Once upon a December by Obed Armah
Prologue
David dried himself in the bathroom when he heard his phone ringing. “This is why I always prefer to bring you along here,” he muttered to himself, as he tiptoed to the bedroom to avoid slipping, wearing only a pair of shorts with the towel slung over his shoulder. He found his phone on the bed and sitting on its edge, answered the call.
“Yo , boy,” he began, patting his moist hair dry with the towel.
Within seconds, he jolted up, his eyes bulging in shock. “Oh my God! Wh- Where – Where are you now?” His lips quivered, a sudden trembling falling on him. Slowly, his cell phone slid down from his grasp and landed flat on the floor. “God,” he gasped, turning his head to his gaping reflection in the dressing mirror. “What did I just do?”
Chapter one
To say that Keren was simply beautiful would be an understatement. Not only was the 31-yearold mother breath-taking in physical beauty but she had also generously passed on her beautiful traits to her 10-year-old daughter and only child Jasmine. That evening, like most other evenings, Keren could be found only in Jasmine’s room. Leaning their backs against the headboard as they cuddled together on the queen-sized bed, Keren’s eyes widened in admiration of her daughter’s performance stated in the terminal report Jasmine had just shown her.
“Wow, Jasmine!” Keren shot Jasmine a fleeting glance before running her eyes over the report once more. “First in every subject? Bravo, my princess!” She rubbed Jasmine’s arms delightfully, feeling proud to have such an incredibly intelligent girl as her child.
Jasmine beamed with pride, her sparkling white teeth on full display. “Thanks, mum.”
Keren shook her head tenderly in awe and mumbled, “This is just like me.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” Keren gave a gentle nod, her eyes still fixed on the 90 plus marks Jasmine had scored in each of the subjects. “As far back as I can remember, I always topped every subject in school.”
Jasmine looked at Keren, her eyebrows raised in surprise. “Like seriously, mum?”
“Uh huh,” Keren smiled at her.
“Wow,” the girl said to herself, amazed at how splendidly intelligent her mother was. Her curiosity was ignited as she wondered what else she didn’t know about her beautiful mother.
“Ha,” Keren chuckled. “And the teachers said my girl would struggle for a top position in the most competitive class in the school.”
Jasmine chortled. “My form master even said it would be a miracle if I even placed thirtieth in the class.”
“They had no idea whose daughter they were underestimating,” Keren scoffed, folding the report sheet. “They didn’t know that not only are you a carbon copy of my looks,” she flicked Jasmine’s cheek, eliciting a grin from the girl. “You’re also a reflection of my intellect, my princess.”
“Aw, mum,” Jasmine drawled. “That’s so sweet. I want to become just like you when I grow up; Beautiful and rich.”
“You will, my princess,” she smiled reassuringly and tapped Jasmine’s pointed nose with a finger, “If you keep working hard in school.”
“Sure, mum,” Jasmine promised. “I’ll never let you down.”
“And I will always be there for you,” Keren caressed her daughter’s hair as Jasmine lay on her laps.
As she enjoyed every moment by her mother’s side, Jasmine wished she could freeze time. She hoped it would be one of those nights where Keren would spend the night with her. Suddenly, Jasmine’s eyes flashed wide as a memory hit her.
“Mum,” Jasmine looked up at Keren, “Dad told me the other day that I’m only smart because he is smart.”
Keren’s eyebrows furrowed. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Jasmine gave a firm nod. “He even said that back in school, he used to win national awards for fun.”
“Ei !” Keren exclaimed and chuckled. “Your dad? Awards? National? In which universe?”
Jasmine laughed. “I knew he was telling lies.”
Keren scoffed and shook her head. “He is. He’s just trying to join our class but there is no vacancy.”
“Goodness!” the little girl held her chin. “This man can lie.”
“He was only kidding actually,” Keren said. A momentary silence hanged over the chilly room. In sheer delight of motherhood and with a proud smile across her lips, Keren smoothened her daughter’s hair.
“But hey,” Keren broke the silence, “Why are you going on holidays so early in December? Fourth is a bit too early if you ask me.”
“Renovations,” Jasmine stated flatly, looking intently into Keren’s eyes. “Owner wants the school to look world class.”
“That’s cool. So tomorrow is Our Day then.”
Jasmine had a good laugh at what Keren had said.
“What?” Keren wondered with a half-smile.
The girl sat up beside her mother. “ Our Day? Mum, come on, stop living in the Stone Age. Our Day is so 19 th century.”
“Well, it’s been a long time since I was in basic school.”
“Things have changed now.”
“But Our Days were fun times, you know,” narrated Keren, crossing her legs. “I remember on the last day of the term, your grandmother would wake up at dawn and prepare my favourite dish. Then later in the morning at school, my classmates and I will sit in a circle and enjoy our meals-”
Jasmine interrupted with a sigh. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard that a thousand times. So are you also going to prepare food for me tomorrow?”
“Nope,” she declined, getting out of the bed. She walked over to the glass window where the bright bulb of the streetlight was in view. “Would have loved to, but mum is leaving the country tomorrow.” Keren drew the flowered curtains close.
“What?” Jasmine gasped, crawling to sit on the edge of the bed.
Keren turned around and giggled as she moved towards the wardrobe. “Why? What’s wrong?” She picked up a sweater lying at its foot and hanged it inside.
“But mum, you didn’t tell me!” she protested crossly.
“Well, I didn’t know I needed your permission,” Keren closed the wardrobe. “And it was impromptu. It’s just a conference I’m attending. Will be back in three days.”
“Can’t I come along?” Jasmine whined, watching her mother walk over to the cluttered bookshelf beside her desk and start to arrange the books.
Keren paused with a book in hand and turned to Jasmine. “No, you can’t! It’s too late to arrange for you to join me and besides, I’m not going on a vacation; it’s for work.”
Jasmine slumped onto the bed like a felled tree without a word. Keren knew the little girl was disappointed. She hated to let Jasmine down but there was nothing she could do about it.
“I know you’re disappointed -”
“I’m not disappointed,” the girl cut in, gazing at the ceiling. “I’m depressed.
” Keren chortled, coming back to sit on the edge of the bed. “What’s so depressing about this?”
Jasmine shifted her eyes to her mother for a split second and then sat up. “Mum,” she called softly and shot a quick glance at the half-opened door. “Living in this house with dad is depressing.”
Keren suddenly knitted her eyebrows in worry. “Why? What’s wrong?”
“Mum,” the little girl began her complaint as her mother folded her arms and listened attentively. “When you’re not around, dad scolds me unnecessarily. He complains about the slightest thing I do and raises his heart-piercing voice at me. I don’t know if he has a bachelor’s degree in scolding or something.”
Keren snorted away her worry. For a moment, she had thought Jasmine had a serious complaint. “Bachelor’s degree, huh? You’re funny. You see, you should try to view discipline in good light. Your dad loves you, that’s why.”
“Love?” scoffed Jasmine. “I wish I could believe that. But I hate that man!”
“Jasmine, mind your language!” Keren snapped instantly with a finger pointed at Jasmine. “You should never use that word with your father.”
“Fine. I don’t hate him,” Jasmine retracted flatly before adding, “I abhor him.”
Keren got up with a sigh, heading to Jasmine’s entertainment corner. “I’ve had enough of you and your father,” she said, putting off the wall mounted TV and home theatre systems below. “It’s time to go to bed.”
Jasmine’s face crumpled. “I want to go with you, mum,” tears stung her eyes.
“No, you can’t,” Keren insisted.
The child wasn’t going to give up so easily. She threw herself on the floor, rolling back and forth on the Persian rug as a possessed person would. “I want to go with you!” Jasmine squealed at the top of her voice.
Terrified by the screaming, Keren rushed to her. “Knock it off, Jasmine,” she reprimanded, gripping her arms tightly. “You’re disturbing the neighbours.”
Jasmine was breathing heavily on the floor as if she had just run a marathon. “Are you taking me along now?”
Keren sighed and pulled her daughter up to her feet while she knelt before the little girl. “Oh my princess,” Keren said in a sombre tone, wiping teardrops from the corners of Jasmine’s eyes. “I wish I could. You know I would have taken you along if it was possible. But I make you this promise; by the time I return you will be on holidays, right?”
Jasmine nodded.
“Great. So when I return, I will start working on a three weeks’ vacation, not a week this time, three weeks, to your country of preference and this time, it will just be you and I, and we will have the time of our lives.” Keren ended with an infectious smile.
“Promise?” Jasmine smiled slightly.
Keren grinned, relieved that her daughter was finally smiling again. “Cross my heart. Now, let me see that smile again, my princess.”
Jasmine was all smiles, lighting up her beautiful face. “I love you so much,” Keren gave her an embrace and kissed her neck. “Never cry again, please.”
“Love you too mum.”
After the hug, Keren promised further. “You know what? I’ll be leaving for Accra at dawn but before I go, I will ask your father to order your favourite pizza tomorrow after school.”
Jasmine looked sceptical and Keren, puzzled, asked, “Why? Wouldn’t you like that?”
“I would, but dad is the problem. He won’t order anything, mum. Rather, he will ask Afiba to prepare boiled yam and garden eggs stew instead.”
Keren giggled. “But, Jasmine, yam with garden eggs stew is both delicious and nutritious.”
“Yucky is the term I tend to use for that meal.”
Keren laughed at that, shaking her head. “Jasmine, you’re funny just like your father. Fine, I will give money to Afiba instead to get you the pizza.”
“Cool.”
Both mother and child exchanged a brief smile before Keren turned to glance at the clock; it was almost 9 pm.
“Oh dear,” Keren straightened up and gently carried Jasmine in her arms and onto the bed like a baby. “It’s past your bedtime, Jasmine. You should be in dreamland by now princess. Experts say our bodies need seven hours of sleep every night to be healthy.” She covered her daughter up to the neck with a Lion King blanket.
“Seven hours? Really?” asked the little girl, looking at her mother.
“Yep.”
After a quick glance at the clock, Jasmine rebutted, “If that’s the case, then I should be up by 4 am. What will I be doing as a child at 4 am?”
She gazed at her daughter briefly, then she shook her head. Jasmine was in for another lengthy debate and Keren wasn’t in the mood for that.
“Jasmine,” Keren began, placing one hand in the palm of the other as if to beg, “Can we please adjourn this case? Please.”
The girl chortled.
“Now,” continued Keren tenderly, kneeling beside the bed. “While I’m away, please put up your best behaviour, okay?”
“I will, mum,” Jasmine promised.
“Don’t go riding your bicycle outside in the street, please remain within the yard or play on the swing if you want to play outdoors.”
“Don’t worry, mum. I will be careful.”
“And if any stranger calls you, run away okay?”
Jasmine nodded.
“Stay at home with Afiba or go with your father to his shop.”
“Oh no,” she moaned.
“Alright. Don’t go with your father. Stay here and have fun with your MacBook or music system. Just turn down the volume so that you don’t disturb the neighbours. I don’t want them asking for your head again.”
Jasmine tugged a sly smile at the corners of her mouth.
It saddened Keren that she would leave her only child for three days. Though it was only for a short while, to Keren, even a day without Jasmine was almost unbearable.
“I’m going to miss you, sweetheart,” Keren confessed softly, tearing up.
“I’ll miss you too, mum.”
“Be safe for me.” Then, like every other night, Keren planted a tender kiss on her daughter’s cheek. “Goodnight, Jasmine.”
“Goodnight, mum.”
Keren left the side of the bed, wiping off a tear as she made for the door. Hardly had she opened the door when Jasmine called her.
“What is it, sweetheart?” asked Keren as she spun around to give Jasmine her attention, her hand on the door handle.
“Safe journey, mum.”
Keren smiled. “Aw Jasmine, thanks so much.”
Jasmine watched her mother wave her ‘goodbye’ with a smile before flipping off the light switch. The door closed behind her, snuffing out the remaining light. In the comfort of her bed, Jasmine shut her eyes as she waited for the power of sleep to overcome her.
On her way to her bedroom, Keren was surprised to meet her housekeeper Afiba in the corridor trudging in her direction, a cloth slung over her shoulder and a bucket half-filled with water in hand. The twenty-year-old high school graduate looked to be adding more flesh to the tiny frame she had arrived from her hometown with. That was about two months ago. At the present rate, she was certainly en route to obesity unless of course, she joined her madam’s husband at the gym. The girl wasn’t one who would necessarily command a second look, yet at the same time, she wasn’t one who would have a hard time getting a husband if looks were the rule. Broad-faced with slanted eyes and full lips coupled with an average height and a firm and curvy frame, Afiba was more than just okay; if only she would braid her neatly combed afro!
After staying at home with her aged parents for two years with no hope of continuing her education, she had been recommended by Keren’s mother who was well acquainted with Afiba’s family back in Esiama – Keren’s hometown. Keren had had Afiba brought in to live with her family after settling in the city. This was her second month serving the family.
Keren stopped her and asked what she was still doing at that time.
“I didn’t finish doing the laundry early,” Afiba answered politely, placing the bucket down. “So I’m currently on my way to clean the dining table and afterwards, wash the dishes.”
“Aw,” Keren said sadly, feeling sorry that the girl had to work so hard at an hour when Keren felt she should be resting. “It’s okay, Afiba. Don’t worry about the dishes and the rest. You can do that tomorrow morning.”
“Oh Aunty, I can do it.”
“No,” Keren insisted firmly, taking hold of Afiba’s smooth arms. “Go to bed. Tomorrow, you can continue with the work, okay?”
Afiba threw in the towel with a mild sigh. She smiled faintly. “Thanks, Aunty.” Keren smiled. “Good. You can go to bed now.”
The housekeeper turned around, heading back to the kitchen. She hadn’t gone too far when Keren called her from behind.
Afiba turned around in a flash. “Yes, Aunty?”
“Lest I forget,” Keren said, closing the gap between them. “I’m travelling tomorrow before daybreak and I want you to get Jasmine pizza from town before she returns from school tomorrow. I’ll be leaving some money on the coffee table.”
“Okay, Aunty,” Afiba acquiesced eagerly.
“And keep the change,” Keren tapped on the girl’s pointed nose, eliciting a shy smile from Afiba. “Thanks, Aunty. Safe journey tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Afiba,” Keren responded and turned around. “Goodnight.”
The girl loved her madam, not because of the tips, but because she treated her like a younger sister! Afiba’s contemporaries who served in other homes in the city refused to believe her whenever she told them about how her employers treated her. It was without doubt that Keren’s treatment was the primary source of motivation for the young housekeeper’s diligence. To Keren, Afiba was more than valuable. Keren’s busy schedule left her little to no time to care for her home and Afiba was there to do just that for her.
Keren Avola Ampofo, beautiful as ever. The woman, a few months shy of her thirty-second birthday, had those looks that could freeze a man in his tracks. Dark, average in height with a slim and slender body coupled with a rounded face of well-designed features and long night black hair that tumbled over her shoulders, Keren had caused her husband to be an object of envy for years now.
Her family was quite new in Takoradi – the third largest city in Ghana- having moved to the regional capital only about two months ago. In Takoradi, they had rented an apartment in Airport Ridge estate –a tranquil and beautiful suburb with tastefully designed buildings and tarred streets. Previously, Keren had been living in the country’s capital, Accra, with her husband and daughter, where she managed a branch of her father’s multi-million Auto sale company. It was in Accra that she met and married David at a relatively young age. For almost twelve years, the couple had been happily married and raising Jasmine whose eleventh birthday was just around the corner.
When Keren entered her room, she was met with a surprise – David stood beside the bed, packing his wife’s clothes into her bag! Keren travelled outside the country quite often and David had become acquainted with the clothes she usually took along. So on that night, he decided to spare her the time and energy of packing.
“Aw sweetheart,” Keren wrapped her slender arms around him from behind and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “That’s so sweet of you.”
“Thought I could help out my dear one,” he said.
“That’s why I love you,” she kissed him again before unwrapping her arms from around him. “Pretty much all the clothes I need are in here.”
Keren zipped up the bag and David carried it to one corner of the room. At first sight, it would seem that the couple had swapped rooms with their daughter. Because as compared to Jasmine’s room, theirs was somewhat smaller with a bed about half the size of Jasmine’s.
“All set, Keren?” asked David, returning to the bed.
Keren collapsed backwards on the bed with a mild bounce and moaned, “Except for the long, boring trip to Paris. My body hurts.”
Sitting beside his wife and studying her exhausted body closely, David sympathized with her. Keren’s work, though it brought them bucket loads of money, was also very demanding. Fortunately for her, she had a husband who was very supportive and understanding.
“So, who’s going to be your chauffeur to Accra?” he asked.
“One Mr Ansah. He’s pretty good at driving from what I was told. Most experienced driver at the branch office. Punctual too. He said 4 am.”
“Don’t worry; I will wake you up earlier. Hopefully, I will drive my wife to Accra one of these days.”
Keren gave a half smile. “Yeah, when Jasmine is 20 years old.” She shifted her eyes to the TV. “Please turn up the volume on the TV set.”
David pointed the remote control at the screen as Keren hauled her body up, sitting up beside David on the edge of the bed. “I admire this man a lot; so generous with his wealth,” Keren admitted, referring to the grey-haired and bearded man on TV. The man had a little girl on his laps as he was being interviewed on the TV show.
David glanced at his wife who seemed to be ogling at the man on the TV and shook his head, wondering when the boring show would end.
“Dr Denzel,” the hostess asked after a few minutes, “about the recent mysterious disappearances of the children in your orphanage, have there been any developments in unravelling the mystery?”
“For now, no,” Denzel answered sadly, pulling the little girl closer to his bosom. “But I trust the police are more than capable of handling the investigations. It’s just a matter of time.”
The hostess bobbed her head, listening carefully.
“My topmost priority now is the security of these lovely kids -”
“David?”
“Yo, ” he turned to her.
Keren looked at him. “Don’t you think we should donate something to these kids?”
David shrugged. “Great. That’s a good idea. But let’s talk about this when you’re back from your trip. You should go to sleep now.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Keren got up and changed into her pyjamas while her husband switched off the TV set and put out the light. Soon after, the couple was together in bed. With eyes refusing to reopen after she had shut them, Keren had the usual final words for David which she uttered in a weak tone.
“Sweetheart?”
“Yeah?”
“Please promise me you will take good care of Jasmine.”
David sighed. Keren always said that whenever she was about to travel and he was growing tired of it. It was not the request he was tired of hearing, but he felt that as the father of Jasmine, Keren didn’t have to remind him always of his responsibility to take care of their daughter.
“Okay,” he promised rather flatly, clutching the blanket tightly.
“You know she’s our first and last. There’s no other child coming. If something should ever happen to her, it would be my corpse you would be driving back to my parents in Esiama and you know that would mean your death as well.”,
David giggled. Yet, deep down he knew there was so much truth in those words. Just like Jasmine, Keren was the only child of her parents and if something were to happen to their daughter, David knew they wouldn’t forgive him. His wife was so attached to the little girl that David could swear that if something fatal happened to the girl, Keren’s weak heart would finally give up the battle.
On the outside, his wife looked strong but inside, Keren wasn’t the healthiest. Since childhood, she had been battling with a host of heart-related diseases and her hypertension had of late grown worse, leaving David to worry greatly daily about the life of his beloved wife who had made him who he was.
“Since I’m not around tomorrow to drive Jasmine to school, please promise me you will drive her to school yourself. Don’t send her to school alone no matter what. Promise?” Keren managed to open her eyes and their eyes met.
David swallowed. “I promise.”
She gave a wry smile and closed her eyes. “I trust you. Even if the whole world doesn’t, I trust my David.”
David appreciated those words. Their love story hadn’t been an easy one but Keren never gave up on the fight for them to be together.
“Sweetheart?” Keren called again softly.
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t be too hard on Jasmine-”
David frowned. “She told you that- she-”
He swallowed the remaining words when Keren flashed her eyes open at him, “Just take it easy on her, David.”
David had a long scroll of complaints in his mind but he just didn’t know where to start from as he struggled to find the words. “I will take it easy on our daughter if she shows some respect and obedience.”
Keren listened without saying a word.
He began his rant, gesturing for emphasis. “She talks to me as if to a playmate. Jasmine actually abuses me with words- can- can you believe that? She doesn’t do anything I ask her to. As if that isn’t enough, when you’re not around, she bangs our ears- and that of our neighbours- with stupid loud music from the home theatre you installed in her room. Jasmine is a headache to me, actually. I hope you read the comments in her school report. Just the other day, after dropping her at the school gate, her teacher approached me and reported that our kid is rude to them. You had better talk to her before she gets into her teens and gets out of hand.”
Keren smiled wryly as her eyes fluttered shut and concluded, “We’ll talk about it when I come back. Goodnight, honey.”
David noticed the stress’ effect on his wife. He wondered if he hadn’t made it worse by complaining about Jasmine’s behaviour. Keren was gone within seconds.
“Goodnight, Keren,” David whispered, gazing at the pretty face of his wife.
No sooner had he closed his own eyes than he heard his phone ringing loudly in the bathroom. Quickly, he scurried into the bathroom, wondering who could be calling him at that time. He found his phone lying on the sink and when he looked at the caller, his heart nearly missed a beat.
“Nadesh!” David scolded. “Why can’t you leave me alone? Don’t you know you could make Keren suspicious of me?”
His caller chortled, “ I’d be excited if she was, baby boy.”
“I’m not your baby boy.” David glanced back at the door with a worried face.
The caller chuckled. Then as if to beg, she said seductively, “David, I want you. I love you.”
David didn’t understand this lady as he edged closer to the mirror above the sink. “And I’m married, can’t you see that? Married to your best friend for goodness sake, Nadesh. Leave me alone!”
“I won’t leave you alone until I get you which I will.”
He exhaled, feeling a pang of fury surge through his body. “Great. I’ll love to see you try.”
He hung up immediately. Hunching over the sink, he sighed deeply, looking intently at his reflection in the mirror. This old friend of Keren they had met upon their arrival in their new city was gradually becoming a thorn in the flesh for David. He didn’t know what it was about him that attracted Nadesh. Looking back at him in the mirror was a good looking dark-skinned man with beautiful brown eyes which were the standout feature on his face. He wasn’t muscular like a friend of his – a reason he had quickly signed up at the gym since they arrived-, just as slim as his wife but a head taller than Keren.
He washed his face and wiped it dry before returning to the bedroom, this time with his phone. He hoped he hadn’t awoken his wife. David was more than glad to find Keren fast asleep. He crept onto the bed and gently placed her head on his chest as he thought about how to warn the Nadesh girl off him. So many questions were going through his mind as his sleep fled him. Should he inform Keren about it? He shook that idea off. David was very cautious about what he told his wife keeping in mind her condition. He didn’t know how she would react to such information and thus, he was not ready to risk it.
As he contemplated, his phone lit up and this time vibrated just once. It was a Whatsapp message from Nadesh. At first, he didn’t want to have a look at it, but he didn’t know what moved him to open the message. He received the shock of his life when the message included nude pictures of Nadesh herself! David was forced to close his eyes briefly. Immediately, he shut down the phone and tossed it away. Then as if fearing something was about to snatch his z away from him, he pulled her tighter to himself.
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