Each morning for 12 years, Ayo never failed to have Ayayi’s cup of tea ready beside at his bedside. She would get up early, careful not to wake the man soundly sleeping beside her.
Then as he stepped out of the room, Ayayi would find his breakfast laid on the table while Ayo would be sweeping dried leaves in the yard.
No, Ayo was not his wife. She was his mistress. They had lived like husband and wife without the blessing of marriage and they got along very well. Ayo was a fine woman. She was loyal. She kept her lover’s house efficiently. She bore him children. And to say that Ajayi was proud of her was an understatement, so to speak.
Twelve long years, and Ayo showed no sign of complaint.
Everyday, Ajayi witnessed how his mistress tirelessly performed her duties around the house - tidying up a table, straightening the pillows, keeping the hearth warm and still managing to look her best to greet Ajayi on the door after he spent the day out at work.
Then one day, while in contemplative mood as he sipped his morning tea - Ajayi thought… why not he married Ayo? After these years, Ajayi mused - Ayo truly deserved his name. After all, they were no less than husband and wife. Only a piece of signed document to make their union legal, made the difference. And so he decided: he would marry her, finally. He was convinced the sanction of marriage would even strengthen their relationship more.
So in a simple ceremony in the context of African tradition and some Western touch of wedding cake and speeches, Ajayi and Ayo’s union was given legal reinforcement. Ajayi thought - the marriage was a befitting reward for the faithful mistress. Ayo was indeed an excellent woman of the house, but certainly, Ajayi believed, the marriage would even further bring out the good, if not the best qualities in her.
But it wasn’t to be so.
“The next morning as his alarm clock went off, he stirred and reached for his morning cup of tea. It was not there. He sprang up and looked. Nothing. He listened for Ayo’s footsteps outside in the kitchen. Nothing. He turned to look beside him. Ayo was there and her ‘bare ebony back was heaving gently. She must be ill, he thought; all that excitement yesterday.
“Ayo, Ayo,” he cried, “are you ill?” Ajayi asked, worried.
She turned around slowly still lying down and faced him. She tweaked her toes luxuriously under the cotton coverlet and patted her breast slowly. There was a terrible calm about her.
“No, Ajayi,” she replied, “are you?” she asked him.
“No,” he said. He was puzzled and alarmed, thinking that her mind had become unhinged under the strain.
“Ajayi, my husband,” she said. “for twelve years I have got up every morning at five to make tea for you and breakfast. Now I am a truly married woman, you must treat me with a little more respect. You are now a husband and not a lover. Get up and make yourself a cup of tea.”
(The Truly Married Woman by Abioseh Nicol)
LOL. better pa pala kung di sila nagpakasal!
Feng, I can’t blame the woman. Now that she’s truly married - she knows her rights! LOL!
Talo pa rin yung babae dun… aba sinabi nya lang na dapat magtimpla yung lalaki ng sarili nyang tsa.., di nya sinabing ipagtimpla sya.,
We all have equal rights and so does Ayo. I liked what she told her husband though.
(:
Tough luck for Ayayi. Maybe I should try this technique on my husband..hahaha
Hmm, I guess I should now look for a mistress rather than Mrs. #2, hahaha
Mon, oo nga ano? Dapat, yung babae naman ang ipagtimpla ngayon ng tsa, para patas talaga.
Kyels - equal rights for men and women, rich and poor alike. Yes, Ayo is a wise woman.
Kongkong, your husband is a lawyer - you might not win. haha!
But Sngl, I want to be godmother at your second wedding! hehe.
ha ha ha. that piece of paper with an ink really has some power ha.
katulad pag nagliligawan, laging best foot forward at pagkasal na, the hell with batman and darna.
Meron ako naremember (hindi gaano related sa post mo) yong friends namin na mag-on na lagi nag-aaway, ang payo namin, magpakasal na nga kayo para tuluyan na kayong maghiwalay.
Hahaha! Katawa naman yan, Rolly. Kung kelan magpapakasal, saka maghihiwalay!
some males tend to think marriage is some sort of reward to women. it’s not.
Liz, marriage should never be thought of as a reward to either the man or woman.
The story looked very interesting at first and then suffered a tragic twist hehe …
Well, as they say, sometimes a weak link makes you stronger so you don’t lose each other but with marriage you don’t worry about losing each other no longer… for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health…anything more? .. so, why bother ?
Aargh. I keep on waiting for a certain twist of event like someone dying or the original wife entering the scene. Hahaha. Maybe the hundreds of family code cases I have read got the better of me. Nice one Rhodora.
I love this post, I really do!
hehehe nice one Tita Rhodes
though I was actually rooting for a happy ending 
BW, pinag-isip mo ako dito, a…:
“…weak link makes you stronger so you don’t lose each other but with marriage you don’t worry about losing each other no longer”
You have a point. With marriage, the parties feel more secure.
Lawstude, are you familiar with this courtroom joke?
JUDGE TO PLAINTIFF: How was your marriage terminated?
PLAINTIFF: By death, your Honor.
JUDGE TO PLAINTIFF: And by whose death was it terminated?
*boinks* (sarap batukan yung judge… hehe)
Thanks, LAR !
Verns - happy ending din naman, di ba?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I love it! I love it!
LOL! Connie, I can hear your laughter all the way here! Thanks, Glad you like it.
good for ayo! i am glad she came to her senses. it’s husband’s turn to serve her.
Belle, equal rights for everyone, di ba?
I thought at first that this was a serious post. Made me laugh at the end.
Way to go, Ayo!
Rhodes, never heard that one before but here are few of my fave courtroom jokes:
Laywer: Are you sexually active?
Witness: No, I just lie there.
Lawyer: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
Witness: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
Lawyer: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
Witness: Yes.
Lawyer: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
Witness: I forget.
Lawyer: You forget? Can you give us an example of something that you’ve forgotten?
Lawyer: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke up that morning?
Witness: He said, “Where am I, Cathy?”
Lawyer: And why did that upset you?
Witness: My name is Susan.
Lawyer: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?
Witness: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
Lawyer: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
Lawyer: Were you present when your picture was taken?
Lawyer: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
Witness: Yes.
Lawyer: And what were you doing at that time?
Lawyer: She had three children, right?
Witness: Yes.
Lawyer: How many were boys?
Witness: None.
Lawyer: Were there any girls?
Lawyer: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
Witness: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.
Lawyer: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
Witness: Oral.
… and here is my personal favorite:
Lawyer: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Witness: No.
Lawyer: Did you check for blood pressure?
Witness: No.
Lawyer: Did you check for breathing?
Witness: No.
Lawyer: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Witness: No.
Lawyer: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
Witness: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Lawyer: But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
Witness: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere
Love it!
Ayo, you are amazing!
But then again, isnt it that married couples should share what they can (or what they have to) to make marriage work? After all, they are a couple.
Rhoda, I’m posting a comment again, I was flagged again as a spam, huhuhu!
Love this post but it only goes to show that marriage is sharing (of responsiblities, etc) between two people, its a two way traffic, ika nga.
Hi, Irene! Glad you like this post. hehe.
Lawstude! hahahahaha! I love those jokes! I bet humor helped you go through your bar review. Kakabaliw talaga.
Julie, sorry about the spam, my dear.
You’re right. Marriage is sharing of responsibilities. A two way traffic and two to tango affair.
yeah, I thought it was a serious story, he he…
Pining, you too?
How disappointing for Ajayi, I’m sure … lol. This should once and for all confirm the fact that “queridas” make better housemates (wink!).
“….“queridas” make better housemates”
And when the original wife and the querida get into a confrontation, Eric - it’s the querida who is usually mas matapang. hehe.
He,he… sounds like a true story!
Yes indeed it does, Sidney!
Nice one Rhoda! Cheers to all the Ayos in this world!
Thanks, Aura. Truly, there is no such thing anymore as ‘martyr wife’, huh?
haha, i enjoyed the ending.. nonetheless, the thoughts herein were very bright and full of wisdom
Good to know you enjoyed this post, Dimaks.
And oh - welcome back!
good for ayo!hahaha thanks for sharing this rhod!Very witty story! I think the moral lesson of this story is that: Never marry a querida,lol
You got us there … we thought this a story of a long-plodding woman who finally gets her just desserts. On second thoughts, she did, di ba? Ahahaha. Terrific!
I like the story, tita! Way to go Ayo!
Thanks for the early morning laugh
Have a great week ahead po!