Every morning like clockwork she wakes up, does a 5min prayer, and walks into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Every morning he wakes up, stretches, and heads to the restroom to ease himself. After words they both congregate to the dining room where she serves him his favorite breakfast. Surely, he does not deserve it, especially not this morning because, per their routine, while she gets ready for work downtown after breakfast, he gets ready to go job hunting…yet again. He swears there’s nothing out there, that they’re not hiring right now, that the economy is bad and that he needs a higher level of education, and of course (his favorite) “maybe it’s time I look into traveling abroad..”
Caught up the spirit of defeat, he spends 1 hour looking for work and the remaining 7 hours strolling about the streets. He can’t bring himself to commit to job hunting, so he visits the local pub for some relief.
It’s not his inability to find a job that worries her but his inability to change his mindset. If she asks him to try a little harder, he picks a fight leading to no resolution and another sleepless night. Every morning like clockwork she wakes up, does a 5min prayer, and walks into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Every morning he wakes up, stretches, and heads to the restroom to ease himself. After words they both congregate to the dining room where she serves him his favorite breakfast. He believes she serves this to him in order to give him strength and energy for the day’s search. He believes it is because she loves him and cares about his nourishment as well his health. He even believes she makes it as an ode to his mother who made it for him as a boy growing up. The reality is, she serves this dish because it is the self-reflective pity, she has for him. She’s lost all respect for him, so she serves him the same bland breakfast every day; Custard and Beans. She believes he has reached his plateau and ceiling in life, so she serves him this dish; Custard and Beans. She believes this is the best he deserves for the rest of his life, so she serves it to him Luke warm and sour; Custard and Beans. She never places sugar nor milk to his tray when served. She pretends to forget to place a spoon on the tray forcing him to use his hands to eat and she never places a clean napkin to clean off with, allowing him to look disheveled and poorly put together before stepping out of the house. To him, she is encouraging. To her he is a waste of space.
Custard and beans, the ratatouilles of all Nigerian meals. When made without thought, it can be the worst tasting meal served; some could interpret it as a disrespectful meal. When made with love and time, it is the most loving meal a person can serve another person.
Maybe if he had a well-paying career, she would not treat him like this, and perhaps she might be more loving towards him. But that’s not the reality. The reality remains the same, unchanged and unhinged. Every morning like clockwork she wakes up, does a 5min prayer, and walks into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Every morning he wakes up, stretches, and heads to the restroom to ease himself. After words they both congregate to the dining room where she serves him his favorite breakfast; Custard and Beans.
RNHelpingHand 