Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (01/23/20)
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TITLE: Happily Ever After, Mostly | Previous Challenge Entry
By Chiazo Obiudu
01/30/20 -
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But that wasn’t even the worst part. There were the constant late nights and his addiction to soccer.
“It’s not an addiction,” he would insist, sitting in his favorite seat, eyes glued to yet another soccer match, with the TV remote in one hand and a beer can in the other. And that was the worst. The drinking. He had conveniently forgotten to mention that fact to her before she said “I do”, but in his defense, she had forgotten to ask. They had gone out on many occasions and not once had he taken beer or anything remotely alcoholic. Playing the perfect gentleman, he had said.
But perfect gentleman had left the building; the Knight with his now rusty armor was gone.
“You are one to talk,” he would retort whenever her nagging got to him. Turns out the sweet lass he had wedded had flown out the window too. Much as she hated to admit it, Laide knew that among other things, her tongue was as sharp as the barber’s razor. And whenever she turned that weapon in his direction, which she did quite often, his usual defense was turn to more soccer on TV and tune her out. That was another major offense in her books; he was constantly tuning her out, leaving her out of his world.
As she walked through the hall, the mirror caught her eye. She wasn’t happy with what she saw. It wasn’t her body that saddened her, she didn’t mind being curvy. But she could do without the bitter woman she was becoming. She needed to get her peace and joy back.
“But he needs to change,” she reasoned. You need to change, came the gentle whisper.
“But he needs to change too.”
Fast forward, forty years later. It seemed not much had changed. He was still sitting on his favorite seat, watching his favorite soccer, but without the beer can. The doctor’s warning had something to do with it, but Laide’s growing displeasure had everything to do with it. He really did care about her.
And Laide, the curvy matron of the house, was still picking stockings off the floor. But she did so with a smile on her face. Though she was still cleaning up after him, she did so not out of obligation but out of love.
He still had some of his old ways, but it didn’t upset her any more, at least for the most part. Her tongue still had some of its sharpness, but he often said that was what he loved about her. And he had gotten some of his charm back. He would make out time and sit out in the garden with her and play card games.
Over the years, they had picked up the tradition of maintaining a weekly date night, and he would take her out to a local diner. She was a better cook than most, but she could enjoy a night out in town with her Knight and not worry about cleaning up later. In the past year, they had had to spend a few of those date nights in the hospital, with Laide faithfully by his side as he recovered from his hip-replacement surgery.
She had even started enjoying watching soccer with him, not because she particularly liked it, but she liked the spark she saw in his eyes whenever she cheered for his favorite team.
Laide only wished that she had learnt her lesson early enough to spare herself years of heart ache. For in the course of time, she had learnt to Love God’s way, to Love with the first Corinthians chapter thirteen kind of love. The Love that did not keep record of any wrongs, the Love that was patient and kind, the Love that hoped all things, believed all things, endured all things.
The Love that never ends. In the end, that was what mattered most. That though we live with imperfections and with imperfect human beings, we can have a Love that is perfect.
And in that Love, Laide and her Knight with his rusty armor, lived happily ever after. Mostly.
The End.
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