Pearls of Love (Episode II)
As we drove along Williams Avenue down to the Chamberlin Road to Amazing Grace Specialist hospital where Ann worked as a medical doctor I noticed that the roads were being maintained. It would have been waterlogged by now following the heavy down pour of the past days. Better drainage have been built by the serving governor, gone were the days when politicians gained office positions in order to swindle money and make the economy worse than they had earlier met it. Things are beginning to work well in the city; corruption was becoming a past, it was no longer the days when government officials responsible for maintenance swindle money for their personal use. There was a lot of improvement in the city.
The ministry of environment had been manned with trained officers that enforce environmental laws like laws prohibiting inhabitants from dumping dung into drainages and burning of wastes in public places and within a living residence. Things are more organized than they used to be. Even the government was functioning properly. These change didn’t come easy, some people have had to sacrifice their lives in what was called a peaceful revolution but very impactful. Some identified corrupt officials were voted out of office, some of them were prosecuted in a court of law while a few of them were sentenced to prison. Even the so-called untouchables were arrested and jailed!
Peter and Pat were at the back of the car playing pranks on one another.
“You said we will be filling up the car?” The driver turned to ask me as we approached Texaco. It’s interesting to note that even filling stations that used to be with long queues suddenly no longer has queues as you can easily drive in and buy fuel without waiting more than a few minutes. There was a time when you could be on queue at the filling station for hours without fueling your car.
I felt a sharp pain somewhere beneath my neck bone, I had been having headache for a while, it comes and goes like that for several days. I decided not to use a pain killer hoping the pain would subside. Pat interrupted my thought with one of her frequently asked questions. “Daddy is it true that when you are old you will die?”
Okay that was a new one; she learns and discovers new things every day. I wonder where she heard this one. Possibly a new topic in her class, maybe in their Religious knowledge class, I thought. I always know when they are taught something new in school, because there would be several questions to answer. I have learnt to be careful when responding to some of the questions. They were still in their developing stage and a lot of things they learn or don’t learn may affect them later in life.
As soon as we arrived at the hospital we saw Ann from a distance she was standing at the parking lot. Pat’s attention immediately shifted to Ann. She giggled, “See mummy” she parted Peter who pretended not to see Ann earlier. Peter was much quiet than Pat, he talked only when he felt it was necessary for him to talk. I was spared my response to Pat's question for that moment, but I knew I would still come back to it later when she remembers. They both ran out of the car as soon we parked towards Ann.
Ann and I had not been talking like husband and wife for a while. In a way she’s not to be blamed, I was the cause of it. When I have things bothering me, it tells on the people around me, I can become a very company and withdrawn. Most times when I get into such moods, I can be irritating if you don’t understand me well. I remember earlier in our marriage we both agreed to always resolve issues when there is one, before going to bed. It’s a good way to ensure that we remained close even when we are angry with one another. But most often I was the one that breaks the rule.
But really if you ask me I will say it’s not my fault in a way. I mean when I have a matter so serious that could cost me my job, and also a situation that I am aware that she couldn’t in anyway help solve, talking about it doesn’t go down well with me, especially when I haven’t seen the solution to the problem. This time around what was bothering me is a fraud that was discovered during the week. Though the fraudulent transactions took place over a space of time, but it went clean without anyone discovering it until of recent when I discovered it b y myself. The amount involved was fifty million!
Now look at this situation, I am the Audit manager a position that makes me the head of the audit department and which puts me directly responsible to protect, guide and ensure that all the resources of the company is safe and used properly with due-diligence. All outgoing and incoming transactions, budget and expenses of the company was the responsibility of my department.
The good thing is that I discovered the fraud by myself during an audit check so I still had some time to do a proper investigation before someone somewhere discovers it. It was an IT- related fraud case. Sometimes back I remember writing a recommendation to the management of the company to set up an IS-audit investigation unit but my recommendation was not approved then, I hope that with the case at hand by the time I write my report and recommendations it will be given a thought this.
So this is why I had been upset and a bit withdrawn from my family. Believe it or not if I don’t handle it well it could cost me my job, of course I won’t blame anyone for that, I was paid to ensure that the resources of the company was well secured, so I have no reason why such an amount would disappear without noticing.
It’s very easy to know when I am upset but talking about it is hardly easy for me, I always prefer to come out without a solution first even if I would have to talk about it. When Ann tried talking to me about my mood I told her not to worry that I would get over it. The least I needed at that time was distraction. You may not understand how things work with me; when I have an assignment at hand, that is all I am able to think of, and until I am through with it, productivity in other areas is a problem. You may be tempted to ask if I didn’t include “working under pressure” as part of my high points on my CV. Yes I did, but when you also have a case of fraud amounting to fifty million, no one in his right senses can be calm, especially in a situation where you don’t even know how the money disappeared.
And because of this, when I am eating, I have excel sheets sprouting up in my head, while sleeping I have database and inflows flowing through my brain, and when a mail comes into my inbox, I wasn’t sure if it wasn’t from the board seeking an audience with me in relation to the fraud. Now this is why I have this headache.
But allowing office problems to affect my relationship with my family is bad too. When all is gone the family alone will remain with you. Ann was a good woman, and we had come a long way even before we married. Ours was a case of true love. We have had our tough times too but we always made up.
Soon we were driving away from the hospital; we didn’t talk much she sat at the back with the kids. My plan was for us to talk things over while in the car, but I didn’t feel like talking about it then. When we got to the house Ann went straight to the kitchen I guess she was also trying to avoid me. I watched TV for a while then went to the room with my laptop to do some work. The kids stayed in the kitchen with Ann. That night we slept not talking about anything. It was the second day we had not been talking.
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Phone: (234) 08121807240
E-mail: ackcity@gmail.com
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