her in. He smirked satisfactorily as he once again appraised her outfit that he had helped pick out that morning. A grey suit and white shirt; even though the shirt now looked ruffled around the chest area, it still looked great. “Babe, how far?”

“Please drive.” 

She didn’t sound like she wanted to talk about the result of her meeting, so Kai secured their son in his seat, started the car, and drove. They were halfway home when their baby started crying uncontrollably. Kai was forced to pull into a gas station. He unbuckled the boy and carried him. 

“B, what happened there? You can’t just keep quiet.” 

Becca burst into tears. “He groped me!”

“What?”

“When I got into his office,” she narrated through tears. “He asked what I wanted. I was describing my qualifications and experience as we planned. The next thing I knew, he reached over his desk and grabbed me. He only let go when I screamed and tore at him.”

Kai’s countenance changed. He passed their son to her and restarted the car. 

“Where are we going?”

“We are going back to that damned office!”

“Babe, wait! Please wait.” Becca pleaded as she held her husband with one hand and managed her screaming baby with the other.

“What?!” Kai paused to hear her, the veins on his temple visibly gorged.

“I know you are angry, but please hear me out. His office is on his company’s property. If we make a scene, he will only call the police for trespassing and make us look like the villain. We cannot afford a fine or legal problems at this time. Please don’t go.” 

Kai screamed and punched the steering wheel. He put his head down and cried before exiting the car to stand outside for about 10 minutes until Becca beckoned. 

When he got back in, he said to his tearful wife, “It was my fault, B. You didn’t want to talk to that creep, but I selfishly made you do it. I am sorry.” He pulled her closer and held her.

When he let go, Becca blew her nose and lifted her son onto her shoulder to soothe him. “We were desperate. It is not your fault. Babe, please, I feel like praying.” Becca offered a hand, and Kai received it. Becca could feel the trembling in her husband’s hand. She squeezed to steady it.  “Dear heavenly father, hallowed be your name. We apologize for trying to navigate this wilderness season through our wisdom. You have promised to be with us when we go through deep waters and rivers of difficulty; we will not drown. We have exhausted our energy, resources, and solutions. We ask for your help. Please don’t let us drown, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”  

“It’s alright, babe. We will be fine.” Becca reassured her husband.

“We have to sue that pervert for harassing you. Did you have any witnesses?”

“No, but when I ran out of the office, the receptionist gave me a knowing look. However, I was too distraught to speak to her. I just walked away.”

“That means that she heard something.” Kai sat up.

“Or she might be a victim too.”

“Urrgh! He needs to be held accountable. We should have a case if we can get her to witness against him.”

“And make her lose her source of livelihood? Unless we can rattle the voice of her conscience, we will have to offer something better. Which we cannot afford.” Becca explained in a near whisper to avoid waking the sleeping baby on her shoulder.

Kai sighed again resoundingly, but Becca shushed him. “Sorry, I didn’t know he had slept. How much do we have at hand?”

“$45,” She replied

“You mean everything on hand and in the bank?”

Becca chuckled. “Yes. We’ve not had any savings in five months.”

“Rent is due by the end of the month, right?”

“In seven days, yes,” Becca replied, watching her husband rub his head thoughtfully.

“Give me $20 for fuel and keep $25 for emergencies. I will taxi with the car tonight to see what I can raise.”

Becca sighed. “Babe, we need $2,215 to cover rent, water/light bills, and baby supplies.”

“Maybe I will taxi for the next seven days. Feel free to contact the church’s welfare department. We will take whatever they can give us.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Becca smiled at him and prayed under her breath. Lord, please hear us and multiply our pennies.

*                               *                               * 

When her phone rang three days later, Becca was putting toys away on their living room floor. She was surprised to see the caller’s identity.

“Hello, Rebecca!”

“Hi, Uncle Dan. Such a pleasant surprise. Is everyone alright?”

Dan chuckled, “Everyone is fine. I am sorry I haven’t called in ages.”

“Me too. I think about you, but I am not great at making the calls. How are my cousins?”

“We hit a rocky road with Kachi’s health within the past year. Besides that, everyone is doing well.”

“Is he alright?”

“Yes, he had an unusual number of crises within a short period. It was rough, but things are better. Anyway, I called to ask how you’re doing since we haven’t talked in a long time, and I couldn’t get you out of my mind over the last two days. How are you?”

“We’re…we are fine.” Becca stuttered. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“How’s your son?”

“He is doing well. He will turn a year old in August.”

“Whoa! I still haven’t seen him, and he’s already turning a year old. Please call my wife and plan a family get-together; we’d love to see you all soon. Anyway, I will send you a gift for his birthday. Is your account number still the same?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Alright. Send my regards to Kai. I hope to see you soon.”

Becca finished picking up the toys and threw those her son liked to chew on into the sink to clean them. She was laying them out on a napkin to dry when her phone beeped. Her jaw dropped when she read the message. She logged into her account to verify and immediately dialed Uncle Dan.

“Hello, Uncle Dan. Thank you for your gift. I saw an alert about your deposit, but it’s possible you made an error. You sent me $2000.”

“I didn’t make a mistake, Rebecca. That was the amount I intended.” Rebecca could hear him smile on the other end. She was speechless. “Rebecca? Are you there?” Dan called when she remained quiet.

“Thank you, Uncle! Thank you so much.” Becca replied tearfully.

“Are you crying?” Dan queried. “Rebecca, are you sure you are fine? You’re getting me worried.”

“I am fine,” Becca sniffed. “It’s just that this is an answer to prayer.”

“What? Are you and Kai struggling?”

“We’re…okay, I mean, yes, but we’ll be fine, ” she replied unconvincingly. 

“Where’s Kai?” Uncle Dan’s voice changed. 

“He’s not home at the moment.”

“Tell him to call me when he returns.”

“He’s doing his best to take care of us.”

“Tell him to call me unfailingly.”

“Okay, I will. Thanks again for your gift.”

Kai got a job at Uncle Dan’s sister-company through his influence. One year later, Mr Johnson was arrested for assaulting one of his staff members. Kai and Becca took the chance to bring their case forward.

See other stories here…..And until next time, stay lifted!